Weird and Wonderful

The design of Callaway’s new Apex UW may seem a little strange, but it promises to be a very useful tool for better golfers.

by Tony Dear

In recent years, manufacturers have become creative at building clubs with very specific characteristics – – more/less loft, more compact/larger heads, different weighting, etc. to accommodate different types of golfer and even specific types of shot. These clubs will have benefitted an admittedly small number of golfers, but in today’s world their limited-quantity production has made sense for a clubmaker seeking to appease all golfers.

Phil Mickelson’s small-headed Phrankenwood driver, which was in the left-hander’s bag for the 2013 Masters, has so far been the best-known of the crossbreed clubs, but they have appeared regularly since then. The majority, it seems, have been whimsical plays on clubs found at the lower-lofted end of the bag – drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, and long irons and Mickelson has been responsible for his share of them. His feedback was likely instrumental in the creation of Callaway’s second-generation Apex UW – the ‘UW’ standing for ‘Utility Wood’ – which shares some hybrid and fairway-wood technologies to form a club that looks like a wide, flat-bottomed hybrid but which flies higher than a hybrid with relatively low spin for soft-dropping approach shots that hopefully settle shortly after landing.

The Apex UW’s shaft is longer than a hybrid’s, which provides a little more speed, but shorter than a conventional fairway wood’s which creates a better dispersion. It uses Callaway’s famous Jailbreak with Batwing Technology to stiffen the face and impart more energy to the ball. The AI-designed face cup is made from high-strength C300 Maraging Steel, and the Cutwave Sole is designed to move the club through the turf more efficiently. The Apex UW’s Center of Gravity (CG) creates a Neutral Weight Bias which means it’s designed with neither a fade nor draw bias allowing better players to work the ball a little more easily. The weight screw on the sole is for fitters to alter the club’s swing weight according to the golfer’s  preferences.

Shallow-faced, wide-bottomed and compact at address, the new Apex UW is a little unconventional-looking, perhaps, but better players will likely find it just the thing for long approaches off the deck and long Par 3s where they can launch it high and have it come down on a steep angle of descent.

Price – $300
Lofts – 17˚, 19˚, 21˚
Shaft – Mitsubishi MMT graphite
Available – Pre-sale starts August 18^th, in stores September 8^th
callawaygolf.com

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