Callaway Apex Ti Fusion Irons Review
GolfMagic tests out the new Callaway Apex Ti Fusion Irons.
Callaway Apex Ti Fusion Irons Key Features:
- Titanium Ai Smart Face: yields consistent ball speed, spin, and dispersion
- Urethane microspheres: combine with the titanium face to deliver the feel of a single-piece forged iron
- Brazed titanium construction: utilises titanium's unique properties combined with steel to deliver premium feel and performance
Callaway's new Apex Ti Fusion irons represent a significant leap forward for the brand. Featuring a multi-material construction, they benefit from a forged titanium face and a forged steel body.
Why is the inclusion of titanium such a big deal, you ask? Well, titanium is remarkably strong, flexible and lightweight, making it ideal for generating speed and great feel at impact.
Titanium is typically used for driver faces for those exact reasons; however, Callaway has pushed the boat out in 2024, and utilised the material in its irons, alongside some familiar tech, including urethane microspheres to improve acoustics and feel and Callaway's Ai Smart Face, which takes data from thousands of real shots to adjust the face's construction for optimal performance.
The Apex Ti fusion clubs sit in between the Apex Pro irons that were launched last year and the new Apex Ai 200s that came out only a few weeks ago. Designed for single figure handicap golfers, they offer a refined blade length minimal offset and a thin topline all tied together in a premium matte black finish, making them instant contenders for the best golf irons for better players in 2024.
It's fair to say the engineers at Callaway have had their hands full, so to test out the fruits of their labour, we took the irons down to Mannings Heath with our Foresight GC3 to really put them under the microscope.
Let's get into it.
Player Level
The Apex Ti Fusion irons are best suited to single figure handicap golfers who prefer the look and performance of players iron and can find the centre of the clubface consistently.
Callaway Apex Ti Fusion Irons Looks and Feel:
The first thing that immediately sticks out when you look at the Ti Fusion irons is their matte black finish.
Straight out of the wrapper, there is no denying these clubs look absolutely superb.
The finish is deep and rich, the branding delivers a nice pop of contrast and the head shape looks great both in hand and down at address.
In terms of profile, the irons are fairly compact from toe to heel with the toe itself coming to quite a soft curve rather than the more pronounced point you sometimes see from TaylorMade or PING.
The topline is thin, and the offset is fairly minimal, all of the giveaway signs of a pure players iron.
In terms of pure aesthetics, these irons are undeniably beautiful, however we do have one small issue, and it's actually an issue that applies to almost all clubs that have a black finish. They get marked up so easily, and it shows up so much more clearly than on a satin or chrome finish.
While the marks are by no means going to diminish the performance of the clubs, when you are paying a premium price, you want your clubs to look the part for as long as possible, and sadly after only a fairly brief period in the bag, we did notice some quite clear marks on the head and sole.
When it comes to feel and sound, the irons are very impressive. Acoustically we did notice that they are ever so slightly clickier than a pure one piece forged blade, however the difference is very minor, which is impressive considering the irons are a two-piece construction.
The feel at impact is very satisfying indeed. Titanium feels hot on drivers and unsurprisingly it feels hot on these irons too.
We hit a whole host of different shots with the Ti Fusions and we can confirm the feel remains really consistent from across the face, which surprised us considering the refined profile.
Typically with player's irons the feel is severely diminished from toe or heel strikes but that's not the case with Ti Fusion.
The sensation at impact is deep, solid and altogether enjoyable, which is exactly what we were hoping for from a set of irons that costs over £2,000.
Callaway Apex Ti Fusion Performance and Forgiveness
When it comes to analysing the performance of a players iron, one thing above all the rest is key, and that is consistency.
During our testing of the Ti Fusions, we were primarily using a 7-iron, much like most golfers would use in a fitting. Both myself and our Equipment Editor Alex Lodge hit a variety of shots and found that we were able to consistently hit our ideal spin rates and carry distances again and again.
You can see Alex's performance data above, and with his spin hovering consistently around the 7k rpm mark, he was able to achieve ideal stopping power, which in turn meant holding lots of greens.
Neither myself nor Alex were fit into the stock steel shaft the Ti Fusion comes in which is a Dynamic Gold S300 in 100g, however we both found that despite having different swing speeds, we were able to achieve excellent results with the irons.
Whether we were trying to flight it down or turn the ball in either direction, the irons were receptive and responsive, which is a trait that's highly valuable in a players iron.
From across the face, performance remained remarkably stable, and although there were inevitable drop offs in carry distance from poor strikes, we only saw a loss of between 4-8 yards, which is very impressive from a club with such a compact profile.
While the performance of these irons is certainly impressive, they do cost roughly £600 more than their direct competitors like the TaylorMade P770s or the Titleist T100 irons.
Now, the addition of titanium is obviously why the price is higher, but does it really improve performance enough to justify it? In our eyes it's a no. The Ti Fusion irons are fantastic, but in today's game price is a big factor, and unfortunately they just aren't £600 better than the irons we have previously mentioned.
Should you buy the Callaway Apex Ti Fusion Irons?
This is a tough one, as if you've got this far you know that the big trade off with these irons is price.
If you're in the market for a set from 4-PW, the Ti Fusion irons will set you back £2,170 with most online retailers, and for us that's just too much when compared to other option on the market.
Do these irons feel and perform well, absolutely. Do they look amazing, we believe so. So, if you do have deep pockets and you're looking for a premium set of irons, these certainly won't disappoint, however if you wan't to upgrade your irons and you don't want to spend more than you have to, we would recommend looking elsewhere.