Callaway’s Apex 2021 irons are getting the dark finish treatment. Designed around the same technology found in the standard Apex, the new Apex Black (4-AW) features a Black Plasma PVD finish on the 1025 mild carbon steel body.
The knock on black finishes in the past has been a lack of wear resistance. The irons look nice initially, but the finish eventually wears away after minimal use. Thanks to new manufacturing processes, the finish on these irons is specifically designed to withstand regular use.
Aside from the coolness factor, the dark finish on Callaway’s Apex Black offers a few more practical benefits, helping reduce glare while also making the iron look visually smaller at address.
Outside of a color change, the Apex Black still feels and performs like the original. A reimagined Artificial Intelligence-designed Flash Face Cup structure optimizes launch, spin and forgiveness for each iron in the set. It should be noted only the 4- through 9-iron feature the Flash Face Cup; the pitching wedge and gap wedge have a solid face plate.
Housed just behind the cup face, in the lower half of the head, slugs of tungsten positioned in the center, middle and toe serve a dual purpose, mitigating distance loss and increasing launch, especially on off-center strikes that tend to miss low on the face. (An average of 48.5 grams of tungsten can be found in the 4- through 9-iron.)
Proprietary urethane microspheres were also added between the face and tungsten to deliver a solid sound and feel at impact. A more subtle change is a refined sole design to enhance turf interaction. Golfers will also notice Callaway kept the lofts static across the board when compared to the 19 version.
Callaway’s Apex Black irons ($215 per club/steel; $229 per club/graphite) will be available Sept. 30 and come standard with True Temper’s Elevate MPH 95 Black steel and UST’s Recoil Dart Black 75 graphite. Additional steel custom options are available at no upcharge and other graphite options are available as custom offerings.
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