This is Golfer Geeks’ 2024 Callaway Apex MB irons review.
I am a scratch golfer, an avid amateur tournament player, former club fitter, and a tinker of all things golf for the past decade.
I tested the 2024 Apex MBs on the range and on the course for three (3) rounds to write this review.
Summary: These are solid irons for a lower handicap player (say 0 – 2) with impeccable ball striking. They’re incredibly workable, but not very forgiving. These may be for you if you are dialed in with your irons. Distance with these MBs falls short of what you would expect. Bring some clubhead speed as you get no help from these irons.
In this review of the 2024 Callaway Apex MB irons, I discuss my experience with the clubs, unique features and benefits, customer reviews and potential alternatives.
- Superb workability
- Great feel in short irons
- Beautiful clubs
- Extremely demanding - Big distance loss with minor mishits
- Harsh & Clicky long irons
- Pricey
Apex MB Overview & Why you should Consider them
These are traditionally lofted irons as expected of an entrant into this category. Callaway says they created these irons “for the absolute best in the game” and that is no marketing ploy, it is a fact.
Everything an elite player is looking for in an iron is built into the new Apex MBs. Workability, shot shaping, creativity, and precision abound in the MBs.
Features
Forged– Proprietary process for crafting a single piece of forged 1025 carbon steel club head for that distinctive feel.
Progressive CG – A variable center of gravity delivers height to the long iron shots (from a lower CG) and spin control to the short iron shots (from a higher CG).
Dynamic Sole Design– Decreases loss of club head speed through the turf and promotes consistent distances.
If you are replacing a set of irons where a dime could cover the wear pattern on the face then these are for you. Otherwise, reconsider these and read our review of the CBs.
Set Tested: 4-10 Iron Set Men Right Hand
Shaft: Project X 6.5 Steel
MENS 2024 APEX MB SPECS
Club | Loft | Available | Length | Lie | Offset (MM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#3 | 20.5° | RH / LH | 39.00″ | 60.0° | 2.2 |
#4 | 23° | RH / LH | 38.50″ | 60.5° | 2.1 |
#5 | 26° | RH / LH | 38.00″ | 61.0° | 1.9 |
#6 | 30° | RH / LH | 37.50″ | 61.5° | 1.7 |
#7 | 34° | RH / LH | 37.00″ | 62.0° | 1.5 |
#8 | 38° | RH / LH | 36.50″ | 62.5° | 1.3 |
#9 | 42° | RH / LH | 36.00″ | 63.0° | 1.1 |
#10 (PW) | 46° | RH / LH | 35.75″ | 63.25° | 0.8 |
#11 (AW) | 50° | RH / LH | 35.50″ | 63.5° | 0.6 |
My Experience
Results from well-struck 7-irons on my launch monitor: I’m hitting the MBs in the video above.
Club | Carry | Club Speed | Ball Apeed | Smash Factor | Spin | Launch Angle | Apex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MBs | 175.1 | 97.0 | 124.2 | 1.28 | 6755 | 15.4 | 90 |
P790 (2019) | 182.4 | 98.3 | 127.9 | 1.30 | 6204 | 15.8 | 102 |
ZX7 | 188.9 | 96.2 | 129.0 | 1.34 | 5169 | 15.1 | 96 |
Rounds of golf – 3
Range work – 1 session
Quick Assessment
- Boy, these look good.
- If you can think the shot, you can hit the shot…with a solid strike.
- Good, but not great, distance.
- Poor strikes land two (2) clubs short but still on line.
These are beautiful clubs. From the satin chrome finish, to the crisp lines, to the thin topline, these MBs scream one thing and one thing only—performance. As a better player, that’s the winning combination.
Much like any finely tuned machine, a well-trained operator is needed and these Callaway Apex MBs are no different.
Testing and Full Review
On a wet day, I pulled these out of the box, took the plastic off, hit no range balls, and went to the first tee. After a few breakfast balls with the driver, I was left with a 4 iron into the green for my first swing with the MBs.
Unsurprisingly, I led off with a heel strike and missed the green 10 yards short, but dead on line with the pin.
I put these MBs through the paces by hitting long, mid, and short irons from all situations on the course. I found through my testing, that left/right dispersion was minimal and my misses were online, but always significantly short of my target.
Well-struck balls placed me on the green. Perfectly-struck balls put me in the leather-ish. I found that when I hit the ball at 98%, these MBs were great. When I hit the ball at 93% or less, the result was a missed green short.
Great iron players will love these, but as a guy who gets by with his iron play and makes his hay with the driver and the putter, these MBs asked questions my ball striking could not answer.
Spin from the short irons was off the charts into greens. Long irons had the right of amount spin to hit the green and release only a few feet. I was able to hit any trajectory window I wanted. As expected with a tour caliber blade, all the shots are there with these MBs.
Interestingly, these picked up more than an anticipated bit of distance from flyer lies in the rough and were the only times I came up long in my testing. Fairway bunker shots lost a curious amount of distance.
I found that even with the MB’s dynamic sole design, I had to pick the ball for a clean strike and a positive result. Coming in steep led to a high spinner with a loss of distance. To me, this feature of the club failed to deliver.
Callaway touts the feel of these clubs, but it was not there for me for the full set. Mid and short irons delivered consistently solid feedback. The long irons felt harsh and “clicky”. Even flush shots did not have the feel of a high-end iron you would expect.
As a person who could play these irons, I wouldn’t. The increased workability is simply not worth the tradeoff in distance.
Lower handicap golfers could make excellent use of these MBs in a combo set with the CBs. I would recommend the precision of the MBs at the low end of the bag and the forgiveness of the CBs at the top end.
Full Review
Looks: (A) Sleek and seamless. A true tour iron.
Sound/Feel: (B) I expected the longer irons to have the same buttery feel as the mid and short irons, but I never got that from this set.
Distance: (C) As expected in a traditionally lofted tour iron, these are short. Mildly off-center strikes were noticeably shorter than other competitors.
Forgiveness: (C) Don’t miss.
Flight / Playability: (A+) With the tradeoff in forgiveness, the playability of these irons is off the charts and makes up for the lack of forgiveness if you only miss one iron shot a round.
Value: (B) ~$215/club is high even for irons targeted for the lowest end on the handicap spectrum.
Customer Reviews: Too early to call at Callaway Golf. Of note is that one of the two reviews discusses the use of the MBs in a combo set.
Who are these for?
Callaway created these irons “for the absolute best in the game” and they are right.
Low handicap: (Yes…) But, ONLY if you consistently hit more than 13 greens in a round, these are for you.
Mid handicap: (No) “I play blades” will only lead to you being a high handicapper. Check out some better options here.
High handicap: (No) Only in a video game. Check out some better options here.
Potential Alternatives:
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Most Demanding
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Best All Around
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Best Muscle Back Irons
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Primary Rating:
4.8
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Primary Rating:
5.0
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Primary Rating:
5.0
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~$187/club
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~$171/club
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~$174/club
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Pros:
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Pros:
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Pros:
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Cons:
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Cons:
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Cons:
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Description:
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Description:
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Description:
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- Good Feel
- Accurate & Consistent
- Great Launch & Trajectory
- Player Looks & Profile
- Surprisingly demanding
- Long & Forgiving
- Improved Sound & Feel
- Stable, Accurate & Consistent
- Best Player Iron Value
- Nada
- Great Sound & Feel
- Surprisingly forgiving
- Excellent playability
- Great looking
- Nada
Final Verdict
The 2024 Callaway MBs are a great iron set for only the best ball strikers. (we’re not kidding, here)
I could play these irons, and in fact did play well with them, but I would prefer to have a club that I can miss a little and still get away with the shot. I loved the short irons and tolerated the long irons. These are the perfect clubs to combo set.
My #1 suggestion is to test before you buy. Either at your local golf store or take advantage of Global Golf’s Utry trial program. I use it and recommend it.
Thanks for checking out our 2024 Callaway Apex MB irons review and let us know how they work for you.
- Superb workability
- Great feel in short irons
- Beautiful clubs
- Extremely demanding - Big distance loss with minor mishits
- Harsh & Clicky long irons
- Pricey
