The Apex franchise has long been a successful business for Callaway Golf. The 2024 MB, CB and Pro models all scored well in our testing earlier this year, but in this review I’ll be looking at the new Apex Ai300 irons to see if they can be among the best irons of 2024.
The Apex Ai300 (left) and the Ai200 (right)
(Image credit: Future)
In terms of technology, Callaway offers a forged hollow body combined with a forged 455 face, strategically positioned MIM weights and a dynamic sole design to provide improved turf interaction and offer more forgiveness through the ground. With a 7-iron loft of 29˚, the Ai300 is a very distance-oriented iron, but its dimensions make it clear that it wants to compete with some of the best game improvement irons in the game.
(Image credit: Future)
From a visual perspective, the Ai300 looks extremely refined and premium in terms of shelf appeal, and hides some more “game-improving” features in the playing position. There is a very pronounced offset that many will like, and the top edge certainly lets you know you have a lot of mass to work with. The entire Apex family offers a real uniformity in terms of aesthetics this time around, so much so that as a tester you sometimes actually have to look pretty closely to know which iron model you are selecting!
(Image credit: Future)
In terms of performance, they rival some of the other big names in the game improvement iron category like the Ping G730 or TaylorMade Qi irons, offering predictably strong distances and a nice, lively feel at impact. Despite the strong lofts, they are very easy to launch and the redesigned sole provides a nice, smooth turf interaction.
I noticed a fairly predominant left bias during testing, which could be due to the significantly larger offset than I am used to, but this will please many high handicap players who struggle with right-handed misses.
(Image credit: Future)
In my review of the Ai200, the sister model to this iron, I stressed that I found this particular model to be somewhat redundant and that I don’t think Callaway needs two models to bridge the gap between the Apex Pro and Ai Smoke irons. That’s because I think the Ai300 irons do that job perfectly well on their own.
The game-improving performance paired with a more sophisticated look than Ai Smoke represents the perfect transition between Apex Pro and Ai Smoke for me, and anyone looking to upgrade their game improvement set should take a close look at the Apex Ai300. One thing that might temper my opinion of the Ai200 model is that those who prefer a slightly more elegant look in the short irons could create a really nice combo set with the two Apex Ai models.
(Image credit: Future)
The Apex Ai300 irons will be available at a suggested retail price of $1400/£1199 for a 7-piece set with irons ranging from 4 to A Wedge. The standard steel shaft will be a Dynamic Gold True Temper Mid 100 and the graphite option will be a UST Recoil Dart 80. The standard grip will be a Golf Pride Z-Grip.
