I know club pros who have beautiful Mizuno/Titleist/Hogan, etc. blades that display the scars of many rounds and I'm guessing that it doesn't affect their playability.

Personally, I select clubs on how well they look at address and how well they perform, not "wear resistancy" since I think most quality clubs will last a lifetime unless you abuse them.

The AP1s are cast from 431 stainless steel versus the AP2s, which are forged from softer 1025 carbon steel. So theoretically, I would think that the AP1s should be more "wear resistant".

That said, both irons have only been out for a couple of months, which I don't think is enough time to make an accurate determination of "wear resistancy". Personally, I have yet to replace an iron due to wear, although I think my trusty 60-degree lob wedge is starting to get there.

Love the hole designs. One of my favorites to play in Ohio. For you ohioans, if you could take Sevne HIlls CC's greens conditions and put them at LM you would have your 5 stars.

Anyways love the course, def worth it if you get the chance to play it.

Excellent review! Bravo!

I've been playing the AP1s for almost two months and your review matches my thoughts to the tee.

Like you, I was down to a 17.4 last Fall; however, my swing went south and I went back up to a 22. After a couple of lessons and much practice/playing with my AP1s, I'm glad to say that my handicap is quickly dropping again.

After I first demoed the AP1s and AP2s against my 755s I decided to stick it out with my 755s. However, after consulting with my instructor/fitter he highly recommended that the AP1s would be better suited to my current game. He was right. The AP1s require a lot less work to get accuracy and distance control. I now have a lot more confidence with my AP1s vs the 755s and that's half the battle.

I'd like to add that in the looks department, the AP1s do not have as much visible offset as many of the game improvement clubs and this helps make it easier to get used to the slightly thicker topline. Now that I'm used to them, the slightly bigger head/topline provides a stable and powerful frame behind the ball.

A few years back I briefly defected from Titleist to the Mizuno MX-900s. While they were beautiful and great feeling irons, they always felt a bit clunky and had a lot of visible offset(especially the 7 through 3 hybrid-type irons). Additionally, high/ballooning shots seemed to be the default. I never got used to them and went back to my Titleist 704CBs, followed by the 755s and now the AP1s.

As the saying goes, "Golf is a journey not a destination" and as an "aspiring golfer" I'm extremely happy that the journey has taken me thus far to the AP1s!

To anyone worried about this not being a "player's club": The AP2's are in my view phenomenally forgiving (compared to the DCI 990s I played before) while still maintaining an attractive feel and ball flight. Also, they do indeed look very different, i.e. more "classic", once set up over the ball IRL, as compared to images online.

Finally, the importance of getting the correct shaft cannot be overestimated. Have just realized I've wasted 9 years of my golfing life by playing the wrong shaft flex (regular).