AP2 like irons

[Tommy_Boy14]

Looking for new irons and one of the first sets I hit was AP2 and hit them really well. Since then, I haven't been as pleased with them (maybe it's just me not putting great swings on them) but I hit the callaway rogue pro's the other day and fell in love with them. However, upon doing some review searching and youtube review watching I came to find out that they are far stronger than I would like in an iron and not forged.  With that being said I have no brand bias but I am looking for something that more fits in the AP2 category (normal lofts, blade look to them with some forgiveness nothing like the Titleist MB's, forged, something a single digit handicapper would play)  I'm just looking for ideas of things to hit the next time I have some time to get out and try out some new irons.  I hit the P770 and P790's and wasnt overly impressed with them honestly 790's were nice but again too strong for me and the 770's just didnt feel as nice to me.  I also hit the Ping i200 and hated them, I thought they were really hard even on the perfect swings.

 

 

Thanks!!

[Grinde6]

I have heard quite a few good things about the Ping i500 iron.  Many people like them, but remember...most of these non-blade irons are strong lofts with high launch.  Sure its fun to hit a 7 iron 190 yards, but most of the time that leads to big gaps toward the bottom of the bag.  You say you don't want MB's "something a single digit handicapper would play" but I see on your profile you are a 6 handicap.  You could easily play MB's, but they are "normal" lofts so they wont go as far as these stronger lofted clubs that have come out recently.

[Typhoon92]

Since I have a set of Ping ie-1 irons...I was going to suggest the i200.  I saw where you said they felt hard.  They are 431 stainless, same as my ie1 irons and they feel soft.  Not like a mb forged iron, but not like cast.  

I'm curious if you hit them inside or outside and what kind of balls.

I've hit the p790 inside with non tour balls and they felt like crap.  Outside...different ballgame.  Sometimes it's sound not feel...that happens inside.  If you did hit inside, try outside and see if it's better.

 

[Tommy_Boy14]

8 minutes ago, Grinde6 said:

I have heard quite a few good things about the Ping i500 iron.  Many people like them, but remember...most of these non-blade irons are strong lofts with high launch.  Sure its fun to hit a 7 iron 190 yards, but most of the time that leads to big gaps toward the bottom of the bag.  You say you don't want MB's "something a single digit handicapper would play" but I see on your profile you are a 6 handicap.  You could easily play MB's, but they are "normal" lofts so they wont go as far as these stronger lofted clubs that have come out recently.

For me the issue with the MB's is the offset... When my game is on its really on and I'm hitting all my shots as pure as can be but my worry is when its a little off am I really going to be punished with the MB's because they offer so little forgiveness? Or am I just totally wrong about that?  I'm going back today to hit the AP2's again, like I said I hit them really well the first time around and not so well the other few but I'm going to chalk that up to me not swinging well and not the clubs not being right for me.  What I really like about the AP2's is the look of them, the offset as well as that forgiveness they offer with still being a club that tour pros would use (not that I'm a tour pro but I'm also not the kind of golfer whose looking for max distance and max forgiveness in a club)

6 minutes ago, Typhoon92 said:

Since I have a set of Ping ie-1 irons...I was going to suggest the i200.  I saw where you said they felt hard.  They are 431 stainless, same as my ie1 irons and they feel soft.  Not like a mb forged iron, but not like cast.  

I'm curious if you hit them inside or outside and what kind of balls.

I've hit the p790 inside with non tour balls and they felt like crap.  Outside...different ballgame.  Sometimes it's sound not feel...that happens inside.  If you did hit inside, try outside and see if it's better.

 

I hit them inside with ProV1's.  I liked the feel of the P790's they're just too strong for me and my distance gapping will be wayyy off with them.  The rogue pros same thing they felt great and sounded great to me again they're just too strong for my and gapping would be off.  Maybe when I go back to hit the AP2's again today I'll give the i200's another go and chalk it up to my swing and not the clubs 

[Groucho Valentine]

The AP2 models have becoming increasingly more difficult to hit with every refresh IMO. The newest model (718 i think) are pretty much an elite skill level players iron. Im a pretty decent ballstriker and found myself struggling with those in their stock DG shaft when i demoed them for a couple rounds. Especially anything above the 8 iron. The ease of use of the longer irons were the real beauty of the AP2's and now i feel like that is gone a little bit. 

I dont know which model you're using, but the 714 model AP2 (from my experience) was the best blend of playability and forgivingness in that line.  I dont know which model you were using, but perhaps you can try some of the older ones. A friend of mine uses the Mizuno JPX forged irons, and likes them alot. He's a 4 or 5 handi i think. 

[Tommy_Boy14]

1 minute ago, Groucho Valentine said:

The AP2 models have becoming increasingly more difficult to hit with every refresh IMO. The newest model (718 i think) are pretty much an elite skill level players iron. Im a pretty decent ballstriker and found myself struggling with those in their stock DG shaft when i demoed them for a couple rounds. Especially anything above the 8 iron. The ease of use of the longer irons were the real beauty of the AP2's and now i feel like that is gone a little bit. 

I dont know which model you're using, but the 714 model AP2 (from my experience) was the best blend of playability and forgivingness in that line.  I dont know which model you were using, but perhaps you can try some of the older ones. A friend of mine uses the Mizuno JPX forged irons, and likes them alot. He's a 4 or 5 handi i think. 

I hit the 718 AP2's and the first time I hit them I crushed them and I was ready to leave and go buy them right then and there (I'm actually getting used irons from callawaygolfpreowned.com) so they would be the 716 version.  Then my local pro convinced me to go try a few others first before getting them and I just haven't found anything I liked as much as the AP2's when I hit them well other than a few sets that were too strong for my liking 

[Adam C]

Would try some Mizuno JPX, if you want great feeling, forged players clubs, that stop short of pure blades. I have always preferred Mizuno feel to that of Titleist, but it's all personal.

I would say however that having worked in the business for many years and having fit many golfers of all skills, nobody ever returns clubs with the complaint that they are too easy to hit.

Also I wouldn't be so concerned about cast vs forged. If you like the look and feel, who cares. Most people don't realize that all those Titleist Vokey and Cleveland wedges aren't forged, they're cast.

[Grinde6]

12 minutes ago, Tommy_Boy14 said:

I hit the 718 AP2's and the first time I hit them I crushed them and I was ready to leave and go buy them right then and there (I'm actually getting used irons from callawaygolfpreowned.com) so they would be the 716 version.  Then my local pro convinced me to go try a few others first before getting them and I just haven't found anything I liked as much as the AP2's when I hit them well other than a few sets that were too strong for my liking 

I found a "used" set of the '18 Callaway Apex MB combo set.  7-PW Apex MB and the 4-6 is the X-Forged.  I love this set.  I had a set of the Mizuno JPX-850 Forged that I traded in for them because I wanted to go back to more of a blade iron.  They are less forgiving, but it seems like I still get the distance out of poor struck shots.  That feeling when you hit one pure with these is unlike anything else though.  I lost maybe 10 yards or so from the Mizunos, but the loft of the 7 iron on the Callaway is 32* vs 34* in the Mizuno.  Give them a try, you might like them and especially more of a combo set.

[dbuck]

Callaway Apex Pro 16

Mizuno JPX 900 Tour

Both of these should be comparable in specs and forgiveness. I did not look them up on Maltby, but did look at their respective websites and the lofts are very similar to AP2's

[Tommy_Boy14]

1 hour ago, Tommy_Boy14 said:

Looking for new irons and one of the first sets I hit was AP2 and hit them really well. Since then, I haven't been as pleased with them (maybe it's just me not putting great swings on them) but I hit the callaway rogue pro's the other day and fell in love with them. However, upon doing some review searching and youtube review watching I came to find out that they are far stronger than I would like in an iron and not forged.  With that being said I have no brand bias but I am looking for something that more fits in the AP2 category (normal lofts, blade look to them with some forgiveness nothing like the Titleist MB's, forged, something a single digit handicapper would play)  I'm just looking for ideas of things to hit the next time I have some time to get out and try out some new irons.  I hit the P770 and P790's and wasnt overly impressed with them honestly 790's were nice but again too strong for me and the 770's just didnt feel as nice to me.  I also hit the Ping i200 and hated them, I thought they were really hard even on the perfect swings.

 

 

Thanks!!

I guess I should have maybe included this in here too right now I play the Nike VR Split cavity irons and am looking for something that is in line with the specs and look of those as well (probably everything everyone has suggested is in line with what I play now and what I'm looking for really appreciate all the advice everyone is giving BTW y'all are amazing)

[colin007]

What about the Titleist CBs? According to the Maltby rating they're even more forgiving than the AP2s

[Tommy_Boy14]

2 minutes ago, colin007 said:

What about the Titleist CBs? According to the Maltby rating they're even more forgiving than the AP2s

Definitely not against giving them a go, mostly just out here looking for suggestions on what to hit that is sort of in line with what I play now and looking for peoples feedback on if they have them in the bag or not, how they hold up and how they have liked them so far

[colin007]

14 minutes ago, Tommy_Boy14 said:

Definitely not against giving them a go, mostly just out here looking for suggestions on what to hit that is sort of in line with what I play now and looking for peoples feedback on if they have them in the bag or not, how they hold up and how they have liked them so far

Have you seen them? They're even more classic looking than the AP2s, just gorgeous clubs. Give them a shot. 

[allenc]

4 hours ago, Tommy_Boy14 said:

Looking for new irons and one of the first sets I hit was AP2 and hit them really well. Since then, I haven't been as pleased with them (maybe it's just me not putting great swings on them) but I hit the callaway rogue pro's the other day and fell in love with them. However, upon doing some review searching and youtube review watching I came to find out that they are far stronger than I would like in an iron and not forged.  With that being said I have no brand bias but I am looking for something that more fits in the AP2 category (normal lofts, blade look to them with some forgiveness nothing like the Titleist MB's, forged, something a single digit handicapper would play)  I'm just looking for ideas of things to hit the next time I have some time to get out and try out some new irons.  I hit the P770 and P790's and wasnt overly impressed with them honestly 790's were nice but again too strong for me and the 770's just didnt feel as nice to me.  I also hit the Ping i200 and hated them, I thought they were really hard even on the perfect swings.

 

 

Thanks!!

Get the Rogue Pros.  Some online reviewer said something negative about them?  The most important reviewer loves them.

[Tommy_Boy14]

5 minutes ago, allenc said:

Get the Rogue Pros.  Some online reviewer said something negative about them?  The most important reviewer loves them.

My issue with them is they're far too strong for me, doing the math in my head the distance gapping for them would be too far apart for my liking and I would find myself, far too often, in between clubs on a majority of my shots

[Foot Wedge]

Have you considered the Wilson Staff Tour V6 irons?  My friend has the V4's, is about the same handicap as you, and loves them.  Player's cavity back with a classic profile, traditional lofts (34 or 35* 7-iron) and they have tungsten plugs in the soles of the longer irons to add a bit of forgiveness and help with launching the long irons.

I'd love to game these, but don't quite have the ballstriking for them.

[The_60_degree]

At the moment I use cobra amp forged irons. I bought them second hand and after hitting my mizuno mx 200s against them, I found them to be softer, longer and more forgiving. They're not that strong as the 7 is 33*. I would have a look at the the most recent cobra irons as they are forged and have a nice thin top line and have no offset. They look very similar to the amp forged. You may also want to look at the mizuno jpx irons as they're forged and are more forgiving than a blade. Overall, I love my irons and I would give the cobras a go. 

[70sSanO]

A lot of years ago I tried the AP1's and really liked them.  I know, a totally different iron.  But I ended up with Wilson Ci irons and they felt very similar.

Just for the sake of it, I looked up the Wilson forged iron, FG Tour V6 and there are reviews and a comparison to the 718 AP2.  The FG 7 iron is 35* compared to 34* AP2.  If you want weaker lofts, it might be worth looking into them.

John