Equipment
Callaway Apex and Apex Pro 16 combo set now available
Most golfers search for trajectory control and consistency in their short irons, and forgiveness and distance in their long irons, right? Sometimes, however, that’s only attainable by combining technologies from different sets of clubs.
That was the case with Callaway’s new Apex and Apex Pro 16 irons. Golfers wanted a seamless way to create a combo set to take advantage of the strengths of each of the iron designs — 360 Cup Face in the long irons (3-7) and a progressive center of gravity (CG) in the short irons (8-PW, AW). The difference in lofts, however, created inconsistent yardage gapping, and different finishes — Satin Chrome (Apex) and Chrome (Apex Pro) — meant the set didn’t match.
Callaway solved those issues with its new Apex 16 Combo Set, now available on its website.
Related: What you need to know about the Apex and Apex Pro 16 irons.
Callaway’s Apex 16 Combo Set aligns lofts between the two different types of irons, and the irons have a uniform Satin Chrome finish throughout the set.
Specs
The longer irons promise higher ball speeds from the Apex’s 360 Cup Face, while the shorter irons offer the more compact head shape of the Apex Pro irons. See what the irons looks like below.
The Apex 16 Combo Sets (3-PW or 4-PW, AW) are available in Steel ($1,199.99) and Graphite ($1,399.99). There’s no stock shaft; consumers/fitters pick from a list of shafts that come with no up-charge.
Equipment
Neal Shipley, AKA, the “Big Fridge’s,” custom stamping
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.

“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
Equipment
From the GolfWRX Classifieds: L.A.B. Purple DF3 with Masters cover
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.

From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Whats in the Bag
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4

3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4

5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4

Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms

Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80

Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105

Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet



Robert
Aug 29, 2016 at 11:38 pm
It’s true about getting the proper frequency slope by tip trimming a parallel shaft. You’d just cut the butt for length. I think it’s a great move by Callaway, but I just wished they planned ahead and offered single club orders. I realize that other manufactures make great irons, but for the weekend warrior (IMHO) you’d be hard pressed to fined a better set than Apex.
Dmarinace
Jun 14, 2016 at 7:18 pm
DO throughout the set seems a bit light.
Bill
Mar 3, 2016 at 6:32 am
Callaway REALLY got it right! This is the perfect set of clubs for a serious player that wants workability, forgiveness and distance in the longer irons— all in an absolutely beautiful forged club. I just ordered mine last week after 6 months of intensive research and testing. The shaft options are very good as well.
patrick
Feb 11, 2016 at 10:17 am
you cant be serious with that hosel size comment stanley. you sir are an idiot.
Jon
Feb 11, 2016 at 2:59 pm
There may be some validity to his comment. The old Apex were parallel and the Apex Pros were taper. Where this conglomeration fits in I can’t comment.
mlecuni
Feb 11, 2016 at 9:36 am
From what i saw on the configurator, there are some upcharges, at least on the steelfiber (+60$)
Ryan
Feb 11, 2016 at 2:50 pm
Steelfibre falls under the graphite option.
stan
Feb 11, 2016 at 8:50 am
Uh are you all dense?
You do realize that you can custom order your own combo set from any manufacturer?
Hell NIKE will let you do this, yet you buy in when Callaway does it?
Keep in mind ALL heads are .370″ means you will get zero real deal quality shafts….
Keep up the great work Callaway!
I will go ahead and order my Mizuno irons whatever head whatever shaft whatever grip combo I want, all real deal quality components, as they have been pushing custom sets and the importance of this for years….
paul
Feb 11, 2016 at 10:19 am
First, the lofts are modified to match up the different sets. Also, these have matching finishes, since the Apex Pro 16 has a chrome finish that wouldn’t match the Apex CF satin finish if you ordered them separately.
Jon
Feb 11, 2016 at 3:01 pm
Dense? I wouldn’t consider myself dense. I prefer obtuse.
Joshuaplaysgolf
Feb 11, 2016 at 6:10 pm
LOL, Jon. Stan is correct, most if not all manufacturers do this, you can hand pick whatever you want in your set. I’ve been blending Titleist sets for years, and it is encouraged.
Jon
Feb 12, 2016 at 10:21 am
Absolutely. A good buddy of mine did the same thing with Titleist. 7-9 MBs, 4-6 CBs, 3 712U. Some day when I blow the dust off of the old wallet I would like to put together a similar set. The problem is, I am having separation anxiety issues with my old Hogan Apex.
Clay
Feb 12, 2016 at 10:47 am
Why people feel the need to criticize the choices of others on the internet I do not know. I assume it is a lack of understanding and people fear what they do not understand so they lash out, or life has left you so full of misery and self loathing that your only release is to insult others and try to make yourself feel superior. I will assume it is the former and try to educate you on why some of us are excited about this release.
Yes you can do this with all manufacturers, I was weighing a mixed apex set against a T-MB/AP2 combo. Unfortunately the new AP2 is not an attractive golf club and with Callaway prior to this release there were two issues, you either had to bend CF16 strong, pro 16 weak, or some combination of the two. In doing so you change the effective bounce of the club and because of the large gap in lofts between the two you were looking at adding or losing between 6* and 9* of bounce assuming a change of 3* bounce per 1* of loft. The only way around this was to play two 6, 7, or 8 irons, one pro and one CF16. Because there is a 3* gap in these clubs you could in theory go 5 & 6 in CF16 and then 6-P in Pro 16, but the idea of carrying two 6, 7, or 8 irons is strange to me.
Also, if you combo the set you have some satin, some chrome, and some of us prefer sets to match, in my case ideally without chrome anywhere on the club head. I personally hate chrome or any form of reflective clubs, if all irons were satin and all woods were matte I would be very happy with that, so thanks Callaway, keep up the great work!
As for shafts you can get Project X which is my shaft of choice and with a parallel shaft an experienced fitter can trim them to frequency match your shafts through the set. KBS also makes the C-taper in .370 so depending on what you like in a shaft there are some solid options. For anyone else you can shim a .355 shaft into a .370 head and there will be no noticeable difference to the player.
So, enjoy your Mizuno’s, they make great sticks. So does Callaway, Nike, Titliest, Tmag, etc. It is personal choice, people spend their money on what they want. If you don’t like it, stfu. You don’t have to play it.
Nolanski
Feb 13, 2016 at 11:27 am
Well said.
tom
Feb 10, 2016 at 10:08 pm
Wish they thought of this a few months ago when I bought the Apex 16’s.
Clay
Feb 10, 2016 at 10:07 pm
Awesome!
Nolanski
Feb 10, 2016 at 6:36 pm
Brilliant!