With the exception of a few sets here and there during the time I worked at a golf shop in high school and the year I spent with my Ping S59’s, I have always carried Wilson irons in my bag. In fact, it’s always been Wilson irons and wedges for as long as I can really recall playing the game. From my first set of 1989 Wilson Staff Fluid Feels to my FG100’s, they have always just felt perfect in my hands and played extremely well for me on the course. You see, back when I started playing golf in 1989, we used to visit our local driving range about once a week. It was this little hole in the wall place called Christie’s in Federal Way. It was a little 250 yard driving range that was surrounded by a par 3 pitch and putt. There were far more modern driving ranges around, but there was something about walking in to that old pro shop and seeing the owner smiling behind the counter that made us want to be there. That range is the place that I fell in love with bladed irons and the entire reason why I still play Wilson to this day. Of course, had a few things gone a bit different, I may not have ended up getting my beloved Fluid Feels and picked up something a bit different – and that’s where this story begins.
Back at Christies, they had some pretty amazing “new” clubs on the shelf, but even back in the day, my first glance was always the used club rack. As much as I loved the sparkle of new chrome, I knew the reality of hitting that first rock in a bunker or taking a nasty chunk out of the sole when you play that punch shot from the trees, so ‘new’ wasn’t something I needed to have in my bag. That said, the late 80’s and early 90’s was such a gorgeous time for club makers. Wilson had their Fluid Feel blades and the Gooseneck irons. Tommy Armour released the classic 845’s, Ping was dominating the industry with the Ping Eye 2’s and other manufacturers were coming out with clubs that turned heads, but for some, like the Cleveland VAS, it was for the wrong reasons. One brand that carried the name of one of the greatest golfers of all time was also continuing to kick out some of the best looking designs on the planet – Ben Hogan Golf. In 1988, Hogan produced the Apex iron, which to this day is still one of the cleanest, most simple, gorgeous designs of all time. A classic muscle back, with a thin top line and virtually no offset. I remember them clearly sitting next to the Wilson Gooseneck irons that also found a home in my Dad’s bag back in the day. I remember hitting those Apex’s, then the Staff’s, then the Apex’s again, then the Staff’s again, not being able to truly choose what ‘felt’ better. I hit them for about a month, just a few balls per range session, before the Wilson’s really established themselves as the club that I really had to have. Of course, coming up with the $400 that the blades were marked at as a Sophomore in high school was going to be next to impossible, but I was bound and determined to do it. By now you may be wondering what all of this has to do with today, and well, that’s a great question.
Hogan Golf all but died in 2003 when Callaway Golf purchased the brand and its assets. The assets are really the reason Callaway wanted to purchase the group, and for a measly $125 million, wouldn’t you have wanted to have the names, “Top-Flite” “Strata” and “Ben Hogan” in your golf library? Strangely, Callaway has revitalized the Top-Flite brand and done some great department store branding under the Strata label, but they left virtually every Hogan memory behind. By 2008, Hogan Golf was nothing but a name that came up in conversations among golfers that may have had a set or tried a set at one time in their lives. Callaway had rebranded the Apex line as a Callaway club and shoved the Hogan name into a deep dark corner of the room. This all changed in 2012 when Perry Ellis, yes the clothing company, purchased the Ben Hogan name from Callaway, primarily to manufacture apparel. Then came 2014, when Ellis licensed the rights to club making to Terry Koehler and the real fun began. In 2015, Koehler released a new Hoganesque design, the Fort Worth 15, which was followed quickly by the PTx irons. Various other hybrids, driving irons and wedges have followed, but the 15’s and the PTx’s were definitely irons worthy of going in any player’s bag.
The new Ben Hogan golf has not had a great deal of luck out of the gate, even declaring bankruptcy in early 2017, but they have once again risen from the ashes and are currently offering two incredibly beautiful iron sets, a stunning driving iron, a stellar hybrid option and some of the best wedge grinds available today. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time or energy to order up the demo package that they have available – it’s $20 in shipping back and forth (plus a $250 hold on your credit card) to test out a 6 and 9 iron in either model, or the utility iron or hybrid – and you can demo them on the course or at the range for almost 2 full weeks. You will need to make sure to send them back within that 14 day window or your card will get charged for them, but you basically have a full week with them to hit balls and get a feel for them. It’s really a great program since they aren’t available at local stores.
Now, you may be wondering why this “Wilson Guy” is writing up so much about the new Hogan irons… And to that I say, this blog is all about getting more bang for your golfing buck and I believe that the two offerings from Ben Hogan Golf are seriously great values. When you compare the cost of my FG100’s to the cost of the Fort Worth irons, you are saving almost $350 going with the Hogan’s. When you compare the Titleist 718 T-MB ($1750) or the Callaway Apex MB ($1300) to them, you save even more. While $650 for a set of irons is hardly a “value” concept, when you think about the long term investment of a quality set of clubs that can be custom fit to your specs, $125 a year for 5 years of use isn’t all that tough to swallow. In fact, It begins to look like an even better value long term when you work in the 3 for $240 wedge deal.
Now, the question probably begs to be answered, “Would I play the new Hogan irons?” I have to say that I’m in a space right now that I am in my 3rd season with my FG100’s, so I am still at about $350 a year in value on those clubs, so I would probably not pick up a set for myself due to the fact that investment wise, I’m still paying for my FG100’s. That said, if it was time to start looking, say 2 years down the road, and these were an option, you could bet that I would be ordering that demo setup yesterday to try them out. They look absolutely stunning and both irons have great benefits. The Ft. Worth look to be a bit more ‘blade like’ and the PTx are designed to give a bit more help getting the ball in the air. Either way, both are a bit of a player’s iron, and both would look very nice in a new Hogan bag on my shoulder. Hopefully by the time I’m ready to “reclub” I have the option of trying them but I have a feeling Wilson will have something new to replace my beloved FG100’s by then anyway. Still, if you are in the market, hit up www.benhogangolf.com and check out their offerings.
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