Ben Hogan Golf enjoys a long history of producing irons that have attracted golfers for their feel and quality. They also have a past filled with irons that many think would be a bit too difficult to enjoy the Hogan experience properly. Last season’s release of the ICON irons certainly hit on that point. In the late ’80s, a different iron for the Hogan brand came to fruition, one that would provide more forgiveness without sacrificing the signature feel, those of course, being the original Edge. Today, Ben Hogan Golf Company offers their latest model of this line, the Edge EX.
Edge EX comes as a refresh to the latest Edge irons, which hit the market in 2018. After looking at the early images, it’s nice to see how this iron fits in nicely with the other irons in the Hogan stable. We get the classic Ben Hogan signature across the back with the sunburst logo out near the toe, mimicking what we see on the PTx Pro, just in a larger size. Gone is the textured badging, and instead we get to enjoy an iron that employs that classic Hogan appearance.
On the technology front, we get what Hogan Golf refers to as a floating face. This technology ties in nicely with the appearances mentioned above. A majority of the mass has been removed from behind the hitting area and pushed to the outer edges. Thus creating a perception that the face is “floating” between the toe, heel, and sole. I imagine this perception comes into play if you are coming from ICON. Because that bulk of mass has been repositioned to the outer rims, we get an open cavity with plenty of perimeter weighting. Along with that comes what you might have already expected, a larger effective hitting area, which means more forgiveness.
While I am not a fan of the term, yes, these are game-improvement irons, which means the top line is thicker, the blade length will be longer, and the offest more prevalent. Edge EX will also have a larger head size than the PTx Pro irons.
We talked about the shifting of weight around the perimeter, but there has also been a good amount of weight pushed low and deep to boost launch conditions. As one might have guessed, with that type of construction comes stronger lofts. Each club is 2° stronger than the previous version; however, Edge EX maintains consistent four degrees gapping throughout the set in true Hogan fashion. Lofts start at 20° for the 4-iron and end at 44° for the PW.
The V-Sole that we have come accustomed to from previous releases is also still part of the package. V-Sole combines a high bounce leading edge with a lower bounce trailing edge, giving players extraordinary turf interaction throughout the set.
Ben Hogan Edge EX irons are here to provide that forged feel synonymous with the brand while still providing plenty of forgiveness for the golfer who desires/requires it. For the golfer who has long wanted that classic Ben Hogan iron in their bag, but feared they did not have the proper game to do so, the Edge EX irons should be a welcome sight.
More information on the Ben Hogan Edge EX irons can be found at www.benhogangolf.com.
The Details
Available: Coming soon
Cost: $620-$800
Shafts: KBS Tour V, KBS Tour 90
True Temper Dynamic Gold
UST Mamiya Recoil 760/780
Good stuff, dude.
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Listen up Hogan!!! Don’t want to spend $105/club and have to replace sh1t grips. Inexcuseable and you’re losing sales..
Believe me, they’ve heard it for at least 2yrs
I have replaced all of mine. Those standard grips are not the ones for me.
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Absolutely love em. ?
I will pick up a 52° CBX2 soon as well. I had a Cleveland Smart Sole SW, I’m gonna game it for a while. My OCD might kick in and I will have to grab a 56° CBX2 to finish the set?!
Get the CBX 56 deg full face. It replaced a Hogan special sand wedge I’ve been using for 40 some years.
Forgive me as I’m just getting back into the game after several years off, so I’m not up to date on the different types of grips available. Are you saying you want to re-grip these because in the heat and humidity they become slippery? I’ve noticed the last couple of times I’ve played (very hot and humid here in the Southeast) that the grips sometimes seem wet and slippery.
Yes sir. The stock Lamkin grips don’t have a lot of traction to them. A very basic rubber design. I normally use a corded grip because of the heat and humidity here in North Carolina.
Good point. I had the original Apex Edge 2 piece irons and they rusted along the seam inside the cavity. Awesome irons but they did pick up and hold dirt and moisture….
I actually had my 9 iron slide out of my glove hand somehow in the downswing the other day. Was the weirdest feeling.
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Initial reaction?
Look good. Thickish top line like I would have expected. Pretty nice shape though. Can’t wait to see how they perform.
I would have to believe the EDGE EX 4 iron being more forgiving than the UiHi 4-22° utility iron. The UiHi utilities are one of the smallest on the market and is roughly just a fraction bigger than the PTx Pro irons.
Looks: Yeah they are more on the "chunky" side, but nothing really obscene to my eye. After the first hole, I really didn’t think about the size once.
Sound: On some shots, I was getting somewhat of a hollow sound to them. One particular 8-iron shot stands out in my mind. I feel like the ball was struck well, ended up with 15 feet for birdie(which I missed because I still can’t putt). The flight was high with a touch of draw. I noticed it a few other times as well, but that one really stands out.
Turf interaction yesterday was really poor. Not blaming these, as I mentioned conditions were not great. Out of the rough, I was hoping they’d cut through a bit more than they did.
Back in the early 2000’s I had a set of the two piece Apex Edge irons that these look a lot like the new EX’s. Interested to know how they compare performance wise…..
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I ordered a demo of the Edge EX irons and got a 7 iron with KBS stiff shaft. Pulled it out and did some comparison pictures to my existing Hogan Apex Edge irons circa 2003.
Side by side…
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The Edge EX is very similar in look and dimension to my Apex Edges. A bit more weight in the bottom of the face on the EX’s. Below is the EX on the top.
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Very similar face length. The EX’s looks a bit smaller but I think that has a lot to do with the satin finish vs. the polished surfaces on the Apex Edge’s. From the back…
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At address a little less offset on the EX irons, but again, I think the satin finish shows there being less offset than there is…EX on the right.
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EX on the right again.
Started raining when I took these pics so the range may have to wait until tomorrow. Very excited to try this new iron!
Can’t wait to hear the comparison. I regret getting rid of mine way back when….
Took the demo EX 7 iron to the range last night with my Apex Edge set and had a nice time hitting balls. I had a lesson on Tuesday and spent that time working on a couple of things my instructor focused on. After warming up I pulled my current 7 iron and the EX 7 and hit several with each and here are my observations.
The EX is long. A full 15 yards longer than my Apex Edges. Not surprising given the difference in loft. Very high ball flight and a steep descent angle on the EX. Definitely looked a bit more compact at address than my Apex 7 iron even though holding them side by side does bear this out. I think it has a lot to do with the brushed finish on the EX vs. the shiny bits on the Apex Edge.
I could definitely feel the mass of the head on the EX. Paired with the KBS Tour shaft on it I found it difficult to feel the position of the clubhead when swinging. It didn’t impact my ball striking, but I did notice it. I have the original Apex steel shafts on my Apex set currently. If I am to buy a set, I think graphite would be my choice in shafts.
Hits felt soft and solid with a somewhat deeper and more hollow sound than the Apex iron. Not displeasing in any way to me but I must confess I don’t put a lot of stock into how a golf club sounds unless it sounds like the voice of my ex-wife. Mishits flew straight and got good distance.
Below is the club at address:
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I’m really stuck on whether or not to pick up a set of these… I liked them quite a bit but not sure I am seeing a great deal of benefit vs my current set. I have had them selected and in my cart a half a dozen times on the Hogan website. Maybe I’ll get a tester in graphite to try out but by the time that happens the price will have gone up if what I read on the forum is correct.
Notes: All of these opinions and observations were made by a 24 handicapper, hitting from plastic mats without the aid of launch monitoring equipment.
Dam the edge irons look alot thicker than the ptx pros. I wasn’t expecting it to be that much bigger
The EDGE EX are definitely GI irons. Comparing the 2 irons, PTx Pro are a players iron. So, it’s like comparing Apex Pro to Apex DCB
they are bigger. TBH though, once on the course, there isn’t anything looking down on them that truly puts me off.