When the Ben Hogan brand was reborn and introduced its new products to the world in 2015, it garnered quite a bit of attention. After all, the Hogan brand was one that resonated with golf fans. When the Ft. Worth irons were unveiled, they brought back many fond memories; however, they did not exactly look like your father’s Ben Hogan irons. The brand has expanded their irons to multiple lines and finishes, but yet there still wasn’t that full-on classic Ben Hogan blade iron. That all changes today with the announcement of the new ICON irons.
These are your father’s Ben Hogan irons. I can hear my father now when he hears about this release; it will go something like this, “I have a set of those in the basement.” Honestly, he’s not wrong, and he probably has two sets of them. The styling of the ICON irons will likely strike that nostalgic chord with many. Even if you are not a golfer who only dates back to the ’90s, you only need to look at the 1999 Hogan Apex irons to see the resemblance.
Don’t think for one second that these are just a classic remake because Ben Hogan did incorporate some of their modern technology to make these blades a bit friendlier than the ones Mr. Hogan enjoyed playing so much. By looking at the back of the ICON irons, there is some visible movement of mass and center of gravity manipulation taking place. This redistribution is known to the brand as a “Progressive Center of Mass,” and is put in place to help players achieve a consistent and optimal ball flight in both length and trajectory. Similar to what we have seen lately in wedge designs, the scoring clubs have weight higher in the clubhead to help produce a lower ball flight and increased control. In contrast, the mid and long irons have weight positioned lower in the head to accomplish a higher trajectory and more spin.
Featured underneath is the V-Sole, which has become a staple of the Ben Hogan line. For those that are unfamiliar with this design, we see a high-bounce leading edge with a lower-bounce trailing edge to promote forgiveness and prevent digging. Having played clubs with a V-Sole in the past, I can tell you it certainly does help. Not only does contact feel great from the fairway, but it also helps the club cut through the rough, which helps on days when your driver is not cooperating. According to Scott White, Ben Hogan’s CEO, “Serious players can take comfort in knowing that ICON gives them the opportunity to hit their mark on every shot while feeling the satisfying pureness of flush contact.”
If you have gotten to this point, you might have already concluded that the ICON irons are created for the upper echelon of players out there. Blade irons aren’t geared towards golfers looking for a jump in distance or forgiveness. They are there for those who are looking for complete control and consistency. You won’t find a 30? 7-iron here. Instead, Ben Hogan’s loft structure sticks to their tradition, which is a consistent four-degree loft separation with the 4-iron coming in at 22? and the PW sitting at 46?. These more traditional lofts should come as no surprise to anyone considering the mold of these irons.
These ICON irons from Ben Hogan are going to be available in two different finish options, chrome, and back DBM. Chrome will maintain that classic look to them, while the DMB finish has shown to wear well on the Ft. Worth irons, but be aware that after some time, there will be some lightening up on the face and sole. Both finishes are likely to draw some double takes by your playing partners.
As has been the case with the new Ben Hogan brand, their pricing is more wallet-friendly due to their direct to consumer model. Traditionally speaking, when we see a company introduce a new set of blade irons, we are looking at price tags that jump over that $1,000 mark. With Ben Hogan, that is not the case as these come in at a price tag of $770(chrome) and $800(black) for a set of 7 irons. While the direct to consumer model could make it hard to gather some in-hand experiences, Ben Hogan does offer a risk-free demo program. Keep in mind that Ben Hogan entered into a partnership with Club Champion this year, which provides golfers another avenue when it comes to demo and fitting opportunities.
The Details
Price: $770 – Chrome
$800 – Black DBM
Pre-order: Chrome available for pre-order now and Black DBM pre-order TBD
Shafts: No-Upcharge Steel and Graphite Options
More information is available at www.benhogangolf.com
Yes!! I love that club. It’s scary to look down at but man is it fun.
I actually like the look. It’s not trying to disguise itself as a mid iron and doesn’t look like it’s going to go left on me (unless I flip it of course)…..to me the look of them all is confidence inspiring (at least at the moment ?).
Haha. I keep waiting for that oh-crap-I’m-in-over-my-head moment but so far it hasn’t happened and we’re going on a few months already.
Yep….I’m sure I’ll have those days……?
Be interesting when I start tracking with the shotscope.
Today was the first round in a few that I left the course thinking, oh yeah, I’ve found something. Hopefully that feeling stays around for the next round, but we all know how that works haha
I think they’ve done so well with them. I’m leaning towards trying the combo set because I like them so much. Just to give me something a bit friendlier in the longer clubs but still that control and feel/feedback we get from the ICONS.
Loving the 50* Eq wedge too.
Currently have a 54 & 58 in the basket and toying with the UiHi 3 again now I know I’ve no issue with the Tour-V in a long iron
In a thread earlier this week someone asked what your "pure enjoyment" club is and these were easily the answer for me. I love everything about them and I bet I’ve received compliments about them in my last 3 rounds. The look on people’s face is pretty great when I tell them what the price is for a brand new set.
It’s been a pretty rough season score wise for me but the ICON’S have easily been the highlight. I’m constantly surprised by how playable they are for someone like me who doesn’t exactly have the best iron swing. If I could have had any kind of driving game all year I would have shot some pretty dang impressive scores with these in the bag.
The point of this rambling is that the ability to maneuver the ball is pretty effortless. On the flip side on regular shots the ball just wants to go straight for me and I get an impressive account if consistency shot to shot.
And that is all it takes to swap in the ICON’s for next round. Really twisted my arm there .
I should mention it is really easy to swap between the PTx Pro and ICON. Plug and play, I am pretty much playing to the same distances with either set.
Ball flight difference for you at all?
That is honestly a tricky one. Very very similar to my eye. Going off of what I see on course, I’d give the PTx Pro a touch more initial launch angle and maybe even spin too. Maybe a fraction of a degree and a couple hundred rpm. Both reach similar peak heights, I think the ICON might get there a touch flatter and stronger. I may even carry a ICON couple yards further. I have hit some towering shots with both, and that muddies the issue.
I’ve never actually hit them on the same hole on the same day, or on a LM together. I should probably do that . I’ve been carrying either one set or the other on course.
This setup is a ton of fun. Truly.
More spin out of the Pro’s than the ICON’s? That is really interesting.
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I’ve not been on a LM with the ICON, but going off of eye here. I could be wrong. I’ve hit the PTx on a LM and I know they spin a fair amount, medium-high for me, and more than for example my gamers from the last few seasons. I’m just not sure the ICON are actually spinning more. It’s close I think. ICON stopping power is quite good.
How do you feel the forgiveness is between the two?
PTx Pro is the easy choice here. When the ICON start to get sharp in their feedback and results, the PTx still has a measure of OK-ness, that extends a little further. You can get away with more. On a good day if I am hitting the ball well enough, I won’t notice or regret any forgiveness difference. On a bad day, it is more noticeable as the clubs get longer. For me, there is not much functional difference in the short irons, they are both easy to play. I adore the precision of the ICONs in general, especially the short irons.
All this banter has me wanting to hit up a LM to get some data on the topic.
Glad to see this. I got sellers remorse as soon I got payment of my combo set. So when @MSEASU put his DBM Icons up, i jumped on it.
Its out to get reshafted. Installing the PX blackout shafts. Similar ferrules by BB&F. This entire wait is just killing me.
I was wondering who picked those up. Blackout shafts will look great.
The finish holds so well doesn’t it?
Bag Battle – PTx Pro vs. ICON
I stopped by my local golf store, Golf and Ski Warehouse, who were kind enough to lend me some time on GC Hawk. After hitting ZipCore wedges for a while, no one was waiting so I dove into testing some irons. Golf ball is a brand new 2020 Bridgestone TourB X.
Pitching Wedge
The set below were all struck pretty solid, except the 2nd shot with the ICON was a touch fat and lost some ball speed and spin, and the first three with PTx Pro I could have swung harder. I make no account of my 105-107 mph ICON’s @ 135yds carry, other than I get really comfy with the ICON PW in hand and things start grooving ?. The feedback and ball flight is SO nice, there is a purity to it I can’t get enough of.
Pretty similar overall patterns, I was striking the ICON’s better overall and the peak height and descent IMO reflect this. If you drop the fat miss 2nd shot @ 8000 rpm out of the ICON set, spin would be 9549 PTx Pro vs. 9580 ICON, functionally identical. Overall performance and feel either is a gamer but the ICON has the extra blade feel, that "je ne sais quoi". Seriously, the feedback on center is direct, linear, and pure. Others will enjoy the extra forgiveness of the PTx Pro, which still feel great by any measure.
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7-iron
The results I got with 7i today have taken me somewhat aback. I commented that I thought the PTx Pro might be spinning more, and I was kind of referring to the 6i through PW in my original comment. Well, I got more than I bargained for. I have a full 900 rpm more on 7i today . Similar ball speeds, a little more launch and carry with the ICON’s, near identical peak height and descent.
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For reference, I tested the PTx Pro when I first got home from The Graphite Challenge last November, and got a more typical ~6200 number, and the mid-5000’s on the Z-Forged and HMB are historically normal for me. I honestly don’t know where the extra 1k rpm snuck in. I’m probably hitting shallower, but I’m not a stranger to 20* launch with a 7i either. Hmmmm.
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Both of these 7i are very playable for me, and I have no trouble with solid contact. Which brings up…
4-iron
This is where the PTx Pro really separate from the ICON for me. There is just so much more forgiveness and confidence at hand. I honestly will struggle with the ICON 4i for consistency, but I don’t have many whims about the PTx Pro 4i, I look forward to it. What is not shown in the data was how many more pure throwaways there were with the ICON, because I wanted to show what the clubs are capable of more so than what I am not!
First off, check out the 141mph ball speed on the first shot with PTx Pro ?. Man, I love that club. I was not able to hit one as purely with the ICON today. Second, overall distance is similar, but in real play I am more consistent with the PTx Pro and the ball speeds and carry would show it.
I mixed a couple more high fades into the ICON set and that has brought the launch and spin averages up a little. There are also two shots in the middle of the PTx Pro set that were not hit all that squarely (heavy) and the spin and peak height got knocked off those. My gut feel from the course is that the PTx Pro have a touch less spin in the 4i spot, and more raw distance capability. I have always thought the PTx Pro did a great job progressively bringing spin down in the long irons, I love them for that. Retaining that spin and control in the ICON makes sense. Both play really nice, but I would choose the PTx Pro for any round that mattered, purely based on my skill level. I mean, a 35 yard peak height with either 4i off the deck is a GAS, and both do what they should for their intended player.
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Really well done! It surprises the heck out of me that you see more spin with the PTx Pro. I saw a ton of spin with the original PTx but I would expect that result in this comparison. Are you using the same shaft in each?
Custom THP Recoil 110 Proto F4 in the PTx Pro. Tour V 110S in the ICON’s. I’m shocked honesty. Shaft could be some of it, but the change in results from last fall is pretty dramatic. I don’t feel like I’m hitting it that differently.
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The consistency is ridiculous with these things. I know exactly what to expect every time. Well as long as the jackwagon swinging the club does his part ?.
Truth!
Good luck man. Hopefully these shine for you.
I went with the set of ICON Blacks but after seeing the satin finish, I wished I had gone that route. But now since I have decided to add the UiHi 3 in satin, It will stand out so I will know exactly what club I am grabbing. The new iron should be here Saturday.
I would totally get the blacks..
yes, but currently there is no option to expand the set by adding the UiHI’s as they do not have a black option.
Yeah, I understand and I am ok with that.
Tropical Storm Isaias passed through yesterday greens are soft.
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That was to get on in 4 and save 6. +8 after six and three doubles so far. Golf is windy and hard right now.
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201
194
182
178
192
188
200
179
202
190
Yup there are some misses in there, but crap, that averages out at 191. For a guy like me who has HATED long irons for quite some time, this was kind of fun. Peak height you ask? 33 yards. What about spin? 3691.
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I had a full range of blow up holes in each area of my game, real iffy front nine and then cleaned things up on the back for 44-39 = 83 from the tips @ 6829 73.3/135. Three doubles on the front and one on the back are my nemesis.
These are my favorite irons I’ve ever played.
It hit me on the range today that I get nothing but pure enjoyment out of hitting these. They feel so, so good, I know exactly what I’m going to get shot to shot, they’re workable and they are IMO one of the best looking clubs ever created. You know it’s a big deal when I have zero desire to even look at another iron.
I continue to be amazed at the flight consistency I get from these in the scoring clubs, and the feel is as good if not better than anything else I’ve ever played.
Freaking towering 155 carry 9i’s with an MB alllllllll day makes me giddy.
All irons should have Vsole.
Cleary a personal opinion, but I stand by it
This 100%.
Am so comfortable with the 4 iron I’m dropping the hybrid(s) and also looking at re-jigging the top and bottom of the bag.
3 rounds now properly tracked with the shotscope v3 but will get a few more in before doing a more full write up.
Have had a few good 9 holes playing some of my best ever golf – and a decent 36pts over 18 holes (+11 gross, no blobs, no birdies, steady stuff) yesterday without playing very well…….and this is the difference with these – the misses are soooooo much more predictable.
I still have my spec sheet from my 1999 Apexes, too. I love those clubs, and i still play them. I bought 2-E.