For those paying attention, after a couple early bumps in the road, Ben Hogan Golf is rolling right now. Not only embracing the direct to consumer market but thriving in it thanks to the consistent blend of popular technological design meeting classic throwback looks. If you are going to survive in the D2C realm, you have to move with the ever-changing current that is golf equipment, but for the new Hogan, they must still stay within the lines of tradition the name entails.
So where to go to further round out the company’s offerings? Honestly, they have it pretty well covered, but it was past time for an update when it comes to the utility club. Now, don’t get me wrong, the Ft. Worth Hi was a heck of a club, and it blended perfectly with what the company was doing at the time in terms of the Ft. Worth irons, but four years later as the irons have evolved so too must the utility.
So, allow us to introduce the Ben Hogan UiHi utility club. This go around, Hogan is keeping it much tidier and simpler, in a good way. The UiHi utility club is aimed to serve as a 3, 4, and 5 replacement hitting the 18°, 22°, and 26° lofts. According to the company, the goal was to create a utility that not only flowed with any of their irons but are engineered to perform in an easy-to-hit manner with the same controlled swing golfers excel with in the short irons.
The UiHi is naturally a hollow body design with a profile that is larger than your typical iron in order to make the typically more daunting long irons seem more playable to a lot of golfers. Naturally, with such a club the name of the game is low and back CG thanks to the hollow design allowing manipulation of a lot of mass. With that, Hogan is talking the talk when it comes to easy launch meeting ample forgiveness.
Through the initial release images, I think it is safe to say aesthetically there won’t be many people with a bone to pick this go around. Everything about the UiHi seems meticulously thought out just as we have seen with the recently released ICON irons. Much as the ICON’s blend visually with the PTx, the UiHi seem to mesh perfectly with both sets. In fact, they are going to make it even more possible for golfers to create their ultimate blended set, something Hogan will be soon offering.
More importantly, staying in line with the company’s direct sales pricing, the new UiHi comes with a $110.00 price tag which is significantly more palatable than pretty much any other utility iron out there. With more on the new Ben Hogan UiHi utilities to come very soon to the THP community, be sure to let us know below just what you think based on the initial information.
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Pretty surprising in hand, isn’t it?
Yes… its pretty darn graceful. The top line is a perfect width to inspire some confidence but its not clunky at all. The back of the sole nicely tucked behind the top line… plenty of cavity back to where it at least LOOKS forgiving. Looking down at address, there is something about how it honest to goodness looks as much like an iron as a utility, and how the hosel transition flows to the top line and then toe radius, that really appeals to me. The whole profile is very purposeful, artful at the same time.
Wait until you hit it…?
As mentioned they flow really well, the UiHi looks very natural next to the PTx Pro.
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The 18* Utility is not a club I typically play, I would usually play a hybrid here. Today was the kind of day that illustrates why, when my swing is off a low lofted utility can be a tall order. Historically I play a ~20* utility or hybrid partly to this point. Many more outings ahead and I am looking forward to actually swinging this well next outing to get some better impressions. This utility looks and feels great, I hope I can dial it in for its intended use.
This is the 3U with Recoil 780 SmacWrap in F4
So yeah, I’m impressed, there is some serious ball speed potential here and my averages with it are pretty dang good, and that is with me having some misses in there. Not to mention the low peak being 30y with an 18° IRON makes me laugh as a guy who in the longer clubs traditionally fights for every single yard there.
Two things that really stick out, beyond the intoxicating feel/sound, the shaft isn’t a great fit for me on a personal level and it has me holding back some because of it, but that said, the options available there are a bit thin from Hogan, my only major nitpick of them options wise, of course what they offer will def fit the majority. The second and more important thing, the spin, the UiHi 3 isn’t the longest utility, but its because it offers some spin which in the case of most will help keep it airborn AND allow it to flow into the irons better than some of the low spin options out there will. Even then, a 226 avg for a mortal in a 3U is pretty standout.
They do offer more forgiveness than the PTx Pro’s they flow into, and I think the weighting of the design is in the right place to optimize the playability, but as guys in here who have their will attest, these are not all that big, they truly aren’t, and don’t have the wider soles like the 220/U85/Forged-Tec and some other utilities. These are elegant in desing and function, but are not going to be like having a super game improvement iron in the bag IMO.
That said, I find misses of lower lofted utilites more in play, there is distance loss you wont get with a hybrid or 5w, but you also don’t get the crazy gear effect on those misses so it makes you believe ball in play, even on misses, is going to be there.
The flight covers ground really well for me I am seeing some impressive total distances as its dry enough here to actually roll out on occasion. When I put the a good swing on it I don’t have any quibbles with the flight – medium trajectory, fast, and penetrating. I even hit one borderline high today it was glorious.
I agree that this is not the outright most forgiving utility on the market, as there are clubs with more help with launch forgiveness and sole width as @Jman mentions. This is maybe somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Standout attributes for me are that this thing seems to have plenty of firepower with combo of ballspeed and spin. There are two Par-4’s on the course that have lakes completely across that FW @ 240yds from the tee. I am having to hit 4i on all of them, because the 3i would roll into the drink. (I almost put the ICON 4i in the drink on one of them today! ) On other holes I am hitting my 230-240 dogleg target number with ease.
Do you have a big gap between the 22 and your 5w?
Morning nudge for those who missed it yesterday.
Those numbers are more of a rip than a nudge
I’ll admit, I wanted people see them again
Also hunting for some convo though, the 18.0 has definitely surprised me
waiting…..although the new cobras should be in tomorrow with the recoil 110’s in them
and you ordered yours when? yes, i know, but its too early for Math
May 15
*sigh* i have a while then, ordered mine on the 24th……
I told you all….
It’s a good thing though for Hogan, then being busy is good for us all….plus it’s worth the wait….
Quick hits:
1) I’m shocked at how well I’m hitting an 18.0 degree iron, and how high I’m hitting it, and how long.
2) The feel/sound is perfect. I mean that, it’s effing perfect.
3) I’m holding back some subliminally with the shaft setup and I know it, I think I’ve got enough stock data for the article that I may make a change there tonight.
I’m hung up on the flight and accuracy mixed with the feel that’s on par with the PTx Pro and ICON’s. How Hogan balanced all this is just sheer impressive.
So this vs. the Cobra utility? Hows the comparison?
Different beasts. Tec is lower spin, wider sole, distance heavy. The UiHi is a more iron like experience where it comes to flowing into a set. Both very good at what they do.
Tec sounds/feels like the Tec irons, more firm, but still pleasing. The UiHi make me want to use terms that I loathe to describe the pure feel.
Have to go take care of kids, I’ll circle back for discussion this evening.
This is the 18.0 3 UiHi at standard loft and lie.
EDIT: I want to add, this was into a head wind and my goal was actually to try and knock it down into the wind a little, to see if I could, and if I could keep speed and how easy it is to manipulate the club….it was a success…
This is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I’m going to be playing around with a 3 iron and a 5 wood for low, piercing shots for those windy days and take the 3 hybrid out. If I don’t get what something I can work with, this might be my Father’s day/birthday gift.
It’s funny, it’s become a consideration for me the more I work on reviewing this one, rotating a 5w or 3U based on conditions could be useful with the distance I’m getting.
Even though the 148 ball speed one I know makes @ddec hate me more. It was an overcooked drawer, but I’ll take it still lmao
its a special kind of relationship
Quote bumping this for the morning crowd.
Also want to dive in a bit to the fact that I was able to hit some really nice flatter shots off the tee and into the 12-13 mph head wind yesterday. This is twofold important because it’s a 3i that I’m having to work a little to flight down, which is a testament to how easy it’s been to hit the 18.0 utility, as well as the general playability of a long iron with such classic looks.
Now, this one is imo still on the more demanding end of the utility spectrum given its thinner sole and smaller overall profile next to the Forged Tec, U85 and the likes. So, I’m. It saying every golfer can go grab this and play 3i’s with little fear of punishment. But, the misses aren’t as crazy, yes there is a hard over draw in the data where I got a little toey and released hard, the misses are there, but it wants to stay in the field of play even With a decent drop off of speed on larger misses.
More than that, it’s harder off the deck the lower the loft still, as any iron is. I’m having a ton of success there still launching it into the 30+ yard real from the turf but if you’re not comfortable with a long-long iron then it may not be the case.
The good news? The price is insane at 110, so it might be an easier gamble for some. My nitpick is a fitting thing and that’s in the shaft options available, I wish they had a true X option that isn’t steel in there, but I’m in the minority by far. The 780 Smacwrap is going to be a very nice option for the big majority imo.
Have questions? Please ask. I’m here, and I love golf gear talk.
I look forward to what you think!
Reviewing the 3, so I’m not working it to see if it’ll be in the bag or not, just for if it does what it claims. I bought the 4 as part of the Players Combo set so it’ll be there as long as the irons are
A 3i doesn’t behoove me a lot of places I play, other than on windy days when it could rotate in.
After three rounds I enjoy the 3 UiHi when I hit it well, but I am mis-hitting it more than usual. Might need a shaft change as well to see if that helps. I should probably go hit a bucket at the range with it first to be fair.
In the end, it’s a 3i, misses will happen to us mere mortals.
Truth. Some of my misses are pretty playable, but some of them have been kinda gross due to, shall we say, user inputs. I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised at the distance retention, I’ve had a bunch of iffy misses play respectably in distance. But when you really catch one, wow, I want more of that.
Sorry, as positive as i can get right now
Not sure if this question is reviewmaterial, but maybe more appropriate for this thread. I would be interested to see head to head numbers and/or impressions on the PTx Pro 4i and UiHi 4i in for review. Just to illustrate how launch might vary, or if the differences were more forgiveness related. Data optional, you’ve posted a ton already, but just a thought.
I think one of the sleeper non-advertised "combo sets" from Ben Hogan are the PTx Pro 6-P with standalone UiHi 4i and 5i. That combo could really work well for a lot of golfers.
I’m not going to say I told you so….but….
so, you say you are going to replace the Icon 4I with a UiHi ? or just add a 3 Hi?
I’ve got the players combo set, so 4U, 5-7 PTx Pro, 8-P ICON are in the bag at the moment with the 3 in for review.
Thatd said, I’m considering dropping my 48 and adding a strong 5w and the 3U into the bag instead. IMO,aftet hitting it he UiHi’s for weeks now, I don’t know why anyone going Hogan wouldn’t give them the nod in the long irons, especially if going full ICON.