Ben Hogan GS53 Driver and Fairway Woods

[Thrillbilly Jim]

Eh, I do believe that a driver like the EXS offers more of a complete package where speed/launch AND forgiveness goes, in fact I think its the best deal out there for a new driver. That said, this one is among the lowest spinning I've worked with for a hot minute, and I think that in and of itself makes it very likeable for a segment of golfers.

I'm torn every time I play! I have the EXS and the GS53. I like both a lot! I would really like to try the Hogan with a standard HZRDUS Black shaft though!

 

[Nerdy]

Played 18 this morning. Used the Hogan for the front 9 and the Bridgestone xd-5 for the back 9. 41 on the front. 46 on the back and it was primarily the driver that made the difference. With the Hogan I had a nice 10 yard fade going and really had one bad swing with it. The Bridgestone is draw biased as I can struggle with a slice but with the setup changes Danny Le has me do I haven’t been fighting the slice as much and every swing with the xd-5 was more of a hook and I lost a couple ob left. Once I adjusted for it, I was able to keep them in play but there was really no comparison to the Hogan in performance. I’ve really enjoyed having the Hogan the last few weeks and it’s definitely won the spot in my bag.

 

[e1iterate]

Got out today with the new Hogan clubs. Not a fan at all of the grips. I know others have commented on them but just not a fan. I wish there were other options.

Driver has a much different look and feel to me than my Epic. I was hitting center face but just struggled either hitting a block or a low running hook. So weird. I did hit a few that I would consider solid but overall felt I was all over the place. The set up with the driver wasn’t overall appealing as it felt a bit shut but I know the face is dead neutral based on what Tyler said.

The 3 wood was very solid imo. I only hit shots off the tee and felt in control with it. I like the set up at address much better than I did the driver. This was either a nice tight draw or dead straight for the most part. Very consistent in comparison to my Driver here.


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[Sox_Fan]

Got out today with the new Hogan clubs. Not a fan at all of the grips. I know others have commented on them but just not a fan. I wish there were other options.

Driver has a much different look and feel to me than my Epic. I was hitting center face but just struggled either hitting a block or a low running hook. So weird. I did hit a few that I would consider solid but overall felt I was all over the place. The set up with the driver wasn’t overall appealing as it felt a bit shut but I know the face is dead neutral based on what Tyler said.

The 3 wood was very solid imo. I only hit shots off the tee and felt in control with it. I like the set up at address much better than I did the driver. This was either a nice tight draw or dead straight for the most part. Very consistent in comparison to my Driver here.


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I have only seen one other person say that they thought the driver set up a little closed. It was one of the you tube reviewers. I personally have not seen this and am pretty hyper sensitive to closed faces with my swing that often produces big hooks. I do wonder about this with my 5 wood though. 3 wood is definitely dead square and it sounds as though you thought the same.

 

[e1iterate]

I have only seen one other person say that they thought the driver set up a little closed. It was one of the you tube reviewers. I personally have not seen this and am pretty hyper sensitive to closed faces with my swing that often produces big hooks. I do wonder about this with my 5 wood though. 3 wood is definitely dead square and it sounds as though you thought the same.

It just feels a little shut. Nothing crazy but it does mess with my head I believe.


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[Sox_Fan]

It just feels a little shut. Nothing crazy but it does mess with my head I believe.


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I understand. The 5 wood does the same to my head. I open the face on it sometimes which appears to add loft and I end up hitting a very high and shorter shot.

 

[OhioGolfer]

Played in a scramble the other day and it was with 3 people who hadn't seen the driver yet. On my first swing they commented on how they loved the sound; each person I have played with has mentioned the great sound the driver produces. I'm still seeing pretty good results each time I get out on the course with it.

 

[DMoney79]

Continue to love this driver! I’m not swinging my best but continue to be in play and with decent distance.
Hit two toe balls today one on the first and the ball came out with no spin and headed left but ended up in the fairway with a lot of roll. Ball just seems to tumble out of the air when I miss out on the toe. Played a course I usually don’t hit driver a lot and pulled it every hole. I’m finding the I am more confident with this setup and I am fitting driver into holes i would never pull it. If I need to move it either way it’s pretty easy with this head and its size. I fit this thing into some hard doglegs and cut corners and had clubs I don’t usually into greens. Made me wonder why I didn’t hit driver more often on this course and then I remembered it was just fear!

I’m losing my posture in my swing and leaving a couple right but it’s manageable just a little further for my second shot. Will be continue this adventure with the Hogan/UST combo loving this setup! Next unofficial THP outingThe Gethering in Valdosta in October!


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[OhioGolfer]

The driver continues to be the best club in my bag since the Ben Hogan event in June. I played with some people the other day that I hadn't played with in a while and they were commenting on my distance gains. Swing has been pretty good lately and am just pounding this thing dead straight each round and with the medium ball flight I am getting a ton of roll which is helping out a ton.

 

[Qwkz51]

My 3 month review:

Driver:
The driver is an incredible value at more than $100 less than it's rivals, it sounds fantastic and when squared, is every bit as any major competitors costing far more. That being said, my swing is big, laggy, and incredibly flawed. If others hadn't seen similar issues, I would gladly blame my swing issues. I just don't think that's the only breakdown, it is a part of it, just not flying solo. That being said, that's NOT a discouragement to avoid this driver. There are several on here who have
had great success with the GS53. At a minimum, it's worth a test drive from their demo store. If you choose that route, I suggest hitting the range as frequently as possible in the 2 week period. I hit some fantastic shots the first two days at the Hogan event, I hit plenty of stinky ones too. When I got home, I had about 2 wishy-washy, mixed result rounds in when I noticed either hosel creep or the adapter slipped. Bad epoxy happens, no biggie. I had ordered a BH adapter to try a different shaft, it arrived and I got the email from Tyler to send it back via prepaid label, Fantastic customer service! It took a few weeks to get it back from Hogan. In that time I played a combo of my regular Cleveland or the Hogan with the alt-shaft. It wasn't a great combo and didn't produce great results, especially on the monitor. I plugged the replaced shaft in, and it was a new day. I had 2-3 really solid rounds, maybe I was centering the ball really well on that run. I started to gain a little confidence, then bam it disappeared...nothing like before but not exactly playable mis-hits either. My normal playable fade was a hard slice. Today playing a different driver I hit my normal fade, it started left cut across the fairway and dropped on the right side, it was a miss, but it came out okay. Had I been playing the Hogan, I have no doubt that same strike would have resulted in me and my partner playing from the next fairway. My overall rating looks like this:

Playability: 6/10
Looks: 9/10
Fit & Finish: 6/10
Sound: 9/10
Forgiveness: 4/10
Bang for the $$$: 8/10

Final notes: There was an issue with the original shaft with the ferrule creep or the adapter
slipping. Other BHE attendees have had various issues with quality control. That being said, It's
a budget friendly driver, that has some forgiveness issues for some players. It isn't necessarily a
good match for everyone, then again..what driver is. Spend $20 for a demo and get some swings
on it through the demo program. It could be the driver that fills the slot in your bag.

GS53-3 Wood
Disclaimer: I just am not hitting any 3 wood with any success right now. I can't knock or endorse the 3wd. Anything posted below is opinion or with limited exposure!! Another good but not great offering. I feel like later models of both the Driver & 3WD are going to be market busters. If Hogan can line out the little issues, they are really going to hurt some big manufacturers feelings. The GS53 wood is similar to the driver in that it isn't overly forgiving, but hit square, it's every bit as solid as any offering I've swung. I will be interested to see the next evolution to see if they go with an adjustable hosel or stay with the the glued in. I had some spectacular 3 wood shots on the range that just haven't carried over to the course. That being said, I rarely need a 3wd distance the small courses in this area. With a lack of need, comes a lack of practice.

My overall rating looks like this:
Playability: N/A
Looks: 9/10
Fit & Finish: 7/10
Sound: 9/10
Forgiveness: N/A
Bang for the $$$: 8/10

Final notes: The fairway wood is one I'm not ready to give up on. I will continue to rotate it into
my bag to give it a shot for that one or two shots I might run into trouble and need that distance.
Again, another club is highly recommend snagging with the demo program.

 

[DMoney79]

My 3 month review:

Driver:
The driver is an incredible value at more than $100 less than it's rivals, it sounds fantastic and when squared, is every bit as any major competitors costing far more. That being said, my swing is big, laggy, and incredibly flawed. If others hadn't seen similar issues, I would gladly blame my swing issues. I just don't think that's the only breakdown, it is a part of it, just not flying solo. That being said, that's NOT a discouragement to avoid this driver. There are several on here who have
had great success with the GS53. At a minimum, it's worth a test drive from their demo store. If you choose that route, I suggest hitting the range as frequently as possible in the 2 week period. I hit some fantastic shots the first two days at the Hogan event, I hit plenty of stinky ones too. When I got home, I had about 2 wishy-washy, mixed result rounds in when I noticed either hosel creep or the adapter slipped. Bad epoxy happens, no biggie. I had ordered a BH adapter to try a different shaft, it arrived and I got the email from Tyler to send it back via prepaid label, Fantastic customer service! It took a few weeks to get it back from Hogan. In that time I played a combo of my regular Cleveland or the Hogan with the alt-shaft. It wasn't a great combo and didn't produce great results, especially on the monitor. I plugged the replaced shaft in, and it was a new day. I had 2-3 really solid rounds, maybe I was centering the ball really well on that run. I started to gain a little confidence, then bam it disappeared...nothing like before but not exactly playable mis-hits either. My normal playable fade was a hard slice. Today playing a different driver I hit my normal fade, it started left cut across the fairway and dropped on the right side, it was a miss, but it came out okay. Had I been playing the Hogan, I have no doubt that same strike would have resulted in me and my partner playing from the next fairway. My overall rating looks like this:

Playability: 6/10
Looks: 9/10
Fit & Finish: 6/10
Sound: 9/10
Forgiveness: 4/10
Bang for the $$$: 8/10

Final notes: There was an issue with the original shaft with the ferrule creep or the adapter
slipping. Other BHE attendees have had various issues with quality control. That being said, It's
a budget friendly driver, that has some forgiveness issues for some players. It isn't necessarily a
good match for everyone, then again..what driver is. Spend $20 for a demo and get some swings
on it through the demo program. It could be the driver that fills the slot in your bag.

GS53-3 Wood
Disclaimer: I just am not hitting any 3 wood with any success right now. I can't knock or endorse the 3wd. Anything posted below is opinion or with limited exposure!! Another good but not great offering. I feel like later models of both the Driver & 3WD are going to be market busters. If Hogan can line out the little issues, they are really going to hurt some big manufacturers feelings. The GS53 wood is similar to the driver in that it isn't overly forgiving, but hit square, it's every bit as solid as any offering I've swung. I will be interested to see the next evolution to see if they go with an adjustable hosel or stay with the the glued in. I had some spectacular 3 wood shots on the range that just haven't carried over to the course. That being said, I rarely need a 3wd distance the small courses in this area. With a lack of need, comes a lack of practice.

My overall rating looks like this:
Playability: N/A
Looks: 9/10
Fit & Finish: 7/10
Sound: 9/10
Forgiveness: N/A
Bang for the $$$: 8/10

Final notes: The fairway wood is one I'm not ready to give up on. I will continue to rotate it into
my bag to give it a shot for that one or two shots I might run into trouble and need that distance.
Again, another club is highly recommend snagging with the demo program.

Well I just noticed ferrule doing the exact same thing... Going to take it to my pro shop to fix it this week.

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[Qwkz51]

Yep! That's exactly what mine did!

 

[DMoney79]

I had a good day driving today except for two holes that I put two bad swings. One was a snap hook where I just got way too quick in transition and the other a overcooked fade...
The driver demands I put a good swing on it and I’m getting better and better with that but when you put a bad swing on it you will be punished.
I don’t think a driver on earth would have saved either of these drives so just got to keep grooving the swing.
Played the tips at a Braelinn golf course today to ensure driver would be played a lot. There is probably 3-4 holes I wouldn’t play driver on.

Piped the first drive and we were off too a solid start. Noticed on the first tee the ferrule was separating on my driver so will have to get it fixed before Saturday round. Hit a solid drive in #2 420yd par4 to 144yds and proceeded to put it in the water... Love the feeling when you catch one out of the center or close because it just fires off the face and flies in a hurry! Hit several drives a long way and straight just can’t put a loose swing on it.





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[jfrigo1003]

Yep! That's exactly what mine did!

WOW! we really have seen the same thing with the Hogan driver. My ferrule has come loose twice already.....also it takes quite an effort and a lot of time for me to try and take the head off the shaft to change loft/lie. Something with the screw it seems doesn't want to disconnect the head from shaft

 

[LLIB]

WOW! we really have seen the same thing with the Hogan driver. My ferrule has come loose twice already.....also it takes quite an effort and a lot of time for me to try and take the head off the shaft to change loft/lie. Something with the screw it seems doesn't want to disconnect the head from shaft

Check and see if there’s glue in the hosel. I had that issue and it ended up being glue or whatever it is they used to hold the screw in place. Cleaned it out and haven’t had any more problems

 

[Sox_Fan]

Check and see if there’s glue in the hosel. I had that issue and it ended up being glue or whatever it is they used to hold the screw in place. Cleaned it out and haven’t had any more problems

Same here. I just wiped off the adapter and inside of the hosel with mineral spirits and no more trouble getting the head off.

 

[Sox_Fan]

The GS53 10.5 head and Accra TZ6 shaft has turned out to be such a good combo for me. Sure, I mishit a couple a round due to user error but they are not terrible misses. Love the mid height slight draw ball flight that results when I put a good swing on the club. I am normally always wondering if a different shaft in a driver head will give me better results but not with this combo. Quite content to stand pat with it.

 

[DMoney79]

The GS53 10.5 head and Accra TZ6 shaft has turned out to be such a good combo for me. Sure, I mishit a couple a round due to user error but they are not terrible misses. Love the mid height slight draw ball flight that results when I put a good swing on the club. I am normally always wondering if a different shaft in a driver head will give me better results but not with this combo. Quite content to stand pat with it.

Yep me too Sox love the GS53 head it’s great! I put a good swing on it and it goes for days. Not interested in testing any waters haven’t hit driver like this in a long time. Reminds me of my Supertri days when I would step up there and confidently take a cut at it and just watch it fly. The one thing I know is the shaft is fit for me and my swing. No tinkering need which is the best part. The V2 Black 7F5 is exactly what I should be swinging.


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[PowerThrust]

So I got a 10* demo with the UST helium and it was just a bit too high launching and loose. Lost everything right with it, so I stuck with my Srixon z585, w/HZRDUS red stiff shaft. Very hot and can hit it a ton but had recently lost confidence with it, so decided to order the Hogan GS53 w/ Tensei CK stiff.

Am hitting the driver well and with confidence, so that's good, but as I've seen with others in here with some loose ferrule issues, I have the same thing. But right out of the box, I also noticed the shaft adapter doesn't "stack correctly"? Hard to explain so please refer to the pics below. Is it just me or is something off? Can anyone tell me what's going on here? I've since removed and replaced/adjusted but still nothing quite seems to line up right.

 

[Qwkz51]

It definitely looks like what myself and others have seen. Not sure if it's bad epoxy mix or bad QC, but it's definitely something that should be addressed. Weird that they would send a demo out like that.

 

[PowerThrust]

It definitely looks like what myself and others have seen. Not sure if it's bad epoxy mix or bad QC, but it's definitely something that should be addressed. Weird that they would send a demo out like that.

Oh this one isn't a demo, I bought this one.

 

[PowerThrust]

I emailed Ben Hogan customer service with the problem and the pics earlier today. They emailed me back this afternoon stating that it definitely shouldn't look like that and they also emailed me a return shipping label. So that's good. Only problem is I'm hitting it really well and gaining some confidence with it...hit some bombs yesterday and today. I also have a 2 man best ball tourney this Sat...so maybe I'll send it in next Monday.

Anyone on here have any experience with Hogan customer service turn around times, sending something in for repair?

 

[Qwkz51]

I emailed Ben Hogan customer service with the problem and the pics earlier today. They emailed me back this afternoon stating that it definitely shouldn't look like that and they also emailed me a return shipping label. So that's good. Only problem is I'm hitting it really well and gaining some confidence with it...hit some bombs yesterday and today. I also have a 2 man best ball tourney this Sat...so maybe I'll send it in next Monday.

Anyone on here have any experience with Hogan customer service turn around times, sending something in for repair?

Not sure what normal turn around time is, but mine was gone for several weeks. 3+ weeks:bulgy-eyes: not sure if that's normal or not.

 

[PowerThrust]

Not sure what normal turn around time is, but mine was gone for several weeks. 3+ weeks:bulgy-eyes: not sure if that's normal or not.

Agh! 3+ weeks.... Oh well. What else can one do? I guess after today's tourney.

 

[badolds]

Agh! 3+ weeks.... Oh well. What else can one do? I guess after today's tourney.

I had a PTx iron repaired and returned in less than a week. I bet they will get you fixed up quickly.