Exactly! This driver is a weapon off the tee more times than not compared to any driver I’ve played....plus with my addition of the mini driver I know that is a auto fairway finder if I get wild with the Hogan.
I can’t wait for my fairway to arrive!
Ben Hogan GS53 Driver and Fairway Woods
Exactly! This driver is a weapon off the tee more times than not compared to any driver I’ve played....plus with my addition of the mini driver I know that is a auto fairway finder if I get wild with the Hogan.
I can’t wait for my fairway to arrive!
ohnolan
Member
My 3w is coming Wednesday. Should get it out this weekend for testing.
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Finally made the shaft change from the Helium to the Tensei Blue. The results were very positive for me almost immediately. The weight and feel of the club just felt right after the change. The ball flight is not quite as high as it was with the Helium and I am seeing a nice penetrating ball flight with a good amount of roll out which is what I am used to. With the Helium I had a higher ball flight with little to no roll out. (The Helium is a nice shaft, just not for my swing).
Now with a better shaft for my swing, I am making more consistent contact in the center of the face and really enjoying the sound at impact. I can now feel the head through the entire swing and am able to be more aggressive. One other change that I feel has been a benefit is that I now have my preferred driver grip installed (Lamkin Sonar) in place of the stock Ben Hogan Z5 grip. This has also aided with the confidence due to being able to swing without the feeling of the club slipping in my hands.
The one interesting note I observed, prior to the shaft change a miss on the toe would result in a hard slice. With the new shaft, I did hit 2 on the toe and the result was a straight push, it kept the ball in play which was a pleasant surprise. Prior toe hits would definitely be out of play in most instances. (I will keep tabs on this in the future).
Next time out I plan to experiment with the loft adjustments so I will post the results when that is completed.
Now with a better shaft for my swing, I am making more consistent contact in the center of the face and really enjoying the sound at impact. I can now feel the head through the entire swing and am able to be more aggressive. One other change that I feel has been a benefit is that I now have my preferred driver grip installed (Lamkin Sonar) in place of the stock Ben Hogan Z5 grip. This has also aided with the confidence due to being able to swing without the feeling of the club slipping in my hands.
The one interesting note I observed, prior to the shaft change a miss on the toe would result in a hard slice. With the new shaft, I did hit 2 on the toe and the result was a straight push, it kept the ball in play which was a pleasant surprise. Prior toe hits would definitely be out of play in most instances. (I will keep tabs on this in the future).
Next time out I plan to experiment with the loft adjustments so I will post the results when that is completed.
They got some demo driver/fairway wood back in stock and I got it ordered. Looking forward to giving it a go and seeing how it compares to my current driver/fairway wood.
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What shaft will you be testing with it?
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Went back to the Helium shaft in my driver. The Accra is a more demanding shaft, to me, and my driver swing has not been stellar of late. It will come back out when I am feeling more comfortable with my driver swing.
I am testing it with the hzrdous smoke 6.0 (stiff). I just switched to a stiff shaft in my driver and still have regular in my fairways. I want to see how the stiff shaft does in the fairway for me and then compare the driver to my current gamer.
I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to shafts, but reading the thread and seeing the helium may launch higher, I wanted to try the tensei or hazrdous because I launch mine pretty high already.
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I have the smoke and it's a low/medium launch for me. I have really enjoyed it so far.
This beauty showed up today!!! I’m mad cuz right after work I played 9 holes and didn’t know this was coming today
Can’t wait to hit it! Beautiful looking fairway
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Can’t wait to hit it! Beautiful looking fairway
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This beauty showed up today!!! I’m mad cuz right after work I played 9 holes and didn’t know this was coming today
Can’t wait to hit it! Beautiful looking fairway
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That has a very classy look overall!
Hit the 10.5 driver and 4w demos with the Tensei Stiff tonight for 9 holes. Hit a couple of good ones with the 4w and a couple of big draw/hooks that were not all my fault. The driver was an eye opener. I didn’t hit it all that great with the Helium shaft. But with the Tensei this thing is money.
On our 13th hole it’s 520 off the back tees and 120 feet up hill, and a double dogleg to boot. It was an all Hogan hole with a busted drive, a similar 4w to about 80 yards, and a beautiful 56* Black Equalizer to about 12 feet. Unfortunately missed the putt but it’s as well as I’ve played the hole and I rarely play it from all the way back.
Still not sold on either one but haven’t ruled either out. I hit my Srixon driver REALLY well so the Hogan is going to have to continue to perform in order to knock it out.
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On our 13th hole it’s 520 off the back tees and 120 feet up hill, and a double dogleg to boot. It was an all Hogan hole with a busted drive, a similar 4w to about 80 yards, and a beautiful 56* Black Equalizer to about 12 feet. Unfortunately missed the putt but it’s as well as I’ve played the hole and I rarely play it from all the way back.
Still not sold on either one but haven’t ruled either out. I hit my Srixon driver REALLY well so the Hogan is going to have to continue to perform in order to knock it out.
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Very classy!!! the driver imo looks kinda generic...clean... but generic
However I love how this fairway looks! I've never hit any kind of wood before without an alignment aid so im curious how thats gonna go. From reviews and some of the youtube guys who hit the fairway, a lot of them seem to rave even more about the fairways over the driver. I'm sure I'll love this club as much as the driver
I wouldn’t call it generic, rather, no-nonsense. Really like the look, shape, and the sun logo alignment aid is really cool.
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Not a bad THP Event.
New Driver with upgraded shaft.
Full fitting.
New Fairway.
36 holes at a very exclusive private facility.
Dinner, hotel, etc.
Oh yeah, and it was all 100% free : )
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now 2 "upgraded" shafts for me haha... if it releases im curious on the price cuz its by far the best shaft ive ever swung for my game. I've tried plenty of low/low shafts and none have made the difference the LIN-Q has!!!! but the hogan driver definitely helps too for lower spin
Love seeing all the positive feedback in here. I haven't hit OG's driver, but I did test out his 3w a few weeks ago and it was a rocket. Only 1 swing, but I really liked what I saw. Assume we'll get out at some point this weekend, and I'm hoping to hit it some more.
Went by Club Indoor Golf on Monday. They have the Full Swing brand simulators. Hit the GS53 9.0* Driver and 3 wood side by side with my TEE EXS 9.5* Driver and 3 wood. The Hogan 3 wood is 14* and the EXS 3 wood is 15*. I used the same Srixon Z-star ball during the whole time on the simulator.
GS53 9.0* 250 Yards 2450 RPMs 11* launch clubhead speed was 107 ball speed 158 Ball flight started left and faded back towards center. 3 went hard right. I hit everything center/heel. Didn't hit any on the toe! One thing I noticed Monday at the simulator and Saturday on the course....I got no roll out! Just stayed where it landed. The simulator typically won't show side spin with the driver and its 50/50 on the 3 wood.
TEE EXS 9.5* 275 Yards 2200 RPMs 12.5* launch CHS 108 BS 154 Ball flight started right and drew left. A couple went straight left and couple straight right. Got about 15-20 yards of roll out with this club.
GS53 3 wood 225 Yards 3300 RPMs CHS 103 BS 138 Launch was 14* Ball flight was middle with a draw or straight left. I did loose on right. Got about 10 yards of roll out.
EXS 3 wood 245 Yards 3100 RPMs CHS 104 BS 145 Launch 15.5* Ball flight was middle with a draw or left. Got about 20 yards of roll out.
Things I noticed. The Ben Hogan driver and 3 wood feels a touch light compared to the EXS. They all play at the same length. 44.5" and 42.5". Even though the GS53 woods have the HZRDUS Black Smoke XS shaft...they do feel more "active" for lack of a better term compared to the standard HZRDUS Black in my Tour Edge woods. I like the standard HZRDUS Black the best. Also, I really need to change these grips. They get slick and don't seem to be the same size as my GP MCC+4 midsize grips. The ball seems to spring off the face of the Hogan clubs, not so much on the EXS. I still believe the BH GS53 driver has the potential to be longer than the EXS...I just haven't/can't make it happen right now. I am fairly certain that the EXS is more forgiving over the whole club face...where the Hogan needs to be dead on the screws or slightly heel side. You have to stay away from toe. Guys from the Ben Hogan Experience speculate that the lack of forgiveness on the toe side might be from the "Speed Slot" and the lack of material on that side. Although, I haven't heard anyone say anything about toe side forgiveness on the fairway woods...and they have the "Speed Slot" as well.
GS53 9.0* 250 Yards 2450 RPMs 11* launch clubhead speed was 107 ball speed 158 Ball flight started left and faded back towards center. 3 went hard right. I hit everything center/heel. Didn't hit any on the toe! One thing I noticed Monday at the simulator and Saturday on the course....I got no roll out! Just stayed where it landed. The simulator typically won't show side spin with the driver and its 50/50 on the 3 wood.
TEE EXS 9.5* 275 Yards 2200 RPMs 12.5* launch CHS 108 BS 154 Ball flight started right and drew left. A couple went straight left and couple straight right. Got about 15-20 yards of roll out with this club.
GS53 3 wood 225 Yards 3300 RPMs CHS 103 BS 138 Launch was 14* Ball flight was middle with a draw or straight left. I did loose on right. Got about 10 yards of roll out.
EXS 3 wood 245 Yards 3100 RPMs CHS 104 BS 145 Launch 15.5* Ball flight was middle with a draw or left. Got about 20 yards of roll out.
Things I noticed. The Ben Hogan driver and 3 wood feels a touch light compared to the EXS. They all play at the same length. 44.5" and 42.5". Even though the GS53 woods have the HZRDUS Black Smoke XS shaft...they do feel more "active" for lack of a better term compared to the standard HZRDUS Black in my Tour Edge woods. I like the standard HZRDUS Black the best. Also, I really need to change these grips. They get slick and don't seem to be the same size as my GP MCC+4 midsize grips. The ball seems to spring off the face of the Hogan clubs, not so much on the EXS. I still believe the BH GS53 driver has the potential to be longer than the EXS...I just haven't/can't make it happen right now. I am fairly certain that the EXS is more forgiving over the whole club face...where the Hogan needs to be dead on the screws or slightly heel side. You have to stay away from toe. Guys from the Ben Hogan Experience speculate that the lack of forgiveness on the toe side might be from the "Speed Slot" and the lack of material on that side. Although, I haven't heard anyone say anything about toe side forgiveness on the fairway woods...and they have the "Speed Slot" as well.
Have an appointment tomorrow at an outdoor range to hit on the trackman. I'll be able to post some data hopefully for you guys to see. I'm not a long ball hitter, so if you're in the same boat as me you can see how these perform.
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I don’t have any numbers and probably never will but the driver and 4w continue to perform for me. I’m hitting more fairways with driver than ever and if I miss it’s still playable 9/10 times. The 4w is becoming my go to if I have to hit the fw. It’s a cannon off the deck for me also. It took me awhile to get them figured out but now that I have I absolutely love them.
Youre spot on with your assessment on the hogan driver and smoke shafts.... The smoke black is very active and completely different profile then the regular hzrdus black. hzrdus black has a always been a good shaft for me (had it in driver, fairways, and driving iron at one time). For me the smoke might be the worst feeling shaft I've swung, just for me personally
and the Hogan driver I agree with everything you said. it certainly isn't forgiving if your miss is on the toe. When centered its been the lowest spinning, farthest driver ive ever hit!! I've gotten much more comfortable with it over the last 3 weeks to the point I sold my m5 b/c its crazy long for me. Played yesterday and did hit 2 toe strikes that ive mentioned before start right and go even farther right. For my swing and delivery, this is the only driver when I hit the toe doesn't draw. Heel side is pretty forgiving, very minimal fade...but that toe strike for me has mainly been unplayable
overall im very happy with it and at this pace I don't see anything knocking it out of the bag for quite a while. My numbers with this and the lin-q are pretty close to optimal launch and spin
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Interesting info. The EXS gave you less ball speed and 25 more yards of distance. Are those carry numbers or total?
Do you think impact location could be playing a role in the numbers or were these caught flush?
I got my 4w on Tuesday and can't figure it out. I've always been a very strong fw player but something with it isn't working for me...the 4w at 16* is strong lofted for a 4 but I'm hitting it so high and not traveling anywhere (something is causing super high spin)
I had 253 in to a par 5 yesterday..first ball I hit with the hogan went 197, hit another since im still learning this club and went 189. both dead straight middle of the fairway but super high and spun a ton! hit one more ball with my m6 5w and was pin high just off the side of the green which is the distance I expect from that club when centered
Next hole is a tight par 4 320 yds so I wanted to hit the 4w again. Teed up I hit it 203 same results, super high so im assuming very high spin again causing it to balloon (I don't have simulator numbers yet on this club). Hit the m6 5w again and went 259