Ben Hogan GS53 Driver and Fairway Woods

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
I am still banging my head at times about the 5 wood. Kind of the same issues you described but it does seem a little better since I pulled the shaft and tipped it a little more (added length back on to the butt). Really weird because the 3 wood in not even remotely like that. It produces a nice, penetrating ball flight and goes the distance I fully expect it to. I have same shaft in both.
 
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

That’s pretty much what I was seeing. I create a lot of spin because I get steep. I normally take a divot with my fw’s. I found with the Hogan I have to play it a touch farther forward so I come in more level. That seems to knock the spin down and gives me a good ball flight.
 
That’s pretty much what I was seeing. I create a lot of spin because I get steep. I normally take a divot with my fw’s. I found with the Hogan I have to play it a touch farther forward so I come in more level. That seems to knock the spin down and gives me a good ball flight.

the weirdest thing for me is im hitting this straight..if I was hitting huge slices then id get the high spin and loss of distance

but the 2 range sessions and 1 on course round ive had its been consistently high balloons, but dead straight. currently my 6 iron goes as far as the 4 wood
 
the weirdest thing for me is im hitting this straight..if I was hitting huge slices then id get the high spin and loss of distance

but the 2 range sessions and 1 on course round ive had its been consistently high balloons, but dead straight. currently my 6 iron goes as far as the 4 wood

I have not experienced any of these issues with the fairway woods. Both the 3 & 5 have produced the same penetrating ball flight with consistent distances for each. If/ when I do mis-hit them, that is solely due the my swing and not the club. I have noticed though that the smoother I swing (which is my normal swing type), the better the results.
The 5-wood quickly became a favorite right out of the gate at the Hogan Event and remains that way today.
 
I have not experienced any of these issues with the fairway woods. Both the 3 & 5 have produced the same penetrating ball flight with consistent distances for each. If/ when I do mis-hit them, that is solely due the my swing and not the club. I have noticed though that the smoother I swing (which is my normal swing type), the better the results.
The 5-wood quickly became a favorite right out of the gate at the Hogan Event and remains that way today.

strange ..the driver has a low launch, super low spin flight to it. I have the same shaft in the 4w but heavier . its only been 3 days with the club so ill be patient, just very shocked so far
 
Got the driver out on trackman today

These were my 2 best strikes out of the session. I wish I could have got a nice side by side with the TS2 but the guy couldn't get that. The Hogan had better "best" shots and was more consistent for me. The third pic is of the driver and 3 wood.
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So I had a business trip to Louisville this week and after a trip to Golf Galaxy that failed to produce any logical results on their in house launch monitors. @llib found me a Trackman setup at Golf HQ. So this morning on my way home I went by there. I was adamant about getting on a monitor to see some numbers.

I have a hard time writing a negative review, especially as accommodating as Hogan has been and impressed as I have been with the rest of the lineup and this isn't exactly negative, it's just honest to what I'm seeing. To say I've had issues with my setup is fairly light. I have to clarify, I believe it's 99% the Indian, not the arrow. It's a fantastic driver for a large percentage of the field, but with my flawed swing(neg AOA), and it's minute sweetspot, I'm admittedly struggling to keep the GS53 Driver & 3WD in play. Secondly, I'm playing an alternate shaft(Aldila Rogue), one I've had success with in the past, but maybe not the best for this head. My original HZRDUS Smoke had some hosel creep, or the adapter slipped, not sure which. So I contacted JB, he contacted Tyler and got it shipped back. I wish I could have gotten more time with it, but I don't have it here so I wasn't able to get it on a monitor. I've been testing the GS53 head to head vs my Cleveland HB Launcher that I've had success with. My swing is about 90% where I think it needs to be at this point of the year. Clubhead speed is there, launch angle is there, ball speed and smash factor are down, Angle of Attack is still negative but is trending toward positive. (My optimal: clubhead speed is 118-120, Ball Speed=170-175, smash factor= 1.42-1.47, AOA= -2 to 0)
These numbers are indoors, off a cheap mat(who puts a $300 mat in front of a $20,000 trackman?) and a rubber plug. Secondly, I hate hitting those stupid rubber plugs. My numbers are down a bit for my swing, but there's a HUGE falloff between the two clubs. I need someone smarter than I to explain why I'm losing 5-10 mph in CHS, and gaining 3-5 degrees of negative attack angle in the Hogan. I wish I would have been able to add side spin to the chart, but they had an issue and weren't able to email me my report.
On the driver:
As you can see, I had some horrible shots including a super sweet 151yd drive with the Hogan. For some reason (The guy holding the club) It's a very difficult club for me to get square. In my rounds with the GS53, I've had great shots which lead me to believe I have it figured out, and like a feather in the wind..gone. I'm hoping when my Smoke is returned I will find the magic, but as of right now it's hard to fly solo with it. I'm carrying two drivers, the GS53 and HB for when I get wild with the Hogan. As an upside to errant driver shots, I'm getting more practice than usual with my irons(PTX Pros).
As for the 3 Wood:
As mentioned by JB Cobb a thought in the hive being mentioned is: the speed slot while nostalgic might be limiting the performance. From a design background, by altering that side and removing the conformity of the overall shape, is it possibly inducing a miss bias to the toe side? I'm in the party that believes so. I've started to have a bit more luck with the 3wd GS53, but it's still not what I would consider as constant, nor am I which compounds the situation. Certain clubs inspire confidence even after a miss you still feel like the next shot is going to be the one you had before that made you fall in love. Either I haven't had the fall in love shot, or I haven't ever had confidence in the the club. Ballspeed avgs look like this:
Hogan: 133
Cleveland: 155
TEE CBX(18): 144
While not exactly a scientific calculation, my perceived Confidence inspiring index looks like:
1. Cleveland
2. TEE
3. Hogan

Lastly, a plea:

I want to enjoy these clubs, and if someone has a shaft offering, a setup change, a ball change, anything...I'm all ears.
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Ben Hogan GS53 Driver and Fairway Woods

So I had a business trip to Louisville this week and after a trip to Golf Galaxy that failed to produce any logical results on their in house launch monitors. @llib found me a Trackman setup at Golf HQ. So this morning on my way home I went by there. I was adamant about getting on a monitor to see some numbers.

I have a hard time writing a negative review, especially as accommodating as Hogan has been and impressed as I have been with the rest of the lineup and this isn't exactly negative, it's just honest to what I'm seeing. To say I've had issues with my setup is fairly light. I have to clarify, I believe it's 99% the Indian, not the arrow. It's a fantastic driver for a large percentage of the field, but with my flawed swing(neg AOA), and it's minute sweetspot, I'm admittedly struggling to keep the GS53 Driver & 3WD in play. Secondly, I'm playing an alternate shaft(Aldila Rogue), one I've had success with in the past, but maybe not the best for this head. My original HZRDUS Smoke had some hosel creep, or the adapter slipped, not sure which. So I contacted JB, he contacted Tyler and got it shipped back. I wish I could have gotten more time with it, but I don't have it here so I wasn't able to get it on a monitor. I've been testing the GS53 head to head vs my Cleveland HB Launcher that I've had success with. My swing is about 90% where I think it needs to be at this point of the year. Clubhead speed is there, launch angle is there, ball speed and smash factor are down, Angle of Attack is still negative but is trending toward positive. (My optimal: clubhead speed is 118-120, Ball Speed=170-175, smash factor= 1.42-1.47, AOA= -2 to 0)
These numbers are indoors, off a cheap mat(who puts a $300 mat in front of a $20,000 trackman?) and a rubber plug. Secondly, I hate hitting those stupid rubber plugs. My numbers are down a bit for my swing, but there's a HUGE falloff between the two clubs. I need someone smarter than I to explain why I'm losing 5-10 mph in CHS, and gaining 3-5 degrees of negative attack angle in the Hogan. I wish I would have been able to add side spin to the chart, but they had an issue and weren't able to email me my report.
On the driver:
As you can see, I had some horrible shots including a super sweet 151yd drive with the Hogan. For some reason (The guy holding the club) It's a very difficult club for me to get square. In my rounds with the GS53, I've had great shots which lead me to believe I have it figured out, and like a feather in the wind..gone. I'm hoping when my Smoke is returned I will find the magic, but as of right now it's hard to fly solo with it. I'm carrying two drivers, the GS53 and HB for when I get wild with the Hogan. As an upside to errant driver shots, I'm getting more practice than usual with my irons(PTX Pros).
As for the 3 Wood:
As mentioned by JB Cobb a thought in the hive being mentioned is: the speed slot while nostalgic might be limiting the performance. From a design background, by altering that side and removing the conformity of the overall shape, is it possibly inducing a miss bias to the toe side? I'm in the party that believes so. I've started to have a bit more luck with the 3wd GS53, but it's still not what I would consider as constant, nor am I which compounds the situation. Certain clubs inspire confidence even after a miss you still feel like the next shot is going to be the one you had before that made you fall in love. Either I haven't had the fall in love shot, or I haven't ever had confidence in the the club. Ballspeed avgs look like this:
Hogan: 133
Cleveland: 155
TEE CBX(18): 144
While not exactly a scientific calculation, my perceived Confidence inspiring index looks like:
1. Cleveland
2. TEE
3. Hogan

Lastly, a plea:

I want to enjoy these clubs, and if someone has a shaft offering, a setup change, a ball change, anything...I'm all ears.
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@Qwkz51 Thanks for the honest and thorough review. Anxious to see if the smoke changes anything for you.


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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?

Hogan carried 250 and stopped. No roll out. The EXS carried 255-260...then 15 yards of roll out. All shots on Hogan driver was center(middle/high) or heel(middle/high). EXS was mostly Center(middle/high).


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My demo is out for delivery. Not sure I will do anything with them until next week at the range. I am honestly going into it thinking I will not replace my current driver and fairway woods, but I would love to be wowed and fall in love with a club. My current ones (driver/fairway) I just picked up used from callaway sight unseen after I bought new irons.


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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

I would love to get a HZRDUS Black for these 2 clubs!


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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 hit the middle of the club face the majority of the time. My path and face angle sucks! I am also not as steep with my woods. Completely opposite from what I was 6 years ago. It's strange.


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Small sample size but confirmed what I saw distance wise.. surprising thing was the ball speed!!!! Spin was definitely higher with the hogan but not as high as i thought, launch was higher too which I’m not liking out of a 4 wood.

Warmed up for 5 minutes and hit balls with both the hogan 4 wood and m6 5 wood. Already confirmed what I saw on course... then after being warm i took 3 more swings with each with the purpose of getting numbers

I forgot to change the name but where it says driver is the Hogan. Surprising results for a 16* 4 wood bs a 19* 5 wood

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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

Yeah, the sole needs some pop! The sunburst should be gold for one.
 
Small sample size but confirmed what I saw distance wise.. surprising thing was the ball speed!!!! Spin was definitely higher with the hogan but not as high as i thought, launch was higher too which I’m not liking out of a 4 wood.

Warmed up for 5 minutes and hit balls with both the hogan 4 wood and m6 5 wood. Already confirmed what I saw on course... then after being warm i took 3 more swings with each with the purpose of getting numbers

I forgot to change the name but where it says driver is the Hogan. Surprising results for a 16* 4 wood bs a 19* 5 wood

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a53ee549c8cf642a11244f914f4d6b66.jpg



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I have the 14* 3 wood. Ball speed is basically identical. I did get a lower launch and about 1000 less spin(3300). I'm carrying it 225. My EXS 3W ballspeed is 145 also.
 
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I have the 14* 3 wood. Ball speed is basically identical. I did get a lower launch and about 1000 less spin(3300). I'm carrying it 225.

When I posted numbers in the m5/6 fairway thread a few months ago my m6 3w carried 257 and 5w 243... I’m a pretty strong fairway player so contact off the turf is never a problem for me... I’m centering the hogan and just don’t get what the problem is. Same shaft as the driver and that combo is deadly, low launch and super low spin. The on course performance has been worse then what these numbers say.

It’s only bee 4 days with the club so I’ll be patient and see if anything changes. Maybe tip trim the shaft or add some lead tape to the front, i dunno . I’m playing tomorrow and gonna put the m6 back in play til i figure it out
 
When I posted numbers in the m5/6 fairway thread a few months ago my m6 3w carried 257 and 5w 243... I’m a pretty strong fairway player so contact off the turf is never a problem for me... I’m centering the hogan and just don’t get what the problem is. Same shaft as the driver and that combo is deadly, low launch and super low spin. The on course performance has been worse then what these numbers say.

It’s only bee 4 days with the club so I’ll be patient and see if anything changes. Maybe tip trim the shaft or add some lead tape to the front, i dunno . I’m playing tomorrow and gonna put the m6 back in play til i figure it out
@jfrigo1003 are you still seeing basically the same thing as me? Higher swing speed, and seeing a hard fade that ends up short and right?

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@jfrigo1003 are you still seeing basically the same thing as me? Higher swing speed, and seeing a hard fade that ends up short and right?

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Big time! I think you’re a little faster than me, I’m about 112 with driver ... but yes, the last ball recorded on my numbers was a big fade that went nowhere. I’m not chunking it, not taking big divots, in general very solid and centered contact with pretty poor results

There’s a lot of balls I’ve hit and said “wow that’s killed”, until I see the flight of it and barely go 200

right now my 5 iron or perfectly struck 6 goes farther than the 4 wood
 
Good start with the driver. This with the Lin-Q is incredible!!!
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Hogan carried 250 and stopped. No roll out. The EXS carried 255-260...then 15 yards of roll out. All shots on Hogan driver was center(middle/high) or heel(middle/high). EXS was mostly Center(middle/high).


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That is super interesting. More ball speed out of the Hogan, despite having less club head speed, which says something. Spin was similar, launch only a degree and seeing that much change in roll out on a simulator and that much distance difference. Maybe their simulator was a bit off? 25 yards is a lot with less ball speed, 1 degree of launch and 200 RPMs of spin difference.
 
@JB any input on what Jfrigio and myself are seeing?

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@JB any input on what Jfrigio and myself are seeing?

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I don't, not yet anyway. I have asked a fitter friend for some input on this one. Because I am not seeing that at all, so want another set of eyeballs.
 
I hate to say it but I just don’t think the driver is going to work for me. I have not hit any drives with it that were any longer to speak of than my current driver. The Srixon z565 is much more consistent for me.

The 4 wood: jury is still out. I absolutely mashed a couple with it, and hit a couple of spinners and one flat out pop-up. Will keep experimenting as I have the demos for another week.


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I went to a golf store with a monitor and took my clubs to compare with the demo. I am not sure that I am good enough or knowledgeable enough to make these work, but I am going to take them outdoors next week and see what I see.

On the monitor, my 3 wood set to 16 degrees to match the 4w lift was more carry and straighter. It could be the shaft stiffness and length; I have never hit a stiff shaft in a fairway wood. I didn’t get the demo set to buy a fairway wood, I was looking mostly at driver, so don’t read too much into this because I didn’t give it much of a trial.

The driver was causing me issues. My miss tends to be on the toe side and usually draws back to center with my current driver. With this, it was going far right when I hit on the toe. Even ones I hit in the middle wanted to leak right? It could be the driver setting or the shaft; I am not sure. The carry distance was about the same at 101-104 swing speed, I just didn’t like the flight pattern.

I loved the sound and feel of the driver and the classy look. I am pretty certain that if I went to a knowledgeable fitter that he/she would make this driver work well for me. The backspin was about the same for both drivers (3200) and ball speed was 145-150 (had one with my driver at 156). The dispersion was such a contrast. My driver went left (normal) and BH went right.

I am trying to straighten mine out some (overdraw is a recent issue) and am going to play tomorrow and work on it. I will take the BH driver to the range next week and read up on some settings before I do.


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Played in a scramble today and we used quite a few of my drives, as it was getting really good distance and fairly straight today. One of my better shots was on a par 5 where we were 221 out, flew it on the green and just went over the back.

My bad swing creates a fade but I'm not seeing the huge loss of distance like the others., but my SS is around 100-102.
 
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