Ben Hogan GS53 Driver and Fairway Woods

[Thrillbilly Jim]

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.

It's the Full Swing brand simulator. I don't know. I'm 50/50 on it. My irons showed the same on it as well as SkyTrak so I know it's pretty accurate with them. The Full Swing has a hard time picking up path angle and side spin with the driver. It's hit or miss on the 3 wood.


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[jfrigo1003]

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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Toe misses are massively punished!! They start right and go farther right, no draw at all

I’ve gotten much more comfortable with mine and love it. I lofted mine up, set lie angle upright , and closed the face slightly. Made a huge difference for overall performance!!!! Made it a very neutral and straight flight... but toe strikes are still punished. Heel side finds the fairway quite easily


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[Sox_Fan]

I guess I am the contrarian. I get much more out of toe misses with the GS53 and all other drivers I can recall than heel misses. Typically when I miss on the toe it is with a closed club face so it produces pulls. Just like when I fade the ball, I lose a good bit of distance off any club with a heel strike.

 

[MGoBlue]

Ok I’m done with these. Played this morning with my wife and another couple. Scattered the driver all over the place through the first 6 holes (two of those weren’t driver holes). FW not producing the distance I was expecting either.

I live near the 7th tee so dashed home in the cart and got my z565 driver and f65 3W. Hammered those things with great directional control as well for the rest of the round. Driver and hybrid got me home in two for a closing birdie.

So, sorry Hogan. Love the PTxPro irons and the equalizer wedges. But the driver and FW don’t work for me. Disappointed but that’s the way it is.


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[Jman]

Ok I’m done with these. Played this morning with my wife and another couple. Scattered the driver all over the place through the first 6 holes (two of those weren’t driver holes). FW not producing the distance I was expecting either.

I live near the 7th tee so dashed home in the cart and got my z565 driver and f65 3W. Hammered those things with great directional control as well for the rest of the round. Driver and hybrid got me home in two for a closing birdie.

So, sorry Hogan. Love the PTxPro irons and the equalizer wedges. But the driver and FW don’t work for me. Disappointed but that’s the way it is.


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Sometimes things don’t work for us, and that’s ok.

You’re bowing out, so, I’ll jump in. The driver is headed home from THP HQ with me for a homepage review, so I’ll be chiming in here with thoughts and such.

 

[Qwkz51]

Sometimes things don’t work for us, and that’s ok.

You’re bowing out, so, I’ll jump in. The driver is headed home from THP HQ with me for a homepage review, so I’ll be chiming in here with thoughts and such.

Definitely excited to hear your thoughts on it. You have a more pure swing than most of us so I'm guessing it will probably play pretty well for you.

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[Jman]

Definitely excited to hear your thoughts on it. You have a more pure swing than most of us so I'm guessing it will probably play pretty well for you.

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That’s the first time my swing has been called pure, Hahahaha

I’m framing this quote!!!

 

[Thrillbilly Jim]

Sometimes things don’t work for us, and that’s ok.

You’re bowing out, so, I’ll jump in. The driver is headed home from THP HQ with me for a homepage review, so I’ll be chiming in here with thoughts and such.

Jman...you might have a full bag of BH by the end of the year! You have the putter, PTx Pros, and now the driver! Welcome to the Ben Hogan side!

 

[ddec]

That’s the first time my swing has been called pure, Hahahaha

I’m framing this quote!!!

I've called it pure before...but there is another word that follows that helps define it in its entirety. #GoodGood

 

[Jman]

Jman...you might have a full bag of BH by the end of the year! You have the putter, PTx Pros, and now the driver! Welcome to the Ben Hogan side!

Hahaha, I would pump the brakes a bit there.

It’ll definitely be fun putting the driver to work through.

 

[OhioGolfer]

I've called it pure before...but there is another word that follows that helps define it in its entirety. #GoodGood

Haha I've heard this before

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[jfrigo1003]

Got on a GC Quad yesterday and still dont understand what I'm seeing from the fairway. Driver is 10.5 lofted up to 11* with Lin-Q 65g and 4w is 16* with Lin-Q 75g. In 2 range sessions, 1 round, and 2 launch monitor sessions it seems to be consistent what im seeing from the 4w. I dont know what it is. If I was hitting 60yd slices right then id understand. but for the most part the flight is staying on path straight and gradually rises higher and higher, then drops straight out of the sky

Driver:
ball speed 159.4
launch: 13.2
spin: 2144
carry: 278
total: 307

Fairway:
ball speed:133
launch: 17.2
backspin: 5300
carry: 193
total: 204

 

[Sox_Fan]

Got on a GC Quad yesterday and still dont understand what I'm seeing from the fairway. Driver is 10.5 lofted up to 11* with Lin-Q 65g and 4w is 16* with Lin-Q 75g. In 2 range sessions, 1 round, and 2 launch monitor sessions it seems to be consistent what im seeing from the 4w. I dont know what it is. If I was hitting 60yd slices right then id understand. but for the most part the flight is staying on path straight and gradually rises higher and higher, then drops straight out of the sky

Driver:
ball speed 159.4
launch: 13.2
spin: 2144
carry: 278
total: 307

Fairway:
ball speed:133
launch: 17.2
backspin: 5300
carry: 193
total: 204

Wow. That is one heck of a drop for 5 degrees. Now I feel bad for being concerned about my 25 - 30 yard difference from 3 wood to 5 wood (4 degree gap).

 

[jfrigo1003]

Wow. That is one heck of a drop for 5 degrees. Now I feel bad for being concerned about my 25 - 30 yard difference from 3 wood to 5 wood (4 degree gap).

yea something doesn't make sense but its consistent. Ive done all my testing on the same monitors.... Just looked back at my old pics. my m6 3w had ball speed of 154 and 272 total distance and m6 5w was 148 with 257 total distance.

 

[jbuck31]

Got on a GC Quad yesterday and still dont understand what I'm seeing from the fairway. Driver is 10.5 lofted up to 11* with Lin-Q 65g and 4w is 16* with Lin-Q 75g. In 2 range sessions, 1 round, and 2 launch monitor sessions it seems to be consistent what im seeing from the 4w. I dont know what it is. If I was hitting 60yd slices right then id understand. but for the most part the flight is staying on path straight and gradually rises higher and higher, then drops straight out of the sky

Driver:
ball speed 159.4
launch: 13.2
spin: 2144
carry: 278
total: 307

Fairway:
ball speed:133
launch: 17.2
backspin: 5300
carry: 193
total: 204

The numbers seem odd for the 4 wood. Total distance you're seeing is what I normally get from my 5 wood and your SS is much higher than mine. That is intriguing indeed.

 

[MGoBlue]

The 4w spin numbers seem huge!


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[jfrigo1003]

The 4w spin numbers seem huge!


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Yea I dont get it. Spins more than my 6 iron...whats more strange is how the ball speed is so low for me

 

[JB]

Yea I dont get it. Spins more than my 6 iron...whats more strange is how the ball speed is so low for me

Taking the spin out of the equation, the ball speed number is directly related to impact.

 

[jfrigo1003]

Taking the spin out of the equation, the ball speed number is directly related to impact.

I feel like im squaring up pretty solid. Im not hitting fades/slices. im hitting it very straight ...maybe somehow im delivering more loft

 

[MGoBlue]

I was demoing the Driver and 4w with Tensei Stiff. My last shot with the 4w was about 220 down a big hill on a par 5. Good lie, and I felt like I nutted it. Came up 20 yards short. Sunday, same hole, I was about 210 out and hit the green with a 19* Adams SuperXTD hybrid.


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[JB]

I feel like im squaring up pretty solid. Im not hitting fades/slices. im hitting it very straight ...maybe somehow im delivering more loft

Very possible.
Loss in ball speed comes from missing the center. Where as slicing the ball is not always achieved the same way. To give you an example, in just about every metal wood ever created, hitting it high on the face, reduces ball speed. It also reduces spin quite a bit, so I don't think that is the issue here. Im wondering if you are catching it a bit heel or toe side to see this kind of ball speed loss.

 

[Qwkz51]

Got on a GC Quad yesterday and still dont understand what I'm seeing from the fairway. Driver is 10.5 lofted up to 11* with Lin-Q 65g and 4w is 16* with Lin-Q 75g. In 2 range sessions, 1 round, and 2 launch monitor sessions it seems to be consistent what im seeing from the 4w. I dont know what it is. If I was hitting 60yd slices right then id understand. but for the most part the flight is staying on path straight and gradually rises higher and higher, then drops straight out of the sky

Driver:
ball speed 159.4
launch: 13.2
spin: 2144
carry: 278
total: 307

Fairway:
ball speed:133
launch: 17.2
backspin: 5300
carry: 193
total: 204

So I sort of saw the same thing. I only took 2 swings with each of the 3x3wds I had with me as I was closing on time. However I had one with a 120MPH Ballspeed, and one with 158mph. The other two fairways were between 148-160. Definitely an enigma for me.

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[JB]

I just want to say when you are swinging well, this driver is a freaking joy. Low spin, powerful, sounds great and just GOES...

 

[OhioGolfer]

I just want to say when you are swinging well, this driver is a freaking joy. Low spin, powerful, sounds great and just GOES...

Agreed, it knocked the TS2 out for me

 

[Qwkz51]

I just want to say when you are swinging well, this driver is a freaking joy. Low spin, powerful, sounds great and just GOES...

You might have nailed the issue.. I've never had a good swing

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