Ben Hogan VKTR Hybrids Review Thread

[McLovin]

hit this a ton today. boy am I swinging badly right now, so I guess I was able to test the forgiveness. it's not forgiving even with the weight low. but that said, it never got me in much trouble. I hit some okay shots with it. but the swing is such garbage right now it's tough to provide any meaningful feedback.


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[tequila4kapp]

hit this a ton today. boy am I swinging badly right now, so I guess I was able to test the forgiveness. it's not forgiving even with the weight low. but that said, it never got me in much trouble. I hit some okay shots with it. but the swing is such garbage right now it's tough to provide any meaningful feedback.


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What makes you say it isn't forgiving?

 

[mancest]

Had a quick range session this morning and I hit this a few times. For me, unless I make a pretty poor swing this club wants to go straight. I have hit a few heel shots that have had a bit of a fade on them, but on well struck shots the ball flies straight as a string.

Another quick note that might not be too important, while the stock grip isn't my first choice (that would be the uTx) it looks fantastic and is better than most stock grips (I am looking at you XR16s)

In my round tomorrow I plan play with the weight in the rear position (the most forgiving setting I believe) and if I can get to the shop next week I will get it on the launch monitor to see how much moving the weights really affects launch/spin conditions. My swing is finally in a place where I feel like I can get some decent data.

 

[McLovin]

What makes you say it isn't forgiving?

misses all over the face produce results that are neither straight nor predictable. but hear me clearly, I'm swinging like garbage at the moment. extreme heel contact, fat, thin, you name it.

but I'll say it again, this club never got me in trouble. in fact, I hit it in the 200-225 range many times today, and although I came up short due to the poor contact the misses were very playable.

what I mean by not forgiving is that the trajectory changes with a miss, the direction changes with a miss, and the distance changes by 10-20 yards. in my book that's not forgiving. but that doesn't mean it's not playable. to me this is like blades are to sgi irons. maybe this is a j15 muscle back (i.e. a beautiful small profile) whereas something like an x2hot is more like a ping g iron.

does that make any sense lol?!


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[mancest]

Ben Hogan VKTR Hybrids Review Thread

On course now, only hit my VKTR a couple times, I tell my buddy if he wants to hit it just let me know. He is about a bogey golfer, finally on the 16th hole (166 yard par 3 into about a 15mph wind) he asks to hit it.

I flare mine and am in the bunker pin high. He hits it, catches it a touch heavy and it hits on the front of the green and rolls out.

He looks down and starts telling me it sets up a little funny... I am watching his ball as it is still rolling and tracking at the hole... Then the ball is gone...

We are walking to the green and I tell him don't get too excited but I think your ball is in the hole. No way he says, until he get up to the green and his ball is nowhere in sight.

He gets to the hole, and yup, he just hit his first ever hole in one with the VKTR!

He says thanks THP & thanks Ben Hogan Golf!!!


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[McLovin]

hit this a bunch on the range today as I'm working through a rough patch but need to keep up with the review. lasered a pin at 196 and was hitting decent range balls so maybe 5-10 yards short of a premium ball. and I was hitting off mats. I was impressed. dispersion was very good given how far I was trying to hit this. I'm definitely gaining confidence with this and starting to know what to expect. I am not planning on changing the weight from the low (higher launch and forgiving) setting.


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[JB]

On course now, only hit my VKTR a couple times, I tell my buddy if he wants to hit it just let me know. He is about a bogey golfer, finally on the 16th hole (166 yard par 3 into about a 15mph wind) he asks to hit it.

I flare mine and am in the bunker pin high. He hits it, catches it a touch heavy and it hits on the front of the green and rolls out.

He looks down and starts telling me it sets up a little funny... I am watching his ball as it is still rolling and tracking at the hole... Then the ball is gone...

We are walking to the green and I tell him don't get too excited but I think your ball is in the hole. No way he says, until he get up to the green and his ball is nowhere in sight.

He gets to the hole, and yup, he just hit his first ever hole in one with the VKTR!

He says thanks THP & thanks Ben Hogan Golf!!!


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That is freaking awesome!
Could you imagine how good he would have done if it didnt set up funny to him?

 

[mancest]

That is freaking awesome!
Could you imagine how good he would have done if it didnt set up funny to him?

A zero?? Pretty crazy.

To say he is impressed with this club now would be an understatement. He said he is going to send them some pics on Twitter and maybe Instagram.

2nd hole in one I have witnessed and neither guy saw the ball go in the cup. I had to tell them it was an ace.


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[buckeyewalt]

After getting back from vacation/celebrating our anniversary with no clubs mind you, what's a guy to do...easy go golfing today which is what I did. This is my range review with a on course review to follow.

I received a 19* VKTR with an IRoD shaft R-flex, 1* up. My initial hit is in the default position when it was sent to me (heavy weight in the sole). My usual hits for a 19* is somewhere between 190 and a little over 200 yards. First few hits I started hitting it just a little left of center but the more I hit it, the better the results were until I was finally hitting it flush. I never hit a hybrid with the looks of a VKTR, most of my previous hybrids have been Ping so looking down at the VKTR vs the Ping was an adjustment for me but it was a quick one. I hit 10 balls in each position, off the deck with 2 of those off of tees. My results were as follows:

WEIGHT IN THE CENTER- This is where I thought that I would hit the best balls with but I didn't. For me hitting it in the center produced a good mid-flight with about 175 in carry the rest in roll, around 190 yards total take or give a few. When I took a swing, I could feel the club being pulled down because of the weight in the sole. Eighteen grams doesn't seem like much but when you take the weight out, it does feel very heavy. This was the most penetrating shot that I had if I wanted that type of shot. Hitting it off the tees really didn't produce much more of a different trajectory, maybe slightly higher, but was just a cleaner feeling hit. Distance was about the same maybe a bit longer.

WEIGHT IN THE BACK- This is my spot. When I moved the weight to the back, it turned this 19* hybrid into a different club for me and my swing. I didn't feel the sole heaviness that I did with it in the center sole position, rather I felt a slight heaviness toward the rear that I prefer (my driver has lead tape build-up on the end). Right away I was hitting higher and longer shots that were easily getting to the 200 yard post, mostly because of increased carry. The thing I was impressed the most with is the feel, almost like the TK wedges that I have, very muted feel with a distinct click when the ball is hit. Without that click, I probably wouldn't know if I ever hit the ball, it felt that muted. Hitting it off the tees produced a little higher flight again, close to the same distance but the feeling wasn't as muted, still felt really good.

WEIGHT IN THE TOP AND BOTTOM- I put these together because I had about the same results. There was movement right to left and left to right but a lot of times, I can partially attribute it to my swing and set-up vs the weights. I was very inconsistent in say putting the weight in the top port or bottom port and magically my ball direction would be left and right respectively. I have a difficult time anyway in trying to move the ball right and left on command, my typical ball flight is fairly straight. So trying to get these to move right and left for me was difficult off the deck. My better results in movement was off of the tees where I did see a distinct draw and fade but to have the weight in either the top or bottom port all of the time wouldn't work for me and my swing type especially in a hybrid.

HITTING OUT OF THE ROUGH- My best results were with the weight in the back position for distance and carry about 165 yards in normal rough and a mid trajectory and in the sole position for getting it out of serious rough with distance dropping to around 130-140 yards. The trajectory being mid-low. I wanted to try a few different lies out of the rough, but the arms and hands were getting tired, it was hot, and I could hear Yuengling calling me.

CONCLUSION- This is, without a doubt the best hybrid that I have ever hit. I like it mainly because it goes straight even with a wacky swing on it the distance probably won't be great but at least you will go straight. I thought you have to have a shovel face on a club to get out of the rough, but these proved me wrong. Oh, I almost forgot to add the something about the v-sole. I really didn't notice it doing anything. Maybe is was getting a cleaner hit or cutting through the rough, if it was, I didn't notice it, but I'm glad it's there. This is my first time hitting an IRoD shaft and it felt good without being whippy or too stiff. I could feel some flex kind of like the Recoils in my TK wedges.

I will give an on-course test (as my shots permit) with the weight in the center port. My Ping will be dropping back to my #2 bag when it is complete (new sticks coming this summer). If you have any questions or want any information please let me know.

I would be very remiss if I didn't thank the Ben Hogan Company and THP for providing this club for me to test. Thank You!

 

[mancest]

In my round today, only hit the VKTR 4 times. once as a punch out under trees and once as a layup. Similar to what a saw last week. The misses are smaller left to right with this club, but it is definitely not as forgiving as any game improvement model I have played. After my buddy hit his 1st ace with it, I used it on the 18th hole when I was a 165 out and had to hit one low under a tree and hopefully have it hit a little draw to it... that is not really a shot I have, but I went for it.

Took a 3/4 swing with this back in my stance, caught it solid and got it under the trees with a low tight little draw. Wasn't quite enough draw as I ended up pin high, just off the green in the right rough. I got up and down from there so I would rate this shot a 9/10 for me. This is not a shot I would have dreamed of hitting with my old hybrid, so I likely would have just tried to hit a little punch out with a 6I and hoped to get up and down from 100 yards.

This club is much more versatile than any other hybrid I have played and I am one step closer to buying a 26/27* to replace my 5H.

 

[tequila4kapp]

It seems like some testers are saying the VKTR is not the longest or most forgiving but it's the best hybrid they've played. I'm curious about that.

 

[mancest]

It seems like some testers are saying the VKTR is not the longest or most forgiving but it's the best hybrid they've played. I'm curious about that.

I think it depends on what you want out of your hybrid. Personally I was playing what I would consider a distance hybrid prior. It was more forgiving and is longer (it was 1* stronger, 3/4" longer in length and has a bigger head) but at times would come up very close to the distance of my woods. And when I missed left or right sometimes that distance put me in some serious trouble.

This club is a precision machine and while I think at times I would benefit from extra forgiveness, the different shots I can play with this club and the fact that if I hit it well I KNOW how far the ball will go have cemented its spot in my bag.

It is more of a long iron replacement than a mini fairway wood and I am loving that.




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[buckeyewalt]

As I continue to play this club, I will learn what can or cannot be done with it. Is it the MOST forgiving hybrid that I have hit, comes very close, is it the longest, also comes very close. Since my long game is really poor at the present, I will use the VKTR on some of those holes by chocking down a bit and see what happens. This club is very consistent one reason why I said it was the best hybrid I have hit. The worst hit with this club was my near toe hits picture that I posted earlier in the thread. While I didn't get the distance I was looking for at the time, it was in no way a bust in forgiveness. It forgave a little, but let me know that it wasn't going to give me all of the yardage that I needed. Distance is not my main objective in these, just give me something acceptable so I can get it on the green. This is a very different hybrid than my Ping.

 

[BamBooBender]

Sounds like this club is working just as it is meant to, according to the video with Terry.

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[mancest]

Sounds like this club is working just as it is meant to, according to the video with Terry.

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I have been getting emails from them (I am sure many will be) explaining these hybrids. I think I just got the 3rd of 7 and this one highlighted my thoughts perfectly. This isn't a distance club, it is a club for golfers looking for a specific distance to fill gaps.

I am not one to work/flight the ball but I have been able to keep this ball down when needed, and I am sure many could get it to work left and right (I can but rarely on command).


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[McLovin]

It seems like some testers are saying the VKTR is not the longest or most forgiving but it's the best hybrid they've played. I'm curious about that.

for me, it's one of two hybrids i have played in this category, the other being the adams pro. it was tiny, it had a higher toe, and quite frankly it was sh1t for my game! so in this category of true iron replacement clubs, it's the best i have played.

i actually think most of other hybrids i have tried fit into more of a fybrid category to steal a term from wilson. smaller than a fairway wood, but significantly larger than an iron. not terribly workable vertically, maybe a bit more workable horizontally than a fw and quite a bit more forgiving than an iron.

what i really like about this vktr is that it gaps exactly like an iron, but isn't as hard to hit as a true long iron would be. not to put words into bhg's mouth, but i feel like this is a response to the direction some hybrids were going which was to launch like fairway woods (or even higher) and not have enough spin to hold greens. this vktr absolutely can hold greens, even on a flatter trajectory. i hit some lower heel shots in my round over the weekend from over 200y that hit and held greens.

 

[buckeyewalt]

Played a quick 9 and again, this club was nothing but straight. I only had a chance to hit it twice, but those 2 times I came away more impressed than ever. My first was I the rough plus some hard-pan, not my best swing, a little towards the toe but still managed to get it up and about 165 yards straight. My second after a poor drive, I hit off the deck about 180 or so which left me a very short chip. The weight was on the back port which to me makes all of the difference. I really like this club!!

 

[McLovin]

Played a quick 9 and again, this club was nothing but straight. I only had a chance to hit it twice, but those 2 times I came away more impressed than ever. My first was I the rough plus some hard-pan, not my best swing, a little towards the toe but still managed to get it up and about 165 yards straight. My second after a poor drive, I hit off the deck about 180 or so which left me a very short chip. The weight was on the back port which to me makes all of the difference. I really like this club!!

for me it's been a paradigm shift away from the "fybrid" design and expectations to an easier to hit long iron expectation. as I embrace what this is, I like it more and more.


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[aslxa]

It seems like some testers are saying the VKTR is not the longest or most forgiving but it's the best hybrid they've played. I'm curious about that.

That is a fair question. I needed a 4 iron replacement that provides a consistent, reliable distance and can be hit from a variety of lies - the VKTR does all of that plus feels great and sets up nicely. Do I give something up by playing it? Sure, the lateral misses lose more carry than just about any other hybrid I have hit and the ballflight is lower as well. But it has already become one of the most reliable clubs in my bag and has changed the way I play several of the holes at my home courses. I had just about given up hope of finding such a club.

There was a mention above describing this more along the lines of a "blade" than a "SGI" hybrid. That seems apt to me. The VKTR performs exactly as Hogan describes it would in their information about hybrid design.

 

[JB]

It seems like some testers are saying the VKTR is not the longest or most forgiving but it's the best hybrid they've played. I'm curious about that.

I kind of relate that to the Callaway Apex as well. Its not the longest being more of an iron replacement. Its not the most forgiving based on a number of things, but it is so well loved.

For me its a consistency thing, matched with a look and sound I really like.

 

[McLovin]

I kind of relate that to the Callaway Apex as well. Its not the longest being more of an iron replacement. Its not the most forgiving based on a number of things, but it is so well loved.

For me its a consistency thing, matched with a look and sound I really like.

have you spent any time with the vktr? side-by-side with the apex hybo they looked remarkably similar.

 

[JB]

have you spent any time with the vktr? side-by-side with the apex hybo they looked remarkably similar.

Yes, I am currently playing the 3 hybrid.

 

[aslxa]

Again on the road for work so have been hitting a range near the hotel in the evening. They have these large metal signs that are about 4 feet wide and 8 feet high and demarcate the yardage every 25 yards (100, 125, etc). Last night I hit the "200" sign four times out of a small bucket of balls and threatened it with many more. I do not know if it is the increased spin but I continue to hit his club very straight.

I'll get some pictures up next week when I get back but I can say that the paint/finish has held up very well - I think I passed 200 hits with it last night and it looks pretty close to new.

I wonder if any of the testers have an issue with the headcover? It looks great but tends to work loose in the bag and I need to pull it back down every few holes. That might be just because of where it hits my bag though.

 

[McLovin]

Again on the road for work so have been hitting a range near the hotel in the evening. They have these large metal signs that are about 4 feet wide and 8 feet high and demarcate the yardage every 25 yards (100, 125, etc). Last night I hit the "200" sign four times out of a small bucket of balls and threatened it with many more. I do not know if it is the increased spin but I continue to hit his club very straight.

I'll get some pictures up next week when I get back but I can say that the paint/finish has held up very well - I think I passed 200 hits with it last night and it looks pretty close to new.

I wonder if any of the testers have an issue with the headcover? It looks great but tends to work loose in the bag and I need to pull it back down every few holes. That might be just because of where it hits my bag though.

i haven't had the hc fall off, but it does come off pretty easily. i do love the way it looks though!

i don't have a problem with the wear on the face, and i've hit it pretty much every conceivable place lol. the joining of the face to the crown has some paint wear already, though, where it seems there is some flexing. and the paint fill isn't holding up great in spots. but i'm a guy who likes bag chatter, so a little wear actually appeals to me.

fyi i have pulled my 4h out and put my 5i back in. 5i remains a good (if inconsistent) 190-200 club, and this 21* is a good 200-215 club, and fw is 220-240. gapping is probably best it's ever been with this 21* in there.

 

[mancest]

Again on the road for work so have been hitting a range near the hotel in the evening. They have these large metal signs that are about 4 feet wide and 8 feet high and demarcate the yardage every 25 yards (100, 125, etc). Last night I hit the "200" sign four times out of a small bucket of balls and threatened it with many more. I do not know if it is the increased spin but I continue to hit his club very straight.

I'll get some pictures up next week when I get back but I can say that the paint/finish has held up very well - I think I passed 200 hits with it last night and it looks pretty close to new.

I wonder if any of the testers have an issue with the headcover? It looks great but tends to work loose in the bag and I need to pull it back down every few holes. That might be just because of where it hits my bag though.

the headcover looks great, but is not the most functional in my opinion. I have a 14 way divider on a push cart and I have noticed it slide up when I have pulled other clubs out around it. If I was carrying I am guessing it would have fallen off at least once. Will keep using it for a while longer then will throw one of my Seamus headcovers on it.