Ben Hogan Equalizer Wedges

JB;n8896151 said:
This is one of the real stars of the Ben Hogan lineup right now and very under thought of.
These wedges are seriously good. They really promote clean contact and because of that, I am getting fantastic spin around the greens.

Did you put 95 Proto's in your wedges? I almost went with these over the Mizuno's, but ultimately wanted the same shafts as my irons.


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At the 3 month mark:

Equalizer Wedges:
I chose the Black wedges with DBM black finish. I support impressed with these. Every bit as much as the PTX Pro irons. I have really learned to control these wedges. Friday I played with a former co-worker who retired. His comment out of the gate was, "when did you learn to hit your wedges like that?" I told him what I was playing and he couldn't believe how much control I had picked up since last year. It's all confidence with these. I'm definitely not a pro, I hit my fair share of bad wedge shots. I don't typically hit consecutive bad shots, and I hit far more good ones than I do the bad. The finish is incredibly durable, and still is dark and healthy looking as the day I got them. I don't see any wear as of yet. Standouts in a very good lineup.

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

Final notes:
Same with the PTX, I don't know if the perfect wedge exist, but I'll take these anytime. These and any variation of these will be staying in my bag for a LONG time.
 
I’m still loving these wedges. The finish is excellent and hardly shows any wear. The V sole is awesome! I really didn’t know what to expect there. I had Cleveland RTX-3’s before these and I didn’t care for the V sole on those.The Hogan’s just seem to work so much better for my swing. Also, I don’t know how but they’ve made a blade wedge that is very forgiving. My usual miss is on the toe and it seems like I don’t really lose any distance or spin with these on that particular miss.

I’ve never been a very good short game player but I’ve also never had wedges that I am a confident with. I’m still not a very good short game player but I definitely have confidence that I can hit the shot I need with these
 
Love the wedges. Learning to hit shots again that I’d forgotten years ago. So much confidence with these. Got the longer wedge grips from hogan and installed them with 4 wraps under the right hand all the way to the bottom of the grip. So I can choke way down and still have a lot of grip to work with. Great feel and touch with them. Awesome clubs.


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I'm having mixed results so far. I'm pretty dialed in on full and half swings, but around the green I'm an absolute wreck. I haven't had time to put in much practice with them, so hopefully a few sessions at the practice green can rectify the issues. I will say, on full shots I absolutely love the feel and turf interaction. I still think I want to swap out the stock Recoils with 110s, though.
 
I’m a big fan of these. Just wrapped up some short game wrk and they continue to impress, especially with versatility. Not sure what my wedge situation will be heading into next year but strong consideration here.
 
I’m a big fan of these. Just wrapped up some short game wrk and they continue to impress, especially with versatility. Not sure what my wedge situation will be heading into next year but strong consideration here.
That definitely says a lot coming from the guy who basically has the entire field at his disposal! I concour, these wedges are exceptional and someone will have to come up with some voodoo to get me away from them.
 
I've played a ton of rounds with these now and still continue to love these clubs. I can't say enough good things with these wedges on full shots, so much confidence with them. I was really excited to get the black wedges and to see how they would hold up. I'm probably 40 rounds or so in with these now. Very impressed with how they have kept their finish so far.
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Just got the lofts bent down by 2 degree on the 52 and 1 degree on the 56 to take a small amount of bounce and these have become the more confident part of my bag.
 
These got a pretty good workout today as I was driving the ball farther than normal and had wedge into a few par 4’s. The V sole on these is perfect for me. I can still chunk them but I have to miss so bad that there’s nothing that could save the shot. But a little heavy, it’s like I made perfect contact. I’m still not sure how they’ve made these forgiving either but they did. Almost all of my wedge shots for the past couple months have been off the toe but I haven’t noticed much, if any, distance or spin loss.

I’m going to buy a backup set or two this winter so I’m not SOL if they ever discontinue these
 
These wedges were fantastic for me today, hit 3 really good shots today with them

1. Hole 4 par 5 was just short in 2 in the rough and chipped it up to about 2 inches just short for a tap in birdie
2. Hole 12 was in the green side bunker and caught it perfect and it rolled just past the cup for another tap in
3. Hole 18 from 106 out hit the 50 degree in the cup

These wedges have been a fantastic addition to the bag so far.
 
These wedges were fantastic for me today, hit 3 really good shots today with them

1. Hole 4 par 5 was just short in 2 in the rough and chipped it up to about 2 inches just short for a tap in birdie
2. Hole 12 was in the green side bunker and caught it perfect and it rolled just past the cup for another tap in
3. Hole 18 from 106 out hit the 50 degree in the cup

These wedges have been a fantastic addition to the bag so far.

That’s great stuff.

I’m really enjoying mine on full shots. I’m still getting used to them around the greens so it’s hit and miss there at times.

Today’s highlight with these was a 45 yard shot where I took it in low and it just one hop stopped about 4 feet short. These things are solid for sure.
 
These wedges just keep impressing me. The black finish looks good and holds up well. The v sole is impressive. Hit a lot of 1/2 and 3/4 shots. Good height and good spin to stop the ball on the green. I plugged a wedge shot from 85 yards right into a bunker. It was a horrible fried egg. Behind the green was water and the green itself is small making a long or bladed shot certain to be wet. I am a horrible bunker player. I had about 10-15 ft of sand to carry to the front of the green. Ball came out clean and and landed just short on the fringe. Very happy considering the lie in the bunker. The wedges are so good for the looks, durability, performance, and price.
 
These wedges just keep impressing me. The black finish looks good and holds up well. The v sole is impressive. Hit a lot of 1/2 and 3/4 shots. Good height and good spin to stop the ball on the green. I plugged a wedge shot from 85 yards right into a bunker. It was a horrible fried egg. Behind the green was water and the green itself is small making a long or bladed shot certain to be wet. I am a horrible bunker player. I had about 10-15 ft of sand to carry to the front of the green. Ball came out clean and and landed just short on the fringe. Very happy considering the lie in the bunker. The wedges are so good for the looks, durability, performance, and price.

I agree with these out of the bunker. I hit my 54* out of greenside bunkers and the ball comes out so easy and checks pretty easy once it hits the green.
 
I still have a world of confidence with these, probably more than I need to have. I just feel really good close to the green with the Equalizers in hand.
 
These wedges continue to produce the golf shots I can count of every round. Even when everything else goes south, the Equalizers are always there to help pick up the pieces and keep the score from ballooning too much. Still playing with the older satin chrome in 54 and 58 as they just for some reason are more reliable for me than the DBM wedges.
 
I've played a ton of rounds with these now and still continue to love these clubs. I can't say enough good things with these wedges on full shots, so much confidence with them. I was really excited to get the black wedges and to see how they would hold up. I'm probably 40 rounds or so in with these now. Very impressed with how they have kept their finish so far.
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What shafts are you using on those?
 
Recoil Smacwrap 780

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You're a strong player. The Recoils don't launch too high for full shots? I am asking as I was looking at these last night and almost pulled the trigger, but I have never played graphite in my irons. I was very intrigued though as the weight is very close to the Elevate shafts in my Callaway Apex 19's.
 
You're a strong player. The Recoils don't launch too high for full shots? I am asking as I was looking at these last night and almost pulled the trigger, but I have never played graphite in my irons. I was very intrigued though as the weight is very close to the Elevate shafts in my Callaway Apex 19's.
These are a lot lighter than my other recoils that I had in my Rtx3s. They do launch high for me but I really like the ball flight with them, it has stopped me from having the bad bladed miss.

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If you read my recap of The Ben Hogan Experience, you will know that Team Tyler lost the event due to a wayward wedge shot by yours truly. Because of this faulty wedge shot, Tyler Brewton with Ben Hogan Golf decided to send me a couple of Ben Hogan Equalizer wedges to replace my Cleveland RTX-4s. I have put them in the bag for the last 20 rounds and multiple range/short game practice sessions. This review covers the 54 & 58 degree wedges in the Black finish with the graphite shaft offering of the Recoil 780/F4 Smac Wrap shaft.

About me:
Handicap- GHIN 11.2
Swing Speed- 98-100 MPH (Driver Average)
Normal Ball Flight- Mid-High
Normal Miss- Left (I'm right handed), Sometimes left of Elizabeth Warren
Wedges that I've Gamed in the Past- Cleveland 588, Nike VR, Cleveland 588 (revamp), Mack Daddy 2, Cleveland RTX-3, Mack Daddy 4, Cleveland RTX-4


Looks: This wedge is very good in the looks department, I have the matte black finish on these wedges and the look inspires confidence. The red numbering with the white writing is a good combo; I think that it is a better look than a lot of the wedges that I have gamed in the past (listed above). Through 20 rounds and some range sessions, the black finish is holding up so well it’s shocking. I’m a big fan of darker finish on my wedges, and all of the wedges that I have gamed (except for the OG 588s and the Nike VR) have been in a dark finish. The finish is holding up way better than the dark finish on any wedge that I have ever gamed. As to be expected in a wedge that bares the Ben Hogan name, the shape is traditional and classic.

Data Averages: 54 Degree- Full Swing (Foresight Sim)

Club Head Speed- 69.6 MPH

Ball Speed- 85.0 MPH

Launch Angle- 31.60

Spin- 9,023 RPMs

Peak Height: 28 yards

Carry Distance- 101 yards

Total Distance- 106 yards

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Data Averages: 58 Degree- Full Swing (Foresight Sim)

Club Head Speed- 60.6 MPH

Ball Speed- 74.0 MPH

Launch Angle- 36.60

Spin- 9693 RPMs

Peak Height: 24 yards

Carry Distance- 81 yards

Total Distance- 85 yards

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Distance/Forgiveness: Like any blade style wedges, mishits are punitive, that is no different than any other wedge. Well struck shots feel really good, and shots not stuck as well give feedback so you know where you missed. Full swing distances are a little hotter what I have come to expect from my previous RTX-4 wedges. Partial swing distances are also a little hotter too. The increase in distance is still something that I’m trying to adjust to, there is a big difference in the shafts in this wedge set verses the shafts that I have in my RTX-4 wedges (TT DG S400 Tour Issue). The one area that this wedge excels in is the area of turf interaction, this might be due to the fact that the Hogan model takes the guess work out of selecting the correct bounce out of play because you only get one choice related to bounce (54-7 & 58-8). They do have a V-Sole type of design that has been made popular by the Cleveland line of wedges, and this isn’t a bad thing.



Feel/Spin: Feel is relative, but the feel of these is really good. At times the feel of these wedges has been a little muted and gaging distances was a challenge at first. The spin that these wedges produce is in line with any of the wedges that I have ever put in my bag. Once I got used to the feel, I was able to get aggressive with these wedges on pitches and chips and not have to worry about the ball not biting or too much run out (of course this could also be ball related too). I think where this wedge really shines is in pitches from the 30-40 yard range, it out performs my previous wedges in this area by a wide margin. I think this is because the ball comes off firm and crisp, and I really like playing bump and runs with these wedges.



Versatility: I didn’t find that these wedges are as versatile as others that I have gamed, they aren’t as easy to lay down and open the face for those shots that require face manipulation. This might not be a bad thing for someone of my skill level, because I resist the urge to get too cute with these wedges. This lack of versatility is especially noticeable with the 58 degree wedge, as I’m coming over from a RTX-4 58 degree 1 dot (which is super easy to open). This could be an issue for you if you are a player that likes to get really creative with the type of wedge shot you play. The sole of these wedges is wider than I normally game, and that probably impacts the level of versatility. They both look and play like the Cleveland 3 Dot style, in my opinion.



Bunker Play: These wedges perform very well out of bunkers; On longer bunker shots, the 54 degree wedge performed extremely well. On the shorter bunker shots, I actually prefer the RTX-4 58 over the Hogan 58. This might also be because of the state of my bunker game, and not necessarily a knock on these wedges.



Grip: On page 1 of Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons, Ben Hogan states, “Good Golf begins with a good grip… The player’s only contact with the ball is through the clubhead, and his only direct physical contact with the club is through his hands.” The stock Lamkin grip didn’t agree with me, as it got slick with heat and humidity, and generally performed poor. I changed the grip after 2 rounds, and this grip is the only one that is offered. I think that the Ben Hogan Company should follow the guidance of the man whose name is on their equipment and invest in better grip offerings.

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Conclusion: I like these wedges, they are everything that you would expect with Mr. Hogan’s name on them. The shape is classic and traditional, and they perform very well in the many attributes that serious golfers look for in a wedge. The finish holds up better than any dark finish that I have ever gamed, and that isn’t even close. With escalating wedge price points, the fact that the price point of these wedges is significantly less than other OEM’s wedge offerings, but perform at the same level as those other wedges, should be reason enough for the THP Universe to take a look at these wedges.
 
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By the way the Ball used in the sim testing above was a Srixon Z-Star ...
 
Great review, these wedges are still going strong for me as well. The black finish is holding up very well still and I've hit them a ton since the event. I love them on full shots and have really got a lot better with them around the greens lately.
 
Great review, these wedges are still going strong for me as well. The black finish is holding up very well still and I've hit them a ton since the event. I love them on full shots and have really got a lot better with them around the greens lately.
Did you get a 58? If so how do you feel about the versatility?
 
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