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Ben Hogan ICON Irons

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SuperStroke
Forgiveness: I touched on this a little earlier but I've been pleasantly surprised by what I see with mishits. On 8-PW I feel like a mishit only gives me a few yards less than what my past sets have, maybe 5ish yards. As you move up to longer irons I do notice I lose more distance. If I mishit the 4 iron with a bad toe hit or thin shot I do lose a pretty significant chunk of distance. That's not surprising at all though considering how tiny that club is. The 5 & 6 iron for some reason seem to be much more forgiving than 4 iron though and it's still a manageable result.

I've hit a couple of thin shots where the flight was significantly lower but I didn't see nearly as much roll out as I expected. I need to test this a little more because I've been surprised by how close to the intended yardage I've ended up and how close to my ball mark the ball stops.

Flight wise has been kind of suprising though as I can't say I've ever seen an exaggerated hook or slice. I've been able to easily overcook a draw/hook or slice the heck out of irons on poor swings but I can't think of a shot I've hit like that. That seems odd considering a blade is supposed to be very workable which I would think would mean I'd see exaggerated flights on bad swings. It's still early though and I'm sure they're coming.

Here's the question I keep asking myself on forgiveness: How much distance loss on a mishit is too much? Does an extra 3-5 yards lost compared to some Cavity Backs I've played make that big of a difference? I guess that's a question each person has to ask themselves.
 
One more quick thought before I head to bed. One thing I've always heard about blades is how workable they are. Left, Right, up, down; players should be able to work it pretty easily. Now I've never been one to purposely work the ball too much unless it's under or around trees. I am able to move the ball, but I can't seem to get it to turn a lot. I'm seeing a great little natural draw and can get a little fade but when I try to purposely hook or slice a ball I struggle.

Could it just be me? Absolutely. It just seems a little more difficult for some reason. That's been a good thing for the most part but I've had two or three shots where I needed to do a punch hook, a shot that I've historically had no issues with, but I couldn't get it to turn over hard like I'm used to.
 
Lead time is up to 29 days now on orders, so it means I’ve got 6 more left! :oops:

The multi week closure can’t have made this easy on Hogan, and it sounds like there have been a lot of orders, which makes me happy for the company.
 
Jman said:
Lead time is up to 29 days now on orders, so it means I’ve got 6 more left! :oops:

The multi week closure can’t have made this easy on Hogan, and it sounds like there have been a lot of orders, which makes me happy for the company.
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I am F5'ing my Inbox with more intensity this week... maybe that'll help 🙃

 
Jman said:
Lead time is up to 29 days now on orders, so it means I’ve got 6 more left! :oops:

The multi week closure can’t have made this easy on Hogan, and it sounds like there have been a lot of orders, which makes me happy for the company.
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Normally that kind of wait would be really frustrating but I agree that the closures and everything going had to be a big challenge.

I love seeing that they're this busy. Seeing the little guy make progress is great to see.
 
Hi guyz…..I poked my head in some time ago, but have not been really forum active. I recently ordered a set of the Black Icons and they should be here on Saturday. I originally ordered them on April 30. Another reason for posting here is to test a problem I have been having uploading photos on another forum. Apparently the problem occurs only on that forum as I was able to upload here with no problem (did not post, however). I really like the look of the Black Icons. They will take getting used to, but I do not anticipate too much trouble going back to MB's even though I am a mid capper. After all, that's what I started out with back in the day that blades and persimmon were all that were available. If anybody would like to see photos of my purchase, just let me know. Thanks.
 
pinseeker said:
Hi guyz…..I poked my head in some time ago, but have not been really forum active. I recently ordered a set of the Black Icons and they should be here on Saturday. I originally ordered them on April 30. Another reason for posting here is to test a problem I have been having uploading photos on another forum. Apparently the problem occurs only on that forum as I was able to upload here with no problem (did not post, however). I really like the look of the Black Icons. They will take getting used to, but I do not anticipate too much trouble going back to MB's even though I am a mid capper. After all, that's what I started out with back in the day that blades and persimmon were all that were available. If anybody would like to see photos of my purchase, just let me know. Thanks.
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Sounds like you found a better forum where the pic uploads work ;)

We always love pics and discussion, bring em on!
 
Jman said:
Sounds like you found a better forum where the pic uploads work ;)

We always love pics and discussion, bring em on!
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Thanks. Yes, I've had several problems since the other forum changed their hosting software. Seems a lot easier here.
 
pinseeker said:
Hi guyz…..I poked my head in some time ago, but have not been really forum active. I recently ordered a set of the Black Icons and they should be here on Saturday. I originally ordered them on April 30. Another reason for posting here is to test a problem I have been having uploading photos on another forum. Apparently the problem occurs only on that forum as I was able to upload here with no problem (did not post, however). I really like the look of the Black Icons. They will take getting used to, but I do not anticipate too much trouble going back to MB's even though I am a mid capper. After all, that's what I started out with back in the day that blades and persimmon were all that were available. If anybody would like to see photos of my purchase, just let me know. Thanks.
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We definitely want pictures! It will be nice to see your feedback in the near future.
 
I was thinking about my round yesterday and that 4 iron I hit off the tee may be one of the best feeling shots I've ever hit. It was such a piercing flight that went about 210 yards smack in the middle of the fairway.

You hear about those shots where it doesn't feel like you hit anything. I don't get that feeling that with this set. I've used the word plush before but they also feel responsive and powerful. Pured shots feel like a trampoline, soft but responsive with no clickiness. Off center are more harsh but not hand rattling from 5-PW. They have really become addicting to hit.
 
KEV said:
You hear about those shots where it doesn't feel like you hit anything. I don't get that feeling that with this set. I've used the word plush before but they also feel responsive and powerful. Pured shots feel like a trampoline, soft but responsive with no clickiness. Off center are more harsh but not hand rattling from 5-PW. They have really become addicting to hit.
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That's good to hear. I can work the ball some, but can not really say its always at will. You mentioned that you were not able to pull off extreme "turns". It might be that some newer technology, weight shifts, C.O.G. have compensated for slightly off center hits more so than older blades.
I prefer a smaller head anyway. I have a Titleist 695MB that does not give me a whole lot of trouble, but I do have to focus a bit. As for distance, I have accepted the fact that I have simply lost it owing to my being chronologically impaired (I will be 78 in July). I bought the set simply "because I wanted to". We shall see.....
 
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pinseeker said:
That's good to hear. I can work the ball some, but can not really say its always at will. You mentioned that you were not able to pull off extreme "turns". It might be that some newer technology, weight shifts, C.O.G. have compensated for slightly off center hits more so than older blades.
I prefer a smaller head anyway. I have a Titleist 695MB that does not give me a whole lot of trouble, but I do have to focus a bit. As for distance, I have accepted the fact that I have simply lost it owing to my being chronologically impaired (I will be 78 in July). I bought the set simply "because I wanted to". We shall see.....
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I love that you're playing what you want. I'm getting to that same point. My buddies were giving me crap that I don't have the game for a set like this and I would struggle. I simply told them I really don't care, I love everything about them so far and want to play what I enjoy.

Plus they have seen how well I'm playing with them and I suddenly haven't heard a peep from them.
 
KEV said:
I love that you're playing what you want. I'm getting to that same point. My buddies were giving me crap that I don't have the game for a set like this and I would struggle. I simply told them I really don't care, I love everything about them so far and want to play what I enjoy.

Plus they have seen how well I'm playing with them and I suddenly haven't heard a peep from them.
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Precisely! I got the same feed back a year or so ago when I was going for the Hogan Ft Worth's. So much that they talked me out of it. Then I got to thinking, many of these guys have always used G.I. Irons or CB's. I used nothing but blades and persimmon when I first took up the game. What they say is true, but not for everyone.
 
Puurrfect!
 
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I started out solo today at Little Creek and caught up to another single on the 4th Hole. The young sailor was sporting a set of Icon's. He offered to let me hit a couple but I just looked the heads and shafts over. He had the DG S-300 shafts in stiff flex, standard length, and 1 degree flat.

It's nice to see Hogan back.
 
Knot Right said:
I started out solo today at Little Creek and caught up to another single on the 4th Hole. The young sailor was sporting a set of Icon's. He offered to let me hit a couple but I just looked the heads and shafts over. He had the DG S-300 shafts in stiff flex, standard length, and 1 degree flat.

It's nice to see Hogan back.
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Good deal! fwiw...Ping's online fit chart is pretty decent. Not as good as a professional fitting, but from what I've seen, renders fairly good parameters given a person's height, wrist to floor measurement. It allows for an approximation range for leeway. What it does not provide is flex/shaft material, not-with-standing there is a lot of differences among manufacturers.
 
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pinseeker said:
Good deal! fwiw...Ping's online fit chart is pretty decent. Not as good as a professional fitting, but from what I've seen, renders fairly good parameters given a person's height, wrist to floor measurement. It allows for an approximation range for leeway. What it does not provide is flex/shaft material, not-with-standing there is a lot of differences among manufacturers.
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I think Ping's chart fitting works for quite a few players.

Ping has me at plus 1/4" in length, and on the border of White/Green color code, and thicker grips. I'm a little over 6' 2" with 37" wrist to floor.

I play standard length, with standard lie( or 1 degree up depending on the club model) I go back and forth between standard and midsize GP tour wrap grips. My swing is self taught and it works, even if it's not pretty to look at. I crouch a little more than other tall players, and tend to crowd the ball at times. I would be a teaching pro's nightmare.
 
...do I put in an order for the combos?
 
jin_xianjun said:
...do I put in an order for the combos?
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Absolutely! I really don't think people will be disappointed in these and the combo set would be perfect for 95% of the golfing world.
 
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