Ben Hogan PTx Irons Review Thread

Looking forward to reading the actual reviews!! Be very detailed guys, please!!
 
Any word on this yet?

Their website says the PTx irons will begin shipping in April, but I didn't find a specific date.

PTx_Banner_01.jpg
 
I intend to game these for the foreseeable future and play quite often with the same people so it should be real easy to see differences is all the other irons I have owned. The review process will be helpful to myself in that trying to put things into words may help me understand my weaknesses better and help change things in a positive way.

It is really cool to be some of the 1st people to own these irons and to have them Custom fit at the Factory makes it all that much better. My experience with fittings has been unreliable to say the least, this is more do to my issues then the fitters being good or bad. Some of us are just hard to fit, due to not so good swings but pretty good results with the right product. Is it time to go yet???
 
I've been thinking about the smaller size of those heads and forgiveness. Hogan's site and THP's video from the show explains they insert titanium in the center of the face. Because it is lighter than the other materials they create extra perimeter weighting. It is an interesting concept and use of an unusual manufacturing technique.
 
Just got off the phone with Ben Hogan and have my PTx irons on order (or will shortly). Spent 30 plus minutes on the phone with Hogan finalizing lofts and getting advice on shafts. I can not say enough how helpful they were and generous with their time. I had jumped on the Priority Preference reservation when I got that email a few weeks ago. These should look real nice next to my original 1973 Hogan Directors.

anxious to share pictures in a month or so

Keith
 
Just got off the phone with Ben Hogan and have my PTx irons on order (or will shortly). Spent 30 plus minutes on the phone with Hogan finalizing lofts and getting advice on shafts. I can not say enough how helpful they were and generous with their time. I had jumped on the Priority Preference reservation when I got that email a few weeks ago. These should look real nice next to my original 1973 Hogan Directors.

anxious to share pictures in a month or so

Keith
That is really cool, enjoy those new sticks! (I've never really been brave enough to order clubs without hitting them first). Be sure to join us here and provide feedback on them.
 
Just got off the phone with Ben Hogan and have my PTx irons on order (or will shortly). Spent 30 plus minutes on the phone with Hogan finalizing lofts and getting advice on shafts. I can not say enough how helpful they were and generous with their time. I had jumped on the Priority Preference reservation when I got that email a few weeks ago. These should look real nice next to my original 1973 Hogan Directors.

anxious to share pictures in a month or so

Keith
Jealous is me!
 
I was talking to my coach about these irons and the event and was telling him about the v-sole and high bounce. He is of the opinion that every club should have a sole/grind like that. It was nice to hear. I had the J15 CB's for a while which have a "sure contact sole" which is similar but to a much lesser extent. I didn't take much of a divot if any with those clubs but that never seemed to be an issue. It also made it tough to hit fat. So I could see these PTx irons just gliding along the ground even if a swing is a little steep or unhinged too early.
 
The V-Sole has me so intrigued. The things it should allow golfers to do from different lies are endless.
I'm curious to see where these PTx heads sit from a backspin perspective, and that would in turn determine how much loft/launch we need.
 
I was just looking at the Hogan website at the TK-15 wedges and saw this quote:

"We recommend starting your set of TK wedges with a true “pitching wedge” of 48-51 degrees. This is the club Mr. Hogan’s competitors dubbed “the Equalizer”, and it will quickly become one of your favorite “go to” clubs."

I wonder how that relates to the launch/loft profiles they have? Like my current PW is at 46*. I wonder if that would put me in their "Low" profile for the irons since the 44* isn't actually considered a PW by the Hogan company, then start the wedges at 48 - like 48/52/56/60?

* And sorry for all the thoughts/guesses, it's part of the excitement for me in an event like this.

I think generally speaking they would set your first wedge at an appropriate 3-4 degrees off of your current pitching wedge. But the quote you refer to is, IMO, marketing. They wanted to use the word "Equalizer" because there is some power and mystique in it. I have an "Equalizer" in my 15 year old Hogan set, it's 46 degrees, it's a PW. Deep into the past you would find stock PW's at 48 degrees or even weaker. Ping Eye 2 PW was 50.5 degrees, Eye2+ at 48.5, for instance. I wouldn't read anything into this comment by Hogan. Pick wedges to suit your irons.
 
I've gone through their fitting way too many times and sometimes finding myself at a loss in terms of what would work best. That's the beauty of having the privilege of this wonderful opportunity...don't think...just swing your swing and let it be done.

I've decided to put some of my narrowed down thoughts in here for reference so bear with me. I've put them in the spoiler below so this wouldn't be quite as long.
Spoiler
The setup I've gamed has been:

GBB 8*
18-21-24 UT
4-PW J15CB
50/56 J15 Wedges


I'm a "high spin/flight kinda messed up golf guy" and the driver does really funny things in a head wind. My bag set up has changed a bit with a little experiment at the top (thanks for the loaner Kang). KC720 let me hit his 3W off the tee at his course and it just went. He tried several times to let me borrow it and I just fought back. It also performs well for me from the fairway when needed on extra long Par 5's. What I really like having is another option of the Tee that can still put the ball out there and have less spin/flight concerns into a head wind. I've found that there really isn't much difference between my 4I and the 24UT and never really pulled it out of the bag. Well...I finally decided to give it a go and now my bag looks like this:

GBB 8*
3W EX9 15*
21-24 UT
4-PW J15CB
50/56 J15 Wedges
(Moving the Scor 52/56 into the bag going forward)

I mentioned those numerous "fitting" attempts on their website. I've input the various setups I've gamed/will be gaming, and the numbers it spit out were identical. I didn't change anything in the fitting questions besides the clubs themselves. I then put my set in (like a lot of you) to see where it falls.

Low Launch Loft Profile: 20/24/28/32/36/40/44
Mid-Low Launch Loft Profile: 21/25/29/33/37/41/45
Bridgestone J15CB TourV 125 22.5/25/28/32/36/41/46
Mid-High Launch Loft Profile: 22/26/30/34/38/42/46
High Launch Loft Profile: 23/27/31/35/39/43/47


My setup came back (across all bags I put together)

KBS TourV X
Performance Plus Grips Std +2
Standard Length
2* Flat

FW Iron's as PTx isn't listed yet 21-25-29-33-37-41-45
TK-15 Wedges 49-53-57


"The PTx iron is the first to deliver optimized launch angles throughout the set by engineering a consistently-positioned center of mass in relation to the golf ball. So you’ll get more penetrating trajectories in your higher lofted scoring irons - the key to hitting it close time after time. But you’ll also get a nice, high ball flight with your lower lofted irons, with a steeper landing angle and more spin to hold greens from long range."


The above statement from them has me both excited and nervous. My scoring irons could benefit a more penetrating trajectory. The long irons...I don't "usually" have a problem holding a normal green all the way down to my 4I (or the UT's...more-so the 21 vs 18).

Irons
I've used an all iron bag for quite some time with no FW's or Hybrids. Will be interesting to see how these flow into the top end of the bag.

The combo I'm using right now (J15CB/TourV) just feels right and seeing they had the TourV as a standard shaft kicked up the excitement another notch. I tried the Recoils in the past and loved the feel but have never gamed a set that had them installed. Flight is a concern with my flaws and if I remember correctly, the Recoils were a touch higher as well. Will be educational to see the two side-by-side and really looking forward to that possibility.

The swing weight I have now is a D4. Seeing the D2 with the TourV and D1 with the Recoils will be an interesting concept in reality if I can feel the difference side by side. Along with the simple difference in overall weight of the entire club. I can get quick (reading try and knock the cover off the ball) and way OTT as a lot of things are not second nature yet. The heavier aspect seems to help? As always...I just need to let the club do the work.

The Vsole in the Scor's I have are such a good feeling and probably why I enjoy the irons I play with the Sure Contact Sole. Notably different but something I am comfortable with going into this. Will be fun to put the wedges back in the bag but will have to relearn distances and green side action.

Full swings are not usually taken under a certain yardage and never with a wedge. I utilize my 9I and PW for a lot between 140-110. Could get real interesting.

Hybrids (Off Topic)
I've gamed hybrids before but have come to just enjoy the heck out of the UT's I currently use. The VKTR's have me really excited about possibly looking into them again. It's just about the irons here, but this process has me looking into these as well. I'm hoping we will get a chance to hit them...looking at you Adila as it is heaver. The Vsole and PSST is just another ponder of what it will be like.

So many thoughts!!!!!
 
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I was just looking at the Hogan website at the TK-15 wedges and saw this quote:

"We recommend starting your set of TK wedges with a true “pitching wedge” of 48-51 degrees. This is the club Mr. Hogan’s competitors dubbed “the Equalizer”, and it will quickly become one of your favorite “go to” clubs."

I wonder how that relates to the launch/loft profiles they have? Like my current PW is at 46*. I wonder if that would put me in their "Low" profile for the irons since the 44* isn't actually considered a PW by the Hogan company, then start the wedges at 48 - like 48/52/56/60?

* And sorry for all the thoughts/guesses, it's part of the excitement for me in an event like this.

It seems a bit curious to me. One one hand they reject the notion of labeling clubs. On the other they recommend starting the wedges with a "true" PW. On yet another hand they advertise that they build their wedges to be full shot clubs, so in some ways what does any of it matter - whatever we call it and whatever loft it is it is going to have a full swing design, right?

Based on their loft system and the highest lofts available in the PTx irons, I assume the first TK wedge would be something in the 48-52* range. My mind is probably too used to current lofts because I think of that as a Gap Wedge. Whatever we call it, it does make sense the first TK wedge is in that particular loft range.

Having said all that, I'm really intrigued about adding some of their wedges to my bag. I currently play set wedges + a Cleveland 60* for specialty shots around the green. I like that configuration. Three different THP reviewers pretty much raved about Hogan's wedges. If adding two TK's enable the full shots I get with the set wedges I may be making a purchase (after the event, of course; can't buy anything until I know the configuration of my irons).
4i5i6i7i8i9iPW
Low20242832364044
Mid-low21252933374145
Current i25 gamers24273033374146
Mid-high22263034384246
High23273135394448
 
The hybrids are an interesting side note to this product release. I need to try them as I don't hit 3-4 irons anymore!!
 
I sent Hogan CS a question about the PTx irons being included on their HoganFit tool. They responded that the recommendations are the same regardless of iron type. I find this curious. The clubs may be available in the same custom loft configurations but they have unique design characteristics, so you'd expect variation between the sets which should be reflected in the recommendation from their fitting tool. For example, does a 21* PTx with the hollow construction and different COG really play the same as the CB Fort Worth? If so, what's the point of selling two sets? Something doesn't add up.
 
I sent Hogan CS a question about the PTx irons being included on their HoganFit tool. They responded that the recommendations are the same regardless of iron type. I find this curious. The clubs may be available in the same custom loft configurations but they have unique design characteristics, so you'd expect variation between the sets which should be reflected in the recommendation from their fitting tool. For example, does a 21* PTx with the hollow construction and different COG really play the same as the CB Fort Worth? If so, what's the point of selling two sets? Something doesn't add up.
While I agree that it does seem a bit curious I think the Hogan Fit tool is only concerned with gaps in the loft progression of your bag.
 
Having been fit by Callaway a couple of times (at the Anikka Academy) and once by a component club master builder and then the PGA SS a couple of times all with very different results. Some just awful (PGA SS CF16 setup) and some OK, I am really looking forward to see the Hogan process and how it works out.

The exception with the Component builder was because he did a Flightscope look at my swing, then build (2) different 6 iron clubhead /shafts combos for me to try on the course (which turned into 2 more shaft changes), this gave us a baseline to work from and he then tuned the set from there with real detail to SW, length, shaft cpm, flo, spine, and proper grip size. Now my body and swing could not play those clubs today (MB with C Taper stiff) but his process was very good but very time consuming, it took 2-3 weeks to have a set made.

I am sure Hogan has all the latest tools to figure out what we need to hit the ball the best and with their theory on gapping it will be cool to see how the set turns out. It will be great to get out and play the clubs on a great looking track and get immediate feedback. I could also see myself buying a some of the TK wedges to round out the bottom of the bag also.

I love the 64 deg. I have been messing around with, only use it maybe a few times per round but it has saved me some strokes. So maybe a 50, 56, 63 would be in my thoughts.
 
One thing I will say. I dont think anybody should expect a consumer experience fitting. They have a handful of players to fit in a few hours. Whereas as a consumer experience presentation, its a lot different because they want you there for hours.

You will definitely get clubs ready for your game.
 
Just my opinion, and I may be wrong, but when they say the gaps from the online fitting would be the same regardless of model, they are NOT implying that the clubs would play the same as far as distances are concerned. I think they are basing it off the lofts of your current irons/wedges and making sure you are gapped properly (4* across the set).

As far as the fitting is concerned, I'm sure that is why we are mailing our clubs in. They want to get shaft/flex, lofts, lie angles, lengths all ahead of time. I may be wrong, but I assumed the clubs would be built prior to our arrival and that we would be focused on fine tuning during the fitting/tour. Trying to build sets for 6 people at the end of the day Friday so that we can play them Saturday seems like a lot to ask. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it's a lot of work to do in a few hours.
 
I hope they add these to their demo program when they are available. They are still on my list of ones I want to try!
 
Received the email today that my PTx irons and TK wedges order is "In Process". Not certain exactly what that might mean for expected delivery but feeling real good.

Keith
 
Email from Ben Hogan!



Has been a great process with the priority preference. On 3/25 had the pleasure of having a long conversation with Barry at Ben Hogan regarding the company, the clubs and my setup. Looks like they are in process of being built now so looking forward to putting them in play.
 
That's cool that they keep you that involved!! Hope they work great for you!!
 
I am itching for more info on the Event, maybe after the Club Clash this will heat up.
 
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