Hey guys, first post here on the forums, been lurking for a little bit. I've been super excited about these irons ever since I've seen the first few pictures. I was wondering if anyone has had a chance to compare these to the 716 AP2's and the Apex Combo set. I'm struggling to wait for these, and am pretty much set on one of the two others. Basically I'm wondering how they compare size wise and top lines. I love the way the AP2 looks next to a ball. Thanks for the info, and look forward to being a part of the community.
Ben Hogan PTx Irons Review Thread
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In a couple weeks a few of us can get pretty specific for you at the event we will be attending. Also I see you are in Denver. Feel free to come join us anytime. Will have a set for you to experience after the event.
I believe some people have already hit these though and could answer your questions before I can. Welcome to THP!
Welcome to THP!
Those of us who are going to be there in 2 weeks are struggling to stay patient too :act-up:
BTW, don't overlook that invite - there are some great THPers in your area and you should definitely get out to play with them.
Sumbuba
New member
Got the email. PTx heads are in stock and my order is in process to be shipped in a week or so.
Anxiously awaiting that that big box on the front porch
Keith
Anxiously awaiting that that big box on the front porch
Keith
Nicegy525
Well-known member
I love the looks of these Irons. But I wonder how forgiving they really are. I would like to see Rick Shiels do a review from a mid-high handicapper. I think his buddy has been known to do a few of these.
PutterWorksLtd
Member
That is a pretty iron. I still think that the Fort Worth blades are the most gorgeous thing ever, but it's nice to see Hogan is making clubs with multiple levels of playing ability considered. Now only if MacGregor could make a turn around like Hogan has.
We don't need Rick Shiels, we will have 6 mid cappers with these in hand reviewing them over the next 2 months starting in a little more than a week.
FWIW I'm very interested in the forgiveness also. I can pretty well assure you I have a swing that will put them to a forgiveness test
Check back in here in a couple weeks and you'll get first hand reviews from all over the handicap spectrum.
The forgiveness isnt necessarily my main concern but it is an important part of every club. I'm mostly interest in the launch and spin myself.
Sumbuba
New member
Got the email today that my PTx irons and TK wedges shipped today
kc720
Active member
Where in Colorado are you? J4u is currently at the Hogan experience event and will be reviewing the full set. We tee it up often, you should join us in the metro denver area thread
-CRW-
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I have a ton of thoughts regarding these irons I'll share later when I have time, but I just wanted to say that if you followed the Hogan Live event thread these irons really do throw darts. After battling some swing demon this morning I found my way on hole 13 and made GIRs on 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and found a greenside bunker from ~190 on 18. This was a shamble so I was blessed with some help off the tee for several of the holes, but that doesn't discount the accuracy of these irons. The thought of me hitting 10+ GIRs in a round is just crazy (and would be a first for me). I'm just amazed with these irons.
Big SoIL
Well-known member
Subscribing to this thread now that the Hogan event is over. I'm in my current irons for a little while prepping for an event, but once this season is over I might have to take a long hard look at these. They are an iron I would have completely overlooked if it wasn't for the Hogan event, glad THP and Hogan made it happen and looking forward to the participants reviews in here.
ORUTRAVIS
Retired Pro
We do have a great group in Colorado. I live in Parker and they are real blast to play with.
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Let's keep this one to the reviews guys. Thank you.
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Tyler took these back with him to get the adjustments made and will send them to me once completed.
Both Jamie and Tyler were generously offering to make sure we had the best fit for all of us. Simply amazing service and they made us feel like part of the Hogan family.
I have a bunch of thoughts to get in here but want to wait until I get them back. Having them set up to what I would order as a consumer will take my head out of my responses.
I can say with certainty that the heads are amazing and EASY to launch. Feel great all around the center of the club and towards both miss types. Out on the toe is no good on anything and didn't hit any of those, but did creep out that way as that is my miss. Didn't lose much in distance and dispersion was very surprisingly good.
This weekend was not a good review worthy experience as I'm not sure who I was. Wasn't just with the irons as I just...well...hacked.
I attempted a low pitch shot from about 116 out on the cowboy hole with my 45. Wanted to see if it would hold. Hit about a 3/4 shot and I flew it farther than I wanted and thought it was a goner across the green. Took one hop... flew beyween 5-10 yards and just STOPPED.
Many more thoughts to come later.
Both Jamie and Tyler were generously offering to make sure we had the best fit for all of us. Simply amazing service and they made us feel like part of the Hogan family.
I have a bunch of thoughts to get in here but want to wait until I get them back. Having them set up to what I would order as a consumer will take my head out of my responses.
I can say with certainty that the heads are amazing and EASY to launch. Feel great all around the center of the club and towards both miss types. Out on the toe is no good on anything and didn't hit any of those, but did creep out that way as that is my miss. Didn't lose much in distance and dispersion was very surprisingly good.
This weekend was not a good review worthy experience as I'm not sure who I was. Wasn't just with the irons as I just...well...hacked.
I attempted a low pitch shot from about 116 out on the cowboy hole with my 45. Wanted to see if it would hold. Hit about a 3/4 shot and I flew it farther than I wanted and thought it was a goner across the green. Took one hop... flew beyween 5-10 yards and just STOPPED.
Many more thoughts to come later.
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As I sit in DFW Airport waiting on my flight this is a great time to gather my thoughts and put them down for everyone.
The first thing I want to touch on is Ben Hogan Golf as a company. They have a specific philosophy and a specific target consumer and they make no apologies about it. Who is the Ben Hogan customer? It's a person who loves golf. A person who lives golf. True Golfers. I think if you have to ask yourself if you fit this bill you then have your answer. The company still operates off of the inspiration of Mr. Hogan himself and truly believes that their customers are EVERY bit as important as a Touring Pro when it comes to ordering, building, and overall quality and treatment. There is no assembly line, no automated machinery, no mass production going on at Ben Hogan Golf - it's a large scale custom shop. Nothing is assembled overseas.
Moving onto the new PTx irons themselves.
At first blush the PTx are gorgeous. They are clean, classic, and tech-packed all at the same time. The pictures you've all seen in here speak for themselves and anyone who is in the market for an iron of this category will not be disappointed with what you look at here. If you like to look down at a razors edge at address, I recommend the Ft. Worth irons but by no means are the PTx large or bulky - firmly somewhere between the GI and Players categories.
In addition to stunning looks the feel and sound of these irons is also on point. In fact they have a sound I haven't really heard out of any other irons and it's very pleasing. As always this will surely be a subjective category but this user couldn't be happier! The feel is so solid and muted in the hands on pure strikes, and from what I experienced this weekend the 'sweet spot' is quite large considering the overall size of the iron.
The performance itself is something that I'll offer a thoughts now and more as I get more acquainted with them. Terry Koehler said that Ben Hogan Golf packed everything they had into these irons and at the moment doesn't know how he would improve on them. Wow.
As a golfer who loves to see a higher ball flight (relative) and a nice sticky landing these irons seem to be tailor made for that setup. On pure strikes the launch is effortless and the landings are sure but where these irons really stood out to me was on the mishits (and when you play like me - there's plenty of data). More than one shot that was thinned still elevated nicely and stopped within 6 feet of the ball mark? Yes that's not a misprint. I even hit a thinned-toe ball on Sunday afternoon that held it's line, launched nice and high, stopped on a dime, and was only about 5 yards short of where it should have been. Say what?!
The real secret to these irons and the playability they offer IMO is the V-Sole. My oh my is it a nice feature to have on your side no matter the lie. The ability to simultaneously get the leading edge under the ball and have some bounce there to catch you is wonderful and a game changer for me coming from a much smaller (and simpler) soled iron set. I'm tempted to take out my angle grinder and give every other iron set in my possession a custom V-sole grind - it's that good.
The thicker face of the Ben Hogan PTx is what helps impart a good amount of spin on all shots, and the weight placement is such that a player can really flight the ball how he wants - something that can be tricky to do with many GI iron sets. The combination of these things and the V-sole made attempting 1/2 and 3/4 punch shots so much easier than normal and the spin was extremely reliable/dependable in these situations.
If any of you have any questions or concerns about these irons over the next season please post them up so my fellow testers and I can do our best to answer them.
The best part of all this? You don't have to take my word for it! Hogan is offering a 2-club demo package that will be BUILT TO YOUR SPECS so you can try these irons for yourself. I believe the price is extremely reasonable as well. If you are in the market for a set of irons, you love golf, and you want a set built by people who CARE you must at the very least put the Hogan irons in your hands and give them a try.
The first thing I want to touch on is Ben Hogan Golf as a company. They have a specific philosophy and a specific target consumer and they make no apologies about it. Who is the Ben Hogan customer? It's a person who loves golf. A person who lives golf. True Golfers. I think if you have to ask yourself if you fit this bill you then have your answer. The company still operates off of the inspiration of Mr. Hogan himself and truly believes that their customers are EVERY bit as important as a Touring Pro when it comes to ordering, building, and overall quality and treatment. There is no assembly line, no automated machinery, no mass production going on at Ben Hogan Golf - it's a large scale custom shop. Nothing is assembled overseas.
Moving onto the new PTx irons themselves.
At first blush the PTx are gorgeous. They are clean, classic, and tech-packed all at the same time. The pictures you've all seen in here speak for themselves and anyone who is in the market for an iron of this category will not be disappointed with what you look at here. If you like to look down at a razors edge at address, I recommend the Ft. Worth irons but by no means are the PTx large or bulky - firmly somewhere between the GI and Players categories.
In addition to stunning looks the feel and sound of these irons is also on point. In fact they have a sound I haven't really heard out of any other irons and it's very pleasing. As always this will surely be a subjective category but this user couldn't be happier! The feel is so solid and muted in the hands on pure strikes, and from what I experienced this weekend the 'sweet spot' is quite large considering the overall size of the iron.
The performance itself is something that I'll offer a thoughts now and more as I get more acquainted with them. Terry Koehler said that Ben Hogan Golf packed everything they had into these irons and at the moment doesn't know how he would improve on them. Wow.
As a golfer who loves to see a higher ball flight (relative) and a nice sticky landing these irons seem to be tailor made for that setup. On pure strikes the launch is effortless and the landings are sure but where these irons really stood out to me was on the mishits (and when you play like me - there's plenty of data). More than one shot that was thinned still elevated nicely and stopped within 6 feet of the ball mark? Yes that's not a misprint. I even hit a thinned-toe ball on Sunday afternoon that held it's line, launched nice and high, stopped on a dime, and was only about 5 yards short of where it should have been. Say what?!
The real secret to these irons and the playability they offer IMO is the V-Sole. My oh my is it a nice feature to have on your side no matter the lie. The ability to simultaneously get the leading edge under the ball and have some bounce there to catch you is wonderful and a game changer for me coming from a much smaller (and simpler) soled iron set. I'm tempted to take out my angle grinder and give every other iron set in my possession a custom V-sole grind - it's that good.
The thicker face of the Ben Hogan PTx is what helps impart a good amount of spin on all shots, and the weight placement is such that a player can really flight the ball how he wants - something that can be tricky to do with many GI iron sets. The combination of these things and the V-sole made attempting 1/2 and 3/4 punch shots so much easier than normal and the spin was extremely reliable/dependable in these situations.
If any of you have any questions or concerns about these irons over the next season please post them up so my fellow testers and I can do our best to answer them.
The best part of all this? You don't have to take my word for it! Hogan is offering a 2-club demo package that will be BUILT TO YOUR SPECS so you can try these irons for yourself. I believe the price is extremely reasonable as well. If you are in the market for a set of irons, you love golf, and you want a set built by people who CARE you must at the very least put the Hogan irons in your hands and give them a try.
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It's hard to top Army's summary. Well done. I'll share initial thoughts later. For the time being, are there any questions for the testers? Is there anything you'd like to know about?
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for the testers:
* what irons are you coming from as you test these?
* compared to your previous irons, what are the launch conditions of the ptx?
* how were the ptx lofts decided on for your particular set?
* were these irons bent to the same specs as your previous set? flatter? more upright?
* how was the swingweighting decided on?
* what irons are you coming from as you test these?
* compared to your previous irons, what are the launch conditions of the ptx?
* how were the ptx lofts decided on for your particular set?
* were these irons bent to the same specs as your previous set? flatter? more upright?
* how was the swingweighting decided on?
- coming from W/S FG Tour V4. PTx launch higher from more of the face.
-lofts were determined by Hogan
-specs are the same as previous gamers
-I went with stock swing weight because I trust Hogan more than me.
Having gone with the TK trial wedges, I called BH to include the PTx trial irons. I spoke with Kevin who handled everything and is getting the order out today. One thing though, they will give you your choice of shafts that are listed, but they won't bend any clubs to your current specs. Everything is standard. That said, hopefully me and my handicap can take advantage of these irons.
Ben Hogan PTx Irons Review Thread
thanks for the great questions.
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thanks for the great questions.
I was gaming Ping i25s with the stock stiff graphite shafts.
It is a little early for me to draw any conclusions. Maybe scoring irons are a bit lower??? I hit a 6i yesterday that seemed higher than normal. 21* Hogan has been lower than my Ping 4i but that's a really small sample size.
I submitted my specs based off the online fitting tool. I received 1* stronger clubs than requested (i.e. 45* instead of 46*). My swing has more than one degree of variance so I'm not sweating it.
I asked for standard LLL and believe that's what I received.
The Hogan site lists swing weights by shaft preference. I expect that's what I received. Heads up that we learned during the tour that Hogan does a couple of unique things during the build to make sure SW is right. Their heads are built with an internal space saved for weight to be added; they don't just add weight like we are accustomed to. Grips are applied before SW because they want to account for variance in the grips before adjusting for SW. Terry Koehler shared an analogy about 1 ounce throwing off performance of a heavy tire/wheel at 50mph ... how much would it take to affect an iron head traveling at 90 (or whatever) mph. Precision matters to them.
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-CRW-
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* what irons are you coming from as you test these?
Titleist 714 AP2 with Dynamic Gold X100 shafts
* compared to your previous irons, what are the launch conditions of the ptx?
I found them to be slighlty higher across all clubs, but I'm a high launch/high spin player in general and hit the AP2's with X100 40+ yards in the air. The PTx irons I received have 120 gram X-flex shafts so it's difficult for me to say how much of the extra height I saw was from the head design or the shafts. But the short irons were just as high as the long irons, so while they weren't lower for me I'm not prepared to say the constant CG design isn't working. Maybe it's working perfectly since all clubs seemed to reach the same height.
* how were the ptx lofts decided on for your particular set?
I asked for the lofts I received because they were the same lofts in the short irons as my previous 714 AP2's. They were also the lofts recommended to me when I completed the Hogan prescription process.
* were these irons bent to the same specs as your previous set? flatter? more upright?
No they were not. I have been fit for the past (more than once) for a lie angle that is 1* flat of where most of the Hogan irons are. They came standard and I could tell due to constant toe contact and the resulting hooks. Luckily at the Hogan Event I was paired with Jamie, Ben Hogan's Master Fitter with something like 15 years previous experience as a fitter for UST and even more experience prior to that. He observed my play on day one and my contact area on the club and agreed that they should be at least 1* flat for me. He was kind enough to take them after round one to the Hogan factory and bent them 1* flat for me and returned them after dinner Saturday night. The following day the toe impacts were virtually eliminated. I think I hit the toe once on an awkward lie.
* how was the swingweighting decided on?
It wasn't. I'm assuming mine are D2 based on the fact that they are listed as D2 on the website with the shaft I received and by seeing Hogan's build process. I also played my AP2's at D2 (confirmed on a swing weight scale) and the Hogans don't feel any heavier at the club head when swinging them. I have access to a Mitchell loft/lie machine and a swing weight machine at my club and will be checking swing weight and loft/lie as soon as I can just for the fun of it. If they are off any, I don't expect to change the swing weight after the way they performed for me this past weekend at the Hogan event (when I did my job and put a good swing on them).