Sschaffer24

10 AM est for anyone interested. I agree though, being a puppet is no fun.

Tuning in? Hell, I'm calling in!

Well let's be careful about the car salesman there Orange Hog... Not all of us are what the reputation makes us out to be. That being said he's all about robot testing. I listened to the broadcast as well. His point is challenging our testing methods and then saying that the ball can't go 10 yards further. BUT he never comes out and says it doesnt make sense to buy them. Hell, he goes into detail on how we should play a ball based on feel and price. Doesn't that argument turn the discussion in favor of the Kirkland? If $15 dozen = $45 dozen it's a no brainer.

No worries at all! No shots fired my man.

No sir! It just has 100+ positive reviews on rockbottomgolf... I've heard that before anyway.

Rockbottomgolf... That being said, I wholeheartedly agree that the SLDR C needs to be tested in some official capacity. It's like the most infamous club on the forum.

Great job Foz and Jlukes! Loved the slow motion videos Jlukes and Foz great input on the putter! Can't wait to see what the rest of you guys have to say!

That or at least be ruled non-conforming.

Hmm... Maybe I'll pick up a SLDR C while I'm at it.... Thanks for the heads up, I'm going to think long and hard about this one!

Good review Judge! I may be in the market for a cart if carrying doesn't go so well...

That's about as good as a teaser can get...

Great job so far everyone! Really looking forward to these...

I just read this for the first time, the original post that is. And then came to the last post to see what looks like a dialogue with yourself. Which is just hilarious.

Chemclub, I have a lesson coming up on the 16th of this month and I will hit the Crossover while I am there and include a comparison in my review, or at the very least post the comparison thoughts that I have in the thread after my lesson. If anyone else has any testing requests/questions that they want answered, please let me know! I am happy to do what I can to answer them for you guys!

Stage 3 Reserved

Ben Hogan Fli-Hi Long Irons – Official MGS Forum Review by Sschaffer24 Hello again fellas! As i'm sitting here struggling for words, something hits me. My perspective of this game has changed so much over the time I've been a member here at MyGolfSpy. So when I am asked to give a player biography, I find it hard not to take a step back and dedicate a huge portion of that description to MyGolfSpy and this community. Less than five years ago I wouldn't be writing this. I wouldn't even be on this website reading these reviews and participating in these threads. I wouldn't have know what Ben Hogan, Mizuno, Ping, Callaway, Taylormade or any of these brands were doing. Five years ago I would have been just your typical young guy. Fast forward five years and not only am I a committed member of this community, but I have the amazing opportunity to not only review one item for them, but to come back a second time! So thank you MGS. I've learned a ton in my time on this site, had my eyes opened a few times and best of all have made some friends along the way. These threads are just an example of what this place has to offer. I truly have been shaped as a golfer in every sense of the word by this place and continue to work every chance I can to get better and become a better member of this community. As for myself, My name is Shawn and I live in DuBois, Pennsylvania. I am 25, and am an avid golfer. If someone from the forum would walk into my life and ask the people around me what I enjoy more than anything in life, their answer would be to be on the golf course. I tend to hover around a 15 handicap (largely due to a lack of distance in my long game) and since I have gamed the Hogan Ft. Worth 15's since my original testing, these new long irons will be a direct comparison to what the 15's have to offer. They are the exact same length and lie as my current set, and also are shafted with the KBS C-Taper in stiff that my gamers have. Performance Performance at the Range Describe the following: Accuracy – These irons are basically point and shoot just like their older brothers. The only difference is with a little less shot shape on mishits. Distance – These seem to have added a full club length or more to my yardages. Trajectory Characteristics – There irons have a towering ball flight. The most important part though is that these are NOT spin crazy. The 15's can get that way for me, but these seem to be much more piercing. Forgiveness – Much more forgiving than the 15's. Wild impact on the face will still give you a wild result, but generally speaking these irons fly straighter, higher, with lower spin and further compared to the 15's in all strikes except for out of the middle. Those tend to be similar. Control – Oh control. My favorite thing about my 15's. I feel like a sniper out on the range with these things. I like to imagine myself is a half-sized, more round and right handed Bubba Watson while I'm out there. Shaping the ball is fun for me, and hitting a cut then a draw and so on on every shot is something I find natural. (The Bubba comparison is a joke by the way.) Range Score: (9 Out of 10 points) Performance on the Course Describe the following: Accuracy – My typical miss is left, and these tend to play into that. With the 15's I found I had to play a cut more often than not due to my swing with the longer irons, but with the Hi's, they are just as responsive to shaping as the rest of my bag. Distance – Same performance as on the range. Easily a club further. Consistency – Consistency is another way to say forgiveness in my book. These irons respond really well to not putting the best swing on the ball time in and time out. What I've gained with the Hi's is being able to step up to the ball and know that if I put in 80% of my best, I will get a suitable result. In golf that's an important feeling to have. Shot Shaping – These irons are very responsive to shot shaping. I've had no issues at all with guiding my ball. These do want to fly a little straighter than the 15's, and also don't require a cut like the 15's do. Carry vs Roll – These irons do a good bit of both! A huge improvement for me out of these irons is in their lower spin characteristics versus the Ft. Worth's. These irons give me my desired carry distance and will bite into a green if they're soft/medium, but if you hit it short into a green with some speed, these will hop and run out 10 yards or so. Which is perfect for my game and my lack of distance. Course Score: (27 Out of 30 points) Performance Notes The first question for me to answer here is “how did it perform?” My answer? Like a Hogan iron should. That's the natural response my mind has when that's asked of me. I realized though, that answer isn't something everyone is familiar with. And that's a shame. These irons, from start to finish, really are just a phenomenal set of tools to take with you. Put it to you this way, looking back through history at some of the most successful companies in our country, what are their similarities? Usually in a marketplace the most successful companies are also the most disruptive. Let's think about this for a minute. What are all of the other OEM's chasing? Shovels. Jacked lofts. Stretched out lengths. More long irons. Deceptive marketing. Does anyone want me to keep going? Or are we all nodding along to that and shaking our heads in disgust? Let's look at Hogan for a second. What are they doing as a company? Well, their first line of irons they released are blades. Long iron replacements, a mid-handicap iron and a traditionally shaped hybrid with very little frills. They don't do big box stores (at least not that I know of), don't ride the marketing train and seem to show a genuine love for their product and this game. That shows in their product. When someone has the chance to put one of these clubs into their bag they will know what I'm referring to. If anyone reading this wants an iron that feels amazing, is forgiving pretty much anywhere there's a groove and looks every bit the part of their current gamers these irons are worth your consideration. Subjective Looks I have to admit I'm half tempted to just copy and paste my writing from my Fort Worth 15 review for this section. These irons are really just so similar to each other! Here are differences. The head is slightly larger. Maybe 25% at most. But not noticeable at address when going from one iron to the next. Offset seems to be exactly the same. For a players iron the Ft. Worth tends to have more offset than typical, but these aren't an offender at all with what they have. The badging and design is just as classically beautiful as the original Fort Worth irons were, except with a little more meat on the bones than their older brother. The total package as it's presented to the golfer is near perfection. The little details are really what makes these irons shine. The black and red ferrule, paint fill in the head, stamping and so on are all just so beautifully blended together. These are the type of club that you look at and say “wow! I can't believe these are meant to be forgiving AND beautiful!”. Hogan really has delivered on that idea. Looks Score: (19 Out of 20 points) Sound and Feel This is about as subjective as it gets! Describing a feeling in a way that connects with your audience is a tough thing to do. But let's do it! These irons feel very similar to the Ft. Worth's with one noticeable exception. While they offer a similarly pleasant and soft feel off the face, they have noticeably more heft behind them at impact. My guess is that's due to a more stable clubface, but that resides in me as a “heavier” feeling, and possibly a little muted compared to the 15's. They're not clicky or loud by any stretch. I can definitely tell when I've mishit this iron. It has less harshness through the entire club when compared to the 15's, but it's a noticeably different sound more than anything. That perfectly struck shot is just such a distinct sound. These irons showcase the differences perfectly. I would rank these irons in terms of feel just below the Ft. Worth's on my list, and both of those fall just a hair below a Mizuno blade. Overall they feel fantastic, with just a tad less “butter” than the Ft. Worth's. Sound and Feel Score: (17 Out of 20 points) Likelihood of Purchase This is a tough question for me. After having these irons in the bag for a while, they are firmly planted in the bag. With that being said, I don't know if I would have pulled the trigger on these without the testing simply because I don't have an overwhelming hatred of Hybrids like some do. I find those clubs every bit as workable and more forgiving than a long iron, so my first instinct would have been to look into those first, especially considering my overall lack of distance. After my experience with these however, I can't help but love the aspects that truly make these a players iron. I'm going to lose that in the Hybrids and to me, that justifies this score. I've come to realize that sometimes you truly can have the best of both worlds! LOP Score: (15 Out of 20 points) Subjective Notes This is like the adult version of the Fort Worth. It's a little bigger, a little thicker and a little wider than the comparably slim 15's. Where it adds in size however, it displays much more forgiveness and control, a more responsive ball flight and better return on what you put into your strike. These irons really capture the throwback attitude of Ben Hogan as well as the classic lines that we all want out of our irons. I can't say enough just how satisfying the feel is and to be able to look down at this and the Fort Worth side by side with not much of a difference is a testament to how well Hogan has executed this design. Conclusion We are at the end friends. As everyone can see these irons have really found a soft spot in my heart. I've noticed that I'm playing some of my best golf since I've received these Fli-Hi's to test and that has so much to do with the dramatic improvement in spin reduction and overall distance these have created for me. For anyone out there who struggles with the long game, these irons have to be on your list. You really bring the performance of a short to mid iron into the long irons as well as the same level of confidence. Imagine the way you feel out on the course when you step up to the ball 100 yards from the pin and dead center in the fairway. What does that feel like? Where's your confidence? For most of us, we are in our peak confidence state in that setting. 100 yards and in should be a golfer's money zone. People look for the holy grail in this sport all of the time. One tiny change here or there, one tweak of a loft or lie angle, and we all think that suddenly we will become the next Jimmy Walker. Unfortunately for us, that isn't the case. What we CAN do as golfers is honestly analyze our game and determine where we are weakest. The question needs to be “what is costing me the highest percentage of strokes on a per round basis?” and my answer to that question is distance and control with my long irons. These Hogan's seem to be the answer. With stunning good looks, above and beyond forgiveness and a company who displays a love for their product behind them, Hogan sure has a winner on their hands. I would heartily recommend to anyone looking for help in their long game to check these out. You won't be disappointed. Total Score: 87

Stage One - Introduction to Sschaffer24 and the Ben Hogan Ft. Worth Hi Irons. I've retyped this sentence about thirty or forty times now trying to find the perfect way to start this piece. I think we have all done that though, haven't we? We are tasked with writing something, whether it be a paper in school, something for your employer or maybe your opinion on a really cool looking piece of golf equipment that you just so happen to have some experience with. No matter the reason, we all have sat in my chair trying to find the right words to start with, for some it's easier than others, and here's what gets me. I'm a perfectionist. So writing and I don't usually get along so well without a few cracks at it. Perfection is an interesting idea isn't it? I think it's something that everyone would like to achieve in various parts of their lives. If you look closely we can see it all around us. The products we use, the homes we live in, the rules we live by and the decisions we make. They're all meant to guide us to the perfect position in our lives. I like to think of this when I'm considering a new golf club. To me every OEM defines perfect differently. Let's do this together for a minute. Stop reading, close your eyes and imagine the perfect club. What does it do? What's it look like? What makes it perfect? Here are my answers: Bright and beautiful chrome finish. Minimal offset. Thin top line. Consistent trajectory. Enough spin to hold a green, yet low enough to let it fly. Supreme attention to detail. Total visual package (ferrule, grip, shaft, heads, stamping all flow smoothly together). Extremely forgiving all over the face. As soft as a hot knife through butter off the face. Distance. It has to go far. Accurate. I like to throw darts. Quality. I want something to last me years. Workability. I have to be able to shape the ball. Confidence. I have to feel inspired. So now that we have this standard in front of us, let's check out what Ben Hogan Golf has for their take on this answer. Here's my task. Over the next few weeks I have to determine whether my definition of the perfect golf club meets what Ben Hogan has to offer. As many of you know, I have experience with the brand and a lot of expectations for what these irons have to offer. Even though I gave the history I do (and still game the irons) I promise all of the readers to approach this review with as much of an unbiased eye as I can, and will accurately let all of you see how these irons work as a direct replacement for the traditional long irons as well as my hybrid I am replacing. To get an idea of what kind of guy will be giving you these pieces of information, let me tell you a little about myself. I've been an avid golfer over the last four or five years of my life. By avid, I mean that I spend most of my free time either reading, practicing, playing or talking about golf. I have plans on retiring and traveling the world playing as many courses as I can someday, my father, who introduced me to the game, actually moved to Myrtle Beach partially for the game. So it's in my blood. I take lessons biweekly from one of the best coaches in my area and try to understand the game as best I can. I have a tendency to be pretty hard on myself, but I always stay in the game. The strongest parts of my game are absolutely my accuracy, putting and chipping. My long game is easily my worst. I tend to be very inconsistent in the top end of the bag and have trouble with the distance needed from 160 plus and feel that these new irons really have a chance to help me with that end of my game. Needless to say, if these can become a consistent and accurate club for me, I expect my handicap to drop. Now that I've rambled, here are the questions. Handicap/Average score? I hover around a 15 or so. Strengths of your game? Easily my short game. Weakness of your game? DISTANCE! Anything outside 160. Typical ball flight? I work it both ways. Tend towards the draw. Typical miss? Short left. Current comparable equipment? Ben Hogan Ft. Worth 15 long irons. Swing tempo? Smooth take away, aggressive transition. Driver Swing Speed? Right around 100 MPH. What makes you love the game? I challenge myself directly in every way on every swing. It lets me unplug and be totally focused on just one thing. How long have you been golfing? My whole life technically, but truly only about 5 years. What kind of golfer are you? I would love to be a bomb and gouge type ofplayer. But in reality I'm more of a placement golfer. I'm really good at hitting targets and controlling distances. But only to a certain point. What's in your bag? Ping G30 LS Tech (8.6* loft) with 44in Paderson Kevlar Green Shaft. SLDR 14* 3W. Ben Hogan Ft. Worth 15 23, 27, 30, 33, 37, 41, 45, 49. Edel 52, 56, 60 Wedges. Edel Williamette Putter with custom engraving and “Chef's Choice” artwork. I was fit for my G30, SLDR by my swing coach, and was fit by a master fitter for my Edel short game clubs. My Ben Hogan clubs were something I tested for MGS last season, and have been firmly entrenched since! What region do you play out of? I play out of the northeast. DuBois, PA to be exact. Think small town, rural Pennsylvania with elevation changes and lots of trees. Are you a tinkerer or set and forget it type? I would love to ladder option. But unfortunately I can't stick with one thing. Always on the hunt. Only exception are the Edel clubs, which honestly are ridiculously good. So, here's where we are folks. You've gotten to know me a little bit, and we were able to even play a little game together! Over the next few weeks my sole golfing attention will be to not only give an impression on what these Hogan Hi Irons have to offer, but to compare them to their thinner soled, more squat brethren. Anyone want to place bets on the outcome? I expect a few surprises to pop up along the way, and for things to fall a little different than most expect. We will soon see. To all reading this, please feel free to respond/reach out with any questions or requests for my testing. Remember, this review is for all of us, not just myself. I want to give back to the community in the best way I can. Thank you Barbajo, Bones and all at MyGolfSpy for the opportunity. Let's do this!

Yeah, kind of like this. https://youtu.be/giY0WhKpnpI

Haha Hcky look at you with the sales pitch!

No I definitely agree man. Not an issue at all, I just want it to be repeatable for me before I pull the trigger!

That's actually something I was concerned with in my initial few swings with the M1. Not only was the spin significantly lower, I was worried that that combination was bordering on TOO low in some swings (I had a few at 1,300) that it may actually cost me some yardage. That being said, it felt amazing to swing (less boardy than the HAZARDOUS to me, but still stout) it's just hard to justify $700 from one range session. I'll need to confirm the numbers a few times and really see a difference. But I still can't believe how much of an effect on spin numbers the changes made.

Well, I didn't pull the trigger! Haha. Thank you though. I want to go back for another lesson and demo it with my instructor to see if the results are repeatable. They're just too dramatic to believe it on the first go to be honest.

I'll tell you what guys. These CG differences really are so monumentally important for golfers. It was amazing for me yesterday. I went to a lesson, and the place I go to just happened to have a demo day for taylormade there that day. So I went about my lesson, and then afterwards my instructor invited me out to test some of the clubs. I've been on a look out for something low spin because of my ball flight and lack of roll with my driver. I game a G30 LS Tec with a Paderson Kevlar Green shaft in it. This thing is a true fairway finder for me. It's automatic. But MAN does it go high. So I hit it on the range a few times on their launch monitor, and my strike truly couldn't get much better. Everything was basically dead center. I was hitting it well. My launch was consistently at 18-22 degrees, with a positive AoA of 1-2.6. My spin was 3,500-4,000 consistently. And you could just see the ball go and drop and stop out of the air. So from me reading through the CG article, I asked to test the M1 430 with the weight forward and set to draw (lowest and most forward CG from MGS test). We started with the Kuro Kage, and the numbers didn't change much. About 500 less RPM, but still just as high. Then he switches me to the Aldila Tour Silver. Still high, with similar spin. It was a no go. Then we try the HAZARDOUS shaft. I was still hitting the ball high, but my spin dropped down to 2,100 RPM pretty much instantly. He couldn't believe how high I was hitting the ball (8.5 degrees of loft) so we try one more shaft. The Tour AD-DI (it has orange graphics) and I was bombing that combination. Spin was down to 1,500-1,800 RPM. Launch angle of 16-18 degrees with a positive AoA. I was blown away. We tried the Black Tie after the AD-DI to check another option and it just didn't work for me. But what truly just blew me away was how we could go from the G30 spin numbers of 3,500-4,000 consistently, to the M1 430 with the right shaft ranging from 1,500-1,800 RPM's. I can't believe a head and shaft combination make THAT much difference. Wow.

I hope the conditions are better next time you're out and you can see a noticeable difference between the two drivers. On course performance is always so interesting to pay attention to when you are sold on improved "performance"

Wow that's pretty amazing. It makes you wonder what the possibilities/inconsistencies are in your equipment and how much of a difference it would make. Cool stuff man! Was the performance difference basically across the board with different shafts/etc.?