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JScott

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    2020 Official Member Review: Hogan GS53 driver

    in Forum Testing Reviews

    Posted

    Played 9 last evening. No Rattle.  This driver sounds, looks, and feels awesome!  I am having a hard time getting set over the ball and I think i know why.  The face bulges out (at least to my eyes) and it seems that the toe and heel sit further back.  In other words, it seems the actual hitting area for the face is small.

    Anyone else noticing the face seems overly rounded?

    Results from practice session with my personal launch monitor (VoiceCaddie SC300)--Ball speed 156ish on average, swing speed 105ish on average, carry was 260ish on average.

    The ball did not curve at all. If i missed it left or right it was due to pull or push (again, not comfortable getting lined up over the driver).

    Results from actual play:  played 9 holes on my home course.  usually hit my driver on 1,2,4,5,6,.  3 is a par 3, 8 is a par 3 and 7 has trouble at the end of the fairway so usually hit 3 wood.  9 is a par 5 with water at end of fairway.

    For the Hogan test, I hit driver on 7.  Launch was higher than usual (which is fine).  I hit the fairway on 1,4,5,7 so 4 out of 6 fairways.  I carried the ball further than normal but total distance was about the same.  On the 4th hole I hit a great drive and was probably a good 7 yards closer to the green than normal.  The fairways i missed were a yard or so off the fairway, nothing out of play.

    So far, I love the look of the driver itself but i can not how to get it to sit square (still messing around with the settings).  I also love the feel of the ball off the face (i am noticing my ball marks on the face seems slightly higher than center--probably explains the higher flight).  Lastly the sound...it sounds slightly louder than say a Taylor Made M5 but not as "metallic" sounding as say a Titleist TS 3.

    So far, so good with results.  If you asked me right now if I would game this...yes.  Best bang for the buck!

    2020 Official Member Review: Hogan GS53 driver

    in Forum Testing Reviews

    Posted

    Hi all,

    a way more detailed review soon but I hit some balls w this yesterday.  The set up behind the ball is fantastic..the contrast of the ball and the dark head is stunning. The head is slightly rounded and I like that classic look. The sound of the ball coming off the face is so nice. It is not muted nor does it should like a gun being fired. The only ‘downside’ I see is the club seems to looked closed to me. I found it slightly hard to get set up. I need to play around with the adjustable settings. More soon, but very encouraged so far!

    What/How Did You Practice Today?

    in The Daily

    Posted

    4 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

    I keep a putter and my PuttOUT at the church for little putting sessions during the day. Most often, I'm using a mat, but occasionally I try to make some long-distance putts (with camera on, just in case). And today I was awarded the long distance perfect putt record (a bit over 40'):

     

    I can't do that from 4 feet, let alone 40.  Crazy good!

    2020 Official Member Review: Hogan GS53 driver

    in Forum Testing Reviews

    Posted

    1 hour ago, 03trdblack said:

    Upon my initial observations of the videos online, the adapter they are using looks to be the same as the Maltby KE4 TC adjustable driver.  I have this head and it will be interesting to see if they are indeed the same type.  The adapter is nice as it keeps the shaft in the same place and only rotates the ring which means you can use ribbed grips or spine aligned shafts.

    https://www.golfworks.com/maltby-ke4-tc-adjustable-driver/p/ma0309/

    Adapter:  https://www.golfworks.com/maltby-ke4-tc-shaft-adaptor/p/ma0309a/

     

     

    I noticed the same.  Good call out

    2020 Official Member Review: Hogan GS53 driver

    in Forum Testing Reviews

    Posted · Edited by JScott
    Review

    The Review-May into June
     

    Hogan GS53 – Official MGS Forum Review by JScott

    Intro
    Hello fellow Spies. My name is Josh. Please see below to get a feel for my game.
     
    • What kind of golfer are you? I play as often as possible and no less than 2x a week. I practice about once or twice a week. I play in a Saturday league as well as a 9 hole Wednesday night league. My game is consistent but not spectacular. I make a lot of pars, sprinkle in some bogeys but don’t make a lot of birdies.
    • Handicap? (Or average score)-Current handicap is 2.8
    • Swing tempo? Driver swing speed? I like to think my swing tempo is SMOOTH. My average club head speed is around 107 with the driver
    • Typical ball flight? Typical miss? I tend to hit a lower trajectory ball and my typical miss is a quick snap hook
    • Strengths/Weaknesses of your game? My strength (by far) is hitting fairways and off the tee. My weakness (by far) it putting. Some days, i would gladly take 36 putts and break 80 without a worry.
    • Current gamer and how did you choose it?  Were you fit? My current driver is the TITLEIST TS3 and yes, I was fit for it. I chose this drive due to BRAND loyalty. I have played some sort of TITLEIST product for over 25 years. I also attended a TITLEIST demo day at my club and fell in love with the driver.
    • What is your #1 priority with driver in hand? My #1 priority with my driver to get in play and give myself a chance at hitting the green.
    • Do you like taking chances with aggressive lines? This is a loaded question. The answer is yes, depending on the hole set up.
    • How often can you reach par 5’s in 2? On my home courses (36 holes) there are 6 par 5s. I can reach 3 of them regularly, 1 of the them on occasion and 2 of them never.
    • What’s your typical club into par 4s? I usually have 7 iron or less into most par 4s.
     
    First Impressions
     
    I went to the HOGAN site to learn as much as I could before the drive arrived. There is a cool little video talking about the “no nonsense BEN HOGAN” (LINK: https://benhogangolf.com/products/gs53-driver). There is talk of no club adding 30, 40, 50 yards. There is talk about a forged face that look and feels as good as it looks. All this sound familiar? Yeah, me too. And once you fall for the talk hook, line, and sinker, you hit the ball the exact same way you did before and are about $500 lighter in the wallet. So, with that as the background, the drive shows up at my door.

    image.png.9c164ebc58bf898ab4cca820ed74e345.png
     

     

     
    Grading
     
    Looks (8 out of 10 points) 
    Describe the following:
    • I love the general shape of the drive at address. The only concern I had was it took some time to play with the settings so that it did not look shut at address.
    • The graphics on this driver are simple but elegant. Love the HOGAN logo on the crown
    • The overall look of this driver ties together nicely. The dark head makes it easy to frame a ball against. I also like the uniformity of the crown to the sole of the club.
    • The driver has the same color as my current gamer but seems to have more of the classic look to it and appears slightly smaller at address. This is not a bad thing at all as I was added confidence at address for me.
    • One thing that really stood out to me was how tweaking the hosel settings changed the overall look of the drive at address. BE SURE TO UNDERSTAND the settings.
    Sound & Feel (10 out of 10 points)
    Describe how the driver sounds and feels
    • From the first drive, I loved the sound of this driver. The sound is not as metallic as my current gamer, nor is it super muted (like you are hitting a driver with a pillow on the face)
    • The feel of the ball coming off the face is buttery. It does not feel harsh at all, nor is it too soft.
    • The driver does not feel the same off the toe and heel and nor should it, in my opinion. The sound and fell DID stay the same when the strike was toward the TOP of the face. I did lose feel and sound on the lower strikes. The also GREATLY affected the trajectory. More on that soon….
    • On personal level, the closest feel and sound I can give is that this driver sounds more muted that my TITLEIST and “louder” than the Taylor Made M3 I gamed a few years ago. I would say this drive feels and sounds better than either of those drivers.
    • The sound and feel helped with IMMEDIATE response. I knew immediately if the shot was going to be high, long, and straight or if it was a miss.
     
    Basic Characteristics (17 out of 20 points)
    Before hitting the course, get some range time in so you’ve got a feel for what’s to come.  This section should be used to identify the basic characteristics that most players will notice.   If you are able to get time on a launch monitor, this would be the section to include numbers from it.
     
    Describe the following compared to your current gamer:
    • Trajectory – One thing I love about this driver is the trajectory. I am a low ball hitter (current gamer launch on SC300 is 12 degrees) The Hogan driver added about 3 degrees of launch. I also noticed by swing speed picked up a few MPH but that has more do with the shaft I believe.
    • Workability – Here is the deal with the Hogan. I have to REALLY try to hit a cut with this driver. I can make it go left but cutting the ball is extremely difficult for me with this club. I felt from day 1 the driver sits closed. A week of tweaking the settings got it square (to me).
    • Accuracy – This driver is one of the most accurate CLUBS I have ever hit, let alone drivers. I have been hitting 2-3 more fairways per round. This leads to 2-3 less bogey holes.
    • Distance – Raw distance is right there with the other drivers I have played as well as my current gamer. This driver does not see huge distance drops for slightly off center hits.
    • Forgiveness – The driver is very forgiving. I have notice that strikes slight ABOVE the center of the face seem to go further, fly higher, and go just as straight. Interestingly, toe strikes HOOKED a lot of me while strikes toward the heel still seems to find the fairway.
    • Adjustability – To me, this is where the driver lost some points. The symbols are not self explanatory (at least to me). Don’t get me wrong, TITLEIST SUREFIT also requires a chart and a degree in math to get the desired setting but the HOGAN driver took me awhile to get set correctly and it was more by sight than by technology. Taylor Made is pretty simple, Higher/Lower
    • Pressure – This is a confidence inspiring driver. Once you get it set up/fit to you, the club sits behind the ball beautifully. After a few range sessions, I knew where the ball was going and knew slightly off center hits were not going to punish me too badly.
    • What factors were you pleased with? I am please with the overall look of the driver, the feel and sound, and the results! I am also pleased that great performance can come at a great price
    • What factors did you find lacking? Really the only down sides were it took forever to get the club to look square (no fitting available anywhere) and the confusion of the settings.

    image.png.a574965ad9f3314d589221b94dca9873.png

     

    image.png.c2cf4333403db23817997d5cd154e61b.png

     

    On-Course / LM Performance (28 out of 30 points)
    As you play with the driver on-course, make an effort to keep stats on your driving performance.  Track fairways and distance.  If you aren’t fortunate enough to have Arccos, ShotScope, or something similar, there are free/cheap apps available that can help you track these.  Also, make an effort to use the driver as often as possible.  Challenge yourself to hit aggressive shots off the tee so you can get the full feel of what this club is capable of.  If you can get involved with 4-man scrambles, they can be a great place to test out a driver since the risk of a poor shot is mitigated.  Finally, take note of the clubs your driver is leaving you with for your second shot into the green.  If you’re usually left with a 6-iron on certain holes, are you now able to use a 7 or lower to attack the pin or are you forced to club up in a defensive play?  Can you attack more par 5s? 
     
    Final Performance Comments:
    • Overall, how did it perform? This driver performs as well if not better than any driver I have ever played. Specifically, my trajectory increased and my ball speed stayed the same. This help with overall carry distance. I also am hitting about 2 more fairways per round.
    • How, if at all, did this product change your overall impression of Hogan? To be fair, I didn’t even realize Hogan still made clubs. You don’t see them in PRO SHOPS, Golf Stores, etc. I had no idea a driver that was ordered online (with no formal fitting) could perform so well.
    • What feature would you change or eliminate from the next generation of this model? I would simplify the adjustability of the driver. It is probably me, but I found it hard to get the setting I needed to gain optimal performance.
    • What feature do you really like, and would most like to see continued or evolved in future models? I like the simplicity of the graphics and the overall look of the club. Nice contrast between club and ball. Easy to ensure the club is aligned to the ball correctly and that builds confidence at address.
    • Did it help improve your scores? By how much? Since I have been tracking the use of this driver, I have noticed several things. 1. more fairways. 2. better putting statistics. (is that due to proximity to the pin due to not hitting out of the rough 2 more times than usual?). And yes, my handicap has gone from 3.6 down to 2.8. I also have 2 sub par 9s since using this driver.
     
    Miscellaneous (9 out of 10 points)
    I didn’t give a 10 out of 10 here due to a few minor things. I have seen other “TESTERS”get a nice hand written note, a hat, etc. that ties in nicely with the experience. Hogan did not offer any of that. Also, and this is 100% personal, I cannot stand the boxing glove head cover. They offer no shaft protection and I find them annoying sliding up the head. (I carry my bag a lot and find I have to always check the head cover is staying on).

    image.png.9912ffb49910cf6a534a8ba4435a14c2.png

     

     

    Play it or Trade it? (19 out of 20 points)
    100% PLAY IT. I’ll be honest. I had a HOGAN hybrid long ago and can remember the HOGAN golf ball from about 20 years ago. I remember HOGAN irons. I remember the HOGAN brand being on the walls of golf shops. Nowadays, there is no HOGAN brand in shops and I had serious reservations on the quality of this club. This is a large part of the reason I put my name in the hat to test this club. I will state this as simply as i can, this drive holds it own with any driver I have ever played. The only reason I did not give 20 out of 20 is that I still have to get the stigma of this not being a “MAJOR BRAND”club out of my head. It seems silly but I still do think “I wonder what my playing buddies are going to say”as I pull the club (awful head cover and all) out of my bag. That stigma is quickly going away as I hit my drives longer and straighter than they do with clubs that are several hundred dollars more.
     
    Conclusion
    From the weekend warrior to the everyday player, to the 20+ handicap to the scratch golfer, we are all searching for that “magical”club that will make us better. Let me be 100% clear, this club is NOT magical. This club however does check the box on all things I find important in my never ending quest to play better golf. LOOKS-check FEEL-check SOUND-check PERFORMANCE-check ACCURACY-check. What I found was the more I got comfortable with the club (i.e. got the settings correct), the more I liked the look, sound, feel, etc. This club did not produce 320 yard drives. This club did not make me a scratch golfer (it did lower my index from 3.6 to 2.8 though). This club DID help me find CONFIDENCE standing on the tee. For some reason, I knew I was aligned correctly and if I put a halfway decent swing on the ball I would find the fairway. At the end of the day, golf is a MENTAL game and this club helps with that part due to the confidence it gave me. To me, this is a major win for HOGAN. If they could get the word out about this driver, I believe more players would give it a shot. Not only am I impressed with this driver, but I am going to try the 3 wood next. Bottom line: In my opinion, you cannot do better than a confidence inspiring, fairway finding driver for roughly $300 than this driver. Tee it high and let it fly!

     

    Final Score: (91 out of 100 points)

    I haven’t been in school for some 20 years but I believe that is an A.

    image.png

    2020 Official Member Review: Titleist T100S/T200 irons

    in Forum Testing Reviews

    Posted

    11 hours ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

    I'll chime in here on  the Fittings.  As you can imagine it's a slower than normal process due to the current pandemic.   But Titleist is still  open and functioning in a lot of areas, so they are working through it.  The goal is go get each tester fit by the local field rep, or a top fitter in the area.   Titleist Thursday Fittings  had been the original plan and would have been great, but that schedule is not certain now due to so many closures.   

    As to the PING guys, we have informed them that PING is completely shut down through the end of April, so nothing will be happening on the fitting front there at least until  sometime in May.    So the testers in both groups have been asked to exhibit and unusual amount of patience, and everyone has been awesome inn doing so. 

    In the meantime, feel free to keep the conversations going!  

     

    Just curious, where is Titleist open?  I ordered some custom irons weeks ago and was told all production was stopped for custom orders of any kind. Thanks!  


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