2020 Official Member Review: Hogan GS53 driver

[pozzit]

On 4/13/2020 at 7:06 PM, cciciora13 said:

The Review {6/17/20}

[Ben Hogan GS53 Driver] – Official MGS Forum Review by [Cciciora13]

Intro

First Off, I would just like to say thank you to Ben Hogan Golf, and MyGolfSpy Mods for giving me the opportunity to test the driver. I have been a long time reader of MyGolfSpy but have found a home here in the forum in my short time on it. It truly feels like a wonderful community to talk all things golf and I am glad and honored to give back to it.

My Background:

For those who don’t know me, my name is Chris. I am 26 years old and I currently reside in Chicago, IL. I am a physical therapist by trade, but have always had a love for golf.  I have golfed since the age of 5, when my dad introduced me to the game, and he continues to be my favorite playing partner. I have never received a formal lesson although I did play golf in High School and then played on the club golf team in the NCCGA (lots of drinking between rounds) at Marquette University. My girlfriend/soon to be fiancé currently resides in Milwaukee, WI which I will soon be making my home in the fall, so I play some great courses between the two spots! I used to take golf way more seriously when I played competitively, but now my goals are to just enjoy the game and try to score as best I can.

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My Game:

I’ve never carried an official handicap, but I would judge that I am between a 12-13. I typically shoot in the low 80’s for a round of 18 with a really good day getting me in at 78-79. The courses that I frequent are typically between 6300 and 6500 yards. I’ve always thought of myself as a straight hitter. I usually keep the ball in play but never was one of the longer hitters (although when I play with my dad it looks like I hit bombs LOL).  My driver swing averages between 100-105 MPH with a mid-height ball flight; I typically average around 260-265 yards off the tee. I will take accuracy over distance and that is typically my goal with the driver. This game is so much easier from the short grass. I rarely go for par 5 in two but in most instances opt to place my second shot at a manageable distance to attack the pin with my wedge. Into Par 4’s I typically hit in an 7-8-9 iron into the green, depending on the distance.

I have been told that smooth tempo swing, and when I am hitting it well, it sure feels like it. I typically hit a mid-height baby draw with my miss coming when I don’t bring my hips through and block it right, or snap my wrists and hit a hook to the left.

 

 

 

I’ve never been personally fit for a driver, or any club in the bag. I am currently gaming a 2013 Adams Speedline Super LS Driver with Stiff Mitsubishi Kuro Kage 60 g Shaft. I found a super good deal on it in 2014 from budget golf and it has been in my bag ever since. I am cost conscious when purchasing new equipment, and when I like something or hit it well, it usually stays in my bag for quite some time.       

                                                                                                           

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First Impressions:

I was very excited when the Ben Hogan GS53 driver arrived.  They asked us what specs we wanted in the driver and I requested the following as we were unable to be fit secondary to the coronavirus:

10.5* Loft

Standard Length (Height is 5 ft 10 in)

Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue 60 Stiff (Secondary to my mid-height ball flight)

Pulling it out of the box it looked very high quality and the color scheme of the black head with the BH logo is very good looking. This club looks amazing your hands. I love how clean it looks without other gimmicks some other drivers in the market have.

             

 

 

                                                          

 

 

                                                 

Ben Hogan claims the GS53 Driver is designed to deliver maximum distance and accuracy allowed by golf’s governing bodies, and is available for about half of what you’d pay from some of the bigger brands. It has an adjustable hosel, forged face, is traditionally shaped, and has a crisp sound following a well struck drive are some of its featues. More info on website-  https://benhogangolf.com/products/gs53-driver

 

I have always been a box store (PGA Superstore), hit and then buy clubs golfer.  I was interested to see how a direct to consumer company such as BH was able to create a product that performs at an acceptional price point without the ability to try hitting it before hand. If it has Ben Hogan’s name on it, they must be quality clubs, but the biggest question I had was will they work for me, the average golfer? It will need to improve accuracy off the tee and be right around the same distance as my current gamer to earn a spot in my bag… we will see.

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It has been a great 6+ weeks testing the BH GS53 driver.  Over the testing period, I have played about 12 rounds of golf and had about 5 range sessions.  I tested the GS53 In every hosel setting and settled on the N- as the best for me. I tried to hit draws, fades, slice, hooks, low bullets and everything in between.  I was able to get the GS53 on shot tracer at the range and compare it to my gamer. I hope that my fellow forum members enjoyed following along as we posted regular updates and answered questions throughout the testing process. This process was a lot of fun to assist other golfers in seeing if this may be an option for them!

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Looks 9 out of 10 points) 

I honestly don’t think the pictures do justice on how good this club actually looks. I think this club is very sleek and stunning in your hands. The crown is black with some sparkle to it; that really pops in the sunlight. I don’t find the sparkle to be distracting but adds to the beauty of this club. The design is compact and the color scheme is very simple but “classy”. New drivers nowadays seem to come in some bizarre color schemes (Callaway Epic Flash) but the look of this is simple. I love the BH on the top of the crown for alignment and the simple Ben Hogan logo on the back. The headcover is also very cool as well.  The only issue I have is in the alignment groves on the face (which look  great), but some of the paint began to disappear after 8 rounds or so.

                                                               

                                         

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Sound & Feel (9 out of 10 points)

I found the sound of the ball coming off the face to be smooth and pleasant. It is not muted nor does it sound obnoxious or too loud like a gun going off. To me, when you hit a crisp shot, it sounds slightly deeper, like a golf shot should—a solid “whack”. I didn’t find it to have a metallic sound at all as some drivers do.

 

From a feel standpoint, I was shocked at how solid and explosive this driver seemed to be when hitting a golf shot. I could tell exactly where the face was at each point in the swing and got immediate feedback if I missed the center of the face or not based on the tone of the sound at impact. Off-center hits were not punished as severely, but you did get more of a “thwacky thinny” sound compared to a center strike. Center strikes felt like a knife going through butter. Overall, I found the sound and feel to be wonderful.

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Basic Characteristics 18 out of 20 points)

I’m going to bullet point the next section for ease of reading:

• Trajectory – To me, the trajectory was higher than my gamer, but that may be attributed to this be 10.5* of loft and my gamer being 9.5*. Both have comparable mid-launch shafts. Out of the box, on the N+ setting ) I was hitting high fades. On changing the hosel to the N- setting I was able to get back to my normal ball flight. I like the higher ball flight as it seems to increase my carry distance slightly without sacrificing total distance.
• Workability – I never really try and “work” my driver but I didn’t have any trouble hitting fades or draws with this club when I tried. Most of the time, I just try and hit the ball straight.
• Accuracy – I felt this club had great accuracy and had no problem hitting it exactly where I wanted to.  It was very reliable and with the neutral face, and I was able to consistently hit it straight or with my slight draw. Looking at my stats from two recent rounds, I hit 60% and then 78% of fairways, with a few other drives just yards off the fairway. This game is much easier from the short grass; and as a normally accurate driver this driver has improved upon that.

 

                                                            

 

 

Distance – This driver has me hitting the ball slightly further than my current gamer but with more upside. With my Adams Super Speedline LS a really great drive for me can get to the 280 yards territory. Now with the BH I have hit a few drives 285 + yards and some at 300+. I’ve hit a some bombs with this club but the best part is the distance is extremely reliable and consistent.  I practically hit the same carry numbers no matter where I miss shots on the face and the carry distance has improved. 

                         Shot Tracer

• Forgiveness – A mishit with this club will still get strong, consistent distance which tells me the ballspeed stays high on a lot of the face. Missing the center of the clubface will limit distance slightly 5-10 yards), but it will do its best to stay on line. No club can completely bail you out on bad swing, but this club provides similar forgiveness to most drivers out there.
• Adjustability – It’s super easy to adjust the club face, however there are no adjustable weights to promote a draw/cut ect. I do like the settings to change loft, and lie angle as that should be able to adjust to the majority of golfer’s swings.

                                                                                

• Pressure –This club is very, very reliable.  I’ve been able to configure the club to work perfectly with my swing which makes hitting it nearly automatic.  I know about how far shots are going to carry and can easily rely on it to carry trouble at certain distances.  It is my favorite club in the bag to hit.

Overall, I was very pleased with the clubs overall looks and consistent distance performance. It’s an accurate and reliable performer that I have no problem playing round after round with.  If I was to refine it just a little further, maybe addition of some type of weight system to promote fade/draw.

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On-Course / LM Performance 29 out of 30 points)
 

On the course is where this club really shines. The Ben Hogan GS53 is everything I want in a driver and more. As one of my fellow reviewer’s said it feels like a “surgeons scalpel”. I feel I can hit any shot that I need to when I need to do it. The slight increase in carry and total distance has allowed me to attack par 5’s in two on multiple occasions, something I rarely if ever did before. (Didn’t help my three putt that followed LOL).

I didn’t have access to an Accros or other measuring devices, so I utilized the 18birdies app to show some of my drives. The 9^th hole on our local municipal is surrounded by water and bunkers. Typically I hit 3 wood or hybrid and lay up short of the water. I felt ambitious and aimed over the water and was able to carry the water and leave a short pitch into the green! It was awesome!

 

Additionally I have now had multiple drives that I just bombed to short of the green, leading to easy pitches into the green with birdie putts. This club has easily improved my game both by improving accuracy and distance, leading to increased birdie and eagle opportunities. I would say my scores have improved by 2-3 strokes; now if only I made more of those opportunities!

 

                                                               

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Miscellaneous 9 out of 10 points)

              My buddies have consistently asked what driver I am hitting and I gladly say Ben Hogan. They even hit it and after the first hit when both found the fairway, they were hooked and hit it a few more times the rest of the round. The customer service at BH was also great as I thought my driver had a rattle to it, but the customer service rep walked me through the steps and we found out the screw was just slightly out of alignment. I just think some type of weight system would put this driver over the top.

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Play it or Trade it? 20 out of 20 points)

Absolutely this club will stay in my bag and will stay there for some time. I have never felt more confident with the driver in my hand and this club has improved by my distance and accuracy. You’ll have to pry this club out of my dead hands to get it from me!!! 

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 Conclusion

Ben Hogan hit it out of the park with the GS53 driver. It is slightly cheaper than some of the big name brands, and has both increased my accuracy and distance off the tee. With the adjustability in the hosel you can dial in the shot shape to your liking. A driver needs to give you confidence when it is in your hands and that clubs does that for me. Try one out through the demo program at BH and see if it works for you!! I’m excited to see how this club continues to benefit my game going forward.

Final Score: 94 out of 100 points)

 

On 4/13/2020 at 7:08 PM, JScott said:

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

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).

 

 

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.

Great Job Guys. I seem to notice a trend. Ill be posting mine in beginning of July since I have a week long golf trip planned for next week and will be using this exclusively and getting some feedback from a few of the other guys I'm going with. Usually mix in scrambles every other day or so and will get the chance to really rip at this.

[cciciora13]

Great Job Guys. I seem to notice a trend. Ill be posting mine in beginning of July since I have a week long golf trip planned for next week and will be using this exclusively and getting some feedback from a few of the other guys I'm going with. Usually mix in scrambles every other day or so and will get the chance to really rip at this.

Absolutely. My playing partners loved it and I’m curious if yours will too.


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[cciciora13]

One week after I posted my review and I still absolutely love the driver. Please check out my review and give me feedback If you havnt been able to check it out!


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[03trdblack]

I have to get mine written up. Having a newborn hasn't given me the time lately to get it done. 

[pozzit]

Just got back from a golf trip played  some of my best golf and put some great swings on the driver. 189 holes so plenty of opportunity to play this club. Hit it really well on average but with a few other guys we tended to play some shorter tees (5900yds). I'm really happy with this driver and although I'm not a fairway finder I definitely have found many more with this club.

[03trdblack]

Happy 4th of July to everyone!  I've posted my review on the home screen and hope you enjoy!

[pozzit]

Happy Belated 4th Posted mine up as well. This was a blast to write and review. Hope you all enjoy. 

[cciciora13]

Still can’t get over the sound and feel of this club. If sound and feel is important to you (well as well as performance) you must give this club a demo. The sound is pristine on a well struck shot and you can feel exactly where you struck the ball on the face.


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[03trdblack]

12 hours ago, cciciora13 said:

Still can’t get over the sound and feel of this club. If sound and feel is important to you (well as well as performance) you must give this club a demo. The sound is pristine on a well struck shot and you can feel exactly where you struck the ball on the face.


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I agree.  It was the only section that received a perfect 10/10 in my review.  That's saying a lot because nothing I've reviewed usually gets a perfect 10 in any category.  Since there is so much good equipment out on the market, it's easy to get nit picky even though it still may be great.

[pozzit]

Absolutely I love the sound off this this I can't get enough. I do love the crown at address too even though it appears a little closed and a shallow head but I actually prefer both those.

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[03trdblack]

I wanted to jump in and provide an update with the GS53 testing since I posted my review.  I did end up going to club champion to try and hit some additional shafts but I found out they only fit the Hogan irons and don't have any adapters that will fit the driver.  We got some good numbers as I posted in my review and everything was almost perfect except the spin was just a hair higher than I'd like.  Not much, but between 2-500 RPM.  I did some testing of shafts with another clubhead just to get the idea of some feels of other shafts and we decided that the HZRDUS Smoke Green might be a good option to try since it's very similar to the Smoke Black but has a slightly stiffer tip and overall bend profile.

I may start to search online for a Smoke Green pull out but I decided to give the Harrison Shotmaker a try in the Smoke Black shaft first.  If you're not familiar with the Shotmaker it's worth reading the MGS review from quite a few years ago.  I wish this had become more popular and Harrison wasn't out of business because it does EXACTLY what it advertises it will do.

I put the Shotmaker in the Smoke Black and so far the Hogan has performed extremely well.  It was already an incredibly accurate driver but now it's literally point and shoot with the Shotmaker installed.  I haven't been able to get back on the Trackman yet to see if the spin has dropped any but the launch came down slightly and I'm getting a lot of roll which has been nice now that it's hot outside.  I think I'm going to keep this combo for a while and may snag a cheap Smoke Green shaft once the prices come down some but I'm not sure I'm going to improve any further.

[pozzit]

1 hour ago, 03trdblack said:

I wanted to jump in and provide an update with the GS53 testing since I posted my review.  I did end up going to club champion to try and hit some additional shafts but I found out they only fit the Hogan irons and don't have any adapters that will fit the driver.  We got some good numbers as I posted in my review and everything was almost perfect except the spin was just a hair higher than I'd like.  Not much, but between 2-500 RPM.  I did some testing of shafts with another clubhead just to get the idea of some feels of other shafts and we decided that the HZRDUS Smoke Green might be a good option to try since it's very similar to the Smoke Black but has a slightly stiffer tip and overall bend profile.

I may start to search online for a Smoke Green pull out but I decided to give the Harrison Shotmaker a try in the Smoke Black shaft first.  If you're not familiar with the Shotmaker it's worth reading the MGS review from quite a few years ago.  I wish this had become more popular and Harrison wasn't out of business because it does EXACTLY what it advertises it will do.

I put the Shotmaker in the Smoke Black and so far the Hogan has performed extremely well.  It was already an incredibly accurate driver but now it's literally point and shoot with the Shotmaker installed.  I haven't been able to get back on the Trackman yet to see if the spin has dropped any but the launch came down slightly and I'm getting a lot of roll which has been nice now that it's hot outside.  I think I'm going to keep this combo for a while and may snag a cheap Smoke Green shaft once the prices come down some but I'm not sure I'm going to improve any further.

Wow I had not heard of Shotmaker previously. That is really impressive if that much accuracy improvement is expected.

Good luck finding a Smoke Green Shaft. I would like to try a few other shafts just to test out and see whats best for me.

[pozzit]

I have played a few rounds since I posted my review but I realized im trying to over power it after 3 mediocre drives I tried to dial one back to 90% and hit a beautiful drive that i think went further then my usual drives. I swung a few more after the round and was really hitting the center. I want to get out again and start working on it more. 

[cciciora13]

I have played a few rounds since I posted my review but I realized im trying to over power it after 3 mediocre drives I tried to dial one back to 90% and hit a beautiful drive that i think went further then my usual drives. I swung a few more after the round and was really hitting the center. I want to get out again and start working on it more. 

I agree. When I try to kill it, I tend to over do it and pull/hook it left. When I hit a nice smooth swing it is a bomb down the middle.


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[Nunfa0]

21 hours ago, pozzit said:

I have played a few rounds since I posted my review but I realized im trying to over power it after 3 mediocre drives I tried to dial one back to 90% and hit a beautiful drive that i think went further then my usual drives. I swung a few more after the round and was really hitting the center. I want to get out again and start working on it more. 

When I try to get after my driver i am all over the place but when I make a smooth, slower feeling swing it just flies out there. It almost feels like when I get "fast" I lose my sequence and can't find the center of the face.

[GolfSpy_SHARK]

22 hours ago, pozzit said:

I have played a few rounds since I posted my review but I realized im trying to over power it after 3 mediocre drives I tried to dial one back to 90% and hit a beautiful drive that i think went further then my usual drives. I swung a few more after the round and was really hitting the center. I want to get out again and start working on it more. 

Yes I can get swing speeds of close to 130 but good luck finding my ball. My happy place is 115-120. As @Nunfa0 put it so eloquently I lose my sequencing when I try to smash it, either my hands clear to fast (I am very wristy) and I just pull the hell out of it or they lag behind and I hit a towering balloon.

Glad you were able to catch this, most do not. 

[JScott]

Quick update.  I have been playing the Hogan driver exclusively for a month or so now.  For kicks, I put back in my old Titleist driver.  I am sold on the HOGAN for one very simple reason....the trajectory is so much better.  Still loving the HOGAN!

[pozzit]

Ok so I'm gearing up for a round today since league got canceled yesterday. This will be the first real focused 18 holes I have been able to play in the last month. So I'm going to dial my Hogan back to about 85% and try to focus on fairways and accept any distance differences and check Game Golf see how much it really impacted me.

[pozzit]

16 hours ago, pozzit said:

Ok so I'm gearing up for a round today since league got canceled yesterday. This will be the first real focused 18 holes I have been able to play in the last month. So I'm going to dial my Hogan back to about 85% and try to focus on fairways and accept any distance differences and check Game Golf see how much it really impacted me.

So round went well. Didn't quite catch as many fairways as I was hoping for but I felt I only had 2 drives that I was unhappy with. The rest were misses were just off the fairway some left some right. I'm hitting the face more consistently but was still trying to get a good sequence. I hit a 2nd ball on several holes and you know those will hit the fairway.
Iron play was off on the beginning of the round and 3 of 5 bogies were on par 3s. Ended with a 75 which ties my best for that course. Just from quick memory I think my drives were just as far usual and just getting more efficient transfer to the ball.

3 Drive off to the right and 1 off to the left the longest one cut the corner and was really only about 5 yards off the fairway so it really wasn't a bad position

My Distance was also comparable to my average so that shows how much im losing not hitting the middle. Also the 207 yrds drive was the first hole and I only swung that at like 70%. 

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Edited July 23, 2020 by pozzit
Added Game Golf data

[cciciora13]

Just chiming in to say I still love this driver. If I swing within my shoes and don’t try to kill it (tendency to
Hook left) I absolutely bomb it. Two of my drives today went 300+ yards


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[cciciora13]

This driver still flat out performs. Hit 64% of fairways over my round last weekend with a few others just off the fairway. A couple of times I hit the driver “too good” and hit it through the fairway!



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[pozzit]

Hey all its been about 2 months since my update and I am still really enjoying the GS53. I have started to wrangle my swing a little bit and have had some great driving days I have hit some drives in better spots then I have in years.  I played 54 holes the other weekend and only had 3 drives that were penalizing. I believe my Fairway percentage was around 65% I had a few absolute bombs. 

I do believe this is an all around good driver. I haven't hit anything new lately especially with Covid but I am very satisfied with it. I should break my Ping back out and do another side by side test since I have improved my swing. 

I would love to go through a solid fitting session with this driver to really find out what would be best for me but thats the downside to DTC. I believe someone mentioned Club Champion can fit their irons but not the driver.

[03trdblack]

Actually, I'll provide an update as well. I ended up picking up the 3 wood as well and it's equally as fantastic as the driver. The shape is just so perfect at address and the feeling is soft but hot. Some might consider it a little small looking but to me it's ideal. 

[pozzit]

Actually, I'll provide an update as well. I ended up picking up the 3 wood as well and it's equally as fantastic as the driver. The shape is just so perfect at address and the feeling is soft but hot. Some might consider it a little small looking but to me it's ideal. 

Thats awesome glad you picked it up. You should add a few pictures.

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[Golfspy_CG2]

Well. I think it’s time to add some new life to this thread, we can’t let the current Hogan Long Game Testing get all the love.   
 

So this just showed up today.  Looking forward to giving it a go alongside my TSi2 tester.

Anyone else still have theirs in play?

[cciciora13]

That thing is pretty!!!

 

Absolutely still have mine in my bag and its my favorite club to hit.  Even with the weather being a little colder I still bomb this thing. Hit a few 300+ last week.

Has anyone else noticed the paint diminishing on the face? Not a big deal but just noticed it to me.

[03trdblack]

Been playing mine still but have been eyeing that GS53 Max really hard. I wish there was a trade in option to try out Max. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

10 hours ago, 03trdblack said:

Been playing mine still but have been eyeing that GS53 Max really hard. I wish there was a trade in option to try out Max. 

Yeah, i forgot you all had the standard.  The Max is very good.   I had a round this week where i wanted to take it out, but had scheduled that round for a RAD XB testing. Weather is dicey this week, so looks like I’ll have to try and get some time on s local indoor trackman. 

[fozcycle]

Very impressed by the reviews. Well done guys!


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[cciciora13]

What seems to be the main difference between the GS53 and GS53 max??