2020 Official Member Review: Ben Hogan Icon & PTX Pro/Icon Combo Irons

[fixyurdivot]

On 7/12/2020 at 9:07 AM, Sluggo42 said:

Wow, so much new info and excitement!!!

I unfortunately cannot play until tomorrow boo hoooo.

but, here is the reason I was unavailable to play yesterday.....

 

"We've been looking for this Sluggo guy for awhile now".  

Congrats on the win!

[Erik-M]

1 hour ago, Sluggo42 said:

I suppose that all depends on how you currently hit your 4 iron, or hybrid. For a guy like me, heck yea its worth it. 

I am hitting my 4 iron well, but I would be looking at replacing my 716 TMB 3 iron which I also hit well. But I need like 10 yards to fill a gap at the top of my bag

[Erik-M]

The 3 iron loft is 20 degrees on my tmb, and 18 degrees on the Hogan uihi 3 iron

[Sluggo42]

11 minutes ago, Erik-M said:

I am hitting my 4 iron well, but I would be looking at replacing my 716 TMB 3 iron which I also hit well. But I need like 10 yards to fill a gap at the top of my bag

yea, unfortunately thats all relative numbers as we probably are on two different planets as far as distance goes... But its an easy 20 longer than my last 4 iron... which helps you not at all...

But the recoil shaft and the club are new animals for me

[bens197]

6 hours ago, Erik-M said:

Is it worth purchasing? How's the feel/ sound?

The knock is that they’re a thicker head. I can’t imagine not swinging one but I also get why some people are turned off by the size and shape.

I could choose a smaller head but if the result is the same flight and it’s easier to hit, why wouldn’t I want the easier club?
 

The 4 is my favorite iron in this entire set. 

[Sluggo42]

4 hours ago, bens197 said:

The knock is that they’re a thicker head. I can’t imagine not swinging one but I also get why some people are turned off by the size and shape.

I could choose a smaller head but if the result is the same flight and it’s easier to hit, why wouldn’t I want the easier club?
 

The 4 is my favorite iron in this entire set. 

right after the Icons...

[bens197]

5 hours ago, Sluggo42 said:

right after the Icons...

They really did well with the head design. The boxed toe and wider V-sole is just smart and easy on the eyes. 

[Golfspy_CG2]

On 7/23/2020 at 2:41 AM, deejaid said:

So yesterday I stopped at the Pro Shop and told my pro about the Hogan’s and the toe misses I’m having with them. I explained to him that they are same lie and length as my current irons which I have no problem finding the middle of, but the Hogan’s shafts are graphite Recoil 87g shafts while my current irons are 125g Precision Rifle steel. He agreed that the weight and deflection difference of the two shafts were causing the problem.

 

Now as someone that is just playing graphite for the first time one of the few things I know about graphite is that most times graphite shafts come 1/2” longer from the factory to keep the swingweight similar to steel shafted clubs of the same model. What I didn’t realize is that added length might also help with toe droop. As my Pro and I were talking, he suggested adding 1/2” extensions to the clubs. The added length should move the strikes to the center of the face. If this is the case, then not only does the added length of graphite add to the swingweight, it also affects to toe droop which can be a remedy to the higher torque and deflection of the tip section of the graphite shafts.

 

Looking at the specs of the irons on the Ben Hogan website there is no difference in lengths between graphite and steel shafted clubs. While that creates a swingweight difference of 2 points according to their graph between the two, the lack of longer shaft in the graphite doesn’t allow for the correction of toe droop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, graphite extensions are en route and hopefully will be the answer to finding the center of the face.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalogan. 

Hey Deejaid---I don't want to take this thread off the focus on the irons.  But before you do anything drastic with the shafts. I'd suggest talking to an actual clubfitter.  You got some serious misinformation from your pro on SW and length of shaft.   Perhaps I can even get you in touch with someone at Hogan. 

I just want to make sure you have the correct info before making a big change in shafts.  PM me if you'd like. 

 

[deejaid]

Hey Deejaid---I don't want to take this thread off the focus on the irons.  But before you do anything drastic with the shafts. I'd suggest talking to an actual clubfitter.  You got some serious misinformation from your pro on SW and length of shaft.   Perhaps I can even get you in touch with someone at Hogan. 

I just want to make sure you have the correct info before making a big change in shafts.  PM me if you'd like. 
 

Nothing drastic, just a 1/2” extension. I’ll PM you.


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[J.B. TexasEx]

On 7/25/2020 at 4:40 PM, Erik-M said:

Is it worth purchasing? How's the feel/ sound?

Looked and sounded like he nutted it to me. Now I want one!

[Sluggo42]

there is one facet of this club that I just don't touch on as much as I should, and thats the V-Soles. One of my old standards to my swing was that I was a "digger". I would flat out peel the carpet up, and hit a lot of "fat" shots. 

Now, (and it started with the PtxPro set) I rarely even take much more than a small piece. Often, its not much more that some ruffled grass. And I think its kind of training me as we go, too. Face contact improves, and obviously so do the shots. Im still not an Iron master, but I feel much more confident now. I actually try to target the 110-140 yd range, so I get to hit one of the Icons, with its skinny little V=Sole. SO Good..

[revkev]

The 3 iron loft is 20 degrees on my tmb, and 18 degrees on the Hogan uihi 3 iron

Now is the time for a 7 wood to enter into the discussion. :)


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[Sluggo42]

last hole is a par 5, so I teed off with the 4 UiHi, for about 200 ish, then hit it again to about 90, but the tee shot was better, leaving me a SW with the Equalizer SW. I swung a hair too easy leaving me just short of the green, but an easy 2-putt par. The guy I was paired with said the he needed to do a better job of course management, as I mad the par5 look so easy... meh...

I just know I can't reach in 2 anymore

 

[Sluggo42]

shot again today playing solo as I got a good early start. Didn't keep score as I was playing with irons all day. I set up on 17 from 167 and hit 5 shots. 4 landed on the green. 3 were pin high, one was a little long, and I pulled one about 20 feet left of the green, but it was also about pin high.

Loving them!

[Sluggo42]

20 hours ago, revkev said:

 

Now is the time for a 7 wood to enter into the discussion.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

 

[Sluggo42]

20 hours ago, revkev said:

 

Now is the time for a 7 wood to enter into the discussion.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

 

Im still contemplating a 5 wood, can't quite wrap my head around the 7-wood Rev.

I think were similar distances (7-iron~150yds?)  How far does that 7 wood go for you?

 

[Erik-M]

Watching Rick Sheels latest video and i see Matt Fryer uses icons! They are doing a club swap, so I'll get to hear Rick Sheel's take on them!

[Sluggo42]

todays round did not fare well for the icon end of the combo, sadly... But the PtxPros were great. I was skulling the short irons for some reason... thats a first. Not all, but a good 3 or 4.

weird... ended up with a 78, so the sky didn't fall, but Id been on such a hot streak with the short irons ...

[downlowkey]

Surveillance Report: Marshmallow Tech

 

[deejaid]

Surveillance Report: Marshmallow Tech
 

Oh my quad....dem legs.

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[bens197]

13 hours ago, downlowkey said:

Surveillance Report: Marshmallow Tech

 

 

[bens197]

On 7/26/2020 at 9:57 PM, J.B. TexasEx said:

Looked and sounded like he nutted it to me. Now I want one!

They should fare well among the driving iron / long iron utility testing. 
 

Keep us posted if you end up moving on one. 

[Sluggo42]

Shot even today, and I can't decide which club was best today. Even though the 6 and the 9 were outstanding, Ive got to give the nod to the 4UiHi. It's like a little laser beam shooter/fairway splitter. It's not a soaring hi shot for me, as I hit everything a little lower I think. But I've been teeing off with it on shorter par4's and as a second shot on par 5"s to put me in perfect approach locations. Kind of stinger-ish to help paint the picture, think of Tigers stinger, except remove 50-60 yards.

I could actually include the evnroll putter as it was nasty for the front 9 anyways, with 13 putts.but then It fell back to sleep on the back 9...

[bens197]

Sweeping the dew tomorrow morning as a single at 6a.  I should fly around and have some chances to take some additional video to share.

[Golfspy_CG2]

54 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Sweeping the dew tomorrow morning as a single at 6a.  I should fly around and have some chances to take some additional video to share.

Cool, we always love video!   

[bens197]

Teed off this morning at 6a and finished a quick 9 holes in one hour and 15 at Greystone which is a beautiful links course where I play most often.  While I wasn't playing for a low score I shot 38 with 3 bogeys, one birdie, 3 GIR and 15 putts.  It was more about course management and hitting more irons off the tee (4UiHi) to set myself up with more approaches with mid and longer irons.  I finished the round with a 3 putt from 15 feet so ouch!  

As I develop some confidence with these irons I am learning, well, reinforcing the fact that my yardages with these irons are slightly shorter than what I am used to.  I don't have an issue with that as it could just be a product of getting older.  I am going to dig deeper into this point but one thing I have learned with the Icon heads is that they are much more forgiving than their predecessor.  Without having precise data, I am learning that my toe-miss (my common miss for my irons) is consistently 5 yards short.  The Fort Worth heads would be far worse and require a precise strike to stay within their margin of error.  

Face-on video is the 4 UiHi and the tee shot on the 3 is a 6 iron from 175.

 

 

[bens197]

On 7/30/2020 at 3:38 PM, Sluggo42 said:

Shot even today, and I can't decide which club was best today. Even though the 6 and the 9 were outstanding, Ive got to give the nod to the 4UiHi. It's like a little laser beam shooter/fairway splitter. It's not a soaring hi shot for me, as I hit everything a little lower I think. But I've been teeing off with it on shorter par4's and as a second shot on par 5"s to put me in perfect approach locations. Kind of stinger-ish to help paint the picture, think of Tigers stinger, except remove 50-60 yards.

I could actually include the evnroll putter as it was nasty for the front 9 anyways, with 13 putts.but then It fell back to sleep on the back 9...

What have you noticed for yardage gapping between the 4&5 and the 7&8?  
 

So far it seems like they’re within the 10-12 yard range I've grown accustomed to with non-blended sets I’ve played in years past.  

[joen]

Played nine today. One under. 6 GIR. 
The 8-PW make me feel like I am throwing darts.  These clubs just feel smooth. I won’t give it away until my final review, but my strokes gained with the Hogan’s are better than with my Mizunos. 
Finally hit the 5 iron well today. 

[deejaid]

I just wanted to let everyone know my situation with the Hogan’s. Turns out a reshaft is in order and the Ben Hogan Co. has offered to switch them out for me.

 

I got on the TrackMan yesterday at the Titleist demo day and was able to dial in my proper shafts which to my surprise are Project X 6.0 which are a pretty stout shaft. Most say it is slightly below an X-stiff.

 

Earlier in the week I hit a combination of the Cobra Forged Tec irons with a variety of KBS shafts and the Titleist 620 CB with Project X LZ and Dynamic Golds. I figure the Forged Tec would approximate the PTx Pro and the Titleist 620 CB would the Icon irons.

 

The KBS shafts all seem to have a low spin, distance characteristic to them. While some could work, none felt optimal for the trajectory I like. The Project X LZ felt great and had the height and spin I like, but that isn’t a shaft offering of Hogan.

 

That left me with the good old fashioned Dynamic Gold X100. Great height, great spin. Never even gave that shaft a thought but it flat out flew how I want it.

 

So it looks like X100’s are going in the Hogan’s. A classic shaft for a classic club brand. That sounds right to me.

 

 

[Sluggo42]

17 hours ago, bens197 said:

What have you noticed for yardage gapping between the 4&5 and the 7&8?  
 

So far it seems like they’re within the 10-12 yard range I've grown accustomed to with non-blended sets I’ve played in years past.  

Gapping has not been a problem at all as we all pondered. The Icons are not at all short. But yes, that 10 yard rules applies. I just need to hit the shots well enough to see "normal distances". I think the 4 to the 5 iron shots are a little squigglier, as I just don't always hit those clubs on the screws like the shorter irons. But I would imagine that to be a universal problem.