Unofficial Ben Hogan PTxPro Review with Trackman Data (90 MPH SS w/ 7 iron)

[vandyland]

This is a bit of a cross-post from my search for a new set of irons on another thread but wanted to leave what I hope is useful information on the Ben Hogan PTxPro iron (7 iron only). Quickly, a bit about me, I am a 5-6 HDCP depending on how much I get to play and I am a recovering one lengther (I have the Cobra F9 One Lengths which were fun for a few years but I am missing the "precision" of shorter short irons so I am moving back to a traditional length set). Iron play is not a strength, I am an accurate driver of the golf ball, an above average wedge player, an average putter and an average to below average iron player based on strokes gained and GIRs with non-wedge in my hand. I spend a lot of time on strategy and managing my misses and I rarely give shots away from poor course management (Google Earth Pro is your friend). My main issue/miss is catching the ball on the toe and my attack angle can get a bit steep. With that out of the way, let me show you these clubs:

Customer Service (9/10): Easy to work with. Clubs were a little slow getting here but not likely a Ben Hogan issue. Well packaged in a non-descript box but no real personal touches like some other DTCs have done. They were able to get me a heavier shafted, stiff 7 iron which is what I am fit into so that was very helpful. They have reached out to see how things are going which did not feel pushy but rather to ensure I had everything I needed. Appreciated that.

Looks/Aesthetics (8.8/10): I like the look of these, I have always been partial to the Ben Hogan badging. I think if I was getting nit picky, I would remove the paint fill from the "PTxPro" or put it on the hosel. The offset was a little too much for my eye but in line with what I have been playing (and maybe what I should be playing, more on that later). Clubs are not chunky but not slim either. Ultimately, they have some hollow "tech" that they have done a good job obscuring and I much prefer the look of these to a standard GI cavity back. 

Feel (7.9/10): Obviously a very subjective area but one that am I compelled to try to capture. This is one where I may be judging them harshly based on the fact that I have hit them side by side with one piece forged cavity backs. The feel is a "tweener" between a standard game improvement cavity (I am thinking of my F9s in this case, these are better than that) and a one piece forged cavity. The softness isn't quite there nor is the specificity of feedback. But it can't be, can it? I am dinging the Hogans for a quality that I otherwise didn't know existed until a few months ago when I started hitting truly one piece forged clubs. This is not a one piece forged club. Also, that lack of feedback is probably due to the increased "forgiveness" which is going to show up in the all important trackman data. This is the only real gripe I have with this club and I acknowledge it is not entirely fair. 

Performance (9.5/10): This is strictly trackman numbers, see below table, strike quality is based on feel in the moment and AAA is best while A is decent contact. The table below is a 7 iron but it should be noted that Hogan uses traditional lofts so a 34* 7 iron is not typical in this hollow, fake blade category. For example, my F9 7 iron is like 29* so you would expect a loss in distance but increase in spin and land angle:

Playability* (for me) (8.8/10): This is where I take a hard look at the numbers above and note a couple of things. 1) For me, this was a slightly above average ball striking day 2) I was able to groove a swing with these since I was testing them against several other clubs and switching every 5 shots but had a good warmup and was "primed." A few things to note is that the carry is actually still quite good and only a 10 yard difference in carry on 10 shots on a 7 iron (6%) is probably about as good as I can hope for. Especially when I have a 4% deviation in club speed muddying up the data. These results are actually quite compelling. Spin is WAY up and very consistent versus my current gamers (where spin is all over the place leading to FLIERS) as is land angle and ball speed hasn't come down that far (especially when you consider a 5* loft difference). I have to be honest, after I didn't like the feel I was looking for ways to discredit these clubs but they flat out perform in the test above. I put some atrocious swings on the mishits below and 3/4 of them were still pretty playable. I could (and maybe should) game these. The increase in spin and land angle, along with still having some forgiveness, makes them an easy upgrade over my current clubs. I was also a tad steep on the day so the V-sole may or may not have been helping with that. I couldn't "feel" it but I also don't struggle with fats, typically. 

Value (8.5/10): Well done on value. There is a bit of tech going on in these and they look good and are constructed well. I think this is still on the better side of value though if you are absolutely looking for the best bargain on a well constructed set of clubs you can do slightly better on some of the other DTCs but Hogan still beats the major OEMs by a decent margin. I'm not a shaft snob but they seem to lack optionality in the shaft department as compared to some other manufacturers. 

Final Positives: Clubs are a good value, nice looking, and well constructed. For me, they are a nice tweener between a purely forged club and a multi-piece cavity back. They also, for me, lacked the jumpiness or uncontrollable POP that some player's distance irons have which is the primary issue I am trying to solve while still getting some forgiveness. So if you are looking for something between a Players Distance iron (like a Cobra Forged TEC) and a players cavity iron (like a Sub 70 639 CB) this *might* be it. 

Final Negatives: Can't always tell where you missed it on the face and this club is just short of "soft" feel. 

Edited July 15, 2021 by vandyland
Added dispersion

[vandyland]

Update to this review, I purchased the 5-PW in Tour V Stiff. These were the best clubs for me, performance wise. Now I just have to wait 4-6 weeks (hopefully no delays beyond that) to get my new clubs. 

[vandyland]

Update to the update, I got my shipping notification today. Will post in hand pics and probably do some further testing and talking points as I get to play with them. I have a trackman session setup for next week (a few days after the expected receipt of the clubs) where I am going to try to figure out gapping. Should be a hoot. 

[vandyland]

They are here and they are B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. Played 9 holes this morning and had a chance to hit the irons on the following holes:

#3 - Par 3 - 171 to the center, hit a smooth 6i to 9 ft. Yep, that's very exciting!
#5 - Par 4 - 164 to the center, hit a hard 8 to 30 ft, we like that.
#9 - Par - 167 to center, hit an easy 7 to 35 ft, that's good. 

3 putted the last hole for a 38 from the back tees which is slightly better than average and down to the fact that I drove the ball a little erratically today and didn't make any putts (had a 9 footer for birdie, a 12 footer for birdie and a 14 footer for birdie and missed all 3  ). 

3/3 on irons into greens today. Everything felt smooth and easy. Loving the extra weight in the shafts (went from a 90g shaft to a 120g shaft and it feels excellent). Through one round these are performing so, so well. The Cobra F9s are as good as gone now. 

 

[vandyland]

I now have 5 rounds in the books with these clubs and a few other interesting nuggets. 

- I had and have been working on coming into the ball shallower with my irons and taking less of a divot...which means my miss is now a tad thin. These clubs seem to do VERY well with a thin mishit which is surprising. Maybe 8 yards shorter and a little less spin and if there is nothing short of the green it usually means the ball rolls out to about the intended distance. Love that

- The extra weight in the shafts seems to be very helpful for tempo as I don't find myself getting quick with these. 

- The clubs don't have any dings or really any wear yet so the durability is there so far (early days)

I have gone 73, 78, 77, 79, 76 in my last 5 rounds and with the median being 77 that is about two shots better than average. In particular, my par 3 scoring average is coming down. And I have probably only lost 1/2 a club even with these very traditional lofts. 

[Joel C]

I will concur on durability, although I too have only played 4 rounds with them.  These clubs do draw attention, I get asked about them all the time.   In my limited time with the PTXPros I will say I am very happy.   Looking forward for the heat to break here in Phoenix and get out there more.  

[vandyland]

Circling back after almost a year and these are great, great clubs. I am finding that they perform well when I am flushing it AND when I don't quite have it. Irons have been a strength for me in the last season and that has never been the case before. The only change I might make is going with the black finish but that is just due to the fact that I love blacked out clubs (my wedges are black). I think these are great for any golfer that is between a 15 and 5 handicap (and even below that). 

[Joel C]

I will second everything you said.  I do have BH equalizer wedges in black finish and i will admit I was a little leery about getting it in black as i have seen pics of blacked out clubs fading and getting the finish worn away.  I am pleasantly surprised with how well they are holding up.  There is obviously little bit wear on the face from normal use but most of the wear being on the bottom of the club from hitting out of sand traps and being a condition of where i play most...the desert.  Lots of course will substitute grass rough for desert dirt and small pebbles/rocks.    So if I learned anything its stay out of the sand traps and desert rough to keep clubs looking like new.

...if it were only that easy. 

[vandyland]

4 minutes ago, Joel C said:

I do have BH equalizer wedges in black finish and i will admit I was a little leery about getting it in black

Literally same. I have the 50* and 54* in black and they look awesome. Maybe I just bite the bullet and get a black set. Now that would be a ridiculous waste of money but, also, YOLO?

[Joel C]

12 minutes ago, vandyland said:

Literally same. I have the 50* and 54* in black and they look awesome. Maybe I just bite the bullet and get a black set. Now that would be a ridiculous waste of money but, also, YOLO?

When you think about it the price of two sets of Hogans is just about equal to one set of Pings or Titleists.   So...it is really a BOGO type of deal.  Plus, you have an extra set for visitors.    Seems like a no brainer to me.