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Ben Hogan Closes its doors


MattF

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Dang sad to see them go. Hit some of their clubs a few times and thought they were quite good. Sad to see another company leave the space as I feel there are few quality brands left that don't come with a huge price tag. I worry what it could mean for other companies that are similar and even ball companies like Snell. 

I remember there being a weird deal with them not sending their wedges to MGS for testing because they didn't like how they were reviewed but try to say it was for a different reason, someone probably knows far more about that then I do though. 

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Its a fitting end to a company who has had its peaks and valleys over the years. I find it odd that nobody mention that if today is the day they closed their doors it is exactly the date Mr. Hogan passed away in 1997. Kind of ironic when you think about it!

Driver: EPIC Speed 10.5, Fujikura Blue Ventus 6X

Fairway: Callaway Rougue ST, 15 Fujikura Ventus  7x    Hybrid: G410 Mitsubishi Tensei Orange X stiff

Irons: 4-6 P790s, Project X LZ 6.5     7-GW: 770s, Project X LZ 6.5

Wedges: SM9s -  54.12M    58.12.D   Shaft: KBS-Tour c-taper stiff 

Putter: Odyssey White HOT OG #7s Stroke Lab 36"

Ball: Titleist PROV-1 

 

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I bought wedges from these guys in 2012 when they had a different name. They liquidated the wedges and Then they came back as Hogan with wedges first kept the wedge design and brought out irons and metals. I demoed their irons against Sub70 in 2020. I bought the Sub 70s. 

Sub 70 irons and wedges. Epic Flash sub zero driver and 3 metal. Callaway rescue 18 and 22 degree. 

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6 hours ago, vandyland said:

If true, that is truly a shame. I had Edge irons back in the early 2000s and I now have PTxPros and Equalizer II wedges. If they have some massive sale I might buy the icons as well...

I guess this means I will have to switch my DTC allegiance over to Sub 70 (which is also a great company). 

I like the New Level Irons..Hogan was nice too, But would rather the NL VS Sub70...IMO

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6 hours ago, vandyland said:

If true, that is truly a shame. I had Edge irons back in the early 2000s and I now have PTxPros and Equalizer II wedges. If they have some massive sale I might buy the icons as well...

I guess this means I will have to switch my DTC allegiance over to Sub 70 (which is also a great company). 

I still have my Hogan Edge irons! Not going to give them up.  I love how they used the E & F for Pitching Wedge (E) & Gap Wedge (f)! Too bad! 

Titleist T200 Irons - 5i thru Gap Wedge - Stiff AMT Black

Callaway PARADYM X 9.0 with Hazrdous X Black 6.0 Stiff Shaft

Fairway Woods:  Callaway Maverick 3W & RazrX Black 5W - Stiff Flex

Rescue:  Apex 4 (22 degree )- Recoil 75H stiff flex 

Wedges: Titleist SM8 - 54 (D Grind) wedge flex; SM8 58(M grind) wedge flex

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X5.5

Ball: Titleist ProV1

Handicap: 0

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Sad to hear this. Seemed like a valiant effort to save the brand after a bit too much grandiosity with the reboot. I have several sets and the Edge is a particular favorite.

G 410 Plus

Original One

G Hybrid 19 & 22

Rogue Pro Black 5-AW

Glide 2.0 56 WS

Hi-Toe 60

Edel EAS 1.0

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I've been a Hogan fan for years (new and old). I currently play their wedges and have a barely used set of ICON irons I'd like to move for a very good price.  I'm in Fort Worth and purchased this summer.  DM me for more details.  

  • Mav SubZ 9°
  • Mav SubZ 14.5°
  • Mav SubZ 16°
  • Mav 4hy
  • Apex CF19 5- AW
  • Hogan Equalizer 54°
    Cleveland 58°
  • Odyssey StrokeLab 7s
  • TaylorMade TP5x
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Welp, I bought two wedges from them in late May. I had tried a 56 a year before and liked it. The 58 degree Texas Grind is very good out of firm bunkers and tight lies. So far, though, the 52 I got is iffy out of the rough. Seems to catch a lot more than my old Vokeys. We'll see. 

Driver: :tour-edge: c721 9.5 / HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 6.0
Irons: :taylormade-small:P7MB 3-PW, Project X IO 5.5, 1.5 flat
Wedges: Hogan Equalizer II, 52 standard V sole, 58 Texas Grind
Hybrid: :callaway-small: FT 20 degrees
Fairway: :tour-edge: c721 5-wood / HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 6.0
Putter: EVNROLL ER2 Black

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4 hours ago, edingc said:

If true, that's a bummer considering the PTx Pros are really, really good. I don't see them leaving my bag anytime soon. Easiest to hit long irons I've ever had.

That being said, sure, I can see why they didn't make it. Very few options available and nearly impossible to be fit for or customize without spending Club Champion-level money.

We had a discussion on WRX one night about basically the same thing when they first started back up. Some of us had suggested like a trained dealer network to fit and build those irons like PXG does now. I think that with local promotion it would have really increased sales. I am blessed in the ability to build my own stuff and know what to spec to work for me. If I were not so blessed and experienced I would have second thoughts about dropping that type of coin on something not fitted in person. 

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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6 hours ago, russtopherb said:

If not for forum posts, I wouldn't have known they were still around. I've seen no messaging or marketing from them in ages.

They show up in my facebook ad news feed often. Not lately.

Driver FW - Titleist 917

Irons 4 to 8 - Titleist T300 2° flat

Irons 9 to wedges - George Nicoll Royal musclebacks 70s vintage

Putter - Scotty Cameron Select blackout

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5 hours ago, BIG STU said:

Yeah now days you got to have massive exposure on marketing sorta like PXG. Saw their new aggressive marketing on their new forged wedges. To me it is a hoot funny as heck. But you gotta admit his commercials bring attention.

Noticed something else this weekend. Wilson Staff does not have a lot of players on the PGAT but they darn sure have presence on the other side of the pond. They have several DP Tour players besides Padrig and quite a few lady players on the LET too.

But as you mentioned Hogan has some stiff competition even among us folks on golf sites with companies like Sub 70 , Edel and a lot of JDM stuff. I doubt in todays market even with a remake of the iconic Endo forged 99 Apex they could do any better without aggressive promotion. 

Callaway bought the Apex name from Hogan years back. Or they retained it from a sale. Something like that. Either way Callaway owns the Apex iron name now.

Callaway Epic Flash 10.5 project x LZ 60 6.0 handcrafted shaft

CallawayEpic Flash 3 wood

Callaway Big Bertha 3H

Titleist 818H2 4H

Callaway Big Bertha 19' irons 4-AW

Titleist SM7 Jet black with TT onyx black s400 shaft 50°

Callaway MD4 black 54° sand wedge

Callaway PM19 60° tour grey

Odyssey Toulon San Diego putter

1592935174442966599406225697326.jpg

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7 hours ago, vandyland said:

If true, that is truly a shame. I had Edge irons back in the early 2000s and I now have PTxPros and Equalizer II wedges. If they have some massive sale I might buy the icons as well...

I guess this means I will have to switch my DTC allegiance over to Sub 70 (which is also a great company). 

Don't sleep on New Level golf too, Steven Alker uses the 623 CB's. I got a very lightly used set, and they feel great.

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Just now, BadgerRick said:

Don't sleep on New Level golf too, Steven Alker uses the 623 CB's. I got a very lightly used set, and they feel great.

I've been using 623-CB's for a while now and they are sweet!

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As usual @GolfSpy Barbajoi is a plugged in as anybody in the industry.  
 

Heres a Twitter thread on it 

 

:ping-small: G430 Max 10K 

:titelist-small: TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g

:titelist-small: TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og

:titelist-small: TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R

:titelist-small: T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 

:titelist-small: SM10 48F/54M and58K

:ping-small: S159 48S/52S/56W/60B

:scotty-cameron-1: Select 5.5 Flowback 35" 

:titelist-small: ProV1  Play number 12

 

 

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IMO despite making good quality clubs, especially irons, they tried to expand into too many SKUs & leverage a declining name recognition without doing anything at the highest level.  I think more focus would have served them well, such as limiting product & production costs to irons/wedges with better customization options to get as many diehard golfers as possible. Then you can direct resources to service rather than, say, woods where they are at a massive disadvantage from a tech/R&D standpoint vs. the big players, and build a loyal fan base to grow from. I would even be willing to bet if they had followed that playbook that the other DTC companies have used successfully and are now expanding from, they would be the biggest fish in that pond today given the Hogan name does still carry some weight.

 

Driver:  :titelist-small: TSi 3 10* w/ Graphite Design AD IZ 7X 

Fairway/Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSi 2 15* & 18* w/ Graphite Design AD IZ 7X, AD IZ 95X

Irons: :taylormade-small: P790 4i, P770 5-7i, P7MC 8-P, $ Taper 120

Wedges:  :vokey-small: SM7 52F/54 S, 58 M w/ Modus 125

Putter:  :cameron-small:  California Hollywood 34" Circle H

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Palmer, Nicklaus, Jones, Hagen have all been club brands at some point in time.  That model seems to have died about 20 years ago however Hogan kept trying to hang on.  Once Callaway bought that brand it was doomed. Might have possibly lived if Callaway had marketed their players irons under the Hogan name, but Callaway was clearly whittling down the field. I think the DTC model clearly goes against the recent club fitting trends.  People want to hit things on a monitor before they buy them.  Hard to do that when you're not in any stores.

Had a blended set in the mid-2000s. Great clubs but beyond my skill level at the time.  

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In ‘89 I bought a set of the original forged EDGE irons that I played till my complete bag was stolen in ‘03. Bought the PTXs in ‘20 and new EDGE irons last year. While I have moved to a mostly hybrid set in my bag, I still carry the 9 iron as a scoring club with my other brand wedges. The feel is better than the others. I’m sad this has happened to them based on a bankruptcy of their owner. Hopefully Scott White can find some new investors to resurrect the Hogan name again. 

Callaway X-Hot 1-10.5, Callaway Epic Flash 1-12, Callaway Rogue 1-13.5 (Yep, three drivers, It's Windy in Texas!)

Callaway Epic Flash 3-15

Cobra Baffler 7-20

Taylor Made RBZ Rescue 5-25

Ben Hogan Forged PTX 6-AW

Ben Hogan TK-15 55 SW

Ben Hogan TK-15 60 LW

Scotty Select Round Back w/Cameron Oversize Grip

Yeah, I know that's 15 clubs. Who's Counting? I'm out here for the drinks!

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As an owner of a DTC golf company and a long time fan of Ben Hogan clubs, it is a sad day if they are in fact closing their doors. Very sorry to hear this news and what it means for all their employees and contractors. 


They were a go to in the early 2000's and I owned multiple sets of theirs as a teenager. We designed our first set of MB's from inspiration of the Apex Blades (my first ever set).

We wish everyone involved all the best moving forward!

 

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Still gaming my Ptx irons and Tk-15 wedges along with a 3 Hybrid I picked up along the way.  Really great clubs that are in my bag until my T300’s arrive.

Driver: image.png.6ba1c8a254ad57aa05e527b74c2e04ba.png0311 XF 10.5* w/Project X Cypher 40 gram Senior shaft or 0811 XF 12* w/Evenflo Riptide CB Senior shaft

Fairways:  image.png.80321f01fc46450b6f428c7daf7b3471.png0211 5W & 7W w/ Evenflo Riptide CB  regular shaft and Tour Edge E521 9W w/Fubuki HD50 regular shaft

Hybrid: None in bag at the moment

IronsTitleist T300 5-PW w/Fubuki MV Senior graphite shafts w/Golf Pride Tour

Wedges: Edison forged 49*, 53* and 57* wedges with KB PGI Senior shafts(80 grm).

Putter: 33” Evnroll ER6R or  ER2 or Bellum Winmore Model 707,   or Nike Method Core Drone  w/Evnroll Gravity Grip

Bag: Vice cart bag(Black/Lime). 

Ball: Snell MTB Prime X, Maxfli Tour/S/X CG, Titleist Pro V1x or Titleist TruFeel

Using Shot Scope X5 and Pinned Rangefinder

 

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Sorry to hear this news,  but golf is a cut throat business / game.     I would definitely pick up additional clubs if they have inventory,  I would love to pick up a couple of more sets of wedges and irons even if they are just the heads.

I've been playing my Hogan Equalizer II wedges and 4 wood along with my Sub70 TAIIIs in my bag for the  senioramateurgolftour.net  events.

Last month I sent in my GS53 driver for a warranty repair and got it back within 2 weeks. They had great customer service.  I have my ICONs in my Hogan Bag that is used for fun rounds  

 

:Sub70:  849D 10.5* UST PROFORCE v2 Black, 939X Hybrid 3H Aerotech SteelFiber Hybrid HLS 780

:taylormade-small: SIM2 MAX USA EDITION for winning the 2021 Ryder Cup contest sponsored by Taylormade and MGS  

:Hogan:  GS53Max 10.5* HZRDUS Smoke Black 5.5 ,  GS53 Fairway 4W HZRDUS Smoke Black 5.5,   VKTR+Hybrid 18* 

:titelist-small:  975D 9.5* ,  975F  3-w , 5-w 

:Sub70:   699 Pro Utility Black 19.5*

:Sub70:   TAIII  RAW 4-AW , True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 (R) 

:benhogan-small:  ICON Black  4- PW , with SteelFiber i80 (R) shafts

:benhogan-small:  Wedges Equalizer II  50*, 54*, 56*,  58*, 60*  , UST Recoil 780-F4/Stiff (Graphite)

:Sub70:  005 Wide Blade putter - with :garsen: Max 17"

:Sub70:  002 Mid Mallet putter - with :garsen:  Max 17"

:Arccos: Smoke Sensors (GEN 3+) ,  Link (GEN 2) 

old clubs

:wilson_staff_small:   Wilson Dyna-Power II  3-PW,  R90 Sand iron

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Of the etc brands I think they were the most legit. Unless you consider PXG DTC now.  It they had true R&D and product development. Sub70, new level etc just take near net forged black and then get crazy with a milling machine.. they produce fine irons but there is no real R&D to it. 
 

Ben Hogan icon irons were awesome. Interestingly, I feel like in the past year I have seen a ton of their stuff around. Guess not enough.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple diamond 10.5 Ventus black TR 6x

3 wood ; Callaway Paradym triple diamond 15 degree, Ventus black TR 7x

Apex UW 19 degree, Ventus black TR 8x

Utility Iron: Mizuno Pro Fli Hi 4 utility, Ventus blue HB 90X

Irons: Callaway Apex MB 5-PW, KBS $ taper 130x

Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw 50, 54, 58, KBS $ taper 130x

Putter: Wilson Staff TM22, hand torched, KBS cutter putter shaft, Super stroke Pistol GT 1.0

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8 hours ago, Mark0709 said:

Callaway bought the Apex name from Hogan years back. Or they retained it from a sale. Something like that. Either way Callaway owns the Apex iron name now.

Yes and this is harsh here so forgive me--- It turns my stomach everytime I hear " Apex" mentioned when associated with Callaway---- A company that owned Spalding at the time purchased Hogan and then Callaway purchased the whole ball of wax. They basically killed off Spalding selling the Top Flite branding to DSG and the Hogan brand to whoever. But they did keep the rights to the Iconic Apex name

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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6 hours ago, JoshuaHaywood said:

As an owner of a DTC golf company and a long time fan of Ben Hogan clubs, it is a sad day if they are in fact closing their doors. Very sorry to hear this news and what it means for all their employees and contractors. 


They were a go to in the early 2000's and I owned multiple sets of theirs as a teenager. We designed our first set of MB's from inspiration of the Apex Blades (my first ever set).

We wish everyone involved all the best moving forward!

 

The most iconic Hogan irons ever were the 54 Precisions and the Endo forged 99 Apex--- Even though I am a Mac man I have a set of each. I am also a big Hogan wedge fan and have quite a few of them pre Spalding days. In fact my wife plays a ladies partial set of 99 Apex when she plays 

Driver ---- Callaway Big Bertha Alpha  Speeder 565 R flex- 5W TM V-Steel Fubuki 60r--- 7W TM V-Steel UST Pro Force Gold 65R----- 9 W TM V Steel TM MAS stiff---- Irons 2015 TM TP CB Steel Fiber 95 R--- GW Callaway Mack Daddy 2 52* shaft unknown junk pile refugee. SW Callaway PM Grind 56*  Modified sole grind--- KBS Tour Wedge-- LW Vokey 58* SM5 L grind--- Putter Ping B90I Broom Stick 

 

 

 G

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