Hogan 92-94 Apex FT irons

[northplatteriver]

Does anyone have the specs for the lofts on the 92-94 Hogan Apex FT irons? These are the ones that have "Forged" imprinted on the back of the club. I am guessing they will be roughly the same as the 88 Redlines, but I cannot find much info on these clubs. Would also be interested in hearing what people think about them from a performance standpoint. They are beautiful irons just like all the Hogan Apex Ft. Worth blades, just trying to learn more about them. I recently picked up a set that appears to have years of build up from sitting in a garage or storage unit in California that has some light rust, salt spots that I think will clean up nicely, but would also like any information the pros on this forum can provide me on getting them back into shape. I have read a lot about using naval jelly for the minor surface rust and the slight browning on a couple of the faces. Hope to rehab them over the winter so they are ready for action next spring.

[super20dan]

those look like 88 redlines ?

[northplatteriver]

those look like 88 redlines ?

The 88 Redllines have a red line under the entire signature and do not have the "FORGED" imprinted on the back of the club, but they do look very similar.

[southplains]

The lofts used to appear on the Hogan company website, but I don't see them now.

Surely they are out there on the web somewhere. Will keep looking for that

as well as stories about those later days at the company.

 

My set is 2-S in pristine condition, with leather-like slip-on Hogan grips which

have the reminder cord underneath. Just played a round with the 4,7,E

and they were excellent in look, feel and performance. Will probably take them

to the grave, for the nostalgic "FT WORTH - TX" value alone.

I still remember the grief in the air during that scorching hot funeral day,

[northplatteriver]

The lofts used to appear on the Hogan company website, but I don't see them now.

Surely they are out there on the web somewhere. Will keep looking for that

as well as stories about those later days at the company.

 

My set is 2-S in pristine condition, with leather-like slip-on Hogan grips which

have the reminder cord underneath. Just played a round with the 4,7,E

and they were excellent in look, feel and performance. Will probably take them

to the grave, for the nostalgic "FT WORTH - TX" value alone.

I still remember the grief in the air during that scorching hot funeral day,

What is a "reminder cord" ? Have never heard that term before. I have searched Google and Bing pretty hard looking for the specs to no avail. I have the Hogan spec excel file that someone here on Golfwrx created, but it does not have the lofts for these unfortunately. My primary set are '75 Apex's so it will be nice to have an additional arrow in the quiver to play with. Guessing they may kick the '73's out of the bag, but we will see.

[NRJyzr]

Such as I remember seeing them, the loft specs for these were:

2i - 19.5

3i - 23

4i - 26.5

5i - 30

6i - 33.5

7i - 37

8i - 41

9i - 45

E - 49

 

Personally, I say just tweak those to the classic 26° 4 iron to 50° Equalizer, and go 3.5° gaps only between the 2 thru 4 irons. But I'm funny that way.

[northplatteriver]

Such as I remember seeing them, the loft specs for these were:

2i - 19.5

3i - 23

4i - 26.5

5i - 30

6i - 33.5

7i - 37

8i - 41

9i - 45

E - 49

 

Personally, I say just tweak those to the classic 26° 4 iron to 50° Equalizer, and go 3.5° gaps only between the 2 thru 4 irons. But I'm funny that way.

I will most likely leave them alone, it works well with my Hogan Colonial 52, 56, 60 wedges. Many thanks!

[NRJyzr]

Such as I remember seeing them, the loft specs for these were:

2i - 19.5

3i - 23

4i - 26.5

5i - 30

6i - 33.5

7i - 37

8i - 41

9i - 45

E - 49

 

Personally, I say just tweak those to the classic 26° 4 iron to 50° Equalizer, and go 3.5° gaps only between the 2 thru 4 irons. But I'm funny that way.

I will most likely leave them alone, it works well with my Hogan Colonial 52, 56, 60 wedges. Many thanks!

 

 

I would be inclined to go to a 50° Eq, drop the 52°, and then you'd have room for a fairway wood on top of the 2 iron. :)

[northplatteriver]

Such as I remember seeing them, the loft specs for these were:

2i - 19.5

3i - 23

4i - 26.5

5i - 30

6i - 33.5

7i - 37

8i - 41

9i - 45

E - 49

 

Personally, I say just tweak those to the classic 26° 4 iron to 50° Equalizer, and go 3.5° gaps only between the 2 thru 4 irons. But I'm funny that way.

I will most likely leave them alone, it works well with my Hogan Colonial 52, 56, 60 wedges. Many thanks!

 

 

I would be inclined to go to a 50° Eq, drop the 52°, and then you'd have room for a fairway wood on top of the 2 iron. :)

I will have to make some adjustment to accommodate this. I usually drop the E on the 73 apex's because I like the Colonial 52 better. Will depend on how it feels I am guessing, but I do like that idea. I carry three persimmons so I don't have room for the 2. Yardage for the 2 kind of falls in between the 3 and 5 wood, so that one is covered. Never had a loft adjusted on a club before, so this might be the time.

[Titleist87]

I really want a set of those Hogans. I have the 2i.

[super20dan]

i recently scored a set of 88 redlines and granted only played 2 rounds with them but so far the pc and the 73 apex arnt in danger of being replaced as fav hogans. thank s for setting me straight on the i.d. of the diff between 88 reds and the 92 ft. i rarely see 90,s model hogans in real life. i want to get a colonial wedge also . i have a riviera but its got too much bounce for me

[northplatteriver]

i recently scored a set of 88 redlines and granted only played 2 rounds with them but so far the pc and the 73 apex arnt in danger of being replaced as fav hogans. thank s for setting me straight on the i.d. of the diff between 88 reds and the 92 ft. i rarely see 90,s model hogans in real life. i want to get a colonial wedge also . i have a riviera but its got too much bounce for me

I really have gotten used to the 73 Apex's this year. I am very fond of them. They kicked the 80's Directors out of the bag and while the 78 Medallions have been nice on the range, the 73's are still the goto. I have a good feeling about these '92 Redline Ft. Worths. I hardly wait for them to arrive. Strongly recommend the Hogan Colonial, you will love it. Should be able to find great ones on Ebay for cheap.

[southplains]

The lofts used to appear on the Hogan company website, but I don't see them now.

Surely they are out there on the web somewhere. Will keep looking for that

as well as stories about those later days at the company.

 

My set is 2-S in pristine condition, with leather-like slip-on Hogan grips which

have the reminder cord underneath. Just played a round with the 4,7,E

and they were excellent in look, feel and performance. Will probably take them

to the grave, for the nostalgic "FT WORTH - TX" value alone.

I still remember the grief in the air during that scorching hot funeral day,

What is a "reminder cord" ? Have never heard that term before. I have searched Google and Bing pretty hard looking for the specs to no avail. I have the Hogan spec excel file that someone here on Golfwrx created, but it does not have the lofts for these unfortunately. My primary set are '75 Apex's so it will be nice to have an additional arrow in the quiver to play with. Guessing they may kick the '73's out of the bag, but we will see.

 

Others may know the reminders by some other name, but they feel like a thin ridge running along the

underside of the grip that help guide the fingers into a neutral grip in this case. I think of them as a "cord"

built into the grip. When the grip is installed, the ridge can be positioned differently for a stronger or weaker grip.

I suppose they could help keep the club from slipping around in the hands during the swing or at least

promote the feel of a more secure grip. Not sure if Mr. Hogan used them. My particular grip style

doesn't depend on them, but I like their feel.

[teevons]

Hogan was famous for his reminder in his grips. He wanted the club to be in an open position so he had the reminder put in so the clubs was several degrees open. Forgot what he used, some people used string, or hanger wire under the tape

One of the ways to know if you have a real Hogan used club is it had to have reminder in the grip laid open

[super20dan]

i have had the pleasure of holding one of hogans own personal drivers and yes the reminder ridge is there. wilson.s famous reminder grip from the 60,s had this built in . the rules police eventually banded this grip. i have become interested in the 80,s director desighn. so pure and simple, and found a 8 iron to try out at a thrift shop. i have 70,s medallions with the legend shafts and they are exceptional . i have heard this shaft has a tendency to break at the grip end. i will look on ebay for a colonial sw or gap wedge if they made one.

[southplains]

Here is a version of them I had forgotten about.

http://www.golffront...nniversary.aspx

[birly-shirly]

Such as I remember seeing them, the loft specs for these were:

2i - 19.5

3i - 23

4i - 26.5

5i - 30

6i - 33.5

7i - 37

8i - 41

9i - 45

E - 49

 

Personally, I say just tweak those to the classic 26° 4 iron to 50° Equalizer, and go 3.5° gaps only between the 2 thru 4 irons. But I'm funny that way.

I will most likely leave them alone, it works well with my Hogan Colonial 52, 56, 60 wedges. Many thanks!

 

 

I would be inclined to go to a 50° Eq, drop the 52°, and then you'd have room for a fairway wood on top of the 2 iron. :)

I will have to make some adjustment to accommodate this. I usually drop the E on the 73 apex's because I like the Colonial 52 better. Will depend on how it feels I am guessing, but I do like that idea. I carry three persimmons so I don't have room for the 2. Yardage for the 2 kind of falls in between the 3 and 5 wood, so that one is covered. Never had a loft adjusted on a club before, so this might be the time.

 

FWIW, I bent the E on my redlines from 49* to 52*, and everything else a little weaker to even out the gaps. I thought the E looked and played much better with more loft and less offset, and at the other end the 2 iron is much more useable with a degree or two extra loft.

[HoganApexBlades]

Hogan was famous for his reminder in his grips. He wanted the club to be in an open position so he had the reminder put in so the clubs was several degrees open. Forgot what he used, some people used string, or hanger wire under the tape

One of the ways to know if you have a real Hogan used club is it had to have reminder in the grip laid open

 

Teevons is correct. I have a full set of '61 Power Thrusts+ just like JFK had with about 10" of wire coat hanger under the grip running along the underside of the shaft, from grip top to near grip end. The rubber grips are Hogan OEM. I believe that Mr. Hogan only used corded grips.

[northplatteriver]

Based on the included thread from Golfwrx I will be testing out Barkeeper's Friend on these to see if it will bring them back to life. Will post pictures of the before and after when completed. Sounds like it should not hurt the paint fills and also is not abrasive so it should not scratch anything.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/493885-bar-keepers-friend-for-cleaningbrightening-irons/

[Shallowface]

i have had the pleasure of holding one of hogans own personal drivers and yes the reminder ridge is there. wilson.s famous reminder grip from the 60,s had this built in . the rules police eventually banded this grip. i have become interested in the 80,s director desighn. so pure and simple, and found a 8 iron to try out at a thrift shop. i have 70,s medallions with the legend shafts and they are exceptional . i have heard this shaft has a tendency to break at the grip end. i will look on ebay for a colonial sw or gap wedge if they made one.

 

Wilson's Reminder Grip had the flat section at the upper end of the grip. It wasn't about the reminder rib on the underside of the grip. You are correct that it was banned in the early 80s.

 

Reminder ribbed grips are still available, but under the revised rules the rib is not permitted to be as pronounced as it used to be. The coat hanger wire under wrapped leather produced a significant rib that is non-conforming today.

 

This is one area of the game in which I would really like to see the rules relaxed. It's my observation the inability to learn anything approaching a correct grip holds back more people than any other single element of the game. Why not allow a grip (with flat sides or pronounced ribs) that makes learning that grip easier? It is unlikely it would have any effect on better players as their desire to manipulate the clubface will dictate that they would continue to use a grip that is basically round. But the benefit to beginners would be enormous.

[super20dan]

Hogan was famous for his reminder in his grips. He wanted the club to be in an open position so he had the reminder put in so the clubs was several degrees open. Forgot what he used, some people used string, or hanger wire under the tape

One of the ways to know if you have a real Hogan used club is it had to have reminder in the grip laid open

 

Teevons is correct. I have a full set of '61 Power Thrusts+ just like JFK had with about 10" of wire coat hanger under the grip running along the underside of the shaft, from grip top to near grip end. The rubber grips are Hogan OEM. I believe that Mr. Hogan only used corded grips.

the hogan driveri saw and got to hold -did indeed have a cord grip. legend has it hogan lost a match to this guy and had to give him the driver as part of the bet. one look at it and you could tell it was no ordinary production hogan. the wood was exquisit in grain and density.

[Hawkeye77]

Edward Woodward, Denzel Washington and now Hawkeye77 - took the Equalizer out for some fun with the "regular" clubs yesterday. Hit some pitches and chips with it. Got up and down with the chips 3/3 and almost holed one! The grip is so skinny and slick and the club is at least 1/2 inch short, but fun to mess around with. Haven't tried an all out session with the rest of them yet. The Nicklaus 20ths have slightly bigger grips and length is better so I've tried a few of them more often.

[otw]

Interested in adding a set of these. Any reviews on performance ?

Thnx

 

 

[Bruceapex]

Those clubs pictured at the beginning of this thread are absolutely 1992/93 apex ft. Worth forged blades, as I have a set sitting here in front of me. I own many sets of apex’s including redlines from 1988 that are my day in day out clubs that I play 4 times a week. I have the ‘92 catalog and if you would like, I’ll go retrieve it as I recall it has all the specs in it. To my mind, those ‘92s are the second best set of apex ever....second only to the redlines.

[wkuo3]

Remembering I ordered a set in the Spring of 92. 1 -SW.

At first it was just okay blade and the Apex 4 shaft is different than the TTDG I had in other sets so it took a little time to get used to it. Initial feed back from the set was kind of losing a little distance. However, after I had the set adjusted on the lie angle and bag it for awhile this had become my playing set for years.

Sometimes I'd switch between this set and Mizuno, and Wilson Staff. No matter whichever set I switched back to, always lost 5-8 yards per club during the initial weeks, until I get the timing back on the different shaft ( weight difference ).

Love this set, mid to long irons felt like butter when I score a good contact with the golf ball.

Never hit it super long. 3 iron were like 190-195 yards. Kids today with a modern set of irons would go 190 with 6 or even a 7 iron.

 

I thought about getting a second or even a third set for back up, but a very pricy hobbit for a guy just starting his family.

 

I believe I paid close to a thousand 1992 dollars for the set from a discount store ( Edwin Watts ). And that was a lot of diapers and formula milk.

 

Anyways, Now I had become age of going graphite shaft and not able to hit the long irons like I used to.

 

However, for anyone likes a blade design and could get used to the Apex shaft ( which you could with a little practice ).... you won't be disappointed . FWIW, I had Apex 4 in my set, and Apex 5 in the Apex Grind. Never could get used to the Apex 3 shaft, although it may be more fitting to my game these days.

 

[wkuo3]

> @Bruceapex said:

> Those clubs pictured at the beginning of this thread are absolutely 1992/93 apex ft. Worth forged blades, as I have a set sitting here in front of me. I own many sets of apex’s including redlines from 1988 that are my day in day out clubs that I play 4 times a week. I have the ‘92 catalog and if you would like, I’ll go retrieve it as I recall it has all the specs in it. To my mind, those ‘92s are the second best set of apex ever....second only to the redlines.

 

If it's not too much trouble, would you please share the spec. from the catalog ?

The archived Ben Hogan iron specs were purged from the original site since the take over.

[siegs07]

I actually was able to download that spec sheet and recover it. Let me know if the file doesn't work and I can try to find another way to upload it.

[wkuo3]

> @siegs07 said:

> I actually was able to download that spec sheet and recover it. Let me know if the file doesn't work and I can try to find another way to upload it.

 

Thanks, Could you please load it up in other forms ?

[Nard_S]

I have build sheet on mine that I acquired last year, I'll have to dig it out.

Believe (going on memory here) they are 48* on PW then 44*, 40*, 36*, 32*, 28* 25*, 22*.

Had it my head they are set at 90's vintage lofts. Mine have Apex #4 of the TT variety. I'm loving these but in all truth they are quite demanding even by blade standards. Gorgeous clubs.

[siegs07]

I uploaded it to google slides (be sure to click the tab on the bottom that says "HOGAN":

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qlQMYFggbTkW9gn6Nvih-DVqdy6wjNI1APfaOA4l0Gc/edit?usp=sharing

 

It doesn't look like the 1992 Apex have any info. But it's all I've got, I downloaded it on an old post I found here and changed file extension back to ".xls" and then uploaded to Google Sheets. The link works well for me but let me know if it still isn't working. Hope this helps a little.