Hogan 56 series metal woods

golfnut1964 · June 1, 2015

Forgive me if I am stepping over the boundaries of what is considered classic but has anyone played the hogan 56 series metal woods ? Were they made in lefties ??

I was skimming thru some older golf mags seen an ad for them thought they actually looked sorta cool.

birly-shirly · June 1, 2015

I have a few of these. To be honest, in the driver and 3 wood, I prefer the original Taylormade Burners. I like the head shape of the Hogan 4 and 5 woods though. I'm not really a fan of the "pretend insert" face design.

I do very much like the other model of Hogan metal wood from that era - with the bore-through shaft and old school names for the lofted woods, spoon, baffy etc. They were also labelled with absurdly precise lofts, like 9.75*. An 11.75* driver was my first ever metal wood, and I thought it was a genuine game-changer I hit it so consistently at the time.

Truth be told, I'm not sure either model has any real advantage over solid wood other than durability. The loft on that first driver was probably the real reason I liked it so much.

I keep mine largely for curiosity's sake, and as driving range practice clubs that most closely resemble the specs of the woods that I play on the course, but with no issue of wrecking the finish on nice persimmons. I suppose I should treat them to a round sometime - but if I'm giving up the sound and feel of real persimmon, I tend to go all out modern and just binge on the extra height and yardage.

jonnygrouville · June 23, 2015

No experience of the 56s, but agreed on the bore-throughs. Had the 7.75 degree driver and the spoon which was something like 13.25 degrees. The former lost out to bigger headed clubs, but used the spoon for ages, favouring this over the Taylor Made brassie and spoon at 12 and 13 degrees respectively. Hogans were shaped like persimmon.

Not sure where the Hogan spoon is, but I still use an old Taylor Made spoon when the "modern" set sees the light of day once every couple of years.

gr8blueheronbird · June 23, 2015

I still have this club in a driver at 10*loft. Shafted with an apex 4 shaft with an older lamkin grip. I think I bought this back in 1986 or 1987. Was my driver of choice for many years. It is the right handed version though.

HoganApexBlades · August 2, 2015

Just saw a used Hogan Series 56 baffy and spoon at a Goodwill tonight. Almost pulled the trigger on them for $1.99 apiece. I liked the Ben Hogan cursive script on the crown. Those heads are teeny-tiny compared to everything out in the market nowadays. Anyone think these would be a worthwhile purchase?

birly-shirly · August 2, 2015

HAB, not sure if you're maybe confusing 2 different models. My Series 56 woods are marked 1, 3, 4 and 5 and have a plain crown. From your description, the metal woods with the signature on the crown and the names like baffy and spoon are different from the Series 56 woods, have a bore-through shaft where the Series 56 don't, and I prefer them.

If the shafts are reasonable, can you go wrong at that price?

Blade Junkie · August 2, 2015

[quote name='birly-shirly' timestamp='1438508640' post='12063092']
HAB, not sure if you're maybe confusing 2 different models. My Series 56 woods are marked 1, 3, 4 and 5 and have a plain crown. From your description, the metal woods with the signature on the crown and the names like baffy and spoon are different from the Series 56 woods, have a bore-through shaft where the Series 56 don't, and I prefer them.

If the shafts are reasonable, can you go wrong at that price?
[/quote]

Spot on.

These sound like the Bore-Thru woods, as they were known, which were available in 1992/93 (inc LH in 1993) and were cast stainless steel. Options I am aware of include Driver (in loft options 7.75°, 9.75°, 11.75°), Pro Spoon (13.25° - strong 3-wood), Spoon (14.75° - 3 wood) and Baffy (5-wood - 20.75°), with the Hogan hitting the 1-iron logo in red on the club sole. Nice compact metal woods. A period match for Edge GS and Apex Ft Worth Tx models, if you are that way inclined (like me lol)

The Series 56 (stamped as such on the sole) preceded the Bore-Thrus from 1988 to 1991, and were available in 1,2,3,4,5,7,Utility (24.5° with 3 rails on the bottom).

I agree you can't go wrong at $1.50 a club. I don't think they go as well as persimmons, but it is interesting for sure to see for yourself

Here is the Series 56 advert:

[attachment=2885348:1988 Hogan Series 56 Woods.jpg]

Blade Junkie · August 2, 2015

If the OP is still interested, here is the Bore-Thru Spoon in left hand:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hogan-Spoon-Fairway-3-Wood-Golf-Club-LH-/400967641718?hash=item5d5b88aa76

HoganApexBlades · August 2, 2015

[quote name='birly-shirly' timestamp='1438508640' post='12063092']
HAB, not sure if you're maybe confusing 2 different models. My Series 56 woods are marked 1, 3, 4 and 5 and have a plain crown. From your description, the metal woods with the signature on the crown and the names like baffy and spoon are different from the Series 56 woods, have a bore-through shaft where the Series 56 don't, and I prefer them.

If the shafts are reasonable, can you go wrong at that price?
[/quote]

Birly - you are correct. They weren't Series 56 metal woods, they are bore thru metal woods. They have Apex 4 shafts with OEM grips. I may go back and pick them up for part of my Hogan collection. Thank you for the clarification!

HoganApexBlades · August 2, 2015

[quote name='Blade Junkie' timestamp='1438511403' post='12063140']
[quote name='birly-shirly' timestamp='1438508640' post='12063092']
HAB, not sure if you're maybe confusing 2 different models. My Series 56 woods are marked 1, 3, 4 and 5 and have a plain crown. From your description, the metal woods with the signature on the crown and the names like baffy and spoon are different from the Series 56 woods, have a bore-through shaft where the Series 56 don't, and I prefer them.

If the shafts are reasonable, can you go wrong at that price?
[/quote]

Spot on.

These sound like the Bore-Thru woods, as they were known, which were available in 1992/93 (inc LH in 1993) and were cast stainless steel. Options I am aware of include Driver (in loft options 7.75°, 9.75°, 11.75°), Pro Spoon (13.25° - strong 3-wood), Spoon (14.75° - 3 wood) and Baffy (5-wood - 20.75°), with the Hogan hitting the 1-iron logo in red on the club sole. Nice compact metal woods. A period match for Edge GS and Apex Ft Worth Tx models, if you are that way inclined (like me lol)

The Series 56 (stamped as such on the sole) preceded the Bore-Thrus from 1988 to 1991, and were available in 1,2,3,4,5,7,Utility (24.5° with 3 rails on the bottom).

I agree you can't go wrong at $1.50 a club. I don't think they go as well as persimmons, but it is interesting for sure to see for yourself

Here is the Series 56 advert:

[attachment=2885348:1988 Hogan Series 56 Woods.jpg]
[/quote]

Blade - thanks for your reply and for posting the Series 56 ad!

birly-shirly · August 3, 2015

[quote name='HoganApexBlades' timestamp='1438526688' post='12063804']

Birly - you are correct. They weren't Series 56 metal woods, they are bore thru metal woods. They have Apex 4 shafts with OEM grips. I may go back and pick them up for part of my Hogan collection. Thank you for the clarification!
[/quote]

Definitely a green light situation there!

Thanks to BladeJunkie for posting the ad and additional model history. I remember seeing the Series 56 ad, but never read anything about the bore through woods prior to me finding a driver for sale and playing it for a few years. I never knew whether it pre- or post-dated the 56s.

I've actually had quite a bit of use out of my 56s this summer. I've made a bit of an effort to practice my driving and fairway woods a bit more. On the course, I like hitting persimmon and I think the extra feedback is invaluable, but I don't think they'd stand up to hitting buckets of balls at the range. A 12* Series 56 and matching 4 wood have become my driving range practice clubs, and I think they're great. With range balls, I think I need the extra loft but I get to practice with the same shaft and swingweight as my persimmon clubs and the ballflight feedback is more discriminating than with modern clubs - which I think has made for better learning.