New Hogan iron

[Jvoom30]

Surprising as to my eye they look taller or something. I’m not sure why I think that. The numbers on the bottom look larger which may be why they look bigger to me. I do not have ft worth’s anymore wish I did to compare.

[dmeeksDC]

I thought the Ft Worths looked pretty small. Would be nice to see a comparison. The Icon sure looks nice.

[James the Hogan Fan]

I would be interested in a comparison to the 99 and 03 apex. The fort worth seems like an outlier in design philosophy from the apex/icon. I'm interested in these as a replacement for my current 03's.

[QuigleyDU]

 

[Jvoom30]

to follow up on quigley's post above this is from Ben Hogan company when I asked about the size difference:

 

Head size in the longer irons will be a little larger due to higher face heights. But less offset and a thinner top line than the Ft. Worths. 

 

Combo set coming soon.

[QuigleyDU]

Good info. Thanks!

[dmeeksDC]

Nice work. Eagerly awaiting the combo options.

[Dinosaur]

[Dinosaur]

Hi guys, been away for some time. Not as active as once was. In any event, I just ordered a set of the ICON Blacks with custom specs. Heck, I may not even play them, but save them for posterity. They are awesome looking! I spoke to customer service as I had a question on the finish. I was told they were not a black oxide but that they were "infused" into the metal. Research reveals that the face and sole may lighten a bit, but by and large they should hold up very well. I was able to get a 10% discount. (not great, but helps).

[Dinosaur]

The size difference may have something to do with a design change. They moved the mass around a bit progressively to change the C.O.G. The lofted clubs have it higher to promote lower ball flight and the longer clubs it is lower to help get it up. Gaps are uniform 4 Degrees throughout the set. At least, that is my understanding, but would defer to the club makers/tinkerers.

[dmeeksDC]

Congrats. Definitely post pics when you get them. I think the finish is DBM, right? That is the toughest black finish I’ve seen.

[Dinosaur]

will do. I may need to get another bag as I will still have my old set of Tour Edge EXi's. (hate to have to keep switching out bag). That way I could "grab and go" depending on whim of the day. Yes, the Finish is DBM.

[jwadds19]

These definitely look awesome. Some nice improvement over the Ft. Worths from that standpoint. Assuming performance will be pretty much the same though?

[mBiden2]

I’m going to order 4-pw this week with x100 soft stepped. I wish they had more custom shaft options though

[RobotDoctor]

I agree. I would have ordered my set with Nippon Modus Tour 120 stiff shafts.

[James the Hogan Fan]

Hogan Instagram reporting some release on 5/5... "Long iron shots will no longer be intimidating". Combo set?

[James the Hogan Fan]

[mBiden2]

It’s 5/5 and nothing on their website yet.....

[Rapatt95]

Their website is updated and they have new driving irons and combo sets. I don’t need irons vs my current PTx - Ft Worth combo but dang they look so good

[dmeeksDC]

The combos look nice in terms of set flow. The Icons are offered at 8-PW in all combos, paired with either PTX Pros or PTX Pros plus a utility 4 iron.

The new utility looks good and the styling is consistent on all three heads, which is a plus. One of my questions would be what the differences are between the PTX Pro irons vs the new UiHi 4 iron? Both are hollow. Look very similar. Site indicates the UiHi has a slightly larger profile.

[QuigleyDU]

Ben Hogan with some great styling in their clubs. The New Hybrid looks good as well.

[rb2golf]

Those are gross. Loved hogan irons back in the day, but this just looks gimmicky.

[Rapatt95]

What do you think looks gimmicky about them? Just curious as they look very well blended between modern and classic to me

[rb2golf]

Looks like they welded a small blade on the back of a bigger blade. No idea why they would purposely put less material on the perimeter. That’s a clear reversal of club building principals of getting more weight toward the edges and the toe for off center hits. Looks like turn that logic on its head just to make them look different. Also just clunky, like someone slapped two heads together and didn’t even grind down the edges to make them appear as one piece.

[dmeeksDC]

+1. To me they look very consistent with the Hogan Edge and Apex irons of the past. In terms of looks I thought that was Hogan golf’s best era. And the hollow head designs look more svelte than many other hollow head clubs on the market. They’re not huge heads. Won’t fit everyone’s taste, but I like the modernized retro look. I always thought the ‘blade on blade’ style looked cool. If they had gone entirely away from the Hogan look, they’d get more criticism for that.

[QuigleyDU]

Hogan irons have had this aspect in the past,, It is nothing new... So now can you say you "loved hogan irons of old". When this exact design aspect that you now hate was a major design feature?

 

 

[rb2golf]

Good point Quigley. I guess I just remember loving my Edge irons when I was a kid. But even on the blades the effect was more subtle in the past. They enhanced the hard edges of the outline rather than grinding them to look more integrated. To each his own I guess.

[QuigleyDU]

Very true. I am not saying you opinion on the icons is not valid. Just that it is very much a classic hogan design.

[rb2golf]

Agreed. And you gotta love the American made / direct to consumer aspect of it all.

[RobotDoctor]

The Ben Hogan company has been making the Blade on Blade design since the 60s. First becoming evident with the 1963 - PT3 irons.

 

Here's the 1999 Apex blade (my current set in play).

The Ben Hogan blade on blade geometry design attribute provides a thicker mass behind the face while keeping the center of gravity more towards the heel for ease of working the golf ball. The blade on blade design feature also enabled a longer blade length without the center of gravity being further away from the shaft axis to maintain the center of gravity being towards the heel.

 

On a side note, I simply love the genius of Ben Hogan and his designs. The 1953 Precision irons are evident in iron designs today (Mizuno and Taylormade come to mind). This design came out 67 years ago and is the basis of the new Mizuno MP20 irons, among other previous Mizuno designs. Ben Hogan was truly a master designer. I am happy to see that the 1999 Apex irons (made by Spaulding who owned Ben Hogan Company at the time) and the new Ben Hogan Company remaining true to the past Hogan designs. That is the reason I stay with Hogan irons because the design simply works.