Hogan Closed Again

[BIG STU]

Just now, JungleJimbo said:

 

@BIG STU If this is the Article you were referring to ... then JB = founder of that website?

i.e. not a 'regular member'.

 

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/news-ben-hogan-golf-closing-doors/ 

 

 

No he is not a founder of that site that I know of and I was there darn near at the start

[JungleJimbo]

1 minute ago, BIG STU said:

No he is not a founder of that site that I know of and I was there darn near at the start

@BIG STU Noted ... i will defer to you on this, i.e. probably i'm mistaken!

 

But JB = is now listed as co-owner.

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/the-thp-team-new/ 

Edited July 26, 2022 by JungleJimbo

[BIG STU]

1 minute ago, JungleJimbo said:

@BIG STU Noted ... i will defer to you on this, i.e. probably i'm mistaken!

 

But JB = is now listed as co-owner.

https://www.thehackersparadise.com/the-thp-team-new/ 

Oh we are on 2 different wavelengths here---- I was not talking about hackers paradise I was talking about the other one that is not supposed to be mentioned here---- I have never been a member of Hackers

[BIG STU]

9 hours ago, rgk5 said:

Your Hogan Special PW is very rare and a fabulous PW. Trevino won many of his events with a Hogan Special SW. I had one back in the late '70s and loved it

That is a good wedge indeed. Even though I am a dyed in the wool Mac guy I have always liked Hogan wedges and have quite a few. I am speaking of Hogan wedges back when Hogan was really Hogan. Now I do have a Ft Worth 15 50* that I ended up with. It hits and feels good but I have distance control issues with it. That Special PW I carried in the late 70s through most of the 80s and it is darn near worn out-- I was also a big fan of the real Apex shafts-- I have one set of Mac VIPs set up with Apex shafts and one set of Muirfields set up the same way. In classic circles they are known as Mac Hogans and no I did not invent that it was a popular conversion in the 70s. IMHO at that time Mr Hogan and his people knew a little something about shafts no one else knew. I was always under the impression it was a Carolinas thing but have since found out on here it was done all over

[2bGood]

The Hogan site is currently up and running but not taking orders. 🤷‍♂️

 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by 2bGood

[grm24]

38 minutes ago, Thayneil said:

Saw Alkers clubs clearly!

Their social media sites are good at getting the world out about it with all of his high finishes/wins. Alker is their brand ambassador. 

[grm24]

35 minutes ago, 2bGood said:

The Hogan site is currently up and running but not taking orders. 🤷‍♂️

Have you reviewed the entire thread? The website "issue" was addressed early. Appears they are truly DOA.

Edited July 26, 2022 by grm24

[Carolina Golfer 2]

8 hours ago, ShakeyT said:

 

Not sure what other forum you got this from, but they need to fire whoever is in charge of proof reading for grammar.

Shockingly it’s the owner of the site.  Not the brightest bulb in the light. 

[sociojeje]

I demoed their icon irons and they were very impressive. Sad to see them go... 

[gator022]

4 hours ago, grm24 said:

Have you reviewed the entire thread? The website "issue" was addressed early. Appears they are truly DOA.

too bad, I’ve been seeking some graphite shafted irons and was thinking I’d buy theirs a week or so ago. I knew something was up when I’d check daily and there was no “website engineering” fix.

[Hawkeye77]

I won one of their wedges in a giveaway on here a little over 4 1/2 years ago.  It was a nice, soft feeling wedge.  So much so, I wanted to get a couple more from them.  Even back then they were having apparent supply chain issues.  It took quite awhile for it to get to me, but it was winter and I was in no hurry.  But when I wanted to order more it was such and such loft wasn't available, such and such shaft wasn't available, check in a couple of months, etc. and I lost interest.  It didn't seem like that was unusual based on things you could gather looking at their site or checking on here from time to time.  If they are out of business, I'm sorry to see them go - many liked their irons and if they were as well made as the wedge I can understand why.  It's a tough business for "niche" makers, I'm sure tougher now.

[me05501]

26 minutes ago, gator022 said:

too bad, I’ve been seeking some graphite shafted irons and was thinking I’d buy theirs a week or so ago. I knew something was up when I’d check daily and there was no “website engineering” fix.

 

Probably a good thing you didn't buy some a few months back. I'm sure the bottom will fall out of the value of their clubs now that they're not a going concern. 

[WristySwing]

Shame to see them go, but I agree with some other posters, it is not really a surprise.  Callaway couldn't keep them afloat, and at the time was one of the most popular names going as they were hot off their X-14/X-16 product, the first multimaterial titanium driver releases, the launch of Odyssey putters and the 2-ball, etc.  They were on top of their game and even that couldn't keep the Apex name going.  I know Callaway mainly bought them for the TopFlite ball patents but they did release an Apex/Icon blade and forged CB around that time that were absolutely stunning --- and it languished on the shelf.  Unfortunately, Ben Hogan golf died when Mr. Hogan died, really.  I suspect we can expect a similar fate when Nicklaus passes on as well (although you could argue the Nicklaus brand is too niche to really even have any market share to begin with).

[Konklifer]

Interesting that it coincides with the 25th anniversary of the death of the man himself.

[OnTheBag]

Sad to see if this is true.  I've been playing Icons since last fall and like them better than anything since my 712 MBs.  

 

The golf club market itself is inherently risky from a financial standpoint.  Even the big boys struggle with margin levels despite large marketing budgets.

 

Hopefully it's just a pause while the supply chain catches up.

[forrester_fire]

I can't say that I'm shocked.  I've never seen a Hogan iron out in the wild.  Heck, I've never seen a modern Hogan club in person.

[boggyman]

8 hours ago, grm24 said:

Their social media sites are good at getting the world out about it with all of his high finishes/wins. Alker is their brand ambassador. 

Thought Alker  played New Level? 

[ChristopherMcDonald]

I feel like the DTC market in general (less so in this community)  is targeted toward the younger consumer. The other DTC brands seemed to develop more buzz, probably just smarter marketing through unique channels (like GolfWRX, instagram, etc). Ben Hogan has clout but to maybe the prior generations, the ones that are more likely to shop in a big box store and less from DTC companies, in my opinion. 

 

Sad to see them go, always heard great things about the recent products

[vandyfan]

1 hour ago, forrester_fire said:

I can't say that I'm shocked.  I've never seen a Hogan iron out in the wild.  Heck, I've never seen a modern Hogan club in person.

 

I have had my PTxPros and Equalizer II wedges (50* and 54*) for about 14 months now and have played close to 50 rounds in that time and I have never encountered another person with Hogan clubs from the last 2-3 years' product cycles. And I always look at other people's bags (hence why I spend so much time on this site). That said, the build quality is excellent, the clubs are beautiful and for me they flat out perform. I kept them as a demo for 3 weeks and hit them against (off real grass turf on a range with trackman over 4-5 sessions) Mizuno MP-20 MMCs, Cobra MIMs, Sub 70 639 CBs, New Level 902 Forged, Titleist T100, Apex Pros, TM P-770, Srixon ZX-7 and, for me, they were the best fit. Even still, I didn't "trust" their woods so I never even considered Demo'ing them. Not sure why they felt the need to try to get into the Driver space. 

 

4 hours ago, me05501 said:

I'm sure the bottom will fall out of the value of their clubs now that they're not a going concern. 

 

So this is the topic I am very interested in, can I get a deal on any of their remaining inventory? Would love to get a UiHi 4 iron or even a set of the Icons in Black (by the way, their black finish holds up VERY well as I have the equalizer II wedges in black and they barely have any wear on them after 20 rounds). Sounds like it came down to the fact that they were equity firm backed and just couldn't produce returns fast enough. Would have loved to see what additional iron designs they would have come out with but as for the woods...nah. Maybe I have been tricked by the marketing hype of the big OEMs but that is the one place I am not sure DTCs can quite keep up. Would love to be wrong (and I might very well be!). As for irons, I think DTCs can more than compete. In fact in my testing, the Sub 70 639 CBs felt the best on a pure center strike and that was against some absolute HITTERS in Mizuno and Srixon. 

[OnTheBag]

1 hour ago, forrester_fire said:

I can't say that I'm shocked.  I've never seen a Hogan iron out in the wild.  Heck, I've never seen a modern Hogan club in person.

Their product lines were geared toward the player's market.  The Icon is a true MB and the PtX Pro weren't exactly game improvement.  Most of the Icons (which are a great iron by the way) I've seen in the wild were old guys like me that drift toward the clubs similar to what we've played for decades.  Too much tech available nowadays for younger golfers to utilize. 

[me05501]

15 minutes ago, vandyfan said:

Maybe I have been tricked by the marketing hype of the big OEMs but that is the one place I am not sure DTCs can quite keep up. Would love to be wrong (and I might very well be!). As for irons, I think DTCs can more than compete. In fact in my testing, the Sub 70 639 CBs felt the best on a pure center strike and that was against some absolute HITTERS in Mizuno and Srixon. 

 

I think the quality of forged heads varies some but likely not as much as the marketing dept's would have players believe. The designs are similar enough. If the raw materials are the same then the differences can't be all that great. 

 

.

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by me05501

[cardigan]

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/ben-hogan-company-goes-out-of-business

 

[Dinosaur]

35 minutes ago, vandyfan said:

 

I have had my PTxPros and Equalizer II wedges (50* and 54*) for about 14 months now and have played close to 50 rounds in that time and I have never encountered another person with Hogan clubs from the last 2-3 years' product cycles. And I always look at other people's bags (hence why I spend so much time on this site). That said, the build quality is excellent, the clubs are beautiful and for me they flat out perform. I kept them as a demo for 3 weeks and hit them against (off real grass turf on a range with trackman over 4-5 sessions) Mizuno MP-20 MMCs, Cobra MIMs, Sub 70 639 CBs, New Level 902 Forged, Titleist T100, Apex Pros, TM P-770, Srixon ZX-7 and, for me, they were the best fit. Even still, I didn't "trust" their woods so I never even considered Demo'ing them. Not sure why they felt the need to try to get into the Driver space. 

 

 

So this is the topic I am very interested in, can I get a deal on any of their remaining inventory? Would love to get a UiHi 4 iron or even a set of the Icons in Black (by the way, their black finish holds up VERY well as I have the equalizer II wedges in black and they barely have any wear on them after 20 rounds). Sounds like it came down to the fact that they were equity firm backed and just couldn't produce returns fast enough. Would have loved to see what additional iron designs they would have come out with but as for the woods...nah. Maybe I have been tricked by the marketing hype of the big OEMs but that is the one place I am not sure DTCs can quite keep up. Would love to be wrong (and I might very well be!). As for irons, I think DTCs can more than compete. In fact in my testing, the Sub 70 639 CBs felt the best on a pure center strike and that was against some absolute HITTERS in Mizuno and Srixon. 

Not long ago, I sold a fairly new set of the ICON blacks as well as a UiHi 3 iron on ebay. I had mentioned here at the time, but no interest shown.  The irons were excellent but I opted for an older set of Titleist MB's for eccentric reasons that probably would not make sense to anyone else. 

[DaddySwagMaster]

15 hours ago, ShakeyT said:

 

Not sure what other forum you got this from, but they need to fire whomever is in charge of proof reading for grammar.

Fixed it for ya.

We don't need no stinkin' grammar here in the golf 'hood.

[J13]

The Hogan brand is a revolving door for a reason and it has nothing to do with Koehler.  Perry Ellis owns the Hogan brand and licenses it out to Walmart and a host of other people that try to revive the brand name in golf clubs.  Perry Ellis will recoup every last nickel through licensing deals which is not a great model for golf clubs that have smaller margins than soft goods and other products like cologne ect..   

[Carolina Golfer 2]

2 hours ago, boggyman said:

Thought Alker  played New Level? 

He does, the post you quoted was quoting another post that metnioned New Level and other DTC clubs.   

[boggyman]

13 minutes ago, Carolina Golfer 2 said:

He does, the post you quoted was quoting another post that metnioned New Level and other DTC clubs.   

Gotcha fine. I went back to beginning of thread and see that now. My bad! 

[Carolina Golfer 2]

8 minutes ago, boggyman said:

Gotcha fine. I went back to beginning of thread and see that now. My bad! 

It was easy to do, the conversation took a couple turns in different directions 🙂

 

[naj959]

1 hour ago, vandyfan said:

 

I have had my PTxPros and Equalizer II wedges (50* and 54*) for about 14 months now and have played close to 50 rounds in that time and I have never encountered another person with Hogan clubs from the last 2-3 years' product cycles. And I always look at other people's bags (hence why I spend so much time on this site). That said, the build quality is excellent, the clubs are beautiful and for me they flat out perform. I kept them as a demo for 3 weeks and hit them against (off real grass turf on a range with trackman over 4-5 sessions) Mizuno MP-20 MMCs, Cobra MIMs, Sub 70 639 CBs, New Level 902 Forged, Titleist T100, Apex Pros, TM P-770, Srixon ZX-7 and, for me, they were the best fit. Even still, I didn't "trust" their woods so I never even considered Demo'ing them. Not sure why they felt the need to try to get into the Driver space. 

 

 

So this is the topic I am very interested in, can I get a deal on any of their remaining inventory? Would love to get a UiHi 4 iron or even a set of the Icons in Black (by the way, their black finish holds up VERY well as I have the equalizer II wedges in black and they barely have any wear on them after 20 rounds). Sounds like it came down to the fact that they were equity firm backed and just couldn't produce returns fast enough. Would have loved to see what additional iron designs they would have come out with but as for the woods...nah. Maybe I have been tricked by the marketing hype of the big OEMs but that is the one place I am not sure DTCs can quite keep up. Would love to be wrong (and I might very well be!). As for irons, I think DTCs can more than compete. In fact in my testing, the Sub 70 639 CBs felt the best on a pure center strike and that was against some absolute HITTERS in Mizuno and Srixon. 

Never tried the driver or fairways but the hybrid was REALLY good. Very Adams like in appearance and performance but with a better feel off the face IMO. Every club I demoed was high quality and outperformed many OEMs I've tried. Seems like they really were trying to stay true to Mr. Hogan's vision and offer a great product that appealed to the better player. I would have considered the woods based off of my experience. 

[wildcatden]

Sad to see the Hogan brand go belly up again. My kid is getting ready to transition to adult OEM clubs soon and I was looking forward to having him try out the PTx Pros.  Their wedges looked really great as well.  Had no plans to give their driver or fairways a look. Also, no plan to look at their putters as I have three (3) Hoganardi BHB5-SS's in my possession that I planned to let him try (2 playable, 1 a collector that was never used).

 

Icons are a beauty:

 

PTx Pros great looking:

 

Ahhhh those wedges....