Ben Hogan 1988 Redline vs 1999 Apex Blade

[Hit it Alice]

I just need to chime in as I just got a set of '99's 3-E. Gotta say that when you swing you look up and watch such a nice ball flight as the ball jumps from the club. My first impression was that I missed the ball, as there was no sound or feeling, it was that good. I have the Redlines too, great clubs but the 99's seem a better fit for me. The stick'em scoring irons are spot on fall from the sky soft. Also low approaches spin to a dead stop. I'm in love with these irons as you can tell. Long irons have that boring flight pattern. Glad I scored them off the bay. I dig these Hogan forums. Now to build a rack to hold my six sets of Hogies!

[birly-shirly]

Holden has you covered, RD - I also got good advice rebuilding my redlines on this thread. http://www.golfwrx.c...t-alternatives/

 

LoL. Famous last words. True enough, I punched out the pins on my '88s no problem. The same could not be said of the Sunbursts I've just acquired. Right now, I'm 1 for 3 with a broken punch!

[CD17]

Thought I would add a few photo's of my Apex's

 

 

 

 

I've got another set or 99s which were not as described when they arrived, but they did have a very clean set of Apex 4 Shafts in them, so I've stripped them down, cleaned up the shafts & dropped the heads in to be de-chromed & I will polish them, re-groove them & just leave them raw. I have a set of DG S300 AMTs I might fit in & give them a try. They should be back with me on the 23rd.

 

I also need to sort out the ferules on the FXTs, some have slipped & the previous owner tried to push them back using a pair of pipe grips of something :-(

[Fellaheen51]

Holden has you covered, RD - I also got good advice rebuilding my redlines on this thread. http://www.golfwrx.c...t-alternatives/

 

LoL. Famous last words. True enough, I punched out the pins on my '88s no problem. The same could not be said of the Sunbursts I've just acquired. Right now, I'm 1 for 3 with a broken punch!

 

LOL. Fun with hosel pins. Went thru three 3/32" punches getting the pins out of the Apex II's this winter. Was down to the last one, that was stubborn. Finally said to hell with it, chopped the shaft, drilled the pin, and punched it out. Didn't have a complete set of Apex Pro shafts anyway, and I'd reached my frustration limit. ITT, someone mentioned spring loaded punches. If I have to deal with pins again, may give that a go. IDK.

[Fellaheen51]

CD17, nice Hogan sets. Dealing with the ferrule marks, perhaps emery cloth and acetone will clean up the worst of the gouges. At least make them more presentable.

 

What is it about the 99's that make us want to have multiple sets of them? A raw set of '99 Apexs may look rather sweet. Be sure to post some pics when you get the heads back.

[CD17]

CD17, nice Hogan sets. Dealing with the ferrule marks, perhaps emery cloth and acetone will clean up the worst of the gouges. At least make them more presentable.

 

What is it about the 99's that make us want to have multiple sets of them? A raw set of '99 Apex's may look rather sweet. Be sure to post some pics when you get the heads back.

 

I've done a couple of the ferules on the FTXs with hot water to push them back & then acetone to smoothen them out & they don't look to bad from address. I've got a load of spare Hogan Ferules if I need to swap them, just don't really want to strip them if I don't need to.

 

I just love the Apex 99s, I had a set a few years ago & sold them, then wanted another set & as usual two came up, the set pictured have really nice heads & the Brunswick Riffle shafts which are a little bit dull, looks like someone has polished them with something abrasive.

 

Yes I think I'll put the raw set into play, I saw this raw Apex Edge E Wedge on eBay & think it looks pretty sweet in that finish.

 

 

I need to find a set of Redlines to try, i've heard nothing but good things about them, back in the 90s when I was playing Mizuno blades, I always heard the Hogan's were far to hard to hit, so never really tried them apart from the wedges.

[birly-shirly]

 

LOL. Fun with hosel pins. Went thru three 11/32" punches getting the pins out of the Apex II's this winter. Was down to the last one, that was stubborn. Finally said to hell with it, chopped the shaft, drilled the pin, and punched it out. Didn't have a complete set of Apex Pro shafts anyway, and I'd reached my frustration limit. ITT, someone mentioned spring loaded punches. If I have to deal with pins again, may give that a go. IDK.

 

You don't mean eleven 3/32" punches I hope, but I think that's the right size. 1/8" is too wide for the ones I'm working on just now.

 

I'm off to the hardware store at lunchtime today to restock. If I possibly can, I'm going to save the shafts. They're A flex, but have very good condition leather grips so I feel somewhat obligated to try and keep them intact so that if need be the clubs could be restored to factory spec.

 

I'll then have another go at the pins, but applying a bit of heat this time although that wasn't necessary when I did my last set.

 

In the meantime, I've at least got the 7 iron reshafted - so I'll have a reasonable test club to estimate whether the whole project is worthwhile or misguided.

[Fellaheen51]

B-S, no wonder I couldn't get the pins out using 11/32" punches. Yes, 3/32" (bad math this a.m). Little skinny things that break with one miss hit of the hammer. One can never have to many punches it seems, stocked up the last visit to the tool supply store. The clerk asked why I needed four. I said, "Working on golf clubs, pounding out some pins". He didn't quite understand.

[birly-shirly]

I only have myself to blame for the punch I broke last night. I got impatient and broke out the sledge for what turned out to be quite a short-lived experiment in heavy hitting...

[Fellaheen51]

CD17, nice Hogan sets. Dealing with the ferrule marks, perhaps emery cloth and acetone will clean up the worst of the gouges. At least make them more presentable.

 

What is it about the 99's that make us want to have multiple sets of them? A raw set of '99 Apex's may look rather sweet. Be sure to post some pics when you get the heads back.

 

I've done a couple of the ferules on the FTXs with hot water to push them back & then acetone to smoothen them out & they don't look to bad from address. I've got a load of spare Hogan Ferules if I need to swap them, just don't really want to strip them if I don't need to.

 

I just love the Apex 99s, I had a set a few years ago & sold them, then wanted another set & as usual two came up, the set pictured have really nice heads & the Brunswick Riffle shafts which are a little bit dull, looks like someone has polished them with something abrasive.

 

Yes I think I'll put the raw set into play, I saw this raw Apex Edge E Wedge on eBay & think it looks pretty sweet in that finish.

 

 

I need to find a set of Redlines to try, i've heard nothing but good things about them, back in the 90s when I was playing Mizuno blades, I always heard the Hogan's were far to hard to hit, so never really tried them apart from the wedges.

 

IMO, the 99's are definitely easier to hit than the Redlines. I have a set of both. But the shaft in the Redlines (Apex 4) could be a contributing factor.

 

Just acquired a second set of the '99's. They are shafted with FCM Flighted 5.5 Rifles. A shaft that I always played reasonably well with. Must have been a factory option shaft, they still have the original serial # label on most of them.

 

A consideration for the "dulled" shafts. If they are beyond refurbishment, go ahead and fully "sanitize". Use extra fine sandpaper and fully dull up the shaft. Did this with a shaft that I installed in a putter, really came out nice. Don't remember the grit #, some experimentation with a cast off shaft for practice and to get the right look. Really easy and takes just a couple of minutes to do. You will not see any scratch marks if done right. May look nice with the de-chromed heads. Just a thought on how to salvage the shafts.

[CD17]

CD17, nice Hogan sets. Dealing with the ferrule marks, perhaps emery cloth and acetone will clean up the worst of the gouges. At least make them more presentable.

 

What is it about the 99's that make us want to have multiple sets of them? A raw set of '99 Apex's may look rather sweet. Be sure to post some pics when you get the heads back.

 

I've done a couple of the ferules on the FTXs with hot water to push them back & then acetone to smoothen them out & they don't look to bad from address. I've got a load of spare Hogan Ferules if I need to swap them, just don't really want to strip them if I don't need to.

 

I just love the Apex 99s, I had a set a few years ago & sold them, then wanted another set & as usual two came up, the set pictured have really nice heads & the Brunswick Riffle shafts which are a little bit dull, looks like someone has polished them with something abrasive.

 

Yes I think I'll put the raw set into play, I saw this raw Apex Edge E Wedge on eBay & think it looks pretty sweet in that finish.

 

 

I need to find a set of Redlines to try, i've heard nothing but good things about them, back in the 90s when I was playing Mizuno blades, I always heard the Hogan's were far to hard to hit, so never really tried them apart from the wedges.

 

IMO, the 99's are definitely easier to hit than the Redlines. I have a set of both. But the shaft in the Redlines (Apex 4) could be a contributing factor.

 

Just acquired a second set of the '99's. They are shafted with FCM Flighted 5.5 Rifles. A shaft that I always played reasonably well with. Must have been a factory option shaft, they still have the original serial # label on most of them.

 

A consideration for the "dulled" shafts. If they are beyond refurbishment, go ahead and fully "sanitize". Use extra fine sandpaper and fully dull up the shaft. Did this with a shaft that I installed in a putter, really came out nice. Don't remember the grit #, some experimentation with a cast off shaft for practice and to get the right look. Really easy and takes just a couple of minutes to do. You will not see any scratch marks if done right. May look nice with the de-chromed heads. Just a thought on how to salvage the shafts.

 

The shafts aren't to bad, just a little bit dull.

 

I need to try out the 99s with different shafts to see which ones I like the feel & flight of best, I've always got on with shafts like the Ping AWT or the KBS Tour 90s & I really like the DG S300s AMTs so I think the Apex 4s will be fine. But I want to compair the Apex 4s against the Rifle's & the DG AMTs to see what I like best.

 

I'm going to be on the look out for some Redlines once I've finished working with all of these, I'm quite keen to see how they feel.

 

Also looking out for some Hogan Wedges, a friend of mine has a Colonial wedge & it's really nice, I also like the look of the Apex wedge, but not many about.

[CD17]

LOL. Fun with hosel pins. Went thru three 11/32" punches getting the pins out of the Apex II's this winter. Was down to the last one, that was stubborn. Finally said to hell with it, chopped the shaft, drilled the pin, and punched it out. Didn't have a complete set of Apex Pro shafts anyway, and I'd reached my frustration limit. ITT, someone mentioned spring loaded punches. If I have to deal with pins again, may give that a go. IDK.

 

You don't mean eleven 3/32" punches I hope, but I think that's the right size. 1/8" is too wide for the ones I'm working on just now.

 

I'm off to the hardware store at lunchtime today to restock. If I possibly can, I'm going to save the shafts. They're A flex, but have very good condition leather grips so I feel somewhat obligated to try and keep them intact so that if need be the clubs could be restored to factory spec.

 

I'll then have another go at the pins, but applying a bit of heat this time although that wasn't necessary when I did my last set.

 

In the meantime, I've at least got the 7 iron reshafted - so I'll have a reasonable test club to estimate whether the whole project is worthwhile or misguided.

 

I would defiantly apply heat while trying to remove the pins, I'm not sure how they assembled them, but it's a good bet that some epoxy has got on the pins while they were being assembled.

[birly-shirly]

Pins. As posted above I was having some difficulty with removing the shaft pins on a set of '59 Sabers. I've removed pins before on newer clubs with no problems, but these were stuck pretty fast and had already broken 1 punch.

 

I finally got these sorted out this weekend, so thought I would add a little to the wisdom of the hive.

 

Heat wasn't the answer for me. I had tried heat previously on at least one club with no success. What seemed to make the difference was how I clamped the club. Previously, I'd been using one of those rubber grip things to hold a shaft or hosel in the vice. This time, I found some strips of old leather that I wrapped around the hosel to protect it in the vice. I reckoned that the leather would allow me to clamp the hosel pretty damned tight, and there would be less "give" in the relatively thin leather strips than in the rubber grips. I also clamped the head so that the face was overlapping and resting on the top of the vice jaws, again with a strip of leather in place as protection.

 

This clamping arrangement made the job much, much easier and I was then able to drive the pins out as I have done previously. I think the difference must be that there was a certain amount of elasticity in how I was previously clamping the heads, which I removed with firmer soft jaws and also using the top of the vice grips as a backstop. A centre punch to get it moving just enough to be able to use the lip of the hole in the hosel to seat a 3/32" punch to drive it the rest of the way through.

 

To reiterate advice that others have given: drive from the back of the clubhead towards the face. In my previous frustration, I had tried punching one pin the other way. This was the last club I worked on at the weekend, and even with my improved clamping arrangement, I could not drive it out to the rear. I think I was very luck to be able to reverse it without buckling the pin inside the hosel.

 

Having said all that, I still finished the job with 2 bent pin punches over and above the one that I broke first time around.

 

Hope this may help someone.

[JVill]

Pins. As posted above I was having some difficulty with removing the shaft pins on a set of '59 Sabers. I've removed pins before on newer clubs with no problems, but these were stuck pretty fast and had already broken 1 punch.

 

I finally got these sorted out this weekend, so thought I would add a little to the wisdom of the hive.

 

Heat wasn't the answer for me. I had tried heat previously on at least one club with no success. What seemed to make the difference was how I clamped the club. Previously, I'd been using one of those rubber grip things to hold a shaft or hosel in the vice. This time, I found some strips of old leather that I wrapped around the hosel to protect it in the vice. I reckoned that the leather would allow me to clamp the hosel pretty damned tight, and there would be less "give" in the relatively thin leather strips than in the rubber grips. I also clamped the head so that the face was overlapping and resting on the top of the vice jaws, again with a strip of leather in place as protection.

 

This clamping arrangement made the job much, much easier and I was then able to drive the pins out as I have done previously. I think the difference must be that there was a certain amount of elasticity in how I was previously clamping the heads, which I removed with firmer soft jaws and also using the top of the vice grips as a backstop. A centre punch to get it moving just enough to be able to use the lip of the hole in the hosel to seat a 3/32" punch to drive it the rest of the way through.

 

To reiterate advice that others have given: drive from the back of the clubhead towards the face. In my previous frustration, I had tried punching one pin the other way. This was the last club I worked on at the weekend, and even with my improved clamping arrangement, I could not drive it out to the rear. I think I was very luck to be able to reverse it without buckling the pin inside the hosel.

 

Having said all that, I still finished the job with 2 bent pin punches over and above the one that I broke first time around.

 

Hope this may help someone.

I have a set of 58 Sabers from Slazenger. I use a vice having 1/4" plywood inserts to help hold the hosel still. The pins came out fairly easily with a sharp blow from a nail punch to get them started; the rest was done with the pull of a vice grip.

[801]

Never quit playing the 99's ... since ... well ... 99 (think they actually were released as 1998 officially). MP designs of late that I've experimented with (62's, 69's, 59's) have gone to a huge and high Ping-Zing-Like toe .. which I hate. Love the 99's boxy shape, toe relief, perfect top line and waaaaaaay forgiving for a blade. seriously, easiest blade EVER to hit. ever.

 

 

[Jordan Speeth]

I caddied on the PGA Tour in '71 and '72 and, from what I remember, it hardly mattered what was written on the bag...it was Wilson Staff. The stars who were getting paid the big bucks often had their sponsor's clubs along with a smattering of Staffs but, in those days, it was definitely Wilson Staff. I caddied for Dave Hill a couple of times when he was with Ram. He was their star at the time and I remember what he'd go through in choosing new clubs. He'd have the rep there at the range and he'd go through the bag with an elimination process, hitting a dozen different two irons, a dozen different 3 irons, and on through the bag until he had the club of each loft that he wanted. A lot of the other guys didn't seem to bother so much, at least at the tournaments where I could see. I also packed for Butch Harmon a few times. I don't remember who his sponsor was but he used Steve Biltz woods, which were a really strange looking rectangular, adjustable toe-heel weighted laminated club that was always advertised in the back of Golf Magazine in the little 1/16 page ads. I think they may have been outlawed later on. Anyway, I can say without a doubt that Wilson was dominant in that era by a landslide. That was one of the fondest and most evocative periods of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything. When you're that age (18/19) and there's that much going on around you, it's something you'll never forget; the sights, sounds, smells, everything, are etched in my memory and it was a time that's gone forever. Today's Tour has almost nothing in common with the Tour in those days other than that they play golf for prize money. For one thing, I didn't weigh much over 120 pounds and those bags weighed at least half that. Those guys had no mercy on their caddies. I think maybe the most striking difference would be in the ages of the players. I those days, they were all in their 30's and even 40's and they dressed like old guys in colorful slacks with baggy sleeved Cardigan sweaters, Footjoy Classics with patent leather and alligator trim. They all struck me as gamblers and women-chaser types...but nice, always. I was hitchhiking home from the Crosby on Monday morning and Rocky Thompson picked me up in his Jensen Interceptor and gave me a ride to the Bay Area...coolest thing ever. Kind of funny. Sorry to stray off topic so far..

 

Here are some photos I found of an old Steve Biltz driver. Imagine playing that today...or around Spyglass in the driving rain...ugh

 

 

[Christen_The_Sloop]

Tracked down a set of Redlines to go with my 92 BH Grinds, 73 Apex and +1s.

 

Had an old Hogan Slazenger one iron way back in the day, found while scavenging for golf balls at the bottom of a gully at my home course. Thing was broken in half and stuck in the mud. I had it reshafted and carried it for most of my teenage years. Played in the provincial high school championships with it and a hogan radial 3-wood as my longest clubs, up at Predator Ridge in Vernon BC. I used to stripe that 3 wood like nothing before or since.

 

I'm thinking of putting some Modus3 105X in one of these sets... Anyone ever try Hogans with'em?

 

Great thread, by the way. I read the whole thing! Ha!

 

I also scooped up a set of Sounder SBIVs a month or so ago. And I've got a Dunlop Seve Ballesteros limited one iron, It looks a lot like the Sounders. Really nice set of sticks. I'll post some picks if anyone wants.

[Par-net-birdie]

Nice find on the redlines , I'm looking as well

I reshafted +1's with dg x100 ,03apex with rifle 6.5 79 apex dg300 hard stepped

My 73' apex have apex 4

They all play great , but I reshafted my muirfield 20th's with Nippon 1150 x and these have become my favourite shaft ,I reshafted my Miura tb's with them

My friend plays the modus albeit in a lighter weight but with the gaining popularity of this shaft the numbers of people playing it attests to the smoothness associated with these shafts

I haven't picked up distance but at 57 I like the smoother shaft now.

Try one out , In a fitting cart and compare for yourself

[Christen_The_Sloop]

There are a bunch of demo's that have the modus around. I think it'll be a good fit. Tried a 125X in a TMB 3 iron that has been a little to heavy. Never been one to want to put a lot of effort into a swing, so maybe something like the 105 will work out with the slightly heavier head of a Hogan.

 

I'm waiting on these bad boys and searching the googles I don't think there is a classier looking club out there. Though the 99s are also pretty sexy.

 

Definitely coming back with some pics!

[Christen_The_Sloop]

Some minty looking 88s here. Clean, very little chatter and original grips. God Bless the Japanese. I'm betting this was bought by a salaryman who played once every 3-5 years. Hnnnnnng..

[Fellaheen51]

Hogan '88 Redlines were still forged in the USA. Cornell Foundry in Chicago IIRC. Definitely not Japan. Believe the first set of Endo forged were the '99 Apex.

 

As for shafts, there is no right or wrong anser. Play the shaft that is suitable for one's swing and game. WTS, if a Hogan set is relatively pristine, I would think twice about reshafting. Especially if someday liquidating the clubs is a possibility. I get the sense that Hoganista's prefer to obtain minty examples in original condition. I've reshafted the Apex II's (an assembled set that had different shafts) and the '99 Apex's (regular players with suitable Nippon 950's), but I'll leave the Redlines as is. With Apex 4's. Albeit it with removable extensions that get them out to my preferred length. Had enough fun removing the pins from the Apex II's to last me for awhile.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

I wasn't saying these were made here, just some guy bought them here and never used them... Folks in Japan had a thing for Hogan, but that generation is dying off and these were probably from some poor dudes estate.

 

I can see how you might've thought that, but Thanks to the folks here and the fellow made the 99s - Jeff Sheets? - I've been able to learn that and much more... Now I've got a real dilemma.

 

These, for their vintage, are as good as I think you'll. There's no wear whatsoever on the grips.., the faces look like they've seen a solid afternoon at the range... Do I tear them apart or just just shaft up the BH grinds I've got sitting in a box next to them?

 

It's a hard life. I'll think about it over a tall glass of Nikka. Any thoughts?

 

 

[Fellaheen51]

Yes, misunderstood. If the Redlines are in near mint condition as you've described, I wouldn't mess with them. One slip of a punch while trying to remove the pins, they have been marred IMO. The value is in the overall original state of condition and that includes the Apex shafts. Find a less than pristine set as players, switch shafts to one's of your preference. That's the reason I typically look for sets that have some battle scars on them. I want to put them in play occasionally. Therefore, hitting golf balls and bouncing around in the bag is a worry-free endeavor.

[jmcf1949]

The post about "Hogan dominance" in the majors of the 80s got me to thinking.

 

Wouldn't vouch for this as being 100 percent accurate, but I think it's pretty close.

 

RAM 6 Watson (5) Trevino (not under contract but played Ram during this time)

MACGREGOR 6 Nicklaus (3), Graham, Strange (2)

MIZUNO 5 Lyle (2), Faldo (2), Sluman (?)

HOGAN 4 Nelson (3?), Rogers

BALLESTEROS 4 Under contract to Sounder in the US, Dunlop (?)

SPALDING 2 Stadler and Norman

PING 2 Tway and Calcavechhia

WILSON 2 Langer and Stewart

POWERBILT 2 Mize and Zoeller

HAGEN 1 Crenshaw

TITLEIST 1 Sutton

FLOYD 2 Likely Wilson but usually had some regional telephone company on the bag

NORTH 1 Under contract to Sounder

SIMPSON 1 Under contract to Yamaha (?)

GREEN 1 Under contract to Northwestern

 

I don't know if Larry Nelson was a Hogan staffer throughout the 80s or not. Not sure about Hal Sutton when he won the PGA (edit: Titleist, not Hogan based on the clip from his 1983 PGA win on his Golf Channel Academy show). In later years, he was under contract to Yamaha, and after that Spalding (Strata for sure, the Spalding version of Hogan, not sure).

 

Don't know what Seve played in the 80s.

 

Does anyone remember the Sounder TV ads with Seve, Tommy Bolt and Andy North?

 

I do remember Seve having those green and gold Victory II grips on his clubs at the 1983 Masters. That's the same grip Sounder was using. But that doesn't mean those were Sounder clubs.

 

When Crenshaw won the Masters in 1984, I was under the impression he was using something other than the Haig Ultra Crenshaw Grind that was available at retail during that time. Hard to say for sure. No HDTV.

 

Not sure what Andy North, Scott Simpson or Hubert Green actually had in the bag during their wins. Northwestern actually had a large tour staff at one time. Bob Murphy, Bruce Crampton, Chi Chi, Judy Rankin, Weiskopf, Jim Thorpe, Gary Player, and Hubert Green among others. No idea if any of them actually bagged any Northwestern clubs. They did have some pro line offerings in the 70s and early 80s. Nancy Lopez was another and she used their copy of the Hogan Magnum for awhile. Story was her regular clubs didn't make it to the site and she pulled them off the rack and ended up keeping them.

 

Golf World used to have a "Player of the Month" feature in their magazine. During Majors season, the winner was usually POTM, and they had a WITB for them. I need to see if I have any of those magazines still around.

 

So, Hogan's 4 out of 40 is high on the list, but certainly not dominance.

 

Ray Floyd won the 76 Masters playing Hogan Directors.

 

Semper Fi

[jmcf1949]

B-S, no wonder I couldn't get the pins out using 11/32" punches. Yes, 3/32" (bad math this a.m). Little skinny things that break with one miss hit of the hammer. One can never have to many punches it seems, stocked up the last visit to the tool supply store. The clerk asked why I needed four. I said, "Working on golf clubs, pounding out some pins". He didn't quite understand.

 

Golfworks in Ohio at one time sold a long drill bit that you inserted in the grip vent hole for drilling hosel pins. Don't know if they still do.

 

Semper Fi

[Shallowface]

The post about "Hogan dominance" in the majors of the 80s got me to thinking.

 

Wouldn't vouch for this as being 100 percent accurate, but I think it's pretty close.

 

RAM 6 Watson (5) Trevino (not under contract but played Ram during this time)

MACGREGOR 6 Nicklaus (3), Graham, Strange (2)

MIZUNO 5 Lyle (2), Faldo (2), Sluman (?)

HOGAN 4 Nelson (3?), Rogers

BALLESTEROS 4 Under contract to Sounder in the US, Dunlop (?)

SPALDING 2 Stadler and Norman

PING 2 Tway and Calcavechhia

WILSON 2 Langer and Stewart

POWERBILT 2 Mize and Zoeller

HAGEN 1 Crenshaw

TITLEIST 1 Sutton

FLOYD 2 Likely Wilson but usually had some regional telephone company on the bag

NORTH 1 Under contract to Sounder

SIMPSON 1 Under contract to Yamaha (?)

GREEN 1 Under contract to Northwestern

 

I don't know if Larry Nelson was a Hogan staffer throughout the 80s or not. Not sure about Hal Sutton when he won the PGA (edit: Titleist, not Hogan based on the clip from his 1983 PGA win on his Golf Channel Academy show). In later years, he was under contract to Yamaha, and after that Spalding (Strata for sure, the Spalding version of Hogan, not sure).

 

Don't know what Seve played in the 80s.

 

Does anyone remember the Sounder TV ads with Seve, Tommy Bolt and Andy North?

 

I do remember Seve having those green and gold Victory II grips on his clubs at the 1983 Masters. That's the same grip Sounder was using. But that doesn't mean those were Sounder clubs.

 

When Crenshaw won the Masters in 1984, I was under the impression he was using something other than the Haig Ultra Crenshaw Grind that was available at retail during that time. Hard to say for sure. No HDTV.

 

Not sure what Andy North, Scott Simpson or Hubert Green actually had in the bag during their wins. Northwestern actually had a large tour staff at one time. Bob Murphy, Bruce Crampton, Chi Chi, Judy Rankin, Weiskopf, Jim Thorpe, Gary Player, and Hubert Green among others. No idea if any of them actually bagged any Northwestern clubs. They did have some pro line offerings in the 70s and early 80s. Nancy Lopez was another and she used their copy of the Hogan Magnum for awhile. Story was her regular clubs didn't make it to the site and she pulled them off the rack and ended up keeping them.

 

Golf World used to have a "Player of the Month" feature in their magazine. During Majors season, the winner was usually POTM, and they had a WITB for them. I need to see if I have any of those magazines still around.

 

So, Hogan's 4 out of 40 is high on the list, but certainly not dominance.

 

Ray Floyd won the 76 Masters playing Hogan Directors.

 

Semper Fi

 

The above chart was for the 80s, but I did one for the 70s that's around here somewhere. I had Floyd's '76 Masters win credited to Hogan with a question mark, so thanks for clearing that up.

[dalehead]

The post about "Hogan dominance" in the majors of the 80s got me to thinking.

 

Wouldn't vouch for this as being 100 percent accurate, but I think it's pretty close.

 

RAM 6 Watson (5) Trevino (not under contract but played Ram during this time)

MACGREGOR 6 Nicklaus (3), Graham, Strange (2)

MIZUNO 5 Lyle (2), Faldo (2), Sluman (?)

HOGAN 4 Nelson (3?), Rogers

BALLESTEROS 4 Under contract to Sounder in the US, Dunlop (?)

SPALDING 2 Stadler and Norman

PING 2 Tway and Calcavechhia

WILSON 2 Langer and Stewart

POWERBILT 2 Mize and Zoeller

HAGEN 1 Crenshaw

TITLEIST 1 Sutton

FLOYD 2 Likely Wilson but usually had some regional telephone company on the bag

NORTH 1 Under contract to Sounder

SIMPSON 1 Under contract to Yamaha (?)

GREEN 1 Under contract to Northwestern

 

I don't know if Larry Nelson was a Hogan staffer throughout the 80s or not. Not sure about Hal Sutton when he won the PGA (edit: Titleist, not Hogan based on the clip from his 1983 PGA win on his Golf Channel Academy show). In later years, he was under contract to Yamaha, and after that Spalding (Strata for sure, the Spalding version of Hogan, not sure).

 

Don't know what Seve played in the 80s.

 

Does anyone remember the Sounder TV ads with Seve, Tommy Bolt and Andy North?

 

I do remember Seve having those green and gold Victory II grips on his clubs at the 1983 Masters. That's the same grip Sounder was using. But that doesn't mean those were Sounder clubs.

 

When Crenshaw won the Masters in 1984, I was under the impression he was using something other than the Haig Ultra Crenshaw Grind that was available at retail during that time. Hard to say for sure. No HDTV.

 

Not sure what Andy North, Scott Simpson or Hubert Green actually had in the bag during their wins. Northwestern actually had a large tour staff at one time. Bob Murphy, Bruce Crampton, Chi Chi, Judy Rankin, Weiskopf, Jim Thorpe, Gary Player, and Hubert Green among others. No idea if any of them actually bagged any Northwestern clubs. They did have some pro line offerings in the 70s and early 80s. Nancy Lopez was another and she used their copy of the Hogan Magnum for awhile. Story was her regular clubs didn't make it to the site and she pulled them off the rack and ended up keeping them.

 

Golf World used to have a "Player of the Month" feature in their magazine. During Majors season, the winner was usually POTM, and they had a WITB for them. I need to see if I have any of those magazines still around.

 

So, Hogan's 4 out of 40 is high on the list, but certainly not dominance.

 

Ray Floyd won the 76 Masters playing Hogan Directors.

 

Semper Fi

 

The above chart was for the 80s, but I did one for the 70s that's around here somewhere. I had Floyd's '76 Masters win credited to Hogan with a question mark, so thanks for clearing that up.

 

 

I was at the '86 US Open at Shinnecock when Ray Floyd's caddie put the bag down right in front of me. Wilson Staff irons.

[rbunnell]

I can't find it either and I ran my searches back to July 2007 in all classics forums, the WRX Club Techs, Equipment and finally, all the forums. There was no post with double attachments that were not photographs.

 

Here is what I found for decoding serial numbers:

 

Redline Procedure:

http://www.golfwrx.c...n/#entry8136274

 

Producer Prodecure from ironfinder.com:

http://www.ironfinde...producer-75.htm

 

Medallion Procedure:

http://www.golfwrx.c...n/#entry2871965

 

and a business on Ebay that supposedly has The Knowledge to decode Hogan serial numbers:

http://www.golfwrx.c...t/#entry2142099

 

Kathy,

 

Thank you for taking the time to locate and post your findings. I guess we'll have to wait for Teevons to maybe chime in and give us his opinion. I WAS confident in what I had previously posted about the Hogan "serial number code". I will try and locate my source of info and report back.

 

 

Anyone know how to decipher the serial numbers for the Hogan Radials (no underline)? I recently bought a left handed set off Ebay with the code: G83031.

[zonadub]

Time to bump an old thread...

Reread All 6 pages again and it got me to take the Redlines out today. I forgot how good they feel.

Tomorrow, the 99’s!

[Richard 77]

it saddens me that is seems like there’s not many of us here that remembers golf from the fifties and sixties.