Equipment
Ben Hogan adds Ft. Worth “White” to iron lineup
After the launch of Diamond Black Metal finish Ft. Worth “Black” irons earlier this year, Ben Hogan’s nickel-chrome Ft. Worth irons are back…sort of. The Texas-based company today announced the launch of Ben Hogan Ft. Worth White irons.
Now with respect to the “White” designation, If you’re skeptical/confused, well, let’s just have a look at a comment on BH’s Instagram post announcing the iron launch and the company’s response…
jonmodica: “Very unclear the changes from previous model… also… white? It’s chrome…..”
Benhogangolf: ”@jonmodica More progressive specific to each club head, a more aggressive V-Sole pattern and the ‘white’ is opposite of the popular and newly designed Ft. Worth Black.”
There you have it, folks. “White” as in contrast to the Ft. Worth Black irons, and the Ft. Worth White is not merely a re-issue of original chrome Ft. Worth, according to the company.
With respect to the changes to the V-Sole system, the company said this in its marketing materials for the Ft. Worth Black.
“Feedback from strong players and robot testing indicated that the leading edge could be increased on certain irons, and trailing edge softened … especially with less-than-full shots in the shorter irons.”
“So, in our ongoing quest to design and manufacture the best clubs in golf, we’ve modified the V-Sole Technology used on the Ben Hogan Ft. Worth BLACK slightly. The sole maintains the same basic design principles as the original V-Sole but has been optimized for each iron in the set. In effect, we’ve strengthened the leading edge from the sole to the face on some of the Ft. Worth BLACK irons, while reducing the trailing edge bounce on others.”
Obviously, the company scrapped the PreciseLoft system introduced with the original Ft. Worth irons. That system offered four loft profiles, all with consistent four-degree gaps. After finding the vast majority of players preferred the “mid-high” launch profile, the company did away with the others…and returned to tradition iron number (rather than loft) stamping on the toe.
The aforementioned lofts in the 4-PW set range from 22 degrees to 46 degrees.
“The Ft. Worth White Irons are illustrative of how Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company interacts with and listens to its customers,” said Scott White, President and CEO, Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. “On the heels of our sales success with the Ft. Worth Black Irons, we found many ‘traditionalists’ who wanted to play this iron design with the standard nickel-chrome finish, so we accommodated them with this launch.”
Ft. Worth White irons are available for purchase on the Ben Hogan website exclusively for $700.00 per seven-piece set (4-PW).
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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- Akshay Bhatia what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. Bhatia is deciding between drivers. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Max LS (9 degrees @7.2, 2 grams lead tape heel, 4 grams toe)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (44 7/8 inches, tipped 1 inch)
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (15 degrees @13.9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X (43 inches, tipped 1.5)
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW Prototype (19 degrees @17.8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 10 X
Irons: Callaway X Forged UT (21 degrees) Buy here, Callaway Apex TCB Raw (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 125 S+
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S @49, 54-10S, 60-08C @61)
Shafts: KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X
Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird 380
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Split
Grips: Iomic
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
More photos of Akshay Bhatia’s WITB in the forums.
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- Emiliano Grillo what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
5-wood: Cobra LTDx Prototype (18.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Callaway MD3 Milled (46-08S), Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S, 54-10S, 60-08T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Emiliano Grillo’s clubs here.
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MAPA
Oct 19, 2018 at 1:16 pm
Ben Hogan….. China Forged ….. {{{{shudder}}}}
Charlie
Oct 17, 2018 at 1:12 pm
I grew up learning golf with a set of Hogan Medalions switching to Hogan Apex pc in later years. With hesitation I purchased the Ftworth 15 and was not disappointed in the quality and feel. As far as someone mentioned the smallish sweet spot this has not been my experience. While not that of a game improvement club they are very playable.
William Davis
Oct 17, 2018 at 1:45 pm
I remember – the medallions fell out and of course you could not find them. Apex lovely irons and just know could play with these as look so good. Been a Mizuno man for 30 years so unlikely to change now.
larry
Oct 18, 2018 at 11:36 am
But they’re forged in China! How can you make America great if you love Chinese junk?
Bob Jones
Oct 17, 2018 at 11:50 am
“Available on the website exclusively”? Does this mean you can’t get fitted before you buy them?
ogo
Oct 17, 2018 at 12:56 am
…”forged” as in forgery…? Fully heat treated forged…. or, coin forged… surface stamped ‘forged’…? No truth in golf club advertising nowadays.
Kim
Oct 16, 2018 at 11:59 am
Designed in Ft. Worth, Texas, USA…. cast and forged in Ft. Worth, Chengdu, China!
rex235
Oct 15, 2018 at 9:54 pm
Am almost afraid to ask..
RH Only?
the dude
Oct 15, 2018 at 6:47 pm
take out the FT. Worth black or white…and it would have more appeal
Tom
Oct 15, 2018 at 5:18 pm
Looks like they finally replaced the irons loft number with convention iron numbering system…
Travis
Oct 15, 2018 at 4:52 pm
Really a shame the reinvention of the Hogan brand was with these folks… they had an opportunity to really become a major OEM and just completely flopped…
Diss Topia
Oct 15, 2018 at 4:15 pm
Sweet spot the size of a pencil eraser. Even tour pros won’t hit ’em.
Josh
Oct 15, 2018 at 9:20 pm
I’m sure their robot hits em just fine lol
jon
Oct 15, 2018 at 3:24 pm
Sooo pretty.
allan
Oct 15, 2018 at 11:58 pm
Soooo forged in Ft. Worth Chinaa…. lol