Equipment
Ben Hogan Golf unveils new putter lineup
The Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company debuted its new line of putters today via a press release on their social media platforms and website.
Unveiling four new putter models, the flatsticks are each priced at $250.00 apiece and can be bought exclusively on the Ben Hogan website as a part of their direct-to-consumer business model. Each putter is milled in a black metal finish and the length, lie, and grip are all customizable online.
Photos, and a portion of the official statement from Ben Hogan, below
“The new CNC precision milled putters are crafted from soft, 1020 carbon steel in a multi-step forging process that strengthens and purifies the molecular structure of the metal. True forging refines and tightens the grain structure of the steel and provides for uniform density across the entire face. This eliminates hot spots, or dead areas, and results in unparalleled feel, consistent distance control and “trueness” on every roll.”
“Complementing the unique design features of the new Ben Hogan Precision Milled FORGED Putters, which are available in four (4) traditional head models with clean, elegant lines, is a proprietary DBM (Diamond Black Metal) finish. The most durable black finish on the market, DBM eliminates glare and generates more contrast with the ball and putting surface to promote better alignment. Additionally, the face of every Ben Hogan Precision Milled FORGED putter is CNC milled for perfect flatness from heel to toe.”
“A 100% forged, CNC precision milled putter is not the least expensive nor the easiest way to make a putter by any means, but at Ben Hogan Golf we believe it is the best way,” said Scott White, CEO, Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. “Serious golfers demand precision and performance on the greens, and the new Ben Hogan Precision Milled Forged putters deliver. They look great, but perform even better.”
The four models in the new line of Ben Hogan Golf Precision Milled Forged Putters include
- Plumber’s Neck Blade
- 1 shaft offset, 2° loft and 355 gram head weight
- 43° toe hang to promote an active gate-swing putting stroke
- Player’s Blade with a double bend shaft
- 1 full shaft offset, 2° loft and 355 gram head weight
- Face balanced for those who putt with a straight-back, straight-through stroke
- Iconic Player’s Blade with a flowing neck
- 1 shaft offset, 2° loft and 355 gram head weight
- 50° of toe hang, ideal for an active open/close stroke
- Player’s Mallet
- Single bend shaft and ½ shaft offset, 2° loft and 370 gram head weight
- Face balanced for those who putt with a straight-back, straight-through stroke
Additionally, Ben Hogan Golf has partnered with SuperStroke to offer golfers a choice of three popular grip styles: Flatso 1.0, MidSlim 2.0, Slim 3.0
Ben Hogan Golf’s line-up of Precision Milled Forged Putters, which sell for $250 each, are available for purchase exclusively at www.BenHoganGolf.com.
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Equipment
Michael Block spotted with full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons at Valhalla
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.
On Monday at the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, Block had a full set of TaylorMade “Proto” irons in the bag.
Block is the first player of many on the PGA TOUR to bag a set of the mysterious “Proto” irons. Rory McIlroy first switched into a “Proto” 4-iron at the Valero Texas Open, and Collin Morikawa followed suit at the 2024 RBC Heritage. Block isn’t using just the 4-iron, though, he’s using a full set to go along with a TaylorMade Stealth UDI driving iron.
Speaking with GolfWRX.com on Monday at the PGA Championship, Block revealed the full backstory.
“I hit a couple super “Proto” irons when I was at the Kingdom (TaylorMade’s fitting facility in Southern California) a couple months ago, and it was a 9-iron that didn’t have any badges or anything on it,” Block said. “I had no idea what it was … It was very similar to what I was using back then, you know, my old MCs, and very similar from the top. I hit it and absolutely loved it. For me to even think about switching irons from the last 11-12 years is crazy.
“I got this set about two weeks ago, and I’m working my way into them. I hit them more solid; it comes off the face more solid. Much higher. I think they’re still slightly too upright for me, so they’re being bent a degree flatter, because they’re going a little too high for me and drawing a little too much. When that starts to happen, I start to drop the club under and compensate too much, so I’m getting them flattened slightly, and I’m going to test them on the range again, and hopefully have them in play on Thursday…
“They go further, and they go higher … that combination is kind of a no-brainer. If I can take a 5-iron from 204 rather than a 4-iron, it’s good on me. It’s going to help me out for sure, especially at a major with the pin locations. Having that height coming in, that descent angle is going to be huge.”
With such new irons in the bag, after using the same irons for over a decade, surely you’d think there will be a bit of a learning curve. Block, however, is finding immediate comfort with the new “Proto” irons.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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Whats in the Bag
WITB Time Machine: Rory McIlroy’s winning WITB, 2014 PGA Championship
It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Rory McIlroy outlasted Phil Mickelson at the 2014 PGA Championship. It’s even harder to believe McIlroy hasn’t hoisted a major trophy since his 2014 victory at Valhalla.
After a slow start to his final round, McIlroy tallied an eagle and two birdies on the back nine and his fourth major championship. Take a look at the clubs he played a decade ago in Kentucky.
Driver: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (8.5 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kuro Kage XTS 70X
3-wood: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (15 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X
5-wood: Nike VR_S Covert 2.0 Tour (19 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Fujikura Rombax Pro 95 X
Irons: Nike VR Pro Blade (4-9) Buy here.
Shaft: Project X 7.0
Wedges: Nike VR Forged (46, 52, 56, 60 degrees) Buy here.
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Putter: Nike Method 006 Buy here.
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Ball: Nike RZN Black
Check out more in-hand photos of Rory McIlroy’s clubs from 2014 here.
WITB Time Machine is presented by 2nd Swing Golf. 2nd Swing has more than 100,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
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Whats in the Bag
Tiger Woods WITB 2024 (May)
- Tiger Woods WITB accurate as of the PGA Championship. In-hand photos from 2024 Genesis Open. Check out more photos of Tiger at Valhalla here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (10.5 degrees @9.75)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 X
5-wood: TaylorMade M3 (19 degrees @18.25)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
- Check out more in-hand photos of Tiger Woods’ WITB in the forums.
- Check out more photos of Tiger at Valhalla here.
Irons: 2023 TaylorMade P770 (3), TaylorMade P7TW (4-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 Raw (56-12TW, 60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
- Check out more in-hand photos of Tiger Woods’ WITB in the forums.
- Check out more photos of Tiger at Valhalla here.
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS prototype
Grip: Ping PP58 Blackout
Ball: Bridgestone Tour B X (2024)
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord 58R
- Check out more in-hand photos of Tiger Woods’ WITB in the forums.
- Check out more photos of Tiger at Valhalla here.
More Tiger Woods WITBs
- Tiger Woods WITB 2024 (February)
- Tiger Woods WITB 2023 (November)
- Tiger Woods WITB 2023 (February)
- Tiger Woods WITB 2022 (December) (new in-hand photos)
- Tiger Woods WITB 2022 (July)
- Tiger Woods WITB at the 2022 PGA Championship (with a new 2-iron!)
- Tiger Woods WITB: 2022 Masters
- Tiger Woods WITB 2021 PNC Championship (new in-hand photos)
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J3
Mar 20, 2019 at 4:02 am
BH may want 2 consider that this feedback is coming from the super users. Demand is LOW, perceived value is incongruent w/pricing, but we’re here talking about yr product still. Bully for that! Secret is in the dirt you say? Maybe promote traditional way? Senior tour players & team up w/artisan club makers, demonstrative tech or all of the above? Hope this helps Jamho3
Rich Douglas
Mar 19, 2019 at 12:59 am
What, pray tell, do these putters bring to the fray?
I bought a Heavy Putter because I was intrigued by the super swing weight. I bought a Happy Putter because I was intrigued by how it was adjustable all over the place. And I recently bought a Bloodline putter because the stand-up capability is really unique.
All three–which represent my whole putter purchasing history for the past decade or so–were innovative beyond belief. But these? Meh.
J3
Mar 19, 2019 at 4:42 am
To quote Big Boi & 3Stax “Never ever.”
Rich Douglas
Mar 19, 2019 at 12:53 am
Named after a notoriously bad putter. Yeah, that’ll work.
Doug Richlas
Mar 19, 2019 at 11:09 am
Lol. Count this as a reply to both your comments. If you are looking for gimmicks in your putters, you probably just need to work on your putting. I’m sure these are simple, great quality putters. Just as good as scotty without the inflated ego “look at me” price behind it.
Sam Walton
Mar 18, 2019 at 10:51 pm
Sold exclusively at Walmart
Dave r
Mar 18, 2019 at 10:22 pm
Why is 250 a bad price ? Scottys are 600 and do not look any better , and probably do not put any better.
Just one persons opinion!
The dude
Mar 18, 2019 at 7:04 pm
Nice looking……pass
Joe
Mar 18, 2019 at 7:00 pm
Let’s say these putters are pro line golf equipment. Today it sells for $250; buy it; next day it’s $20 per the PGA value guide.
Geoffrey Holland
Mar 18, 2019 at 6:11 pm
Very boring looking putters nothing new at all to see there. Certainly not worth $250.
Simms
Mar 18, 2019 at 6:49 pm
I will second that…just like Cleveland did in the past, same old PING copies form the 60’s just do something fancy with the paint, or face..or like these forged instead of cast….at least Cleveland held the price down…a $129 putter for $250…TRADE IN VALUE WILL BE LESS THEN $50 IN LESS THEN A YEAR.
Tom54
Mar 18, 2019 at 5:08 pm
Not sure that the $250 price is a deterrent in as much as whether the putter market needs another company joining in. They probably are nice putters but odyssey has some nice ones in the $200 range that are hard to beat. Ping too for that matter.
DB
Mar 18, 2019 at 1:59 pm
They look really nice but it’s an awkward price point. Maybe it will work for them, who knows.
I’m curious how they came up with weights in the 355-370 range. Seems a bit heavy to me but maybe they have some reason behind it.
Robert
Mar 18, 2019 at 1:57 pm
Would like to see adjustable weights at bottom on a $250 putter.
stimpmeterp
Mar 18, 2019 at 1:29 pm
I agree that the price point seems very high. I am curious to know what the difference is between these Hogan putters and say the new Wilson Staff Milled series or even the Cleveland Huntington Beach series?
BigTeddySkinny
Mar 18, 2019 at 12:16 pm
Really disappointed with the $250 price tag. I was excited up until that part
R
Mar 18, 2019 at 12:16 pm
They should have at least tried to mimic the Rife/Evnroll grooves, instead of this bad Scotty rip off face milling
RM
Mar 18, 2019 at 11:22 am
$250! That is an absurd price.
Bill
Mar 18, 2019 at 11:07 am
Quality looks top notch but really, the asking price is too much. Given that the ‘variable’ groove technology were shown to give improved putting result, I cannot see a reason why they were not included in the face milling.
gunmetal
Mar 18, 2019 at 11:30 am
Anything can be “shown” to make improvements. I should be about 40 yards longer than I was 10 years ago with all of the 3-4 yards I’m told I’ll get every year going from one years’ model to the next. C’mon. On the course, can you tell a difference between two putters with the exact same loft, lie, weight, length, etc but one with grooves and one without?