Equipment
Ben Hogan launches new line of Equalizer II forged wedges
The Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company has today introduced its new line of Equalizer II forged wedges which the company touts as its “best-performing wedges ever.”
As with all Ben Hogan irons and wedges, the Equalizer II wedges are forged from soft 1025 carbon steel designed to provide enhanced feel and feedback compared to investment cast wedges.
The clubhead’s size has been enlarged slightly from previous generations of Equalizer wedges to provide a larger effective hitting area, while discretionary weight from the perimeter of the clubhead has been removed, allowing Ben Hogan club designers to optimize the progressive center of mass.
Speaking on the new line of Equalizer II forged wedges, Scott White, President and CEO of Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company, said
“We found that most golfers don’t spend nearly as much time, effort and energy selecting their wedges as they do, say, their driver or irons. That is an oversight and can lead to many lost shots and higher scores. With the Equalizer II line, we’ve tried to simplify the selection process and develop the best-performing and best-feeling wedges in the game.”
The new wedges incorporate a modified and improved version of the company’s proprietary V-Sole technology, which combines a high-bounce leading edge with a lower-bounce trailing edge.
This combination is designed to provide exceptional turf interaction while minimizing the impact that sidehill or downhill lies have on loft. Additionally, certain lofts (50, 54, 58 degrees) of the Equalizer II wedges will be available with a unique “Texas Grind” sole.
“The Texas Grind sole was inspired by some of the better players in our office and around Fort Worth. They play in Texas’ windy and dry conditions which tends to create very hard fairways. The Texas Grind incorporates extreme toe and heel relief making it extremely easy to pick shots clean off tight lies and allows the clubhead to be laid wide open to virtually eliminate chunked shots.” – Scott White.
Right-handed Ben Hogan Equalizer II wedges are available in even-numbered lofts from 48 through 62 degrees in both traditional nickel-chrome, and Diamond Black Metal (DBM) finishes. Left-handed models are limited to 50, 54, 58-degree lofts with the nickel-chrome finish only. Likewise, the Texas Grind sole is limited to right-handed 50, 54, 58-degree lofts with a nickel-chrome finish.
Ben Hogan Equalizer II wedges are available for order now at www.BenHoganGolf.com and www.BenHoganGolf.eu, though they will not be shipped nor available for demo until late April.
The wedges cost $125.00 each for those with the nickel-chrome finish and $130.00 each for the Diamond Black Metal finish.
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Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (10.5 degrees)
Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper (13.5 degrees)
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (19 degrees)
Irons: TaylorMade P790 (4-8, PW), TaylorMade P760 (9)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09, 56-10, 60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 Prototype
Check out more in-hand photos of Drew Brees’ clubs here.
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We always get some great photos of some phenomenal putters at tour events and love to share them. Here are a few from the 2024 Zurich Classic that caught our eye and seemed interesting. (And as a reminder, you can check out all our photos from New Orleans here)
MJ Daffue’s Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype
MJ is going with the new Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype this week. The putter is a multi-piece mallet that puts an emphasis on stability with the wings on the back. Daffue’s putter does have a design that differs from retail with a monotone finish, which eliminates the black paint on the aluminum parts that we see at retail. He also has a half siteline milled into the top and an L-neck welded on for some additional toe hang. The face features a deeper milling that should offer a softer feel and slightly quieter sound.
Scotty Cameron T-7.5 Prototype
We spotted a few different Scotty Cameron Phantom models with modified rear flanges. It looks like the straight black flange was cut into a half circle for a little softer look at address. On this T-7.5, you can still see the raw aluminum from the back view, so this might have been a last-minute job to get them out on tour. The semi-circle also has a white line on it, maybe to frame the ball differently.
Alex Fitzpatrick’s Bettinardi SS16 DASS
Alex’s SS16 is made from Bettinardi’s famous D.A.S.S., or double-aged stainless steel, for a softer and more responsive feel. The face has a unique diamond pattern milling and features a logo that I feel like I have seen before, but can’t put a name to. The putter is a classic mid-mallet style with a simple, single white siteline on the top. The sole is clean with just the SS16, DASS, and a green triangle logo on it.
Steve Stricker’s Odyssey White Hot No. 2
This putter has made some amazing putts in its long career! Stricker’s White Hot No. 2 might be in the top 10 of most famous putters in golf. When you see all the dents and lead tape, you know the heel will be up and it will be sinking putts! The soft White Hot insert looks to be in good shape and has less wear on it than the rest of the putter. We don’t know how much lead tape is on the sole, but it has to be multiple layers compacted down over the years.
Doug Ghim’s Scotty Cameron T-7 Prototype
This T-7 should win the award for “best color finish” in this list with its deep chromatic bronze. It looks like Scotty added a cherry bomb dot to the heel of the deep-milled face and filled it with a very dark blue paint. The rest of the putter looks pretty stock with its single site line on the topline and twin site lines down the “fangs” of the putter. Twin 5-gram weights are installed in the sole and the putter is finished off with a gloss black double bend shaft with a fill shaft offset.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic
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Project X’s Denali wood shafts have been seen in more and more golf bags this year as we start off the season. As a refresher, Denali Blue is the mid-launch and mid-spin model while Denali Black is for players seeking lower launch and spin.
Denali combines great feel with stability and increased ball speed. Currently, Project X only offers Denali Blue and Black in wood shafts, but we spotted a hybrid shaft in Daniel Berger’s bag at the 2024 Zurich Classic.
The shaft looks to be a Denali Blue 105G – HY in TX flex. No word on details from Project X yet but we can assume that this is a mid-launching shaft that weighs around 105 grams in Tour X-Stiff flex.
Berger has this shaft in his TaylorMade P770 3-iron, likely for some added launch and spin to hold the green from longer distances.
Hopefully, this means we will see some more shafts coming under the Denali name in the future, as I think many of us would like to try one in a hybrid or utility iron!
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic
- Check out in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s full WITB here.
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Drew Brees WITB 2024 (April)
View this post on Instagram A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx) Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (10.5 degrees)...
Daniel Berger WITB 2024 (April)
Daniel Berger what’s in the bag accurate as of the Farmers Insurance Open. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
Rasmus Højgaard WITB 2024 (April)
Rasmus Højgaard what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: Callaway Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees)...
Rory McIlroy WITB 2024 (April)
Rory McIlroy what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic. Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus...
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Texas Weegie
Apr 30, 2021 at 3:30 pm
Just bought the Texas grind 54 to replace my worn out Vokey 52. Also replacing my 60 Vokey with 60 Equalizer regular grind (only use the 60 in the fluff around the green, so Texas grind not needed). Loved the Vokeys, with their amazing spin control, so rather nervous about switching. My 50 is Mizuno 921 HM, which I have to say has performed great … super easy to hit and very consistent, with great stop and spin. Love it. Switching out the 52 Vokey for a 54 Equalizer II will provide a better wedge ladder (48, 50, 54, 60). Rather nervous about switching but the superior dropoff numbers for the Equalizers convinced me. Clubs arrive, er, I don’t know when … no date provided, no email confirmation, not even sure if I really ordered given the lack of any confirmation but I did fill out the forms and click order. That’s my only concern so far … the order system provides no email confirmation of the order, which is a bit worrying. Anyway, if they ever arrive I’ll provide a review.
Dave
Apr 19, 2021 at 7:55 pm
Without Terry this brand sucks
Mark
Apr 17, 2021 at 6:11 pm
What is it about my comment below that makes you so uncomfortable that you have already twice deleted it?
Bob Vokey might disagree with this statement “the Equalizer II wedges are forged from soft 1025 carbon steel designed to provide enhanced feel and feedback compared to investment cast wedges.”.
And, one thing I am curious about. Do these people, the “Ben Hogan club designers”, work for BH or the foundry which makes these wedges?
Mark
Apr 17, 2021 at 9:09 am
Bob Vokey might disagree with this statement viz. “the Equalizer II wedges are forged from soft 1025 carbon steel designed to provide enhanced feel and feedback compared to investment cast wedges.”.
And, I am curious. Do these people, the “Ben Hogan club designers”, work at BH or for the foundry that forges the heads?
Mark
Apr 17, 2021 at 5:37 am
Bob Vokey might disagree with this statement “the Equalizer II wedges are forged from soft 1025 carbon steel designed to provide enhanced feel and feedback compared to investment cast wedges.”.
And, one thing I am curious about. Do these people, the “Ben Hogan club designers”, work for BH or the foundry which makes these wedges?
Gunmetal
Apr 16, 2021 at 9:38 pm
The “direct to consumer” pricing advantage keeps shrinking quite a bit. These are 30 bucks less than Vokeys, Jaws, T20’s, MG2’s??? Even less than that for RTX Zip code?
Paul Runyan
Apr 16, 2021 at 12:54 pm
Apex Shaft!?
One can dream…
Enrique Rivera
Apr 16, 2021 at 10:32 am
I liked when Callaway came out with Mac Daddy wedges ,groves on full face of the wedge, works great for amateurs ( 10 ) myself , manufactures should continue the trend !