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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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron
It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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Whats in the Bag
Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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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 !