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Ben Hogan launches all-new Icon forged blade

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Ben Hogan Golf have just announced the newest iron to be included as part of its comprehensive lineup: the Icon—a forged blade for the discerning player featuring many of Mr. Hogan’s classic design attributes.

Naming the newest blade iron Icon seems fitting considering Mr. Hogan’s well-established legacy in the game of golf.

Photo: Dennis Lee Royle

Icon design philosophy

2020 Ben Hogan Icon Irons

The new Icon irons were developed start to finish with the better player in mind and are distinctly Hogan. A blade with minimal offset, thin top-line, and shorter blade length with a square toe to frame the ball at address—all reminding golfers of many of the classic Hogan irons that came before it—but with modern touches, including an optional proprietary Diamond Black Metal (DBM) finish.

Another modern feature included in the Icon iron that is also a key component to other clubs in the line is Ben Hogan Golf’s proprietary V-Sole technology, which provides a high-bounce leading edge and soft, lower-bounce trailing edge to promote forgiveness and improved turf interaction.

The highlight of the Icon’s design is Hogan’s “Progressive Center of Mass” weighting system to provide optimal ball flight. As much as this seems like a pretty obvious engineering feature of modern irons this was a pretty revolutionary design trait when it was initially introduced.

This center of gravity shifting positions more mass higher in the shorter lofted irons to generate a lower ball flight for better trajectory and spin control, while as lofts go down in the longer irons weight is progressively moved lower to generate higher more playable shot trajectories.

Speaking to loft, the Icon irons have consistent four-degree gaps between clubs to create balanced distance increments between clubs. This has been a signature element of Hogan iron design going back to the first sets in 1953.

“Ben Hogan always had exceptionally high standards … especially for his blade iron designs. We think the new ICON Irons would be something he would be proud of” Scott White, CEO, Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company.

 “Offering a high-performance, forged muscle back set like the ICON Irons at our price point is unimaginable in today’s market, or in recent memory.  It’s thanks to our successful direct-to-consumer business model, which allows golfers to buy direct and avoid the traditional retail prices they would pay for clubs of this caliber.”

Price and availability

The Icon irons will be sold for $770 in chrome and $800 in black DBM for a 7-piece set at BenHoganGolf.com

Like all other Ben Hogan irons, the Icons will be offered with a variety of premium, aftermarket steel, and graphite shafts, and no-charge customization.

NOTE: Due to delivery delays caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company will begin taking pre-orders for the Icon chrome irons immediately and plans to begin orders for ICON Black irons in the very near future.

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Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. BillyG

    Mar 19, 2020 at 4:13 pm

    Tiger is just itching to sign with these guys! His only accomplishment left is to own a club making company and succeed. Otherwise, he will never be the GOAT.

  2. Rich Douglas

    Mar 19, 2020 at 2:08 am

    For most players, the advantage of playing these will be that their shanks and other misses won’t travel very far, so they should save some money on lost balls.

  3. Bob Jones

    Mar 18, 2020 at 5:36 pm

    Wowie! It might be time for an upgrade from my 1998 Apex Muscleback irons. I mean, every twenty years or so, modern clubs might be a good idea.

  4. Mower

    Mar 18, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    Beauts!

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Whats in the Bag

Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X

Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125

Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.

 

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Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons

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TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.

TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.

TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.

Can you see where this is going?

Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”

 

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TaylorMade PUDI

TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)

Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.

In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.

TaylorMade PDHY

TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).

Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.

Club Junkie’s take

Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.

For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.

PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?

TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:

  • PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
  • PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
  • Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
  • PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
  • PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family

Pricing, specs, and availability

Price: $249.99

At retail: Now

Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)

Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)

PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed

PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed

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Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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