Golf Editorials – "The Home of Organic Golf Reviews"
Before starting this piece I need to give thanks to Tyler Brewton. Mr. Brewton is the Director of Marketing for Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. Without Mr. Brewton, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to test and review the subjects under review. Thanks for the opportunity Tyler!!
They sort of have a glow to them, don't they?
Wedges. Other than putters these are the clubs in the bag of any golfer that I look at and think about a couple of things. They are an intimate golf club in that golfers sometimes (like myself) look to create a bond with them. They are a club that we need to trust and a club that we look towards to save us a stroke here and there along the way. Also, other than a putter, wedges are the most likely the club(s) that you'd likely find yourself using the most during the course of a golfing season.
2015 saw the re-birth of a brand lost on the golf world after a fairly lengthy hiatus. Dating back to the 2015 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida anticipation grew as Ben Hogan Golf Equipment was back in the golf manufacturing business. That January, attendees to the show were witness to exciting new golf clubs. Launched at this time was the Ft. Worth 15 irons and their brethren the TK Wedges (named after their creator and President of the new Ben Hogan Golf Terry Koehler). These irons and wedges left a very good impression on attendees (consisting of industry professionals) and especially this writer. I admitted that when the show ended I wanted to play them while I was competing in Mini-Tours but my budget didn't allow it. Following their initial launch, 2016 was another exciting year as Ben Hogan Golf Equipment released their first and only foray into hybrids (VKTR), the FT. Worth HI irons and they ultra-elegant PTx irons which still resonate with me several years later. 2018 would be a year pf great momentum for the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. In 2018, Ben Hogan Golf released a variety of soft goods (duffle bags, backpacks, caps, and accessories) and several new product releases which included the Ft. Worth White and Ft. Worth Black Irons, their new Edge irons and the Equalizer wedges. As you've already seen from the title it is these wedges that are the focus of this review.
Rustic. A throwback to the past.
The Equalizer wedges have an interesting history. Back when Mr. Hogan was playing competitively it was his competitors that referred to his pitching wedge as an Equalizer". While Mr. Hogan (in comparison to his peers) wasn't the longest during his playing career it was his short game that set him apart propelling him to the legendary career that he had. In designing wedges, Mr. Hogan also firmly believed that too much weight set in the sole led to inconsistency.
After my discussions with Mr. Brewton and learning that I was going to be receiving the opportunity to test and review the Equalizer wedges, I became very excited. Having admired them for some time since their release (through digital platforms) knowing that I would have this wedges in hand got my "juices" running. I had to know if they were as pretty as they looked. More on that to come shortly.
The Equalizer wedges from Ben Hogan Golf are forged from 1025 Carbon Steel. This material makes for creating club heads that provide unsurpassed feel and feedback that is second to none. In a time where most wedges in the industry are cast the fact that the Equalizer wedges are forged offers a distinct advantage.
When it comes to the issue of shots ballooning most golfers instinctively think that this is an issue relegated solely to drivers. This is not the case. Have you ever noticed that your ballflight with the wedges is a tad inconsistent? Mass low in the head was something that Mr. Hogan disagreed with and this fact was reflected then and it is now in these Equalizer wedges. The lower the loft (i.e. 48°) mass is shifted further up the face which aids in preventing ballooning and excessive spin while increasing accuracy. As the loft increases mass is placed lower in the head to assist with green holding stopping power and "popping" the golf ball up, on those finesse shots from around the green.
Faces on the Equalizer wedges are 100% CNC-milled. This process is time-consuming and expensive but is a noticeable change from offerings from competitors. The milling provides consistency in the manufacturing process which also yield tighter spec tolerances while providing maximum spin. The grooves of the Equalizer wedges are the maximum allowable set-out in guidelines by golf's major governing bodies (R &A and the USGA).
Turf interaction is extremely important and the more versatile a wedge is the more valuable a wedge can become in helping to shoot lower scores. Ben Hogan Golf Equipment identified this in designing the Equalizer wedges. The Equalizer wedges feature "an improved V-Sole Design". By combining a higher bounce leading edge and a lower bounce trailing edge the design team at Ben Hogan Golf designed the Equalizer wedges to allow for "easy manipulation of the clubhead without changing the loft no matter if you are facing downhill, uphill or even sidehill lies. V-Sole truly is the most versatile sole in golf".
When the box arrived from Ben Hogan Golf arrived I was elated. Finally, I was going to see for myself what these wedges truly looked and felt like. I opened the box and inside sat three wedges. Usually, the first thing that I notice during an unboxing of golf clubs is the head but that wasn't the case at all. The first thing that I noticed was actually the grips. While I really like the blue and grey contrast of the grips what caught my eye was Mr. Hogan's signature on the grips. Just the fact that his name was emblazoned on these grips added to the class of these clubs. From a tactile standpoint, I loved the feel of these grips (by Lamkin) in my hands. I also need to point out that the thank-you card and stickers were a nice little touch.
Then I removed the plastic from the first head. It was that moment that I realized that in my hands were the prettiest wedge that I've ever laid my eyes on. From an aesthetics standpoint if I had to rate them out of 10 they might very well get an "11". If you look at the picture above you'll observe the soft, rounded shape. You'll also see the milling of the face with special attention being placed on the grooves. However, the aesthetics don't simply stop there. The milling on the rear of the head is exquisite and the paintfill is classy as one might expect of anything bearing the name of the legendary golfer. Even the ferrules (red stripes on black) have a "retro" feel to them. I just love easy the Equalizer wedges are on the eyes and the satin finish definitely help.
Feel – The feel is real. Much can be said of the 1025 Carbon Steel that as used in the manufacturing of the Equalizer wedges. My initial swings were into nets and indoor dome sessions. What really caught my attention during these passes was the feel at impact. Not only do the Equalizer wedges feel great through impact (the hitting area) the feel of impact is even better. I would describe the sound like an "aggressive click". I have never felt or heard what I did from a wedge prior. There was a combination of "power and feel" with the 48° and 52° while the 56° was "silky soft and pure". Quite honestly, I couldn't wait to take these wedges outside and quite frankly I was already forming a very strong opinion of these Equalizer wedges without hitting a shot greenside or outdoors for the matter. I actually had to coach myself to slow down from making a premature judgment on them.
I had plans on putting them to the test in January during PGA Show week but due to Winter Storm Harper travel plans were cut short therefore eliminating any designs on playing golf. Instead, this would happen in March.
Performance – March was an exciting time. I managed to get away for a few days towards the end of March and I wasted no time finally seeing the Ben Hogan Equalizer wedges in action. The conditions at Terrace Hill Golf Center in Temple Terrace, Florida were difficult. There was a hurting wind (3 clubs) blowing right into my face. Having never seen any sort of ballflight before I started slow and low with hitting some simple chips and pitch shots. The feel in my hands on these "finesse" shots was so pleasing. My hands and head loved the feel as the ball came off of the face. As I loosened up I started to lengthen out and make swings with a little more purpose. All of these swings resulted in tight draws, seemingly unaffected by the wind and tidy divots. I think the fact that the ball flight wasn't affected by the wind speaks volumes of the "Progressive Center of Mass System" that Ben Hogan Golf R&D incorporated into the design of the Equalizer wedges.
As my testing transitioned from the range to the course I was just as impressed. My first approach shot was into the wind into a green that was hard. I used a Bridgestone Golf e12 Soft (in testing as well) and was impressed that this "tweener" shot landed and stopped 8 feet from the pin. What an amazing first impression! I would further test the Equalizer wedges with other golf balls that are being tested and the more that I used these Equalizer wedges the more comfortable and impressed I became with them. No matter the green or the shot whether full approach or greenside the first round played using the Equalizer wedges left me extremely impressed.
Testing would move from a course that firm to another golf course (Sanlan Golf Course in Lakeland, Florida) that offered softer conditions. While the balls weren't the same, shot in and shot out what didn't change were the results. the versatility of the V-Sole was/is fantastic. What's more? There was no digging or issues with turf interaction. At one point, I played through a torrential downpour and the course softened up in a real hurry. Just to elaborate a little more on turf interaction the 56° popped the ball with ease out of bunkers. The Ben Hogan Equalizer wedges flat-out performed and gained my trust in a real hurry.
When it comes to the game of golf there is no doubt in my mind (or any golf fan or observer for that matter) that Eldrick Tiger Woods is an ace. But the term ace has another reference. An ace is also the term that dates back to World War I for a fighter pilot that collects five confirmed kills (shoots down 5 enemy aircraft during aerial combat). By this definition, Tiger Woods is also an ace as with his victory on Masters Sunday became an Ace of Augusta National Golf Course and The Masters Tournament. Only Mr. Jack Nicklaus has more with 6 victories at Magnolia Lane.
Before I continue I just wanted to reiterate a few things. These are things that some of my regular readers already know about me but some newcomers may not. Admittedly, I have never been much of a Tiger Woods fans as I readily admit in this Tweet from today.
However, what you also need to know is that I've never disputed that he's been the greatest of this generation. I've always admired Tiger's command of the game, his dominance over his competition of this generation (and at times golf course architects) and the fact that he brought golfers to the game of golf who in all likelihood would have never picked up a golf club in the first place. The reality is that nobody has ever nor will anyone move the needle like Tiger has. It's because of Tiger that his peers play for millions of dollars. One other thing that I wanted to point out is that I never wrote off Tiger like so many of my contemporaries have… I said well in advance of his showings in 2018 that it was inevitable that he'd be back.
It's been often said that you have to sink to the very depths of rock-bottom before you can truly rise again. While I'm not going to beat the living daylights out of this subject let's just quickly summarize some of the events that have transpired with Tiger that led to today's comeback.
And I'm certain that there are points that I'm leaving out. Basically, Tiger Woods ran a gauntlet to get him to this particular point in time… and history.
Golf and Tiger fans alike saw the signs of great things to come over several events in recent history. Sure there was his recovery from injury following the most recent procedures on his back. The world was buzzing over social media every time Tiger picked up a wedge, or a driver and showed us a video of him swinging it. There were signs of competitive progress when he finished 9th in an abbreviated field at the 2017 Hero World Challenge. That single event would springboard Tiger to several top finishes in 2018. Events like his 12th place finish at the Honda Classic. Later that month his T-2 at the Valspar Championship and then a T-5 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. The month of May saw a Top-10 at The Player's Championship. July saw even more progress and more encouraging signs of Tiger returning to form with top finishes at the Quicken Loans National and The Open Championship at Carnoustie. The PGA Championship at Bellerive in August fans were witness to another top finish in a Major Championship which led us into the Fed Ex Cup Playoffs. It was at the Tour Championship when he won his 80th title and everyone was saying that he was back. As far as I'm concerned at the time his form was back but he wasn't.
That changed on April 14th, 2019 on Masters Sunday. Overall, the 2019 Masters Tournament was as exciting as it gets. The number of player's that were in contention every day of the tournament was staggering and names like Fleetwood (my pick… didn't turn out), Langer, Corey Conners, DeChambeau, Koepka, and Woods that were there after the first round. After Round 2 we saw DeChambeau slide out and making moves were Adam Scott, Jason Day and Francesco Molinari. When the dust settled after Round 3 we saw a lurking Tiger waiting to pounce on the field, Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka, and Ian Poulter very in contention which further set up the exciting finish on Sunday.
I'm not going to give a recap of the final round because we all know what happened but let's just say that Sunday was a day that was very different on so many levels. With severe weather threatening Augusta, Georgia the tee times were moved up in an effort to avoid the dreaded Monday finish. It was a fantastic decision made by The Masters Tournament Committee and it was a day like we have never seen before. We had previous major champions in contention (Molinari and Koepka both of whom outlasted Woods in major's in 2018) at the top of the leaderboard. According to reports, after bogeying the 4th and 5th hole it was his caddie (Joe LaCava) that woke him up.
On the 15th hole, Woods catapult into the lead and the rest is history. Then came the magical walk up the 18th, the final putt and the roars that shook the fabrics of the Earth. Making it even better was that his mother, daughter, and son were there to be in his arms after that final putt. The way that life intended it to be. Exultation. Redemption. Accomplishment.
Like I said in my Tweet. "If you don't truly appreciate this for what it truly is. You have no soul". Many of us have been through our own trials and tribulations. I have and continue to do so after my stroke in September. Recently, I played my first round of golf since that stroke. While it wasn't the same thing from an accomplishment level as what Tiger just did I understand what it means to fight, grind, scratch, and claw your way back. It's because of his fighting and grinding why I appreciate this win more than any of Tiger's previous 80. Congratulations Tiger! Now you're back.