Ben Hogan PTx Tour Irons Review
GolfMagic tests out the new Ben Hogan PTx Tour Irons.
Ben Hogan PTx Tour Irons Key Features:
- Individual iron optimisation: each iron has been specifically designed for optimal performance, with a variety of constructions and weights used throughout the set
- 1025 Carbon steel construction: delivers outstanding feel
- V Sole: high-bounce leading edge and soft, lower-bounce trailing edge on the sole for improved turf interaction
Few names carry quite as much history with them as Ben Hogan. The iconic golfer won nine major championships and did so with one of the finest swings to grace the game.
While Ben Hogan, the man, is sadly no longer with us, his legacy lives on in the form of his brand that carries the same name.
Renowned for making some of the finest irons in the game, Ben Hogan has recently added to its lineup with the new PTx Tour irons. These irons are aimed at skilled golfers who prioritise control and feel.
Each iron has been optimised to deliver ideal performance metrics with a variety of different construction techniques utilised throughout the set.
Four & Five Iron:
Four-piece construction with faces and bodies made from 1025 forged steel. The inside of the irons is also filled with foam to enhance perimeter weighting.
Tungsten weights have also been incorporated to enhance forgiveness and move the centre of gravity lower in the head.
Six Iron
Three-piece construction that features a foam-filled body without the need for additional tungsten weights.
Seven & Eight Iron
Three-piece construction incorporates a co-forged titanium insert that sits between the body and the face to improve forgiveness and move the CG higher to negate the ball ballooning at impact.
Nine Iron & Pitching Wedge
One-piece irons forged from 1025 carbon steel to deliver the ultimate in shotmaking performance and control
To see how these irons performed, we took them down to Huntercombe in Oxfordshire before digging a little deeper into the numbers at Custom Golf Works in Woking.
Let's get into it.
Player Level
These irons are definitely suited to accomplished ball strikers who are realistically playing off a handicap between scratch and eight.
Ben Hogan PTx Tour Irons Looks and Feel
Both in hand and down at address, these irons are beautiful.
The chrome finish, and Hogan detailing work in perfect harmony with the traditional shaping to deliver one of the best looking irons of 2024.
At the bottom of the bag (9 - PW) the irons have a more bladed profile, with a fanned like design featured across the back of the clubs.
This aesthetic results from the one-piece forged construction, and it looks fantastic. The thin top line, short blade length and minimal offset deliver a tour-level profile at address.
The same look at address is consistent throughout the set; however, the backs of the irons higher up the set (4-8) feature a very minimal cavity.
The irons also feature some finer details that make the design pop, including the extra long ferrules and classic BH sun logo, which delivers a shot of nostalgia.
In terms of feel, the irons deliver a soft sensation at impact that fans of forged irons will undoubtedly appreciate.
Delivering suitable levels of feedback, you will certainly know where on the face you have struck each shot.
Despite the variety of constructions throughout the set, feel and sound remained very consistent from all of the irons.
Ben Hogan PTx Tour Irons Performance and Forgiveness
As you can see from the table above, these irons certainly pack a punch.
Throughout the set, we were impressed by just how powerful these irons were, considering their modest profile.
Both the pitching wedge and nine iron offer excellent levels of workability, and they were particularly easy to flight and manipulate.
In terms of spin rates, they were also very consistent and provided plenty of stopping power on the greens.
Moving up to the longer irons in the set, we noticed that we occasionally got a ball that would balloon up in the air, which resulted in slightly inconsistent carry numbers, especially with the seven and eight irons.
While some of this is undoubtedly user error, we found that it occurred more than usual during testing.
In terms of forgiveness, these irons also deliver more assistance from poor strikes than an out-and-out blade.
Especially in the long irons, you can certainly tell the foam injection and perimeter weighting are working away in order to keep your ball on the straight and narrow.
Typically, hitting a player's four or five iron can be a relatively daunting task due to the small head size and refined profile; however, we did find these very easy to launch, and thanks to the V-sole, the turf interaction was also excellent.
All in all, these irons were solid performers.
While distance and forgiveness were certainly big ticks in the plus column, the ballooning on certain shots was a slight cause for concern; however, as previously mentioned, there are bound to be slight inconsistencies with everyone's launch due to a myriad of different reasons, so it's certainly worth testing a set out for yourself if you get the chance.
Should you buy the Ben Hogan PTx Tour Irons?
If you love the look of a traditional iron and appreciate the feel of a fully forged blade, then these irons could be an ideal choice for your next upgrade.
While Ben Hogan irons are potentially a left-field choice for most golfers who are used to walking the aisles of PGA Superstore or American Golf, they deliver performance and quality that can more than compete with the bigger brands like TaylorMade and Callaway.
Another big benefit of Ben Hogan irons is that due to their direct-to-consumer business model, they are also considerably cheaper than the bigger brands, which means they deliver fantastic value for money, too.
