Ben Hogan is a very familiar name to golf aficionados, and today’s news is about the company’s latest release, which marks a first for Ben Hogan golf in well over ten years, i.e. the new GS53 Driver and Fairway Woods are the first products of this kind in the company’s line up in over a decade. The thing is, the new metal woods are an exclusive deal of sorts, being available for purchase online only at BenHoganGolf.com, and they complete the brand’s new line of high quality/high performance hybrids, forged irons and putters.
And speaking of metal woods, Ben Hogan is famous for his 9 major victories during a long and fruitful career, including the US Open, Masters and British open, way back in 1953. We know, it’s been a long time since, and Ben Hogan is the definition of “old school golf”, yet the new GS53 driver and fairway woods are as modern as they come, with the driver featuring a traditionally shaped (and very beautiful indeed) titanium head, along with an adjustable hosel, which allows you to change loft/lie/face angles fast and easy. The new woods are pretty unique even for a premium brand like Ben Hogan, as they include a driver, #3 wood, #4 wood, as well as a #5 wood. The highlight of the series is clearly the 445cc GS53 driver, which is sold on the company’s website for $300 as part of the company’s new business strategy, i.e. the factory-direct business model we told you about in a previous article, which basically eliminates the man in the middle or the retail mark-up if you like, which means you’ll get your golf gear for a better price, while making zero compromises in terms of quality.
The new Ben Hogan GS53 driver and woods are led by the GS53 driver, the star of the show, which comes with the company’s patented Flight Control technology, and it’s offered in two models: 9 and 10.5-degree respectively. The Flight Control hosel is very clever and fully customizable, as it allows you to change the lie angle and face angle from square to open or closed and also to change the loft of the driver a total of 2 degrees from stated loft (1 degree up and 1 degree down).
These modifications can be executed fast and easy, as it’s the case with all modern drivers by using a special tool provided in the retail package, a torque wrench respectively, but what makes the new Ben Hogan GS53 driver to stand out from the crowd is the fact that both the shaft and grip will remain fixed, as in they don’t change position, which means you can freely tinker with your favorite settings until you find the optimal one, but you won’t have to worry about your grip modifying its position, which is as good as it gets. Moreover, the driver is built using an all titanium construction, including an ultra-thin/variable thickness forged 6-4 titanium face, which is aimed at creating a larger effective hitting area across the face, everything built around Ben Hogan’s patented Face Flex technology. The body itself is built to the highest standards in the industry, i.e. we have 2 separate pieces of titanium laser-welded to the state of the art forged titanium face. This high-end forging process is basically free from dead spots and keeps the integrity of the metal’s molecular structure, while ensuring a uniform and tight grain pattern.
The Face Flex technology is aimed at providing unparalleled distance when it comes to shots struck in the center of the face, and in the same time at minimizing distance loss on miss hits/off center hits. Also, the specific geometry of the precision milled face is focused on delivering exceptional accuracy. Even the popular Ben Hogan Speed Slot has been incorporated into the driver’s design, for providing more club speed and better aerodynamics, and we’re talking about an updated version of the technology; on top of that, the driver was acoustically tuned in order to deliver a nice sound at ball impact.
Speaking of clever design, Ben Hogan really hit the nail on its head with this innovation.
To make things more clearer for our readers, here comes Ben Hogan’s R&D team of engineers explaining the philosophy behind the new collection:
“The GS53 utilized a design feature called Face Flex. This allowed them to create an ultra-thin face at different thicknesses … from toe to heel and sole to crown to increase the size of the Effective Hitting Area (EHA) across the entire face. Face Flex ensures maximum distance on shots struck in the center of the club face and minimizes distance loss on off-center hits. Additionally, the score lines are precision milled into the forged face at exact and consistent depths and, combined with bulge and roll that is precisely engineered for the specific geometry of the face, provide exceptional accuracy.”
With the driver taken care of, let’s talk a little bit about the new GS53 fairway woods, which are being offered in 3 loft options: 3-wood (14 degrees), 4-wood (17 degrees), and 5-wood (18 degrees) respectively. The fairway woods come with Ben Hogan’s classic pear shaped head, along with a beautiful shallow face design, which works wonders in terms of ease of use on both shots from the tee and shots from the fairway. Just like the driver, the GS53 fairway woods are engineered with a 2-piece construction; more precisely, we have a stainless steel made body attached to a to a C455 maraging steel forged faceplate.
By utilizing this composite-material design, Ben Hogan’s engineers were able to position weight with more precision, in order to benefit the club’s moment of inertia (MOI), and thus to dramatically improve ball speed. There are no adjustable hosels in the GS53 fairway woods though, as the lofts are specific.
The GS53 driver is retailing for $300 and it’s available in right hand only for the time being, while the fairway woods are a tad cheaper, standing at $200. Truth be told, these are truly attractive prices considering the premium build quality and sheer performance of the GS53 line, and that’s due to Ben Hogan’s marketing innovation, i.e. the aforementioned direct-to-consumer model, which also delivers 3 premium shafts, aftermarket models respectively, in multiple weights and flexes: UST Mamiya Helium (high trajectory), Tensei CK Blue (mid trajectory) and finally Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black (low trajectory). . And we’ve saved the best for last: Ben Hogan also offers its customers a risk free demo program, provided you want to “play with the toys” before buying!
