Truth be told, this piece of news went quietly under the radar, i.e. what we’re dealing with here is breaking news from May 2019, but since we’re big Ben Hogan fans, we must share with you this piece of intel: the new Ben Hogan GS53 Driver is here, and it marks a premiere of sorts for the company, being their first new driver in more than ten years. Yes, you got that right, Ben Hogan’s latest driver was released back in 2007 if memory serves, but that’s water under the bridge.

Their latest GS53 Driver has many promises to keep, and it’s built using the latest technologies and high-end materials to keep the fanbase happy: the design is old school, and Ben Hogan didn’t cut any corners and decided to use an all-titanium straight forward construction. Everything’s on the up and up with the GS53 Driver, and Scott White, Ben Hogan’s CEO confirmed it in a press release which announced the new Ben Hogan fairwoods (we told you about those) and the new driver:

“Ben Hogan was famous for his no-nonsense approach to his game and his business. We felt the designs and marketing claims in the driver and fairway woods categories had gotten out of control in recent years. We’ve been working on the GS53 projects for a long time with the simple goal of delivering exceptionally beautiful drivers and fairways woods that provide industry-leading performance. No ridiculous hype, unnecessary technologies, materials or graphics—and certainly without the crazy price tags.”

It’s true that high-performance modern drivers are already boasting cutting edge tech like ultra-lightweight carbon composite in their construction and thinly cast titanium compounds in the crown, everything aimed at saving weight and giving the marketing department a chance to win the hearts and minds of customers using big words and all that palaver. However, the GS53 is not using cheap marketing tricks and doesn’t specifically tout secret technologies and exotic materials, as it comes in an all titanium design featuring a forged 6-4 titanium face. All titanium-all the time seems to be the company’s motto in the current year, and that’s not bad. On top of that, the new driver comes with variable face thickness from crown to sole and toe to heel, and this specific design was pursued in order to create a bigger (as in larger) effective hitting area, or something along these lines, as per Scott White’s own words of wisdom:

“We took a step back and really focused on a couple key areas: aesthetics, feel and ball speed via our own proprietary face thickness map which increases the spring-like effect across the entire face”

Since we’re talking about a modern high-tech driver, it comes as no surprise that the GS53 comes with an adjustable hosel which features no less than 8 settings and it allows for +/- 1 degree of loft with intermediate settings ranging from “low” and maximum “high” loft settings. Don’t worry, you also get lie adjustment settings, i.e. more flat or more upright. Also, if you’re a fan of the brand, you’ll be glad to discover Ben Hogan’s personal take on what’s commonly known among golf enthusiasts as Speed Slot technology, i.e. the GS53 features Ben Hogan’s signature channel located in the rear perimeter of the driver’s sole, which is also visible on the fairway woods, making for an interesting design feature aimed at improving aerodynamics. And speaking of aerodynamics, the GS53 features a relatively small head, which stands at 445 cubic centimeters, making for an easy to drive club if it ever was one. Scot White said:

“We wanted to maximize the MOI while providing a slightly smaller footprint than the traditional brick on a stick”

Truer words have never been spoken, and it’s nice to see that Ben Hogan’s CEO has a sense of humor. As usual with Ben Hogan products, the new drivers (and fairway woods) are not available at brick and mortar shops or online, due to the company’s innovative marketing strategy which eliminates “the man in the middle” in order to keep the prices on the down-low; if you’re not getting it yet, the new driver can be bought through the company’s direct to consumer website only, and if you find that pill hard to swallow, just take a look at the price-tag and you’ll see that you’re paying less for more. Up to 25 percent less, compared to the price asked by many leading manufacturers’ drivers/fairways, i.e. the new driver is available in 9, 10.5 degrees for $300 in 3 standard shaft options: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black for low trajectory, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue for mid trajectory and UST Mamiya Helium for high trajectory.