Hogan Apex Plus

[ualtim]

Well, I have done it again. A Ho'ing deal too good to reisist. A set of Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons (3-E). Look to be in good condition from the photos, and I was able to snag them for $120. The only issue in the listed description was the need for new grips, which is perfect as I was going to replace the grips anyway.

I have been scrounging the bay and GG for a several months now trying to get into a set of Mizuno T-Zoid Pro II;s, MP-30's, or MP-60's at a steal of a price. No such luck on the MP-30's or '60's, and ended up losing several auctions on the Pro II's. I had expanded the search out to Hogans a few months ago and was intreagued with the Apex Pro's and FTX's. Today was the day when I found an auction sitting there in my deal zone and pulled the trigger with 30 seconds to go.

With any luck I will have them by the end of the week so I can get them worked into shape and give them a shot to get into my bag over the next few weeks.

[Rockford35]

My only concern is with how quickly the faces wear on Hogans. Almost every used set you see has the short irons suffering from browning, even after just one year of play.

Crappy shafts, too. You'll want to throw something new in there as well.

R35

[WildCatGolfer17]

also dont besuprized how hard it is to find mp 60's at a " steal" they arent that old and i bought mine new for 850 about 3 weeks ago

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by WildCatGolfer17

also dont besuprized how hard it is to find mp 60's at a " steal" they arent that old and i bought mine new for 850 about 3 weeks ago

Then you got worked.

Mizuno MP 60 Iron Set 3-PW Used Golf Club at GlobalGolf.com

And, take 10% off that.....

R35

[clint]

I had my eye on those too. Glad I forgot about them thus not getting in a last second bid war with you.

Clint

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

My only concern is with how quickly the faces wear on Hogans. Almost every used set you see has the short irons suffering from browning, even after just one year of play.

Crappy shafts, too. You'll want to throw something new in there as well.

R35

Wow, I couldnt disagree more. I have a set of Apex Pros and the faces are in great shape. The soles have a few dings but the faces are in great shape. Also I dont know what shaft your talking about, but the Apex shaft (IMO of course) is one of the best ever. There are pros that are still using them, JJ Henry for one I believe....

[SiberianDVM]

Congrats, Tim! You'll love the Hogans if the shafts are the correct flex.

[zaphod]

Great price for a set of VERY under rated clubs. They are blade like yet have good forgiveness. The Apex shaft is good if it matches your swing and trajectory expectations. I bought a set used, have played them for 3 years, and have experienced no cosmetic issues I repainted them when I first got them. Just a pleasure to play. Those clubs should give you years of good play.

Good pick up at great price . Congrats ualtim!!!!

If you decide to reshaft them they are 0.355 taper tips. Mine can with 5.5 rifle lite shafts which was a good match for my swing. Are the original Apex shafts made for Hogans by Rifle? I believe the Apex shafts are stepless.

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by BigJim13

Wow, I couldnt disagree more. I have a set of Apex Pros and the faces are in great shape. The soles have a few dings but the faces are in great shape. Also I dont know what shaft your talking about, but the Apex shaft (IMO of course) is one of the best ever. There are pros that are still using them, JJ Henry for one I believe....

So good that you switched them out for S400's?

How long have you had your irons for?

This is exactly what I mean. Notice that the PW has crazy wear on the face. My Mizuno's, which I've used for 2 full years now, aren't even close to that. And they were used when I bought them.

R35

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

So good that you switched them out for S400's?

How long have you had your irons for?

This is exactly what I mean. Notice that the PW has crazy wear on the face. My Mizuno's, which I've used for 2 full years now, aren't even close to that. And they were used when I bought them.

R35

LOL, I loved the shaft, but needed a stiffer flex as I had the Apex 3 shaft. I would have bought another set of Apex's but couldnt find any, so if you know where I can get some uncut or at least +1" let me know.

I have had the irons for 4 seasons now. Its a good point you bring up though because I do see alot of wear like your picture on clubs up for sale. Mine have none of that and I dont understand why. It has to be more than just me taking better care of my clubs...

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by BigJim13

It has to be more than just me taking better care of my clubs...

It probably also has to do with where you play as well. If you have a very gritty/sandy medium you're playing on a regular basis, it's gonna happen faster. It's all clay and silt, very little sand on the course I play. Except Dakota Dunes, but that's once a year.

R35

[ualtim]

The face wear issue is what kept me from getting a few sets of Mizuno T-Zoid Pro II's. Most of the sets I found at a good price had the sweet spot wear like the pics Rock posted. Fromt the eBay pics, it looked like the Apex Pluses that are in good condition on the faces. No extreme close up shots, but I could not make out any discolorization on the 8-E in the pics which is one of the reasons I bid on them.

The shafts are supposed to be the Apex 4 (stiff) and I figured I would give these a go. From what I have read, the Apex Plus and Apex shaft should help lower my trajectory a bit which is what I have been trying to do (without success) with my current irons shafted with DG S400's. According to the Hogan website, the Apex shaft is made by Royal Precision (who is, of course, now owned by TT) but I beleive that the shaft is stepped and not a stepless rifle. It should be a fun experiment.

Yup, no deals on the MP-60's. I could have had a set for $350-$400 a while ago but passed up the deal. Even the MP-30's are hard to find under $250 for a good condition set. After hitting the MP-60's, I NEEDED to get myself into a set of forged cavity back heads. I was originally going to go component with either Snake Eyes or Wishon but I was looking at $125 just for the heads. After some searches, I decided to just keep watching the bay until I could get a set of used, fully shafted, for the same price or less. If the Apex shaft doesn't work out, I can always reshaft into a set of Rifle 5.5's down the road.

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by ualtim

The face wear issue is what kept me from getting a few sets of Mizuno T-Zoid Pro II's. Most of the sets I found at a good price had the sweet spot wear like the pics Rock posted. Fromt the eBay pics, it looked like the Apex Pluses that are in good condition on the faces. No extreme close up shots, but I could not make out any discolorization on the 8-E in the pics which is one of the reasons I bid on them.

The shafts are supposed to be the Apex 4 (stiff) and I figured I would give these a go. From what I have read, the Apex Plus and Apex shaft should help lower my trajectory a bit which is what I have been trying to do (without success) with my current irons shafted with DG S400's. According to the Hogan website, the Apex shaft is made by Royal Precision (who is, of course, now owned by TT) but I beleive that the shaft is stepped and not a stepless rifle. It should be a fun experiment.

Yup, no deals on the MP-60's. I could have had a set for $350-$400 a while ago but passed up the deal. Even the MP-30's are hard to find under $250 for a good condition set. After hitting the MP-60's, I NEEDED to get myself into a set of forged cavity back heads. I was originally going to go component with either Snake Eyes or Wishon but I was looking at $125 just for the heads. After some searches, I decided to just keep watching the bay until I could get a set of used, fully shafted, for the same price or less. If the Apex shaft doesn't work out, I can always reshaft into a set of Rifle 5.5's down the road.

You are correct that Royal Precision makes the Apex shaft. According to Golfsmith, the Royal Precision FCM shafts are supposed to be the replacement for Apex shafts. I tried it, with FCM 6.0's and thought I totally lost all feel. I think they were to stiff for me. If I had it to do over again I would go with a set of Tour Flighted Rifles in 5.5.

Its a shame that the Hogan brand has gone so far out of the mainstream. I love mine. The other thing I dont like about newer Hogan Irons...the 46* PW...

[ualtim]

Originally Posted by BigJim13

Its a shame that the Hogan brand has gone so far out of the mainstream. I love mine. The other thing I dont like about newer Hogan Irons...the 46* PW...

I was kind surprised by the specs on the Apex Plus when I was researching them. I initially though it was a byproduct of falling under the Callaway umbrella, but the stronger lofts date back to 1999 and Callaway did not take over until 2004. The 46* PW I can live with as it will provide even spacing between my wedges now; 46*, 52*, and 58*. If it helps lower my ball flight a bit without sacracing stopping power I will learn to live with it.

Worst case scenario, they go back to the classified section or eBay.

I am not a big fan of the way Callaway handled the take over of both Hogan and Top Flite. All the contracts from both companies were stripped and put over into the Callaway portfolio. They took away the Strata line (my ball of choice) and burried the Hogan products. I had heard rumors that they were going to get rid of all the clubs in the Hogan line, but it looks like they are still selling them for now.

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by ualtim

I was kind surprised by the specs on the Apex Plus when I was researching them. I initially though it was a byproduct of falling under the Callaway umbrella, but the stronger lofts date back to 1999 and Callaway did not take over until 2004. The 46* PW I can live with as it will provide even spacing between my wedges now; 46*, 52*, and 58*. If it helps lower my ball flight a bit without sacracing stopping power I will learn to live with it.

Worst case scenario, they go back to the classified section or eBay.

I am not a big fan of the way Callaway handled the take over of both Hogan and Top Flite. All the contracts from both companies were stripped and put over into the Callaway portfolio. They took away the Strata line (my ball of choice) and burried the Hogan products. I had heard rumors that they were going to get rid of all the clubs in the Hogan line, but it looks like they are still selling them for now.

I was talking to one of the salesman at the local shop and he said he didnt think that Callaway would get rid of the Apex line, it was just to popular. He also said he didnt think that we would see anything new from Hogan anytime soon. So I guess that means we will have the Apex edge, plus and the blades from now until someone else buys Hogan.

I to miss the strata line of balls, those were good quality and not overpriced. It didnt take some of the Hogan players long to find new deals either. Furyk went to Srixon and Jonathon Byrd to Mizuno and I am sure there are others.