Ben Hogan PTx Tour Irons

The new Ben Hogan PTx Tour irons share a strong DNA bond with the old Hogan Precision irons from 1954. And if you think about it, they also share DNA with the Hogan Ft. Worth 15 irons from 2015 and maybe even the Edge irons from 2018.

Each is the first iron set introduced by each iteration of the Ben Hogan Company.

Ben Hogan famously started his own golf equipment company in 1953 with a simple goal: to build the finest golf equipment money can buy. The Precision irons were the company’s first.

Now fast forward to 2015. Hogan is reborn and introduces the Ft. Worth 15 irons. Now, two bankruptcies and two reboots later, the newest iteration of Hogan gives us the PTx Tour irons.

The PTx Tour irons are a purpose-built progressive set that was no doubt in the works when Hogan shut down in July 2022. But now the new Hogan, under the direction of golf brand resurrection specialist Simon Millington, is celebrating its first new product launch.

If you’re a Hogan fan, you will want to take a closer look at the new Ben Hogan PTx Tour irons.

They’re not quite what they look like.

Ben Hogan PTx Tour Irons: A Closer Look

At first glance, the Ben Hogan PTx Tour irons look almost exactly like the combo set released by the previous Hogan iteration, called simply the Player’s Iron Combo set. That set was exactly what the name said it was: a combo set of Hogan’s existing Icon blade short irons and PTx Pro long and mid irons. They’re still current in Hogan’s offering.

The PTx Tour irons do look similar. But as we always insist on pointing out, “looks like” isn’t “same as.” This iron set has been built grip-to-tip to function as a true progressive set, with multi-piece construction long irons and single-piece forged scoring irons.

As mentioned, the Ben Hogan PTx Tour irons appear to be purpose-built as a progressive combo set. The 4- and 5-irons in the set are four-piece, hollow-body construction. The body and face are forged from 1025 carbon steel. Inside is injected foam to enhance feel. The fourth piece is eight grams worth of tungsten. Its job is to get the CG as low as possible for launch, peak height and forgiveness.

The 6-iron is a three-piece hollow-body construction. It’s essentially the same as the 4- and 5-irons, only without tungsten weighting. The 7- and 8-irons are also three-piece construction but can’t be considered hollow-body. Again, the face and body are forged from 1025 carbon steel. The head also features co-forged titanium inserts. Lighter than tungsten, the titanium inserts allow the CG to slide upward for lower launch and a little more spin.

Finally, the 9-iron and pitching wedge are traditional single-piece 1025 carbon steel forged blades. The Hogan website says “even golfers who have shied away from blades will be surprised at how forgiving these clubs are and what a joy they are to hit.”

V-SOLE® Music

The entire line features Hogan’s signature V-SOLE® design, a holdover from the Terry Koehler-led Hogan days. Koehler – aka “The Wedge Guy” – developed his particular V-Sole dating back to his days with Reid Lockhart. That sole was also featured in Koehler’s other companies, including Eidolon, Score, Hogan and now Edison.

I know I said “looks like” doesn’t mean “same as.” In the case of Hogan’s V-SOLE®, “looks like” does mean “pretty damn close to.” The Hogan website says the V-SOLE® features a “high bounce leading edge with a lower bounce trailing edge.” The idea is to “help get the clubhead through even the longest rough.”

If that sounds a lot like the Srixon-Cleveland Tour V.T. Sole, that’s because it is a lot like the Srixon-Cleveland Tour V.T. Sole. Srixon describes the Tour V.T. Sole in almost the same words: “A higher bounce on the leading edge prevents digging … a lower bounce on the trailing edge curves away from the turf.”

Copies? Ripoffs? I’m dubious. Both have co-existed for far too long for there to be any concerns either way. I’ve hit both and have found both perform as advertised. The V-sole helps the club smooth its way through fairway or rough, even if you hit it a touch fat. In the big picture, it’s kind of hard to design a sole with those specific attributes and have it not look like another sole with those same specific attributes.

It’s important to note that, since its return in 2015, all Hogan clubs have been unique proprietary designs. Hogan may be a direct-to-consumer brand but like its OG DTC cohort Sub 70, it doesn’t sell open model clubs.

Ben Hogan PTx Tour Irons: Specs, Price, Availability

If you’re a loft traditionalist, the Ben Hogan PTx Tour irons will make you smile an old-school smile. The 33.5-degree 7-iron and 45.5-degree pitching wedge are almost sorta-kinda-somewhat “traditional.” The entire set maintains a four-degree loft gap between irons.

The PTx Tour is available in chrome and in either a six- or seven-club set. There’s no “stock” setup but Hogan offers a relatively small selection of shafts and grips.

R-flex choices include the graphite UST Recoil 760. the Dynamic Gold and the KBS Tour, Tour 90 and Tour V. All are no upcharge. The KBS-C-Taper 95 ($25 per club) and $-Taper Lite ($20 per club) are upcharge options.

Stiff flex options are no upcharge. They include the UST Recoil, Dynamic Gold S300, KBS Tour and KBS Tour V. X-stiff options are also no upcharge and include the Dynamic Gold X100, KBS Tour and KBS Tour V. The UST Recoil is the only A-flex option.

Hogan-branded Lamkin Z5 grips are no upcharge. The Lamkin Crossline and Lamkin Crossline Full Cord are upcharge options.

Length adjustments are no charge. Loft and lie adjustments are each $25 per set.

Hogan is also selling iron heads separately, allowing you to have a local builder assemble them to your specifications.

The Ben Hogan PTx Tour irons are right-handed only at this time. Hogan is working on several new models. Millington tells us they’re figuring out which ones will have left-handed options and says a demo program will be available soon.

The Ben Hogan PTx Pros run $899.99 for a six-piece set and $999.99 for a seven-piece set, with no upcharges. Heads-only run $559.99 to $649.99.

For more information, check out the Ben Hogan website.