- #Ben hogan apex cavity backed forged irons how to#
- #Ben hogan apex cavity backed forged irons full#
- #Ben hogan apex cavity backed forged irons free#
From there, you can use pliers and pull the pin the rest of the way out. Then use a nail “punch” and a plain old hammer and give the pin a few good taps to push the pin most of the way out. All they said I had to do was hit it with some high heat for a little bit (like a propane or MAPP torch) without discoloring the chrome. It’s a pretty straightforward process that sounds easy enough…but it isn’t.
#Ben hogan apex cavity backed forged irons how to#
Having never dealt with something like this, I consulted with some vintage club experts I know and got guidance on how to remove it. You can see that small silver circle in the hosel pictured above. The only thing I knew for sure was that these old irons were built with shaft pins holding the shaft in the head in addition to epoxy. 355 taper tip ready? I don’t want to have to bore out the hosel. Are these heads really going to be the same as men’s heads? Are these old heads. Of course, after the purchase and the clubs are in transit, I realize I’m not certain about anything I previously planned on. The irons were mine! Now I just have to take them apart and rebuild them, easy. Days later, I won the auction for just a few more dollars than that. “Well, I have an extensive collection of iron shaft pulls laying around and I know how to build clubs!” They had a starting bid of $22+shipping. Apex 1 shafts also known as Apex “ladies flex”. Sure enough, I found an original set of 4-PW (PW = “Equalizer” in Hogan terms) ’73 Ben Hogan Apex irons with Apex 1 shafts installed in them. Women’s models had the exact same head but they had “ladies flex” shafts in them. I realized that this Hogan iron was made in a ladies option. Shipped! That’s probably an unreasonable target on eBay, but that’s where I am.įinally one day, I came to my senses while I was going to sleep and having a quick random search. Realistically, I want them for under $50. But that’s not what we’re here for… I want as far under $75 as I can go.
#Ben hogan apex cavity backed forged irons full#
You can find a nice full set of them for somewhere in the low to mid 100s, but you may squeak out some auctions for $85-$100. As such, if you’re looking for 1970-1975 vintage Ben Hogan Apex irons, you won’t stumble upon many great deals.ĭon’t get me wrong, it’s really about how bad you want them and what you’re willing to pay. This means I’m also competing with a lot of like-minded individuals for the same gear.
#Ben hogan apex cavity backed forged irons free#
I’m pretty much 98% eBay much like most of the rest of the free world. I don’t do a lot of flea market, goodwill, resale shop, Craig’s List, or Facebook Marketplace hunting for used golf clubs which are primarily the best places to dig up the deals. I was on eBay and found what would become my “new” set of vintage Ben Hogan Irons. Ever since, I’ve kept my eyes open for more sets at absolute dirt cheap steals, but unfortunately those deals just don’t come around often. As I learned more about them, hit a few balls, and just overall spent more time with them, they became the ultimate in all-time forged irons to me. The longer I had those irons, the more I fell in love with them. Stite’s group, Impact Engineering, did such a fine job on the final prototypes that we were able to laser scan them for creating the forging dies.Earlier this year I posted about a killer find where Jon and I uncovered a set of vintage 1973 Ben Hogan Apex irons.
It was the first Hogan iron to be forged by Endo Manufacturing in Japan. The ’99 Apex is the epitome of a Hogan forged iron design. The second was my prototyping contractor Tom Stites, an ex-Hogan R&D staffer who would convert our CAD files to hittable specimens. The first was my CAD operator Charles Lovett who had a keen eye for blades after he had been hired away from Mizuno.
I had two big assets available to me in the execution of the new Hogan Apex irons. Hogan’s design characteristics I ended up creating the infamous Hogan iron chart using a 1-megapixel digital camera and black fabric backdrop as I photographed every iron on my credenza “photo studio”. I was ready to pursue this project only after doing much homework, studying every Hogan design I could find and by interviewing past Hogan Company employees. This next club I designed must be an authentic Hogan in every aspect. My biggest challenge in designing the next generation of Hogan products: Do NOT design a Top-Flite club with “Hogan” stamped on it. Hogan’s company and had my dream job drop into my lap when Spalding purchased the Ben Hogan Company in 1997. This iron is one of my all time favorite designs. Material: Billet Forged 1030 Carbon Steel with Nickel/Chrome Plating
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