Hogan apex plus?

[roh]

Richie,

Cool site. How to you find the time? Found you through Brian M's site.

Curious as to your thoughts on equipment for players who aren't at your level?

I play to a 12 right now, but that's coming down. I had a real problem driving last season and I still don't feel like I putt as well as I should. I've been down around a 10 when I had more time to play. Lessons with Brian Manzella and Mike Jacobs have done a world of good for my swing.

I play Cleveland TA 7's with Rifle 5.5 shafts. 2 degrees up. CG-10 pitch and gap wedges (not by design). I can't say they hold me back (I'm not a worker of the ball), but you always wonder if you could do better.

There is a Golfsmith near my house that has a bunch of used sets. I've picked up a Hogan apex plus iron and hit it in the bay a bunch. Feels so good - like they were made for me. They have the stock 4 shafts. The only reason I haven't picked them up is that I can't hit them outside.

Any thoughts on these irons? I know they aren't old school as you advocate, but I think a true blade would be too much club for me anyway.

Cheers,

Bob

[Richie3Jack]

Thanks Bob and welcome aboard.

As far as clubs go, it depends on your agenda. There are many golfers who would just be happy playing 2-3 times a week, rarely putting any practice in and keep their scores in the 80's off the blues or the white tees.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

However, I think that is what most of today's clubfitting is for, to help those type of golfers out.

But if your agenda is to get maybe in the 0-5 handicap range and you are willing to put a moderate amount of work on the range and the course, I think the blade style iron is the best way to go.

I don't know what your money situation is, but I would suggest going on eBay and getting a set of vintage forged blades. You could do that for under $100 and even under $50. I just purchased a set of Hogan Bounce Sole 1+ irons for $45!

Brian and Mike are 2 great teachers. I really mean that.

I personally have my irons bent 5* flat and I'm 6'4" tall. BUT, that's because I flex my knees a lot more on the downswing and have a flat downswing plane so I can still hit those clubs flush.

Brian and Mike really don't teach flat downswing planes and a lot of knee flex unless the student insists.

MY recommendation is to get some vintage forged blades off of ebay for about $50. In fact, before you think about making a bid, feel free to PM me if you want to know my opinions on the club.

Then I would have those irons at about standard lie angles. The good news is that often times with eBay the clubs have been 'custom fit'. But with forged irons, you can just bend those iron heads without a worry. Also, make sure the shafts are about standard length. The 5-iron should be about 37.5 - 38.0" long. Longer than that, you're just making the clubs more upright.

My logic is this:

1. You can use these vintage clubs as a cheap practice club and help your swing become more precise and help with your timing. Plus, with Brian and/or Mike's good teaching these clubs will just reinforce their teaching to you. It's especially nice if you can get a vintage 2-iron. Practice that on the range and if you can hit that, you can hit any club in the bag. My 2-irons get more practice time than any club in my bag and I hit them on the range before each and every round.

2. You probably don't have a real flat downswing plane and you probably run some risk of coming over the top. The problem with upright lie angles is that they start to allow the golfer to get a more upright and possibly 'over the top' downswing plane.

Also, you'll probably start off hitting these vintage blades thin and you will soon realize that you need to get more knee flex on the downswing so you won't hit them thin. This is a GOOD thing because I think it forces you to lower your center of gravity and use the ground to push off with and power that pivot better.

Again, just a set of practice clubs and in the end, you may like them more and keep them as your gamers.

I think this will cost LESS than those Apex Plus irons and help your game more.





3JACK

[roh]

Thanks for the reply. Fortunately, money is this range isn't really an issue. I think I'm going to give it a shot. There is a "vintage" store near my office, not golf, but they have a bunch of forged blades in there. I'll poke around. Last time I was in there they had a set of the original Ping Eyes for like 20 bucks. I bet they have some Hogans in there. I'll PM you if I see anything that looks good.