Nearly one year after the successful launch of the Equalizer wedge line, named after the legendary Ben Hogan’s famed “secret weapon,” and on the heels of being named to the 2019 Golf Digest Hot List, Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company has introduced a full-line of Equalizer BLACK wedges.
The Company had introduced a limited-edition set of Equalizer BLACK wedges in late 2018, using the same proprietary finish, called Diamond Black Metal, as is used on the much sought-after Ft. Worth BLACK irons. In addition to reducing glare, the darker finish provides better contrast with the golf ball. Unlike dark, painted finishes offered by other club manufacturers, the Diamond Black Finish is up to 7 times more durable than nickel chrome.
“Quite honestly, we were taken aback by the demand for the limited-edition Equalizer BLACK wedges we offered in 3-club sets last year,” said Scott White, President and CEO, Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. “Serious, accomplished golfers were frustrated that we were only offering them in 52, 56 and 60 degree lofts. Given our factory-direct business model, we were able to receive and react to this feedback quickly. Now, golfers can choose from three different gap wedges, three different sand wedges, and two lob wedges with either our traditional nickel chrome or Diamond Black Metal finish.”
Today, the Equalizer wedge franchise is acclaimed for an unmatched pure feeling that provides tremendous feedback to the hands, which is thanks to single piece, forged 1025 carbon steel construction. In contrast, most other premium wedges on the market are investment cast, making them very harsh-feeling. Moreover, as a result of Ben Hogan Golf’s successful factory direct-to-consumer business model, the unique performance features of the new line of Equalizer BLACK wedges are available to serious golfers starting at $105 per wedge for steel or graphite, which is on average more than 30% less than the leading wedges in golf.
White adds, “To be able to offer a wedge of this quality at or around $100, thanks to our direct-to-consumer business model, allows us to provide golfers with the very best performing product at an extremely attractive price point.”
Equalizer wedges not only perform exceptionally well around the greens, but bear classical, yet contemporary Ben Hogan golf club aesthetics. While most modern-day wedges are designed to get the ball up in the air as quickly as possible and, in turn, as highly as possible, the Equalizer wedges have been precisely engineered to do exactly the opposite.
Ben Hogan Golf engineers have developed an ingenious Progressive Center of Mass Weighting System in the various wedges. They moved more mass higher and around the edge of the club head in the lower lofted gap wedges to eliminate ‘ballooning’ shots. Conversely, they incrementally lowered the Center of Mass in the sand and more highly lofted lob wedges allowing for incrementally higher launch angles. The result is that Equalizer wedges perform exactly for their intended purposes.
For maximum spin and stopping power, the Equalizer Wedges feature a milled face and grooves. The engineering team designed the Equalizer Wedges with the most aggressive grooves allowed by golf’s governing bodies so short shots stick on the green. All Equalizer Wedges have 0.20″ U-Shaped grooves precisely cut into the face at increments of 0.40″. Machining the grooves into the face after the forging process is a time consuming extra step in the production process but one that serious golfers will appreciate on their first shot. Additionally, the face on all Equalizer Wedges are 100% CNC-milled, which not only ensures that the face is completely flat, but it creates a texturized surface between the grooves. This textured surface provides the ultimate spin on less than full shots when the ball is not fully compressed into the grooves.
Lastly, V-Sole® Technology has long been a trademark of Ben Hogan irons and wedges. Ben Hogan Equalizer Wedges feature an enhanced and improved V-Sole® Technology with new sole geometry to fit a wider variety of golfers and course conditions. This revolutionary technology, developed with the input of Tour players, was designed to allow the club head to cut through heavy rough or hard fairways more effectively. Further, the bounce on the leading edge has been ‘softened’ slightly, and more bounce has been added on the sole. This all but eliminates the club head from ‘digging’ into the ground for those players with a steep angle of attack. The straighter leading edge also helps with alignment and reduces dispersion.
All Ben Hogan Golf Equalizer BLACK wedges are available in the following loft options: Gap Wedge: 48, 50 and 52 degrees, Sand Wedge: 54, 56 and 58 degrees and Lob Wedge: 60 and 62 degrees. The Equalizer wedges are available for demo or purchase at www.BenHoganGolf.com exclusively.
