My “New” Set of Vintage Ben Hogan Irons
Earlier this year I posted about a killer find where Jon and I uncovered a set of vintage 1973 Ben Hogan Apex irons. The longer I had those irons, the more I fell in love with them. 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. At least in my mind. 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. Then one day recently it happened. I was on eBay and found what would become my “new” set of vintage Ben Hogan Irons.
The Find
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. Just not my vibe. I’m pretty much 98% eBay much like most of the rest of the free world. This means I’m also competing with a lot of like-minded individuals for the same gear. As such, if you’re looking for 1970-1975 vintage Ben Hogan Apex irons, you won’t stumble upon many great deals.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s really about how bad you want them and what you’re willing to pay. 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. But that’s not what we’re here for… I want as far under $75 as I can go. Realistically, I want them for under $50. Shipped! That’s probably an unreasonable target on eBay, but that’s where I am.
Finally one day, I came to my senses while I was going to sleep and having a quick random search. I realized that this Hogan iron was made in a ladies option. Women’s models had the exact same head but they had “ladies flex” shafts in them. That’s it. 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. Apex 1 shafts also known as Apex “ladies flex”. “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. Days later, I won the auction for just a few more dollars than that. The irons were mine! Now I just have to take them apart and rebuild them, easy.
Pulling Vintage Ben Hogan Irons Shafts
Of course, after the purchase and the clubs are in transit, I realize I’m not certain about anything I previously planned on. Are these heads really going to be the same as men’s heads? Are these old heads .355 taper tip ready? I don’t want to have to bore out the hosel. Man, fingers crossed…. 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. I knew I’d have to remove those.
You can see that small silver circle in the hosel pictured above. This is the pin. Having never dealt with something like this, I consulted with some vintage club experts I know and got guidance on how to remove it. It’s a pretty straightforward process that sounds easy enough…but it isn’t. 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. 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. From there, you can use pliers and pull the pin the rest of the way out. Turns out, it wasn’t that easy…
I was able to get the pin punched out this far (see above), but I had to use a sledge hammer. The thing I had to be careful with was not pushing my punch too far into the pin hole so I didn’t mushroom or damage the hosel. Next time I’ll get a smaller punch to do it. My final method involved a lot of punching the pin back and forth, trimming off the portion of pin sticking out, pound again, and sometimes that would loosen them up enough to pull them out. Like two and a half hours later, all pins removed.
Builder beware, protect yourself accordingly. I got one of the hosels pretty hot and the covering I was using to briefly protect my hand slipped and I branded my finger. Thankfully my freezer in the garage had some homemade frozen breakfast sausage I could use in lieu of an ice pack.
The Build
With my new vintage Ben Hogan iron heads now pulled, it was the moment of truth. Would a .355 taper tip shaft fit in these heads? Thankfully, it was a resounding yes, .355T fit perfectly. In fact, it was maybe the best I’ve ever seen a shaft fit into an iron head. (“They sure don’t make ’em like they used to!”) Given these are older iron heads and not super forgiving, I was going to install my new-ish Project X IO shafts in them. I figured they would be easier to get the ball in the air with with a nice and smooth swing. But then I was honest with myself and knew I couldn’t keep my swing tempo smooth enough consistently to get along with that setup. That’s on me, not the shafts.
After considering different options, I remembered I had some success with a certain shaft in my Mizuno MP-18 MBs at one point, which is another fairly unforgiving muscleback head. That shaft was the KBS Tour FLT. They had a real nice launch progression through the set, and were just flat out easy to play. So I went off to the iron shaft section of the club graveyard, found seven of the FLTs, and installed them. Huge win, they had a pretty clean set of grips already on them too!
The only “disappointment” I really have in the build is that I didn’t try and find some period-correct ferrules. Instead, I just have boring generic black ones on them. But oh well, I guess I’d rather make sure I’m keeping the clubs built as they are and avoid the hassle of saving some sick vintage or BB&F ferrules.
Final Thoughts
One topic I didn’t really touch on is what to do with the pin holes with the clubs rebuilt. Honestly, that’s mostly because I don’t know what I’m going to do there. I’ve read where people use finishing nails to re-pin them, but that sounds insane to me. I’m not trying to make these irons that original. There are also suggestions of using silver silicon caulk, or filling with epoxy and then smoothing it out and painting it silver. I might order some silver caulk on Amazon and try that if I decide I’m sticking with this set.
Regardless, I love these vintage Ben Hogan irons. I’m talking the 1973 Apex specifically. It’s one of the most perfect shapes I’ve ever seen and they’re just pure. I can’t wait for the spring so I can get them out on the course and shoot a billion with them. The moral of this story is to think creatively with golf gear. Specifically with vintage clubs. Doing so could land you in some great deals and some real top pocket finds for your collection(s).
Hogan Edge GS are my winter project… I may just game them all year.
I know modern iron shapes are “longer” “more forgiving” but how much so? How many strokes will my handicap go up this year? We’ll find out
I found a set of original Edge forged with Apex 3 shafts in pristine condition at a local golf shop. 3-E for 50 bucks. I had them re-gripped with Crossline standard. I love the feel and performance.
I pick up a set of Ben Hogan CFT edge in very good shape a few years ago very cheap great clubs don’t use them much now but put them in the bag once in a while
Hey guys I’m still hitting my 74 Director series. Have some tailor-made cavity back. Put them on the shelf and brought out the Hogan’s. After 2 months playing them since 1981 in high school. I’m 10 strokes better 37 to 38. I’m glad I got back out. Hade original grips. Had to change them. All good ?.
iHi, I am looking for a 1-iron for a set of Ben Hogan irons (1972 0r 1973 I think. The only letering is Ben Ogan Bounce Soul and the Hogan ribbon. Can you help me. I only play vintage clubs. I just turned 70 and I’m just old fashioned. Me and my closest friend started the golf team at Roswell GA High School in 1966. Thanks
Bounce Soles tend to pre-date 1972. We actually have a post about a set here.
The best advice I can give is to search ebay for “Hogan Bounce Sole” and weed through the results. If you regularly look and stay diligent, one is bound to pop up at some point.
I have a set of Ben Hogan ladies clubs from 1970’s. Full set. Irons and woods. And original bag and putter. Never played. Not a single shot on the clubs.
Is there any definitive way to tell if a set of Hogan Radial irons is forged or cast? The serial number is G82031, they have Apex 3 shafts and the Hogan signature on the sole of the iron is NOT underlined. The 5 iron length seems to be almost 38″. Been trying to figure it out for a while now. Clubs are in mint condition so no chrome wear. If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated
Unfortunately that’s outside of my area of expertise, but as I understand it, Hogan’s customer service is decent at dating and providing general information based on serial numbers so you could give that a shot.
Your Radials are forged. They’re the Series 1 club with less toe weight. You can tell cast clubs from forged by the lack of a pinned shaft in the cast version. The cast also has a satin finish.
What’s the tip size for Hen Bogan 1948/59 Saber Sunburst iron set
I can’t say I know for the 50s sets. The best I can do is that put .355 taper tip in these early 70s Apexes.
Bill, not sure you did with the pin hole, but as a ex-club maker I would of trimmed the pins to the thickness of the hosel wall and glued them in from both sides. this would maintain the look of being pinned without penetrating the new shaft install.
I wasn’t going for “completing the look” with these, more just making them playable so I didn’t bother with any of the pin holes. Not to say it doesn’t make sense do, would definitely do it if I was making them for more than the occasional player.
Hi Bill, I followed your strategy exactly to acquire my set of Apex 73’s. Bought ladies clubs and reshafted them myself with DG Lite R400s (and BB&F ferrules ;)). Love them! I also have a set of Ladies’ 75 Apex (shiny back) that I might do the same with, perhaps with graphite shafts.
I re-shafted a set of Hogan Apex irons several years ago. The pins are a bear to remove. Replacement pins were available at GolfWorks at the time. Also the replacements were aluminum. I took the original approach. The pins were easily hammered thru, then cut off with a tap of a knife blade. The pins can then be lightly peen hammered, then buffed to perfection. Its extra effort but the club looks like the original Hogan build. Hogan over-built everything he put out in those days. He was the quality control guy and had to approve everything.