Let me tell you a small story about how I recently found my new favorite clubs – a set of 1973 Ben Hogan Apex irons…
Every year there’s a giant golf show at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL – a town wedged in between O’Hare and the actual city of Chicago. This show is called the “Chicago Golf Expo,” and woo boy, is it something. It’s also WORLD-CLASS people watching. Imagine a giant complex divided into essentially three categories:
- Tourism & Travel Agencies – gotta book your big golf trips somehow
- Products & Demos – see the latest innovative training aid and try out some of the hot new clubs on the market
- Flea Market – there’s no better way to describe it – golf gear resellers slinging the last seven years of closeout Adidas and Under Armour clothes, clubs, and any other golf trinket you can dream of
I hadn’t been to the show in about 7 years, however, both Kris McEwen (from That Range Life – A Show Sometimes About Golf) and our own Jon Heise expressed interest and said I should go. It so happened my schedule was able to accommodate it so I went. As expected, it was bizarre as ever, totally washed out by Adidas and Under Armour clothes, and generally just a lot of stuff to sort through. That said, it was fun to catch up with some friends like Sub 70 Golf and the Tour Edge guys. And like any good flea market, you just have to be diligent and seek out the hidden gems.
Spotting the ’73 Ben Hogan Apex Irons
So at this point, we’ve pretty much walked around the whole thing and seen every pair of khaki and grey pants there were to see. Jon and I probably could have been working a little harder to spread the DRH name, but what’re you gonna do? A gear nerd is going to do what a gear nerd does. Our next stop was to swing over to the demo area to hit some clubs, however, as we meandered down our last row, we approached what was essentially a rat’s nest of used clubs. We took a minute to peruse some classic Titleist blades when all of a sudden I hear “neat, check out those old Hogans…”
As soon as he said it, the same clubs jumped out at me from the bottom rack. They were either well-used newer Hogans or amazing condition vintage Hogans. Upon closer inspection, all it took was one grab of the grip. Only an original 50-year-old grip has this feel. Rubber finely aged to a nice slick and plasticy texture that could crack at any second. Yep, these were the real deal, but we didn’t know anything about them.
Before I could even think, the young gent running the booth grabbed the rubber-banded clubs and cuts the already decent price in half. Frankly, the offer wasn’t bad, but didn’t feel like something I needed to immediately jump on. Meanwhile, as I’m talking to this guy, Jon spotted another gem just a bit further down from where the Hogans sat. A pristine set of Mizuno MP-14 irons, 2-PW. They now became part of the negotiations, but we still didn’t feel moved to bite…
Doing the Right Thing…
At this point, Jon and I finally made our way over to the demo area. Unfortunately, neither of us could shake the thoughts of the vintage gems we just saw. We agreed that on our way out in a couple hours, we’d see if the clubs are still there. After saying our hellos in the demo area, we, along with Team McEwen, circled around the booths of the various courses and resorts that were at the show. Alas, it was time go…and check if the hallowed iron sets were still there.
Sure enough, they were! Obviously, they looked even more beautiful the second time around. Jon and I had decided on a strategy to get a killer deal on both the Mizunos and the Hogans. I’ll save the story for him, but in short, no dice. Frankly, the deal the guy offered was fair, but was too rich for our blood. Of course, the guy then offers me a cash deal on the Hogans that allowed me to commit highway robbery. I was now the owner of a sick set of all-original 1973 Ben Hogan Apex irons!
While Jon was sad to walk away from the jewel of his eye, we had new life in us after taking possession of a vintage classic. Rightfully so, Jon insisted we needed to go hit these irons immediately. So we headed over to Sub 70’s demo area, but on the way, multiple people stopped us and asked about the clubs. “Whoa, where did you find those here?!” “What year are those???” “God, those are beautiful…”
As excited as Jon and I were to hit them, so was Team Sub 70. All of us were kids in a candy store. Naturally, the clubs were super punishing and near impossible to hang onto with the slick grips. But man, once we adjusted and hit them pure… I’m not sure I’ve felt a better strike. And the sound! The sound of a pure shot was second to none. Frankly, I can’t remember the last time I heard anything like it.
Final Thoughts – My ’73 Ben Hogan Apex Irons
I tell you what, this has been a masterclass in “they sure don’t make them like they used to.” Yes, no one is mistaking these vintage Ben Hogan Apex irons for brand new, but they’re beautiful. I just love them so much and can’t wait to play them out on the course. They’re all original and I’m still deciding what lengths I’ll go to clean them up. I got them to play, and given that purpose, will likely leave the slippery-as-hell original grips on. Occasional days on the course with these clubs will be focused on the nostalgic experience and not the score. Maybe I’ll put fresh paint in them, we’ll see. All I have left to do is fill out the rest of my vintage club setup!
There was one tragedy, however. I’m rarely in the area where the Expo was held so I decided to really capitalize on the opportunity. Following the show, I made my way to Johnnie’s Beef (as mentioned in this post). I was so excited to have the best Italian Beef in the Chicago area when I realized it was a cash only venue. When I opened my wallet to make sure I had enough, I realized the little cash I previously had was now sitting in the front seat of my car in the form of my ’73 Hogans. I went so far as to lookup the nearest ATM, but the closest one I could find was 4 miles away. Dejected, I made my way home, hungry, but satisfied because I still had my new-to-me old clubs.
I think I’ve got a similar set of Hogan Apex. I’ve emailed hogan to try and find out more about them. From my research these are the frosted back with apex red shaft labels and numbered 3. The heads and club face are immaculate. Grips are just as you described yours, these are original i assume. Haven’t taken them to the range, eager to but hope to find out more about them.
dustin, the 3 on the shaft is the regular flex. Number 4 is the stiff shaft and number 5 is extra stiff.
Larry, absolutely right, and great catch on the question not being answered! I totally missed the first part of that comment when it went up. My bad, Dustin!
Just discovered that my wife had A set of these in our shed, that her mother passed along to her in the mid 80s. How can I tell how old the are. There is a red label just below the red swirled rubber grip that has a 1 on it. The set is in great condition for their age. Any information would be appreciated.
If they’re that old and look like this, they’re likely 1973-1975.
Apex 1 shaft is a ladies flex. Apex 2 is Senior, 3 is Regular, 4 is Stiff, 5 is Extra Stiff.
Quite true, and good catch. I completely looked over that detail in his comment. 1 flex…nothing a drill of the pin and some new shafts can’t fix. 🙂
Dustin, the second digit on the assembly number is the year. The first Alpha is the Month (A=January, B=February etc.). Second is year (3=1973). Third and fourth are the first two digits of the Hogan stock numbers (Apex are 5200 and 6200 so 52 and 62). Fifth is the shaft stiffness (3 for Regular, 4 Stiff, 5 Xtra Stiff). The last is the swing weight (2=D2).
GREAT piece of info. Thanks for leaving that here! I didn’t know that until now myself.
Hey golf gurus! I just picked a set of these Hogan apex irons up. I was looking at the specs John Wayne mentioned above.
Mine are stamped
L25231.
SO DOES THAT MEAN THEY WERE BUILT IN DECEMBER 1972?
@Jason Kramer if you have L25231 then you have an earlier set. Hogan at the time released their catalog in August/September for the following year, so the clubs were essentially like cars, you could get the next model year at the end of the previous year. This was important for the Christmas sales period. Yours would be assembled in 1972, Model number 5200 (1973 Apex), Apex 3 shaft (Regular) with a D1 swing weight.
John, Does this work with all models, or did something change in the 80s? I have a set of Edge irons (not GS) with the serial number BL0688
Hi there John and/or Bill, this is Joris from The Netherlands. I’ve laid my hands on a beautiful set of Apex FTX’s. The code on the shaft reads H-00168385. What would you make of that?
I hope to hear from you,
thanks a lot,
Joris
The frosted Hogan Apex were from 1973-77. The last year for this Apex model was the 1978 edition and that model was all chrome. This forging is still known as one of the best irons of all-time. I have [6] sets….with [2] new never used.
I’m so glad I found this to identify my grandfathers irons that were passed on to me. I regripped PW-5, and let me warn you, removing those grips was a serious undertaking.
Fully anticipate that to be a 100% nightmare when the day comes. Involving chisels and MAPP torches.
I still have my original set from 73, and a used set that my dad bought me in 75 when we lost our luggage flying to Texas.
I also have the rare 1 iron for the set. Played them up to a couple years ago and carried a 3.2 index.
I recently got a 1 iron!
I still have a set of those I bought new back in the day. I played them for 20+ years only to move to a set of Tommy Armour 845s in 1999. I still take the the Hogan’s out to play a few times a year. Both sets are matched, fitted, 1 thru PW.
I have, and still play, this exact set. However, I have had them regripped at Spargo golf here in Rhode Island. They are without doubt the best clubs I have ever played. They force you to play well…you can feel you don’t!
Stay tuned for blog coming soon about set #2!
As the proud owner of two sets of these clubs, I can verify the incredible feel of the 73 apex. The rabbit hole you are teetering on though is a problem with no viable solution. One step too far and you will find yourself seeking out other original sets of hogan irons each more beautiful than the last. Spoken from experience, this will delight and equally shock you as whatever storage space you have will steadily shrink but increase in time continuum. Thank you for writing this but I hope it doesn’t drive up the price of old Hogan clubs as I have not completed my journey toward owning all and everyone of them.
Trust me, I know the feeling. Take a look at the blog I have going up on Tuesday the 15th!
I went down the rabbit hole of looking for other years, but after spending way too much time reading things I didn’t need fueling the thoughts, I settled on keeping my collection focused to this shape…so roughly ’69-’75 lol.
Thanks for stopping by. Always love talking vintage gear!
Holy smokes this article has made my day. This morning I saw an ad for 37” Cleveland stiff shafts for $1.25ea, bought 10 of them because I’ve been wanting to build a single length set. On my way home from work I stoped at a pawnshop and bought a 2-9 set of these exact irons for $15 bucks having no idea what they were. I was planning on grinding the 8&9 to match weights, but after reading this I think I’ll just add weight to avoid destroying a piece of Americana.
Yes, PLEASE DON’T DO THAT. I would buy them off of you before letting that happen! I have three sets of vintage Hogan irons now from ~1970-73 and they’re some of the greatest clubs I’ve ever hit.
I totally agree. I bought these clubs thinking they were a 1970’s Accord, turns out they’re a 1970’s Cobra! My plan is to polish the heads (correctly), sharpen the grooves, and make them ‘50 year old pretty’.
I’ll make all the heads the exact same weight by adding a lead weight to each hosel, and yes, that will cause a natural draw to the long irons thus defeating some of the advantages of the single plane/length swing, but damnit, I’ve got respect for Americans whether it be classic guns or golf clubs.
If my little experiment fails, I’ll sell them to someone thatwill appreciate them for minimal profit, which I think anyone here would appreciate.
And, for a cheery on top, my father, who is in his late 60’s had a new-ish set of Apex 2’s stolen from our garage in the late 80’s. He swore by the quality of the irons and is looking forward to trying this set out. How cool is that!?
Wow, I’m officially in love with these clubs. In doing more research, I found that these were likely forged in south Fort Worth, literally (actually literally, not figuratively literally) 2 miles from my home. I’m going to make these clubs work and retire the new set of P760’s I bought last month.
Ha, that’s a stretch of a difference between those two iron sets.
Do some googling, you’ll also find that the ’73 Apex was one of the clubs to inspire irons made for Tiger when he was just starting out on Tour and wasn’t playing anything run of the mill from the truck.
I still play my ’84 Apex PCs. The set is 1-E, but I don’t carry the 1 or 2 iron anymore. One thing about these clubs is how great they are at hitting knockdowns. I grew up on a course with rows of pine tree between the fairways, and playing a 2 iron back with a shut face to hit a laser through the trees was a common occurrence. Newer short irons are desperate to launch the ball high, making this kind of shot almost impossible. I once bought some Titleist 735s, but soon went back to my trusty Hogans. I have to say, though, I’m being tempted by the new ICONs.
Oops, I meant newer long irons.
I recently just got a set of Hogan Apex irons 2-PW, 3-5 wood, with a driver to round out the set. They were my fiancé’s father’s father’s set of clubs that he hardly ever used. Just out of curiosity, what would the value be on these clubs? I am unable to identify the year of them, what is the best way to be able to distinguish that?
How to say without seeing any pictures or knowing anything about them. You could start by searching for Sold listings on eBay and see if you can find the same models and what they’ve sold for.
Great article and discussion.
Question for all of you… my Apex irons were also an accidental find locally – albeit 10+ years ago. So true a club – it does indeed let you know when you’ve properly hit it.
Quick question – there is a small band below my grip on all the irons (2-E) and code is the same for every club “H-00232074”. Does this give us a clue as to manufacture date? All clubs have a True Temper Dynamic Gold band on them with code S300. Any insights?
After all that, you didn’t drop the price the guy offered! I don’t know what is a smoking deal vs. a “fair-deal” for a set like that. I’d carefully remove the grips, replace them, and keep the originals.
What?
Have 1968or69 Hogan irons 2thru equalizer. Aluminum shafts. D1or2 swing wt. Good shape. Are they worth anything?
Of course. Have a look at ebay and look for similar condition of your clubs and see what they sold for or what they’re listed at.
Thanks. Who would buy them or do I have to place on eBay.
You don’t HAVE to sell them on eBay. I guess anywhere that buys and sells stuff. Online forums, Craig’s list, resale shops, etc.
Ok…so here’s one that is stumping me. I have a set of Directors with a 1 shaft (ladies based in comments above). The directors mark and emblem on back of club and under the wave so believe this puts them in the 1979s category but the serial number does fit anything already shared… could it be the womens flex was a different style number? K58617
The serial number is on the head or somewhere on the shaft?
Can you guys help me out and tell me more info about My irons I just bought
G79243
Need much more info to work off of. Is that a serial number?
Yes that’s the serial number on them all
Can you give any other info to go off of? I don’t Hogan serial numbers, and last I checked, that info has been sort of lost to business transitions, etc. Do they look like the ones in this post? Do they have any wording of any sort on them? Any notable graphics/logos?