50 Words or Less
The Ben Hogan Icon irons look sharp in the bag. Good feel. Performance is about what you’d expect from a blade.
Introduction
Given that the company’s namesake is one of the greatest ball strikers of all time, it’s a little surprising that it took Ben Hogan Golf this long to release a blade. But now they have. The Ben Hogan Icon iron is the most old school design in the company’s line, and will be an object of desire for traditionalists.
Looks
The Ben Hogan Icon irons are very pretty. Setting them down at impact, you’ll see a very straight leading edge, a slightly compact club head, and a top line that’s thin but not razor thin. There’s a touch of offset that’s very nicely shaped.
In the bag, the Icon will have huge appeal to the fans of the Hogan brand. The blade displays both the sunburst and signature logos along with the word “ICON” in small letters near the toe. The design of the iron is actually a little busier than most with four distinct tiers.
The Icon is available in both chrome and black finishes.
Sound & Feel
Hitting the Ben Hogan Icon pure feels good. It should – it’s a forged blade. The whole point is that it rewards you for a well struck shot. But good is about as far as I can go. The feel is fairly soft, it’s solid, but it’s not transcendent. That’s not a knock – transcendent is a high bar – but Hogan’s description of these irons had me expecting a lot.
Feedback from the Icon irons is quite nice. You can locate impact precisely through your hands, but these irons won’t rattle your bones on a mishit.
Performance
Much like the feel, the performance of the Ben Hogan Icon irons is good and almost exactly what I expected. Designed for the better player, these irons have higher spin so shots can be shaped left or right and will hold a green. When hit on center, the ball speed and distance are adequate. When you miss the sweet spot, expect to lose a club of distance or more.
Hogan touts their 4 degree loft gaps as a major performance feature. While there is an appeal to that even spacing, golfers should not assume that consistent loft gaps mean consistent distance gaps. Distance is the result of ball speed, launch angle, and spin. Launch and spin are the result of not just loft but the club’s CG, the shaft, and the swing. Just as with any iron set, you should make sure it produces even distance gaps for you and your swing.
The one performance element of the Icon that I really like is the V-Sole. A V-Sole design puts high bounce at the leading edge to prevent digging and low bounce in the rest of the sole to allow for creativity and versatility. This may not seem as relevant on a thin sole like the Icon has, but I still found it beneficial. This sole gave me the turf interaction I like from a narrow sole without the fear of burying the club in the dirt.
Conclusion
At $770, the Ben Hogan Icon delivers a lot of value for the better player who wants a traditional blade iron. There are no surprises in this set, but that’s likely to be a good thing for the target customer.
Ben Hogan Icon Irons Price & Specs
Matt Saternus
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I am perplexed by your comment regarding it taking this long for the Ben Hogan Company to release a blade. I have been playing the Fort Worth Black irons for several years now from the new Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. The Icons replaced them in their lineup in 2020. I have several older sets of Hogan Apex blades from a time before the current ownership took the reins so I will not count them, but the Fort Worth irons were definitely offered by the new Hogan company and can only be considered a blade. And they are great irons.
Bob,
Very good point. The Ft Worth had fallen off my radar, and I was thinking a bit too much in the present with regard to Ben Hogan Golf’s current DTC model.
Thanks,
Matt
When will you test the new edge ex?
Rafa,
We have nothing set on the calendar at the moment. If you’d like to see it soon, I’d encourage you to get on social media and let Ben Hogan Golf know that our reviews are important to your buying decisions.
Best,
Matt
Thanks for giving Ben Hogan a shout. I have owned a set of Hogan Irons for 28 years, just replacing my ‘93 Edges for new Edges in ‘19. Have a 4 wood and a putter as well, they make good stuff. The combo iron set they offer looks interesting as well, price is right.
Can I get a set of Icon irons heads anywhere?
Hogan Company should produce the Decade iron the made back in 1970. This is a fantastic iron. Do your 2022 thing with it. You will sell a million of them.
Hi Matt, When the Ft Worth 15s came out you raved about them. https://pluggedingolf.com/ben-hogan-ft-worth-15-irons-review/
Admittedly about 6 years ago now and built under Terry Koehler. Is it fair to say that your love for the icons isn’t as high?
Still love the PIG reviews.
Cheers
Jason,
Thank you.
Yes, I’m not as high on the ICON as I was about the Ft. Worth. I think the ICON is a very nice value, but there’s nothing overwhelming in terms of pure performance.
Best,
Matt
Hey Matt –
Question – do you think the Icon irons are MORE forgiving than the Miura 501’s or about the same? I don’t have any real issue with hitting the Icon irons and have always wanted Miura irons but the forgiveness part of your 501 review got my attention. I’m a good ball striker but don’t want to have to hit it perfect every time. Thanks!!
Chris,
They’re fairly similar in terms of forgiveness.
-Matt
I just wanted to comment on the Ben Hogan Edge EX Irons. I sent an email to the Ben Hogan Company after I sliced my finger on the cavity back of my 7-Iron while pulling the club out of my bag. My finger got caught underneath the cavity back and as I was pulling the club out, the club twisted and sliced my finger on the sharp edge. After sending them an email with a photo of my finger and my 7-Iron showing them what I was talking about, they said that they didn’t know what to tell me but to be more careful. I asked them to send me a new set because they said that none of their demos or new sets have sharp edges but they said they don’t do that. They said I could send in my current set and they would file them down to get rid of the sharp edges but then I would be without clubs for at least a couple of weeks. Not too happy right now with their customer service! It’s hard to believe that it’s only my set that has sharp edges and none of their demos or new sets don’t have the same sharp edges!
I’m a big fan of Ben Hogan irons. I’ve had a set for years and they still look and perform great. I highly recommend these irons to anyone looking for a great set of clubs.
Good morning,
I purchased a set of the Icon irons from a friend last year and have only hit them a couple of times. I am getting older now and find them feeling a bit heavy for me and thought about changing the shafts to graphite. When I mentioned this to someone, they mentioned that I might have to look for tapered tip shafts as opposed to the basic .370 model. I’ve been trying to find out info on this but have been unable to find anything to this point ….. wondering if you or someone might be able to shed light on which shaft tip size would work as a replacement for these Icon irons. Any help appreciated ….. thanks in advance for your reply(s).
Mike
Mike,
I’m not certain what the hosel diameter of those irons is, but any club builder can figure that out for you by pulling one shaft.
Best,
Matt