Conference 7.286::golf

    I have the Hogan Series 56 Driver and 3 wood as of last year and
    had some trouble getting used to them (coming from persimmon woods)
    but am now really moving the ball well with both clubs. 
    
    What impressed me about the woods is the basic look which is modelled
    after the 1956 classic Hogan woods. They feel the same as my persimmon
    and if they could only make that reassuring "CRACK" sound on those
    sunny mornings....
    
    They were fairly difficult to find and finally I had to phone order
    them from Edwin Watts and did not get the 9 degree driver due to
    short supply. I am pleased with the clubs with regard to performance,
    looks and durability and would recommend them.

    re .0
    
    I bought the Hogan Radial woods and irons last year. I'm happy with
    them.
    
    re .1
    
    I've seen the series 56 medal woods in a local golf store. They
    are availble now.
    
    Don
    

    Re .1
    
    	In Tuesday's Globe, I noticed an ad for the Edwin Watts Golf
    Shop, now in Hanover, Ma. on Rte 123.

    I've been to the Edwin Watts store in Hanover (primarily because
    of my good experience and service with ordering my woods by phone).
    I liked the idea of dealing with Edwin Watts because they do not
    try to force feed you the store brands (a la Nevada Bob's).
    
    The Edwin Watts phone ordering system was marvelous. I had a name
    and was made to feel as if this person had nothing in the world
    to do but fill my order. Although he didn't have the club in the
    warehouse *he* did the looking around, found the clubs for me and
    then - are you ready for this? - called me back to tell me what
    he had found and that my order was being shipped from somewhere
    else in the world and that I should expect it within a couple of
    days.
    
    Based on this I went to the Hanover store....
     
    After visiting the store and experiencing an incredible lack of service
    coupled with a definite bad attitude I will stick with Nevada Bob's or
    my Pro for local purchases. Then again, maybe I should just use the Edwin
    Watts phone line.
    
    My opinion.
    
    

    
    While we're on the subject of radial irons,  Herman's has some LYNX
    radial sole irons which look much like the Hogan's.  Does anyone
    have any experience with these ?
    
    Bruce Woodruff

	Does anybody have the full scoop on the new Hogan clubs that are
	supposed to be introduced this fall ? I think I read about them
	in a recent Golf Digest. Anyway, they are supposed to be the first
	forged, perimeter weighted clubs on the market....

	Any thoughts on price (!), quality, desirability (ie "forged" perim.
	vs. "cast" perim.), appearance ???


	Peter.

    green meadow said they should have them by thanksgiving when I asked..
    the key to me is how they will feel...I have hogan radials and love
    them but..I only get that good feeling with a wound ball..I'd like
    to be able to use a two piece ball because of the extra distance...
    two piece is supposedly better with perim. weighted clubs but will
    wait and see....

    I have 1988 Radials, and love them, but I've hit the new Hogan edge
    three times, and it is 10-12 yards LONGER, on the average. Probably
    the best feeling iron I have ever hit.
    
    --Jack
    

    re: .8
    	I can beleive that they are longer...if you have ever looked
    at the spec's on preim. weighted clubs (i.e. ping's,etc.) which
    the new Hogan Edge clubs are you will find that most if not all
    of these clubs have to change the loft to achieve the correct ball
    flight....an example of what I mean is a "standard 5 iron" is 
    app. 30 deg loft but most prem. weighted 5 irons will be at 28 deg.
    or less and this is true throughout the whole set...naturally the
    results will be greater distance with these clubs when compared
    with a standard club.....NOW LOOK INTO THE REASONS THE MANUFACTURES
    HAVE TO MAKE THESE CHANGES and you may decide that your better
    off with "standard" clubs as opposed to "GIMICK" clubs....it 
    really depends on how much you play...if you don't play alot
    get these prem. weighted clubs because they are easier to hit...
    however if you want to work on having a good swing that will stand
    up under all sorts of pressure and conditions learn to play with
    "standard" clubs as they reflect better your swing faults/tendencies!

    
    	Can anybody confirm or dispute the following info...?
    
    	I was talking to a proprietor of a local golf shop last night
    	and he stated that the Hogan company had been sold last spring.
    	He also went on to say that Ben Hogan would have never allowed
    	the Edge to have been made and that Ben had not even wanted
    	the Radial to be made...! He also said that Hogan did not deliver
    	on about $500,000 worth of merchandise last year, he feels that
    	they will be in trouble if they don't get their act together
    	this year, he said that they are allready way behind on their
    	shipments of the Edge...
    
    	I got to see the Edge last night, it is a nice looking stick...!
	Priced in the Ping range $470ish for the set... 
    
    	Gene

	I got to hit the "Edge" at Nevada Bob's over the weekend.  Boy,
they felt great.  The price was *only* $339.00. 

	Does anyone know how the APEX shafts are identified in terms
of stiffness?  The shafts I tried were #4, and I notice a Radial with
#3.

Jeff

    
    Hogan shaft stiffness - a 3 is a regular flex shaft, 4 is stiff,
    5 is extrastiff, 2 is a seniors flex, 1 is ladies flex...
    
    Gene

re: .11  -- Sorry, the "Edge" was $439.00 at Nevada Bob's, not $339.00.

    
    	Jeff, I am curious, I assume that they only had one set of the
    	EDGE irons. Right? Also did you ask how long it would take to
    	fill an order if you ordered a set?
    
    	Gene (who_thinks_you_would_be_waiting_a_lot_longer_than_you_would_like)

Gene,

	Unfortunately, I didn't ask about delivery. I only saw one set, and
I wouldn't be surprised if that was the only one.  It looked like *all* of
the clubs were used quite a bit. 

	I have made up my mind to purchase a set in the near future, but
will probably go to a pro who can either order what I need or custom fit 
a set.
 
Jeff

    
    RE: -1
    
    Jeff, I don't think it is going to matter where you go, to a pro
    or otherwise, you will be waiting a heck of a long time to get
    the EDGE clubs...
    
    I think I entered a note in here some place a few weeks ago about
    the fact that I got to see a set of EDGE at Seacoast Golf and was
    talking to one of the owners about them. He said that a couple of
    the guys in the store were fitted for them when the rep. first 
    came around about them, around last July, and they haven't seen
    them yet....!
    
    Gene

     As I think I've mentioned before, a good friend of mine is a Regional
    manager for Hogan, and he told me last fall that the demand for
    the "EDGE" was incredible; consequently, Hogan is limiting shipments
    to individual Pro's. I think a six (6) set maximum is the limit
    that will be imposed. My unsolicited advice is that if you see 'em
    and like 'em, buy 'em! Naturally this presupposes that you all don't
    have wives or girlfriends (or boyfriends - I guess this is the 20th
    century...) who mind you laying out $439 large on a whim.
    
    --The Skoal (soon to be "living on the EDGE") Bandit

    re: .10
    
    	Hogan company which was sold years ago to A.M.F. was also sold
    again by A.M.F. to a JAPANEESE(?sp) company last year....
    As for meeting commitments, the pro at Green Meadow is on the Hogan
    Staff and seems to have no problem getting orders filled in a
    reasonabletime...of course supply and demand dictate on new products.
    
    I also saw in print years ago that Hogan never wanted the radials
    made but went along as that is what the marketing showed the public
    wanted i.e. "easier playing clubs"..so I can beleive that the same
    would be true on the "edge irons"....
    These type of clubs are a boon to todays goler who may only get
    a chance to play maybe 3 to 6 times a year as they are designed
    to get the ball into the air quicker with almost anytype of swing..
    For those who play more i.e. 2-4 times a week they should quickly
    see the drawbacks of this type of club when trying to do different
    things with the ball...for me they just hit the ball t..o..o...o..o
    high in the air. There are many times when I want a high shot and
    I've worked at learning to hit high or low and even though it
    doesn't always do what I want with these "game improvement" clubs
    their design seems to dictate what I can and can't do with a ball..
    Ya, I know it may be between the ears but to me it's what your
    comfortable with...

     Re-18:
    Two comments:
    1. If I only played 3-6 times a year, I'd have trouble justifying
    $439 on a set of clubs, forgiving or not. I currently own 7 sets
    of irons, so this isn't "cheapskate" mentality.
    2. I don't know what audience reads these notes, but the guy I referred
    to from Hogan shot 67 with 'em at Crumpin-Fox, and I've seen him
    shoot low 70's numbers many times with 'em. Granted, there may be
    a few more very (!) specific thing a great amateur or tour player
    can do with a "tour blade" that you can't do with a Radial or even
    a Ping (but come to think of it, there sure are a lot of Pings on
    tour). My point is, tour blades look great, and really make you
    feel like a "player", but they probably hurt us noters more than
    they help us. Try hitting a "tb" on the toe sometime, or out of
    greasy rough (where even us noters stray occasionally) and see what
    you get. 
     When you're hittin' it pure, you can hit anything, but how often
    does that happen, and how really "pure" is pure ?
    
    --The Skoal Bandit

    
    	I found some interesting info last night about the Edge.
    
    	This is copied without permission from DYNACRAFT's GOLF REPORT
    	February 1989...
    
    	Question written in by reader,
    
    	"In the ads that support their new forged cavity back iron called
    	 the Edge, the Ben Hogan Company claims that this is a first
    	 in golf...being able to create the game improvement design
    	 of a cavity back through the forging process. Is it the first
    	 forged cavity back?"
    
    	Reply,
    
    	"Not at all. You may have already seen the Wilson Sporting Goods
    	 Company ad which does dispute this claim. The fact is that
    	 in 1976, Wilson introduced the X-31 plus irons, which were
    	 a cavity back design produced through forging. In addition
    	 the Allied Golf Company of Chicago currently has a cavity
    	 back forging which has been in their line for years. And
    	 finally, MacGregor debuted a model in 1975 called the Heritage
    	 Irons which was a forged cavity back design. So much for the
    	 strength of marketing and advertising!"
    
    	I find this to be VERY interesting that such a big deal is
    	being made out of this revolutionary iron head from Hogan
    	and it isn't even the first, but is just due to a great ad
    	campain.....!!!!
    
    	Gene

    Gene,
    	I take it they are trying to get the perimeter(sp) weighting
    that the cast club has these days. My Rams have a slight dished
    back to try and enlarge the sweet spot. I wonder if anyone has ever
    experimented with a simple forged design with a cast back plate
    add. If possible I could see possibilities of really tuning a set
    of clubs, club by club to a players swing.
    
    
    Tom

    
    	Tom,
    
    	Cavity back and perimeter weighted are the same thing. What
    	Hogan is portraying as being a first, in fact is not...!
    
    
    	Gene

    Does anyone know if they have a left-handed Edge?
    
    Stow Acres  is  selling  the  "Edge" and I asked Chuck to find out if
    they had a LH model,  but I want to double check.  The price was also
    in the mid $400's.
    
    Tavo
    
    P.S.  Not  that  I  am  buying  them  soon.  My Altrons only have two
    seasons under them.

    
    	Tavo,
    
    	I am just curious, does Stow have the Edge (right handed) in
    	stock or just a demo set and you have to order...?
    
    
    	thanks
    	Gene

    Re:< Note 267.24 by MSEE::KELLEY "Custom clubs/club repair" >

    They had  one  set there, it was not even on display, since they took
    all the golf items out ot make room for the X-country gear.
    
    Unfortunately I didn't ask  if it was a demo set or for sale since it
    was "wrong" handed, or about delivery,  but the conversation was more
    on the  fact that it was "the" club everybody is talking about.
    
    I'll ask about  it  the next time I stop there (hopefully very soon!)
    or if you want to call the no. is (508)562-8690.
    
    Tavo

What exactly is the Radial iron about?  

It's a "game-improvement" club, but it's not perimeter weighted?
It is supposed to have more traditional feel?  Is it "harder to hit"
than a cast perimeter-weighted club?

Any idea what they cost nowadays?

Thanks,
Mike

    re: -1
    
    they we're discontinued about two years ago so you should be able to
    pick up a set for under $300.00 I'd expect....

    The radial sole concept was designed to help people get the ball into
    the air easier.  If low trajectory or scuffed shots is a part of your
    game, then the radils might be something to consider.
    
    SCD

    I've had a couple of sets of "Radicals..." The long irons are very easy
    to hit, in fact, I liked 'em a lot - but for the time being, I'm using
    an old set of Edges. I've talked 3-4 people into Radials in the past,
    and they love 'em !
    
    __Jack