back to the hogans??

ive been playing ben hogan apex plus irons for quite some time now... ive always struck them very well..

i had a baby 3 months ago and i work alot of overtime, so i dont have much time to practice anymore.. my ball striking has suffered so i decided to get some cavity backs like most people in my situation do...

my problem is.. most cavity backs have too much offset for me and i have zero confidence with thick toplines...

found a set of ping i-3 blades... they're nice and compact. thought i'd like them on the course...

well, i hate them. long irons still have a bit too much offset and i cant get over how the cast irons feel when i strike the ball. im having trouble trying to fade the ball with them for some reason (the fade is my go-to shot, since i fight a nasty snap hook)

my question is.. should i stick with the pings and hope my confidence level increases?? ive hit some great shots with them and they're very forgiving.. but the entire time i'm playing with them i'm wishing i had my hogans...

Where did you "find" the i3 blades? Why switch after only a 3 month layoff? Canadians have a 6 to 8 month layoff every year and we don't need new irons every spring. We buy new irons to keep the economy stong (jk).

You went from one of the most forgiving Hogan Apex irons ever to one of the least forgiving Ping irons ever? If money's no problem, and you're set on new(er) irons, I think the i3s are not going to be the sticks for you. Personally, based on aesthetics and feel alone, I'd prefer the Apex pluses.

the pings are actually alot more forgiving than the hogans... i just have no confidence with them when i address the ball. ballls hit off the toe of the hogans come out dead with no spin.. toe hits with the pings actually go a long way, just leak slightly right...

i dont want "new" irons.. i just want some a bit more forgiving without the offset of GI irons...

i dont see how yall go 6-8 months without playing golf. i'd die. i actually play all through winter i dont care how cold it gets.

i put the hogans back into the bag. i play better with them, even when im not having a good day on the course.. they're much more satisfying to play with and it feels alot better when i strike the ball compared to the cast pings...

and i agree with you.. the hogans are way more beautiful. maybe thats why i cant hit the pings... they're ugly... lol..

i'm just gonna suck it up and keep playing my irons. anybody know a good place to have them refinished/replated?? they're browning pretty bad on the faces and the paint fill has pretty much rubbed off...

Definitely play the Hogans, go with the ones you have the most confidence in.

Just in case you're looking, Mizuno has some great forged irons with forgiveness and little offset.

Golf is all about confidence so I'd suggest sticking with the Hogans. You can still find plenty of cavity back irons without much offset and some damn good looking ones too. If you ever decide to give up on the Hogans again just shop around a bit more and I'm sure you'll find something that works.

I like the slight offset and top line of the hogans. The feedback is nice as well. If you're able to setup to the ball comfortable and confident, then go back to the hogans. I'm a little bias

Well. I was/am also in same situation as you are. I also just had my 2nd baby less than a month ago. When my first one got born 2 years ago, I couldn't find my time to play golf as much as I used to play and lost feel and swings for mizuno mp33 that I had. Flex felt much stiffer and shaft felt heavy significantly. That showed in my scores.
Last year, I did iron fitting again (did it prior year also) and found out swing speed lessen about 6 mph. So changed the irons to MP57, cavity but most blade like feel/offset that I can get from mizuno line with project x 6.0. Well.. My game is not there yet but I can feel that this irons set will do just fine or better.
My advice is get fitted, both yourself and irons. That will give your confidence back with any clubs.

There are tons of Apex Plus and FTX sets on ebay. I like the older Hogans (never hit the 98 Apex blades - I'd like to though) - I picked up a mint set of '94 Apex (Channelbacks) for $80. The 2-iron looks non-matching, but it's in the best shape. They seem longer than my other blades so I'll probably leave out the 2 and add another wedge or wood.

Who says you have to have only 1 set of irons?