Help Identify Ben Hogan Power Thrust Irons

[ChazzUK]

Hi all,

Hope you can help. I've purchased a set of Ben Hogan Power Thrust Irons  (3-9, Equalizer & Exploder). They have the numbers 652 on the ferule.

Grips look to be aftermarket, unsure if the shafts. They've got Slazenger Ben Hogan on them.

Anyone any idea of age / worth? What do the Equalizer / Exploder names mean?

I have a number of woods with the Slazenger Power Thrust wording, but not in great shape. Irons could use a clean but otherwise good condition.

 

Thanks in advance!

Chazz

[The Recreational Golfer]

Your irons are the 1961 Power Thrust.

Equalizer is the name for the pitching wedge, since Hogan thought that this club he was so good with "equalized" his game with that of the the longer and straighter pros. He said if you were good with the wedge, there was no pin they could hide from you.

The Exploder is of course the name for the sand wedge which I guess the marketing department thought went well with the Equalizer. Exploder has gone out of use, but my 1988 Red Lines and my 1999 Apex blades both call the PW an Equalizer.

As for the value of your set, they're probably worth what you paid for them. There's a set on eBay right now for $399.99.

I hope this helps.

 

[ChazzUK]

Hey! Thanks for your response, got them for £8 so not complaining.

The set online seems to be a 2-9 with Equaliser. Mine is 3-9 but includes the Equaliser and Exploder. Appreciate neither is the full set - some sites have a full set 1-9 and four wedges all polished up with original grips for $$$.

Does the 652 mean anything?

[The Recreational Golfer]

652 is the serial number, which should be common to all the irons in your set if they all came from the same set originally.

 

[Ben]

Once upon a time I had a goal to purchase every set of irons the Hogan Company made. With the added guideline that each set I purchased had, not only matching serial numbers (such as the number you found on the ferrules), but also had original grips. 

I have a few set of Power Thrusts, I didn't pay more than $175 for each.  

As mentioned, eBay is a great tool for finding a resale value for whatever someone collects. If you have an eBay account, log in. In the search bar type in the set you want to sell. From there you will find another tremendously helpful tool. Click the box to search "Completed Listings". You'll be able to scroll through other eBay users whom have sold similar sets and what they sold their sets for. 

While I have been out of the hunt for a number of years, I still have most of the better sets I purchased. And as a collector, I cant see a set other than one totally untouched, going for more than $200...

 

[ChazzUK]

Thanks for your response, I did a bit of research as was curious what the difference was. In regards to the 652 - These are the British Ben Hogan Power Thrust, licensed to Slazenger. The Equalizer being the name conned to the Pitching wedge and the Exploder the name of the Sand wedge.

I'm hoping to find them a new home on ebay, nice clubs but wasted on me.