Introduction
Ben Hogan may be best known for its clubs and the legendary golfer who inspired the brand, but the GS53 golf ball proves there’s more to the company than irons and wedges. The GS53 is only golf ball that the company produces, so let’s put it to the test to see how it performs…
Keywords
Ben Hogan, high compression, firm golf ball
NCG Summary & rating
NCG SUMMARY
This is Ben Hogan’s first premium golf ball and it’s off to a strong start especially on the distance front.
Whilst spin rates with wedges wasn’t much to shout about the impressive carry distance and ball speed is absolutely worth a mention.
The four piece construction has a urethane outer cover that isn’t soft but is very durable.
Overall, a strong contender as a distance golf ball and one that’s also very reasonably priced.
PROS
- Excellent driver distance
- Strong ball flight
- Very durable
CONS
- Firm feel/sound won’t suit everyone
Key Facts
| Driver Spin | Low |
| Driver Flight | Low |
| Iron spin | Mid-Low |
| Wedge spin | Mid |
| Feel | Firm |
| Cover | Urethane |
| Construction | 4 piece |
| Compression | 100 |
Key benefits and downsides
| Key benefits | Downsides |
|---|---|
| Strong ball flight – The 350-dimple pattern was been engineered to produce a strong ball flight that remains stable in the wind. | Feel/Sound – Firmer feel and sound won’t be for everyone |
| Driver distance -Strong distance performance with very respectable ball speed. | |
| Durable – I’ve used these for several sounds now and they’re still in very good condition. |
First Impressions
I can’t say that I’ve ever tested a Ben Hogan golf ball, in fact I didn’t even know that there was such a thing. I went to the test of this being very open minded.
The packaging was very smart. A pretty similar plain box with the GS53 wording taking centre stage. The GS53 being a tribute to Ben Hogan’s Grand Slam of 1953 – which back then consisted of The Masters, The US Open and The Open.
Inside the ball had the classic Ben Hogan logo on, which was pretty smart.
Despite the website saying it has a soft urethane cover, I could tell by the feel and tapping my nails on it that this ball was firm. However, I was still excited to see how it would perform.
Construction
The Ben Hogan GS53 is a four piece premium golf ball. It’s designed to promote distance off the tee with lower spin rates.
At the centre is a low-compression core, that has been designed to maximises energy transfer at impact. This means great ball speed and distance for golfers. The outer layer is a premium urethane cover that is designed to have a soft feel as well as being incredibly durable. Its 350-dimple pattern helps with aerodynamics, keeping the ball stable even in windy conditions.
How I undertook the review
I used the Ben Hogan golf ball over the several rounds at my home course Hickleton Golf Club. To collect data I went to an indoor studio and used a Trackman.
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What I found
I used the Ben Hogan golf balls out on the golf course first which gave me to chance to see how they really performed. The first thing to mention is how firm they felt. As per the website the urethane cover is to be soft yet I didn’t find this at all. It made a very high pitched noise to go alongside the firm feel.
With driver on the course the GS53 performed well, the ball flight was strong and distance was very good – yet the noise it made didn’t complement the outcome.
Around the greens it wasn’t the most reactive but it rolled nice off the putter face, so no complaints there.
Data
Having used it on the course I was interested to see what the numbers would say.
Starting off with a 58° to hit a 50 yard pitch shot, the data is shown on the table below. Off the clubface the ball felt firm. It has a high compression rate of 100, which is just a bit firmer than a Pro V1x.
However, unlike my ProV1x the spin rate only averaged 5803 RPM which is pretty low compared to other premium golf balls. Launch angle was also pretty high was an average of 32°.
Moving onto 7 iron, the data was very consistent. The carry average of 136.2 was less than I’d like to see, with a slower ball speed too. However, the spin rates pretty much mirrored those that I see with my Pro V1x.
Driver was where the GS53 really shone. An average carry distance of 222.3 yards is pretty solid for me at the minute and again very consistent. Spin sat at a nice 2555 RPM with a ball speed average of 137.6 mph. I tend to launch the ball quite high so seeing a launch of 13.5° was quite nice and would definitely help me in windy conditions.
How it compares to the other golf balls
Compared to my standard Pro V1x the Ben Hogan GS53 produced strong carry distances that matched the data. I saw a decline in distance compared to a Pro V1x with 7 iron and a higher launch and lower spin rates on wedge shots.
NCG Final Say
Overall, the Ben Hogan GS53 did surprise me. Whilst the sound and feel was very firm, the speeds and distance produced with driver were impressive. Around the greens it wasn’t as reactive with lower spin rates. This would be a great distance golf ball for anyone looking to gain some yards this season.
Price information
RRP: £39.99 / $49.99
More info: Ben Hogan website
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