Ben Hogan Apex Plus Irons Review? Still Good And Forgiving for High Handicappers?

Ben Hogan Apex Plus Irons Review? Still Good And Forgiving for High Handicappers?

“The Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons first came out in 1999 and they followed a tradition of unique iron design from the company.”

Up to 1999, Ben Hogan had been flying in the face of iron design convention. In 1989, he produced one of the first sets of forged blades that were designed for higher handicap players. Ten years later, he doubled-down on his theory that you can make premium, forged blades playable for beginners when he designed the Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons.

The Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons are nearly a quarter of a century old now. Yet some people claim they are still some of the greatest irons ever made. I don’t have much experience with Ben Hogan golf clubs so I was really anxious to carry out this testing. Are the Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons still good for high handicappers? Let’s find out.

Are Ben Hogan Apex Plus Irons Still Good?

“The Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons were made to look like blades at point of address.”

They have a relatively thin top line and a rounded toe, just  like blades. However, the length of the head is a little longer than your average blades. But the most important thing regarding the quality of these irons is the forged design. Yes, the Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons are forged irons and they feel every bit the part.

They have an exceptionally soft feel and when you pure the ball, forget about it. On pure strikes, the Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons feel as soft and silky as anything Mizuno is producing these days. And did I mention that these are cavity back, perimeter weighted irons? How often do you see forged cavity back irons? Even in 2023 it’s not very common but imagine what people thought in 1999.

The Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons have expansive sweet spots considering these are forged irons. The perimeter weighting kept my ball on-line when I missed the sweet spot, which was incredibly hard to do in the first place. The cavity back enhanced the forgiveness and helped me preserve my ball speed on mis-hits.

The cavity undercut isn’t too deep but the lofts are on the weak side. So what you end up with is a mid/high launch that can be worked down a little. I found that I could easily get over trees when I needed to. And when I needed to punch the ball low and fast, the slightly higher CG and thin undercut were of great assistance.

Are Ben Hogan Apex Plus Irons Forgiving for High Handicappers?

“The Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons have a sweet spot comparable to modern game improvement irons.”

It felt like there was no part of the face that was unviable. I was producing very playable lies that fell within 9 yards of each other consistently with these irons. My mis-hits were producing a wide draw which never veered more than 11 yards off target. My pure strikes were producing really good distance – 158.9 yards of carry with the 7-iron.

The only thing I didn’t like about the long irons was that the CG was higher than your average game improvement irons. This wasn’t a huge problem for me and I especially liked the distance/spin control the higher CG afforded me in the short irons. But the CG placement in the long irons is something I can foresee being a problem for high handicappers.

Other than that, these irons are very forgiving. They offer a wide margin for error, tight dispersion and good distance.

Ben Hogan Apex Plus Vs Ben Hogan Apex Edge Irons

“The Ben Hogan Apex Edge irons are forged from 1020 carbon steel compared to 1030 carbon steel in the Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons.”

1020 carbon steel still feels very soft; but perhaps not as soft as the Ben Hogan Apex Plus irons. The Ben Hogan Apex Edge irons also lack perimeter weighting and a cambered sole so they are slightly less forgiving.