Current Conditions: Four Month Frost Delay

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, January 10th, 2017
Categories: Golf
Tags: Skiing

Welcome to January in northern Utah, where the only green I see is in my salad. We’re getting massive snow numbers right now. This time of year we get excited if we see dirt. The golf clubs are in storage and the skis are the chosen form of outdoor sports entertainment/activity. Here’s a little video I captured this past weekend. It was just a wee cool breeze, as they say in Scotland.

Obviously I’m not playing much golf right now. I do have content to catch up on though. Next review: heated winter gloves… Stay tuned.

Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company Addresses Death Rumors

Written by: Tony Korologos | Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017
Categories: Golf Clubs • Golf Equipment • Golf Gear
Tags: Ben Hogan Golf

A few rumors have been floating around in the last few hours on social networks that Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company is out of business and has fired all of their employees. I just received a “clarification” which is copied and pasted below:

Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company announces reorganization and restructuring – maintains commitment to building highest quality and most precise golf equipment in the world

Fort Worth, Texas: The Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company announced today that it is going through a period of re-tooling and right-sizing in an effort to become more nimble and profitable in the highly competitive golf equipment business.

The Company has voluntarily implemented a reorganization initiative to minimize expenses and streamline the operation. This included the reduction of a large percentage of the exempt and non-exempt workforce, some of whom will be rehired as contract employees. The company has not declared bankruptcy nor been foreclosed upon, and remains in the business of producing and selling the highest quality and most precise golf equipment in the world.

“Reports of our death have been greatly exaggerated”, said Scott White, President and CEO of the Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company. “While our organization does not look the same today as it did in 2016, we are confident that the changes we are making will make us a stronger and better company in the future”.

About Ben Hogan Golf
The Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company is based in Fort Worth, TX and manufactures premium golf clubs and golf bags. The company was started in 1953 by Ben Hogan himself, and is continuing Mr. Hogan’s reputation of innovation, performance, and classical designs. For players who are serious about their games, and the game of golf, there is only one choice: Ben Hogan Golf Equipment

Hooked on Golf Blog 2016 Awards – Product of the Year: Miura Series 1957 Limited Edition Small Blade Irons

Written by: Tony Korologos | Sunday, January 1st, 2017
Categories: Golf • Golf Clubs • Golf Equipment • Golf Gear • Product of the Year
Tags: Miura

Drumroll please… Happy New Year! Welcome 2017. This is the final 2016 year-end golf blog post. Today I’m happy to announce the best product Hooked on Golf Blog reviewed in 2016, the Miura Series 1957 Limited Edition Small Blade Irons. Check out the Hooked on Golf Blog Miura Series 1957 Limited Edition Small Blade Irons review.

These small blade irons are perhaps the most deserving product I’ve ever awarded for the HOG Product of the Year awards. They’re as incredible as they look. If you were to look back on the Hooked on Golf Blog Twitter to the most retweeted tweets, you’d see that consistently the ones with photos from this review are at the top. These are one of golf’s best products and everyone knows it.

Miura Series 1957 Small Blade Irons

Most people see blades, especially ones like these which are 15% smaller than normal blades, and think, “oh these are blades so I can’t hit them.” WRONG! I’m not sure how, but Miura’s engineering and hand-crafted design makes these easier to hit than many clubs meant for higher handicap players, not single digits or pros. The feel of these irons is so butter. What a joy to play.

Blade-a-licious! Could you hit this? Easier than you would think!

Congratulations to Miura. It’s not really a surprise that one of their products would win a HOG Product of the Year award. That’s pretty much what one would expect. But it’s still nice to recognize the quality, workmanship, looks, feel, and joy these clubs bring to the game of golf.

Hooked on Golf Blog 2016 Awards – Best Golf Golf Accessory: GolfBuddy CT2 Micro GPS

Written by: Tony Korologos | Saturday, December 31st, 2016
Categories: Golf • Golf Accessories • Golf For Women • Golf Gear • Product of the Year
Tags: GolfBuddy

In the previous POY award I decided to choose the apparel item of the year based on the one I used most. I think that’s a great criteria for the 2016 golf accessory award as well. I receive hundreds of golf accessories to review every year. Which one did I use most? The GolfBuddy CT2 Micro GPS.

The GolfBuddy CT2 GPS quickly locks onto the course I’m playing and gives fast and accurate yardages to the front, middle, and back of the green as well as other “good to know” areas on the course like hazards. The battery lasts several rounds.

Yes I’m mostly a laser user, but I really like having both a laser and a GPS. Sometimes there are situations where a GPS is the only solution, like when there are trees or obstacles between me and the green.

Check out my review of the GolfBuddy GPS watch here.

Hooked on Golf Blog 2016 Awards – Best Golf Apparel Item: Puma 1/4 Zip Popover

Written by: Tony Korologos | Friday, December 30th, 2016
Categories: Golf • Golf Apparel • Golf Gear • Product of the Year
Tags: Puma

The number of apparel items I get in to HOG World Headquarters for review is quite staggering. Bride of golf blogger is being slowly forced out of the walk-in closet. No really. That’s happening. I’ve gone through a lot of apparel reviews this past year so I had to establish my criteria for awarding the 2016 Product of the Year in Golf Apparel. I decided that I’d go with the item I wore the most throughout the last year. With all the items I have to choose from, the one I choose most is obviously something special.

The envelope please….

After a very short analysis it was easy to determine my most-worn item, the Puma Golf 1/4 Zip Popover. This is something I was able to enjoy wearing on the course and off. It was a great option for those days where there’s just a wee-bit of a chill in the air, or days when I needed a full cover layer underneath a rain or wind jacket.

Puma Golf 1/4 Zip Popover

The color I had with it’s great, neutral white/gray combo matched with just about everything else in my massive golf wardrobe. It’s stylish and very sharp looking. Last but not least the Puma Golf 1/4 Zip Popover is extremely comfortable.

Hats off to Puma for this great 1/4 zip. I’m sure Puma has been dying with anticipation to see if they won any HOG awards for 2016. They finally broke the ice.