Ben Hogan Precision Milled Forged Mallet Putter Review

The Ben Hogan Precision Milled Forged putters are the company’s return to the flatstick for the first time in years. Combining minimalistic design, modern tech and balanced weighting, these putters are ideal for those in the direct-to-consumer market.

Background

To me, putter head designs have been getting a little ridiculous lately.  Every time I go into a golf shop to survey the putting green, I seem to pull a few putters off the shelf and will literally look down, laugh, and shake my head at a monstrosity of a putter.  I remember the days when putters had just a few simple but effective designs where you could line them up easily, and just roll it.  Much easier said than done, I know, but putters nowadays look like they came out of the DeLorean alongside the 1950-2000 sports almanac.  These futuristic designs can look a bit bulky and extravagant, but do they really improve your putting?

Half of what makes a good putter lies between a golfer’s ears, and a good portion of that comes with feeling comfortable over the ball:  specifically, the look of how the putter sets up behind the ball, and the alignment lines to take dead aim.

If you are like me, you like a simple and clean look to a putter:  a design that won’t distract you with four different color schemes with wild curves and loops and whatever else they can think to throw on a putter head.  And if you reminisce of the simpler days of old like I do, you will enjoy the new 2019 line of Ben Hogan Precision Milled Forged Putters.

The Look

You can’t get much cleaner and simpler than this.  The all-black, soft 1020C carbon steel forged putter head with a single long line alignment looks very sleek;  a sort of throwback to the old Dual Force Rossie II, the putter that made me fall in love with mallets.

One of the things I like about the look are the geometric edges on both heel and toe sides of the putter head that run parallel to the club head path.  This gives golfers additional yet subtle alignment lines, without overkilling you with a multitude of lines and dots.

The Design

The putter is true forged using one metal, which provides soft, uniform, and consistent ball strikes with every putt.  Most putters nowadays have inserts to soften the feel of the putter, but I found the feel to be soft enough as-is to provide great touch with both short and long putts.

Final Thoughts

Ben Hogan has been crafting high quality golf clubs for decades, especially since resurrecting the brand years ago, only recently diving into the putter world.  Their overall vision seems to be simple:  deliver high quality golf clubs direct-to-consumer, without distracting them with new flashy “innovative” designs.  And they have stayed true to their model with their new 2019 putter line.

(Matt Hackett is a former collegiate golfer and lives in the Chicago area. Follow him on Twitter at @matthewliam)