Ben Hogan Big Ben C-S3

Reviewed by: hofmary ,  Shoots in the 90s

Model Reviewed:
Ben Hogan CS-3 8.5 Neutral

Summary:
Best driver I've hit in a long time. Size of the head is great for me (I have yet to be able to adjust to these HUGE Drivers). Swing weight dialed in just right, sound is great. Sweet spot is fine, It's great watching the ball carry and carry and carry and carry. I do agree with other posts that suggest choosing a less steep degree angle. I used to hit a 10.5, but this 8.5 consistently flies at a very similar height.

Customer Service:
don't know,

Similar Products Used:
Cleveland HiBore, MaxFli, Slazenger, Ping, Titleist, Callaway, Cobra,

Reviewed by: mlgolf ,  Shoots in the 80s

Model Reviewed:
Hogan CS-3 7.5 Fade Driver

Summary:
Purchased a new 7.5 fade driver ultra cheap on eBay ($40 all-in) and put in a Diamana Blueboard 83s to maintain swingweight (TaylorMade graphics pulled from R5 TP--these are also very cheap on eBay--all in price for head & shaft is about $100!) tipped 1" and extended 1" for a club length of a little over 44" (remember that Tour Pros play avg. of 44.5"). Purchase was largely sentimental, since I love Hogan forged irons (have owned Apex blades, Apex Plus, FTX).

Quite a nice surprise! In my opinion, this is a terrific driver that was poorly marketed (400cc in the era of 460cc, Callaway screwing up the Hogan brand) and hobbled by a terrible shaft (I hate Aldila NV in drivers, and the Hogan NV feels very tip soft to me). Ranks very well with my other top 3 driver models:

Ping G10 9 degree Whiteboard 73 (Ping Wrx, untipped)
Ping G10 9 degree Epic 68S (tipped 1.75")
Hibore XL Tour 8.5 degrees Redboard X (tipped 0.5")
Cobra L4V X 9 degree Epic 68X (tipped 1.75").

More accurate and better (lower) trajectory than Ping G10s, a push with the Hibore XL Tour (CS3 more forgiving and accurate, Hibore XL Tour longer, but then, I find the Hibore XL Tour longer than anything) and a reasonably close second the L4V. The L4V with a nicely fit shaft is a great, great driver if you can handle the high swingweight (very heavy head)--super solid and straight.

Pros:
1. Very tight dispersion
2. Medium boring trajectory (SS=105 and I am a high spin player)
3. Probably the best feeling driver I have ever hit--the ball seems to stay on the clubhead forevever
4. Nice controlled fade (and I can hook it with the best)
5. 400cc head is very easy to square due to lower MOI of less-than-460cc head (see Tom Wishon's "Search for the Perfect Club")

Be sure to get a slightly lower loft than usual, as I believe that the CS3s play weaker than loft mainly due to the roll on the face--hit it high on the face (as you should for high launch, low spin) and the loft on the top of the face is higher than the stated loft (again, see Tom Wishon's "Search for the Perfect Club"). For softer shaft, leave the Diamana TP 83s untipped; otherwise Diamana Blueboards in R flex and Redboards are readily available all over eBay.

Customer Service:
not used

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