Ben Hogan GS53 driver built with focus on "aesthetics, feel and ball speed"

The Ben Hogan GS53 driver may be the company’s first new driver in more than a decade, but with its traditional all-titanium design and straightforward construction, company CEO Scott White says he believes consumers have been misled by recent driver technology.

“Ben Hogan was famous for his no-nonsense approach to his game and his business,” White said in a press release announcing the new driver and companion fairway woods. “We felt the designs and marketing claims in the driver and fairway woods categories had gotten out of control in recent years. We’ve been working on the GS53 projects for a long time with the simple goal of delivering exceptionally beautiful drivers and fairways woods that provide industry-leading performance. No ridiculous hype, unnecessary technologies, materials or graphics—and certainly without the crazy price tags.”

While many other drivers have pursued lightweight carbon composite or historically thinly cast titanium in the crown to save weight, the Ben Hogan GS53 doesn’t specifically tout materials. The GS53 driver features an all-titanium construction with a forged 6-4 titanium face. The variable thickness face creates different thicknesses from toe to heel and crown to sole in order to create a larger “effective hitting area.” White said the focus of the design was three-fold: “We took a step back and really focused on a couple key areas: aesthetics, feel and ball speed.” The latter two were developed via “our own proprietary face thickness map which increases the spring-like effect across the entire face,” he said.

The GS53 driver features an adjustable hosel that covers eight settings. It allows for +/- 1 degree of loft with intermediate settings between the maximum “low” and maximum “high” loft settings. There also lie adjustment settings (more upright or more flat).

Fans of the original Ben Hogan persimmon woods might recognize the channel in the rear perimeter of the sole of both the GS53 driver and fairway woods as a modern take on the “Speed Slot.” It’s designed to improve the head’s aerodynamics. The driver’s smaller shape (445 cubic centimeters) also makes the club more easily manipulated.

"We wanted to maximize the MOI while providing a slightly smaller footprint than the traditional brick on a stick," White said.

Like all Ben Hogan products, the GS53 driver and fairway woods are available only through the company’s direct to consumer website, with prices on the GS53 driver and fairway woods 25 percent or more less than many leading manufacturers’ clubs.

The GS53 line includes fairways woods with a low-profile design that features a stainless steel body and high-strength C455 maraging steel face.

The GS53 driver (9, 10.5 degrees; $300) and G53 fairway woods (14, 16 and 18 degrees; $200) are available with three standard shaft options (Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black for low trajectory, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue for mid trajectory and UST Mamiya Helium for high trajectory).