I'm still hitting the 8 iron about 145 though. My distance is down a club from my Radials even though the lofts are a touch stronger, but I attribute that to the stiffer shafts. I found a set, 1-E in close-to-new shape with Rifle Flighted shafts (6.0) on ebay and pulled the trigger. As a long-time Hogan fan, the Apex was high on the list. Since the Radials are a little tired and I wanted a stiffer shaft than the Apex 3 steel shaft I have on those clubs, I started researching blades. I quickly discovered that I much prefer a thin topline with a compact head and hit my old Radials much better than the "easy-to-hit" Ping ISI-Ks that I also have. After then not playing for the last ten years, I got back into golf to teach my seven year-old son. I played Hogan Radials (2-E) for a dozen years and then switched over to Ping ISIs about twelve years ago. The only sad thing about this set is that Hogan as a company, for all intents and purposes no longer exists as an independent club maker, which I think is a great shame. When the sun shines and you have the wind in your back, there are not a whole lot of sets I would rather have in my bag. Considering my swing speed (80-83 mph with I6) the do the job very good and I do not need a stiffer shaft.
The shafts in my set are Hogan by Spalding no 3 (regular), and they fit the club heads nicely, I like the combination. If you are not that serious about your game, maybe you should look for something else, but at the same time these could help you improve your game if given the chance. When you play good golf and have time to practice your shots and shot making capabilities, blades are the deal. The reason was that I wanted to try something “a little harder” then my Ping G5 and Eye2, and all my friends said that the ultimate set to have before you checked in to the Heavenly G&CC is a forged Hogan set. I picked these up from the net for less then $250 for about two years ago. A purely struk Apex is the only way to feel what Ben Hogan felt every time he hit a golf ball and for that reason I will play my Apex's for a long time. In conclusion the Apex 98's are not only some of the best looking irons ever, they are also in a very small group of great blade irons (others:MP-29,MP-37,MP-14, KZG to name a few) that anyone can play and enjoy. At least buy a single 6I and take it to the range, I promise, you will be converted. With that said a good blade iron will make anyone play better. The reason I talked about Ben's book is that it made me a much better golfer and I can really enjoy playing blades because of it. I still keep the Rifle 6.0 in my bag because I think I hit it more consistent then the KBS's (always tinkering). This project has showed me that the shaft IS the engine of a club and a correct fit will help any golfer. I have to say the Hogan shaft was the worst, it was like hitting a different club, all the other shafts preformed much better, with ball flight lower and more powerful. For the record I actually have four 5 iron heads fitted with different shafts so I could try which shaft worked the best, (Stock Apex #4,Rifle 6.0, Project X 5.5 and the KBS tour stiff). I leraned alot about the affect a shaft has on a golf swing/ball. For some reason I decided to reshaft them with the KBS tour shafts, did it myself, fun project, swingweight D-2 the hole bit. I think everyone with normal ability should play stiffer shafts, the ball WILL go straighter and more consistent. Got them off EBAY with Rifle 6.0 which I thought might be to much for me, but I hit them dead straight. Much to my delight most of the blades were very playable and decided to get a set of Apex 98's. I tried everything, Mizuno's, KZG's, Nike.then I found the APEX 98's. Then I started to try some old school blades thinking it would interesting to see if I could hit them.
Since then, I have read EVERYTHING Hogan and swithced to Hogan irons, the APEX EDGE PRO's(cavity back forged irons) Great irons,and with my new (Hogan inspired swing)my game got even better. The first season after I read this book was the most fun I've had on a golf course, my irons where pure & straight and my scores droped into the 70's. However, about 5 yrs ago I discoverd Ben Hogans book, Five Lessons and for the first time ever I understood the golf swing, I wish someone would have gave me this book when I was young!( I give it away all the time). For the first 15 yrs, I played with some DCI's and never really thought about changing. I have been a golfer since I was a kid and have a good natural swing.
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