Whenever I think of the Ben Hogan brand, the first thing that comes to mind are the stunning blade irons it specialises in. If I had the game to play them, they would be my iron of choice. Alas, I do not, so instead you’ll find some of the best irons for mid-handicap players in my bag. There is more to the Ben Hogan brand than irons though, so when I was asked to put the PTx Max hybrid to the test I was excited to see what it could do.
PTx Max Hybrids deliberately go against the current trend toward ever-smaller hybrid heads and this look will certainly divide opinion. There is a practical reason for it, as the larger head allows weight to be positioned further back and deeper in the club, delivering a higher moment of inertia and a lower, deeper center of gravity for enhanced stability and forgiveness.
The PTx Max is engineered with an advanced internal structure that redistributes discretionary mass around the perimeter, maximising MOI and helping maintain consistency across the face. A variable face thickness design further boosts forgiveness, preserving ball speed on off-center strikes.
So that’s the technology side of things out of the way, now onto the more tangible stuff such as looks, feel and performance.
I have mixed feelings on the aesthetics. In the bag it looks great, boosted by a lovely headcover, while the sole design ticks a lot of boxes for me with its classic Hogan styling. Over the ball, however, it’s not quite to my taste. Firstly, I’m not keen on a glossy crown and, to my eye, the head looks a little clunky. That’s subjective, of course, and I can see the asymmetrical shape appealing to higher-handicap golfers who like the confidence a larger head provides.
I tested the PTx Max alongside a couple of other hybrids, so it was interesting to compare and contrast. The first thing I noticed was how heavy it felt in the hands, something I put down largely to the stock KBS Tour steel shaft. You can really feel the head throughout the swing, and I’d be curious to see how this club performs with a graphite option.
Before testing out on the golf course I always like to hit a lot of balls at my local driving range first to get a proper feel for the club and to get some base numbers from the Foresight Sports GCQuad launch monitors that each bay is fitted with.
Initial range testing was a little tricky, as the combination of the larger head and steel shaft felt unfamiliar and threw my timing off. Once I adjusted, and corrected the slightly open face position I was unknowingly setting at address (it looked square to my eye but every shot was veering to the right), the ball flight straightened out and strike quality improved markedly.
Two things stood out from testing. Firstly, the flight was slightly lower than expected for a hybrid of this loft (18°), something backed up by launch monitor data showing a launch angle around 1.5° lower and a peak height roughly four yards lower than a comparable hybrid. Secondly, dispersion on mishits was more erratic than I’d hoped, with forgiveness feeling average rather than outstanding.
On well-struck shots, however, the PTx Max performed nicely and I enjoyed it more on the course than I did on the range, yet it was falling short of where the Mizuno JPX One hybrid I tested recently was finishing.
The feel is pleasant enough, though the sound was a little loud and metallic for my preference, as I tend to favour a more muted thump. The lower flight and spin led to slightly reduced carry but more run, resulting in overall distances that were comparable to other hybrids. That trait will suit some golfers more than others, particularly mid-to-high handicappers or those using a hybrid from the tee.
Speaking of which, I had more impressive results hitting this club off the tee than I did from the fairway. My local course has one hole that requires a lay up with a hybrid off the tee and I often struggle with that shot, but I hit a dozen balls off that tee with the PTx Max and every one found the fairway. Approach shots weren't really producing the flight I ideally would have wanted, but I liked the performance out of the semi rough, where the heavier head really seemed to cut through the grass nicely.
The more accomplished player who likes to work the ball and requires a high flight and greater stopping power should probably look elsewhere though.
The PTx Max hybrids are available in 18°, 22° and 26° lofts. As with all Ben Hogan Golf clubs, they can be paired with a range of premium aftermarket shafts, and I’d strongly recommend exploring those options as I suspect a well-fitted graphite shaft would significantly enhance this club’s performance.
