“The club that relaunched Ben Hogan in 2015 - a forged progressive-CG players iron sold direct, loft-and-lie tuned by the numbers (no numbers on the head). Rung-3.”
The Ft. Worth 15 is the club that put Ben Hogan back in business, the first release when the brand relaunched at the 2015 PGA Show under Terry Koehler (the Wedge Guy), backed by Corbett Capital. It is a forged 1025 carbon-steel players iron with two signature ideas. First, Koehler's V-Sole, carried over from his SCOR wedges, splits the sole into a high-bounce leading edge and a low-bounce trailing area so it enters turf cleanly but does not dig, with bounce progressing from about 10 degrees in the long irons to 18 in the short irons. Second, a progressive CG, more weight low in the long irons to launch them, higher in the scoring irons for a boring, distance-consistent flight. Most famously, heads were stamped with their loft, not an iron number, and offered in 44 lofts from 20 to 63 degrees so buyers were fit by the numbers, a bold idea reviewers found both clever and confusing.
Notable for its role, not for scarcity, it is the historically significant relaunch iron that revived one of golf's most storied names, well reviewed by MyGolfSpy, Plugged In Golf and GolfWRX, and remembered for the polarizing loft-not-number stamping. That story-driven significance and press coverage lift it above an anonymous commodity, but it never became a hunted collectible, and the company's 2017 bankruptcy caps its footprint.
For low-to-mid-handicap players (DB guidance iron 82-96 mph) who want forged feel, workability and clean turf interaction with a bit more launch help than a blade. The loft-stamped, 44-loft fitting system rewards a buyer who gets properly fit and unsettles one who just wants a 7-iron off the rack. Higher handicaps and golfers wanting maximum forgiveness or distance should look at a game-improvement iron instead.
A 2015 relaunch product competing against players and players-cavity irons of its day, Mizuno MP/JPX, Titleist AP2, Callaway Apex, but sold custom-built-to-order direct rather than through shops. It anchored the revived brand's line and was quickly joined by the PTx (2016) tour cavity and Ft. Worth Hi, before the 2017 bankruptcy and White-era reboot. Its V-Sole and progressive-CG ideas carried forward into later Hogan Fort Worth irons, including the 2023 Fort Worth CB.
A players iron with meaningful help for its class, not a game-improvement club. The V-Sole's progressive bounce genuinely improves turf interaction and consistency of strike, and the progressive CG aids launch in the long irons, but this is still a compact, thin-topline forged head that demands decent ball-striking. A 5 places it with players-cavity-grade forgiveness, above blades, well below a true GI iron; reviewers found it longer, higher and more precise than old Hogan blades, not easier than a modern cavity.
Calibrated across the whole catalog — a tour blade scores low here on purpose; it means control, not ease.
A modest, functional used market, no collector premium despite the brand story. Reconditioned-retail listings (2nd Swing, RockBottom, Golf Avenue) show graded per-club and set prices that read higher than a private sale clears. Realistic 2026 private-party value for a complete steel set is roughly $300-500 depending on shaft, condition and completeness, less for short or worn sets. It sells on playability and the Hogan name, not appreciation.
Reading is one thing — hitting is another. Book a bay and see the numbers for yourself before you buy anywhere.
