“2023-era Ft. Worth MB - forged blade with a CMC insert. Rung-4.”
The Fort Worth MB is the pure muscleback in the resurrected Ben Hogan Golf lineup (2023 refresh, sold through 2025), and it hides a trick behind a traditional face: it is one-piece forged from 1025 carbon steel but carries a precisely positioned core of CMC (Ceramic Matrix Composite) used to tune the center of gravity iron-by-iron for a progressive flight. Address it and it is unapologetically a blade – minimal offset even in the long irons, a straight-ish leading edge, thin topline – but the Hogan V-Sole (high leading-edge bounce, softer lower-bounce trailing edge) makes turf interaction more forgiving than the compact head implies. Feel on center is the point: soft, dense, workable, with center-strike launch and spin that testers found remarkably repeatable.
A well-reviewed modern muscleback from a heritage brand kept alive by a small direct-to-consumer company, not a cult object. Reviewers (Golf Monthly, GolfWRX Club Junkie) praise the feel and V-Sole, but it sells in low volume, has no tour presence or scarcity, and the Hogan name's turbulent corporate history (multiple bankruptcies) caps its collectible standing. Respected by purists; owned by few.
Low-handicap, high-clubhead-speed ball-strikers (roughly 0–7) who want maximum workability and blade feel and are willing to buy direct to get forged quality below big-brand pricing. Mid-to-high handicaps should look at the Fort Worth CB or Legend in the same line – the MB will punish them.
Sits at the top (most demanding) rung of the 2023–25 Fort Worth family alongside the Fort Worth CB (cavity) and the more forgiving Legend. It competes with other players' musclebacks – Titleist 620 MB, Mizuno Pro 241, Srixon Z-Forged – but undercuts them on price by skipping retail and selling factory-direct from Fort Worth, Texas. Context that matters to a buyer: this Ben Hogan is the Terry Koehler / Eidolon relaunch that licensed the Hogan name from Perry Ellis in 2015 (first product the Ft. Worth 15), later went direct-to-consumer, and has weathered bankruptcy – so warranty and long-term parts support are brand risks a big-brand blade doesn't carry.
A true blade and scored as one: thin sole, minimal offset, small effective face, CG kept forward for feel and workability. The CMC core tunes trajectory, not stability, so mis-hits bleed distance and feel the way any muscleback does. The V-Sole earns it a notch of real-world help – the high leading-edge bounce rescues slightly fat strikes and turf interaction is genuinely smooth – which is why it sits at 3 rather than 2, but it demands a repeatable center strike and is not for anyone chasing forgiveness.
Calibrated across the whole catalog — a tour blade scores low here on purpose; it means control, not ease.
Thin secondary market. Realistic private-party value for a clean used set in 2026 is roughly $400–650 depending on shafts and wear – well below the ~$1,000 direct-to-consumer new price. Reconditioned-retail listings (e.g. 2nd Swing) run higher because they are graded and warrantied, and that gap is worth flagging: a Hogan MB does not hold value like a Titleist or Mizuno blade, partly because the brand's corporate instability makes buyers cautious. Custom or graphite-shaft builds are harder to resell.
Reading is one thing — hitting is another. Book a bay and see the numbers for yourself before you buy anywhere.
“2023-era Ft. Worth MB - forged blade with a CMC insert. Rung-4.”
The Fort Worth MB is the pure muscleback in the resurrected Ben Hogan Golf lineup (2023 refresh, sold through 2025), and it hides a trick behind a traditional face: it is one-piece forged from 1025 carbon steel but carries a precisely positioned core of CMC (Ceramic Matrix Composite) used to tune the center of gravity iron-by-iron for a progressive flight. Address it and it is unapologetically a blade – minimal offset even in the long irons, a straight-ish leading edge, thin topline – but the Hogan V-Sole (high leading-edge bounce, softer lower-bounce trailing edge) makes turf interaction more forgiving than the compact head implies. Feel on center is the point: soft, dense, workable, with center-strike launch and spin that testers found remarkably repeatable.
A well-reviewed modern muscleback from a heritage brand kept alive by a small direct-to-consumer company, not a cult object. Reviewers (Golf Monthly, GolfWRX Club Junkie) praise the feel and V-Sole, but it sells in low volume, has no tour presence or scarcity, and the Hogan name's turbulent corporate history (multiple bankruptcies) caps its collectible standing. Respected by purists; owned by few.
Low-handicap, high-clubhead-speed ball-strikers (roughly 0–7) who want maximum workability and blade feel and are willing to buy direct to get forged quality below big-brand pricing. Mid-to-high handicaps should look at the Fort Worth CB or Legend in the same line – the MB will punish them.
Sits at the top (most demanding) rung of the 2023–25 Fort Worth family alongside the Fort Worth CB (cavity) and the more forgiving Legend. It competes with other players' musclebacks – Titleist 620 MB, Mizuno Pro 241, Srixon Z-Forged – but undercuts them on price by skipping retail and selling factory-direct from Fort Worth, Texas. Context that matters to a buyer: this Ben Hogan is the Terry Koehler / Eidolon relaunch that licensed the Hogan name from Perry Ellis in 2015 (first product the Ft. Worth 15), later went direct-to-consumer, and has weathered bankruptcy – so warranty and long-term parts support are brand risks a big-brand blade doesn't carry.
A true blade and scored as one: thin sole, minimal offset, small effective face, CG kept forward for feel and workability. The CMC core tunes trajectory, not stability, so mis-hits bleed distance and feel the way any muscleback does. The V-Sole earns it a notch of real-world help – the high leading-edge bounce rescues slightly fat strikes and turf interaction is genuinely smooth – which is why it sits at 3 rather than 2, but it demands a repeatable center strike and is not for anyone chasing forgiveness.
Calibrated across the whole catalog — a tour blade scores low here on purpose; it means control, not ease.
Thin secondary market. Realistic private-party value for a clean used set in 2026 is roughly $400–650 depending on shafts and wear – well below the ~$1,000 direct-to-consumer new price. Reconditioned-retail listings (e.g. 2nd Swing) run higher because they are graded and warrantied, and that gap is worth flagging: a Hogan MB does not hold value like a Titleist or Mizuno blade, partly because the brand's corporate instability makes buyers cautious. Custom or graphite-shaft builds are harder to resell.
Reading is one thing — hitting is another. Book a bay and see the numbers for yourself before you buy anywhere.
