Vice Pro Plus vs Ben Hogan GS53: Our Head-to-Head Results

There’s a new ball in the direct-to-consumer crowd, and you’re going to want to know about it. We tested the brand new Ben Hogan GS53 against one of the DTC category’s longtime standouts, Vice Pro Plus. 

In our testing GS53 was longer, more accurate, and stopped quicker than Vice Pro Plus. 

But there’s a catch.

The Ben Hogan ball isn’t exactly priced like a typical DTC ball.

Check out how Vice Pro Plus and Ben Hogan GS53 compare in our tee-to-green head-to-head testing.

We tested the Vice Pro Plus and Ben Hogan GS53 golf balls using our standardized golf ball testing protocol on the SkyTrak ST Max launch monitor.

We test golf balls with human swings, the same way we test a driver or set of irons before we review them. Our standardized benchmarks for speed, delivery and shot quality keep our test consistent across every ball we test, but this data represents one golfer’s data, not a robot’s. That’s why patterns we see across dozens of shots matter more to the average golfer on the course than the microscopic differences between two balls that only a robot can detect.

Learn more about how we test golf balls and see the complete list of every golf ball we’ve tested.

You can also check out our full Vice Pro Plus test data here and Ben Hogan GS53 test data here.

Vice Pro Plus vs Ben Hogan GS53 is a compelling matchup. Vice is the pioneer of DTC golf balls. Ben Hogan is a newcomer to the premium DTC tier.

Both are 4-piece, urethane-covered balls promising tour-caliber performance, yet the newcomer (which also has loyal following of enthusiasts, we might add) is priced above the incumbent. 

Interesting.

The Vice Pro Plus and Ben Hogan GS53 showed us two distinct ball flights in our driver and 50-yard tests, and were virtually indistinguishable in our 7-iron test.

The Ben Hogan GS53 was flatter and longer off the tee. Vice Pro Plus, meanwhile, peaked a little higher. Which one is “better” simply depends on your personal preferences and tendencies.

Ball flight in our wedge test followed the same pattern. Vice Pro Plus launched higher, landed steeper, stopped quicker and had more spin.

While both balls had similar launch and distance numbers in our 7-iron test, it’s worth pointing out that Ben Hogan GS53 had more spin and stopped quicker.

Check out the launch and spin profile of each ball across our testing.

Ben Hogan was a few yards longer in our driver test, thanks in part to faster ball speeds, a lower launch angle and lower apex which led to more rollout. 

That distance gap, however, would likely shrink at higher swing speeds, where both balls would move into a more optimal launch window.

In our stopping power test, one ball was great and the other one was good.

The great one? Ben Hogan GS53.

This was perhaps the biggest surprise of our test. The 4-piece Ben Hogan ball got up a little higher and churned out a better descent angle with less roll than Vice Pro Plus. 

And the Ben Hogan ball didn’t just beat one of the gold standard DTC balls, it beat almost every ball we’ve tested, including plenty of tour-issue models. 

The data doesn’t lie: Ben Hogan GS53 is elite into greens.

But don’t sleep on Pro Plus. It cloned the ball flight of GS53, with nearly identical launch angle and distance. With a little less spin and more distance than GS53, it’s ideal for players who want more distance through the bag without giving up the premium green-holding ability of a four-piece urethane-covered ball.

Vice Pro Plus was a beast in our 50-yard test. As advertised, it produced high spin while launching in a strong window. It peaked higher, landed steeper, and stopped quicker than the Ben Hogan ball. 

That’s not a knock on the GS53, however. Vice Pro Plus simply shined brighter in our wedge test, and proved to be one of the best balls overall in that category. 

Ben Hogan, meanwhile, held its own. It produced high spin with a slightly lower (and to many players, more desirable) launch window, with better-than-average stopping power.

In our driver test, Ben Hogan GS53 was better at resisting sidespin, and as a result, finished closer to the center than Vice Pro Plus. 

The roles were reversed in our 7-iron test, where Pro Plus stayed closer to the center with less side spin.

While a higher score indicates less sidespin and shots that finished closer to the center, this category more than any other is about personal preference, not better or worse. If you want a four-piece, tour-level ball, there’s a good chance you want a reliable shot shape, not just the straightest possible ball.

Looking for a winner? Ben Hogan took the head-to-head match. More importantly, it validated its standing in the premium DTC category with a stellar performance from tee to green.

That tells you a lot, but it’s not the whole story. You could come to a different conclusion depending on how much you weigh each category. 

If you have a faster swing speed, that five-yard distance gap might shrink to an indistinguishable margin. 

If your top priority is how a ball performs into and around the greens, you may be lured by Vice’s dominance in that facet. 

And don’t forget, Pro Plus is about $10 cheaper per dozen.