Talk to me about Ping irons!!!

I've drawn up a shortlist of irons to try out but am finding myself drawn to Pings, either the i15 or i20. Obviously the proof of the pudding is hitting the things down the range but just wanted to canvass some opinions on these clubs, I guess specifically from those who either use them now or have in the past.

Thanks all.

I love ping woods and hybrids but always think the irons look a little chunky and in the past they were not forged. Not sure if this is still the case?

I have the G20 driver and 3wood and love them. I was then after trying many clubs going to purchase the i20's as they feel superb, I did however then try a set of forged Cobras after and went with those.

But the i20 are definitely a good set of clubs and if you want a Ping forged iron Mac, try the Ansers they are pings forged offering, not tried them but look nice and retails somewhere around the £800 mark I think.

I was also looking at the pings, but was put out off by the wide sole. I used pings for 15 years and learned to get used to the wide sole, but having used blades for the last 16 years the narrower sole means the ball is easier to pick-up off tight lies (less change of a heavy) and easier to open or close the face.

I guess most cavity irons have the same problem, but the ping iron's sole did look bigger and squarer (chunky) than most others I looked at.

Having said that Lee Westwood manages okay.

If you are currently using blades then this may be worth considering before making the investment.

H - Last year I was fitted for new irons. I was playing Hogan Apex ... set was over 12 years old, it was time. At the fitting I told my pro I absolutely did not like the look of Pings. I hit some Mizuno, Titleist and Pings. Comparing was believing. I bought the i15s and have been happy with them since. I lost slight yardage on all clubs, but my misses are less and they are generally more forgiving.

I have always believed that the clubs the pros use and the ones us amateurs can buy are completely different animals. Is that not the case?

I've got g10 irons, got fitted over 4 years ago now when I was a ropey 9 and they've served me well. I'm now a decent 7 (was 6 until last weekend) and am looking to change my irons given how much my swing will have changed since my last fitting. I know I'll be drawn to the i20's but will be happy to go with what the custom fit suggests. I will have a choice of Ping, TM, Nike or Callaway - if I go to the Pro at my 2nd club who has all the swing analysis equipment. If I go where I went before who also has the same equipment, I'll basically have a choice of every major manufacturer but the custom fitter won't know me, my swing or my tendencies.

I've heard a lot of people slate Pings for looks and clunkiness (especially the G range irons) but it's a lot rarer for people to criticise their performance. I know I've been happy with mine and quite frankly I don't give a damn how they look if they do the job and do it well.

I have used Pings for years - I am on my 5th set in over 25 years.

I cannot say enough about them - go to the factory and get fitted up for them - it makes all the difference. You will be checked on a computer and all the fitter wants to do is ensure you get the right specs for your swing. They are not there to sell you clubs (in fact you can't buy from them - you need to order through your Professional)

GO FOR IT - you won't regret it

Currently in my bag:
* i20 Driver - stiff shaft (ping)
* i15 3-wood - stiff shaft (ping)
* i15 Rescue - stiff shaft (ping)
* 4-PW Anser - Stiff shaft (Project X 6.0)
* 50/54/58 Anser wedges - regular shaft (ping spinner)
* Putter - Ping wolverine

Only ever had the S59s - excellent. S56s look nice but I'm happy w/ my MacGregors.

Shotrock wrote:H - Last year I was fitted for new irons. I was playing Hogan Apex ... set was over 12 years old, it was time. At the fitting I told my pro I absolutely did not like the look of Pings. I hit some Mizuno, Titleist and Pings. Comparing was believing. I bought the i15s and have been happy with them since. I lost slight yardage on all clubs, but my misses are less and they are generally more forgiving.

just goes to show how all the media blurb about every new model going further is a load of *****.
ping probably has 16 "new and improved extra long" sets since you bought your Hogans 12 years previous.

I've had quality issues with ping so doubt I'd use them again (bubbling in the club face on two sets) Not to mention their incredibly lazy design studio.

You'd have to be a right mug to buy a club on the promise you'll hit it further. If it was true you'd be able to pick up the first club made by the company and hit it a very unimpressive 10 yards maximum.

A whole 10 yards? If only.

Well, I suppose it's more than "the whole 9 yards", although I have no idea what that phrase originally referred to anyway (presumably not golf).

Super

That sounds like some serious quality issues, did you contact ping? If so, was this a batch issue and did you get any refund or replacement?

Have to say the ping clubs I have seem to be of the highest build quality and materials.

I got two brand new sets, the second one also bubbled up, and the replacement for them went straight on ebay. No confidence in them anymore.

Can't deny they were good at customer service, although it was the retailer in carnoustie who did the exchange and not Ping.

Skydriver wrote:Well, I suppose it's more than "the whole 9 yards", although I have no idea what that phrase originally referred to anyway (presumably not golf).

It was the length of the machine gun belt in a fighter aircraft - allegedly; may have been the Spitfire but I don't think so.

Navy, that's what I've heard too, think it was the Vickers machine gun fitted on the spitfire, although some people say it comes from the length of material required to make a kilt.

super_realist wrote:I got two brand new sets, the second one also bubbled up, and the replacement for them went straight on ebay. No confidence in them anymore.

Can't deny they were good at customer service, although it was the retailer in carnoustie who did the exchange and not Ping.

Don't suppose their QC is much worse than elsewhere but they don't nickel/chrome plate so you see any flaws from the casting process. If they outsource to China like so many others, I can't say I'm surprised.

super_realist wrote:Navy, that's what I've heard too, think it was the Vickers machine gun fitted on the spitfire, although some people say it comes from the length of material required to make a kilt.

Browning MG or Hispano cannon.

Hend - Good point. I had a pro tell me once that some wedges today have stronger lofts than 8-irons did 25 years ago. Club makers quickly realized that if someone thought they hit it longer with their clubs there were better clubs. The game is still more about straight than long for the vast majority of us!

Thanks for all the input guys. Much appreciated.

Have to say that I'm not 100% committed to Ping - I have a shortlist of clubs to try; when I say short it has about a dozen different sets on it!!

Additional length would be very nice as I'm not the longest. But whatever I decide upon, I have to be able to see an improvement in what I currently use (15 year old Mizuno T-Zoid). And when I say improvement I don't just mean in length but all round play.

Humpy, no club will give you extra distance on it's own, what will get you extra distance is the clubs that are best suited to your swing in terms of loft, lie, shaft, forgiveness etc. There is no hard and fast rule. What is good for one guy will be hopeless for another.

I'll be trying out the clubs to see how they look, feel, etc and then I'll look at the shaft options, etc.

I've definitely got a custom fit itch that needs scratching!!

Humpyd wrote:Thanks for all the input guys. Much appreciated.

Have to say that I'm not 100% committed to Ping - I have a shortlist of clubs to try; when I say short it has about a dozen different sets on it!!

Additional length would be very nice as I'm not the longest. But whatever I decide upon, I have to be able to see an improvement in what I currently use (15 year old Mizuno T-Zoid). And when I say improvement I don't just mean in length but all round play.

you are gonna get a set that should help your game out massively if you are still using the t zoid's, clubs these days bore so much better especially with the correct set up.

get custom fit and try loads of options out- i am not a lover of pings since the eye 2's, but each to there own

But has clubhead technology moved on that much in the last 15 years? It certainly has on woods but I'm not sure so much on irons.

But I'm expecting the choice of shaft to make the biggest difference.

Humpyd wrote:But has clubhead technology moved on that much in the last 15 years? It certainly has on woods but I'm not sure so much on irons.

But I'm expecting the choice of shaft to make the biggest difference.

You're right re. iron clubhead technology - it's not moved that much but there've been one or two innovations such as tungten weighting etc. Also finding irons with thin faces and therefore they're getting the trampoline effect that woods have. A good swing is far more of an issue than what irons to be using.

The biggest innovation is the con of decreasing the lofts on irons making people think they're hitting their, say, 6-iron much farther than the one in their old set.

Humpyd wrote:But has clubhead technology moved on that much in the last 15 years? It certainly has on woods but I'm not sure so much on irons.

But I'm expecting the choice of shaft to make the biggest difference.

i think it has however if you are a 'blade' lover then no it hasnt, as you have an old set of t zoids(cavaties) then i would say you arnt and the difference is deffo measurable, the shafts more so mind.

Modern blades are a lot more forgiving the the blades of the olden days.

well my 8 year old titleist MB's seem easier to hit than the later models.

some of the old mizuno full on blades are shockingly hard to hit!!

i used to have hogan apexs as a juniour- found them quite easy to hit as well!

OK, the choice has been made. Tried a lot of clubs and whilst Pings felt nice I thought Mizunos felt (and looked) better and have therefore 'ordered' a set of MP53s.

When I say 'ordered' I have to decide on what shaft to have. When testing I used Mizuno's Swing DNA thingy and it had my clubhead speed at a massive 76mph!! (For a 6 iron I hasten to add!!)

The shafts they recommended were a lightweight steel but getting the MP53s with the Nippon NS Pro shafts increased the cost by £150!!! The Nippon shafts did seem to launch the ball quite high which is not something I really need so am going to try them with the standard Dynamic Golf R300 shafts which should launch the ball a bit lower. This shaft is slightly heavier than the NS Pro but do you think I'll notice a huge difference?

Obivously I'm going to try them out but just wondered if anyone else has encountered a similar issue.

different clubs have different shafts at different prices.

mizuno fit project x for free - others dont.

the point is will the nippons improve your game. personally the only shafts i think are much better than dynamic golds are the kbs shafts(for me any way).

all the same. If the nippons are good for you- whats 150 quid pro rated over your clubs usefull lifetime!!- next to nothing ! go for em.

and yeah them mizunos are nice clubs- my business partner got em last year- but had the lightweight kbs fitted(regular shafts- his swing speed was about 79mph- so he was border line to stiff)

mystiroakey wrote:...mizuno fit project x for free - others dont...

If it was me, I'd insist that if they fit PX, they were free. Yuck on a big scale.

Humpy
I doubt it'll make that much difference with your R300s. DG still make an excellent and I wouldn't rate Nippon at >£15 per shaft extra!

yep i agree nbs- i hate PX as well, used to allways use rifles, but really dont get along with PX

Thanks for the feedback all.

I'm going to try the DGs tonight and see how they feel. The DG XP shafts were also recommended but the ball flight for these is high which I don't want.

Well, the clubs have been bought!!

Tried the MP53s with a few different shafts and they just didn't felt right. Felt that there was a bit too much weight in the head. Mentioned to the guy that I tried a set of Nike Pro Combos a few weeks ago and liked them a lot. But it was only into a net. So he popped into the shop and came out with a Nike Pro Combo!! I hadn't seen them in the shop!! So hit it and loved it again.

nice- good luck with em!!