Ping "no charge" repairs

Just wondering if anyone has used this service and if they know what conditions apply.

The ferrel on my G15 hybrid snapped off at impact on a shot today revealing the shaft has split at the join with the head. The club is outside its 1 year retail return - its about 3 years old I think - certainly too young a club to be breaking through normal use. I would be very impressed if Ping repair or replace the club free of charge - but given its age not sure that will happen.

The one year retail limit may be out of date but that shouldn't preclude you from claiming a new shaft from Ping via the retail outlet. Unless you've damaged the club in some other way then there is no way a shaft should break and certainly not after just three years.

Trust me, Ping will want to keep this between you and them!

Alas it was an Inverness purchase.. might see if my home club pro will deal with it otherwise I'll be waiting a while before my next trip up north.

Ouch...3 years is pushing it (are the G15s really 3 years old already??) for a free repair. When I stress fractured the face of my TM R7 driver back in Sept, I had a conversation with my club pro and the basic upshot was a lot of manufacturers will go quite far beyond the 'official" warranty period. So it's worth a try and I think Ping are better than most with that kind of thing.

Mine was 5 years old (no chance of a replacement) and I was loath to lose it but now glad I did as I'm very happy with the new replacement.

Good luck, whatever happens Barra

The perils of not buying from the local pro, eh? That'll 'learn ya'!

Contact the store and ask them for advice. That shouldn't take long! Then, contact Ping directly advising them that you had attempted to return the club for repair/replacement, explaining that you were disappointed that a club made by a highly regarded manufacturer had failed after just three years ... or words to that effect.

Ping is a highly regarded brand these days so, lay it on thick!

cheers both

Jas - the g25 is now out. bit of a step up in aesthetics!

Your contract is with the store you bought it from, not Ping unfortunately and given its three years old will probably tell you to get stuffed.
I'd ring up ping in gainsborough and see if they will replace as a good will gesture.

I'll give it a go on Monday. i tried ringing ping yesterday but they'd already closed. looks like it could be an expensive month if they say no...what with 2 membership renewals due too still i have a feeling gael might be right and that given ping's pride in their 'made in UK' 'highest quality' speel, perhaps I've more chance than with other oem's.

barragan … go for it! It’s a lot cheaper for Ping to replace a shaft than to risk bad publicity. Far better to promote customer confidence in its product than to risk losing perhaps more than one customer as word tends to get around in these kind of situations (just as it has on this board). With normal usage, there is no way this shaft should have failed after just three years.

I used to have a set of Nicoll O’Leven Par Excellence irons. The shape of the heads were cutting edge at the time. Unfortunately (and I admit it was within a year of playing with them) one of the shafts broke during a practice session. The company replaced the entire set with new shafts and swore me to secrecy! Reputation is all in such a cut-throat industry.

barragan wrote:I'll give it a go on Monday. i tried ringing ping yesterday but they'd already closed. looks like it could be an expensive month if they say no...what with 2 membership renewals due too still i have a feeling gael might be right and that given ping's pride in their 'made in UK' 'highest quality' speel, perhaps I've more chance than with other oem's.

Made in the UK? Do they make anything here? I know they assemble stuff, I was fitted for a set of Ping irons in Gainsborough a few years ago. All they did was bash the clubs to the right lie, and put the right grips on. I think everything is imported from Arizona, or maybe China these days.

spoke to ping - told me to speak to store (as s_r thought) - they 'can't' deal with me directly apparently.

spoke to store - told me only 1 year guarantee against breakages through normal wear. they agreed to have a look at it and speak to ping if they think i've got a case. got a relative heading up there in a couple of weeks so will ask them to drop it off for me.

also going to take it into my club pro shop in edinburgh and see what they think too.

:slightlylessoptomisticthaniwasbefore:

george - you're right of course - 'assembled in uk'

Gael shuusss.if you be sure to hit the small ball before the really big ball it may not happen. My 15 yr old daughters first golf lesson on thursday after a weather delay-praying we can get her interested.

barragan ... if you can get it back to the store then it should be no skin off their nose to send it back to the factory. It would certainly make good business sense for them if they did!

I will indeed send it up and see what can be done. The guy I spoke to said bring it in even though it was past the 1 year warranty period so hopefully that is a good sign.

dyna ... no idea what you're talking about re your first sentence but hope all goes well with daughter's lesson. Be great if she had a pal to play with or even to share a lesson or two. Unfortunately for most girls taking up golf, it tends to be quite a lonely activity.

barragan wrote:I will indeed send it up and see what can be done. The guy I spoke to said bring it in even though it was past the 1 year warranty period so hopefully that is a good sign.

Sounds promising.

I've taken back leaky Adidas shoes to a shop where I didn't even buy them and they changed them.

It's the shop that has the contract with the supplier, and the supplier should swap good for bad with warranty.
I'd imagine 3 years is pushing it though.

actually, it's between 2 and 2 1/2 years old. i haven't found the receipt yet but once i thought through when i got it, its definitely not as old as first thought off the top of my head. mixed up with when i bought the driver, which is 2 1/2 to 3 years old.

well this tale appears to have a happy ending. my local pro kindly sent the club down for me and I've just collected it, reshafted and straight back in the bag for saturdays game. big thumbs up to ping as i only appear to have been charged for post and delivery (less than a tenner). very pleased customer.

Result!

happy days indeed! got a quiet day tomorrow might even treat myself to a few holes and give it a whirl.

Good result. Worth chasing up!

Excellent. Customer care does exist.

Well done Ping.

Ping are very good with Customer Service - I had a set that the weight came out the back of one of the clubs... it needed to go to the factory to be replaced (apparently tolerances are so fine they weigh the glue). I was desperate as it was our club championship the following weekend. It was sent on the Monday and returned on the Friday - brilliant service.

I have used Ping since 1976 - apart from one set of Callaways. Most recent was a fitting last Oct - I can't speak highly enough of them

GWR-Golfer wrote:Ping are very good with Customer Service - I had a set that the weight came out the back of one of the clubs... it needed to go to the factory to be replaced (apparently tolerances are so fine they weigh the glue). I was desperate as it was our club championship the following weekend. It was sent on the Monday and returned on the Friday - brilliant service.

I have used Ping since 1976 - apart from one set of Callaways. Most recent was a fitting last Oct - I can't speak highly enough of them

I shouldn't have read this!! The exact same thing has just happened to me this week. 6 iron just felt a bit strange on the range Tuesday. On closer inspection I noticed that the weight had come out. Luckily I found it in the bottom of my bag. Took it in Weds after work and yep the pro said it would have to go back to Ping to get done properly, should be back Tuesday, unfortunately a day too late as we're playing a team open at Royal Porthcawl this coming Tuesday.

JAS wrote:

GWR-Golfer wrote:Ping are very good with Customer Service - I had a set that the weight came out the back of one of the clubs... it needed to go to the factory to be replaced (apparently tolerances are so fine they weigh the glue). I was desperate as it was our club championship the following weekend. It was sent on the Monday and returned on the Friday - brilliant service.

I have used Ping since 1976 - apart from one set of Callaways. Most recent was a fitting last Oct - I can't speak highly enough of them

I shouldn't have read this!! The exact same thing has just happened to me this week. 6 iron just felt a bit strange on the range Tuesday. On closer inspection I noticed that the weight had come out. Luckily I found it in the bottom of my bag. Took it in Weds after work and yep the pro said it would have to go back to Ping to get done properly, should be back Tuesday, unfortunately a day too late as we're playing a team open at Royal Porthcawl this coming Tuesday.

That's a real co-incidence it was my 6-iron too. Very Spooky

i20's GWR? My pro says its been more common than usual recently, the extreme cold causes just that little bit extra contraction that can loosen the weights.

By the way...I'm guessing from your moniker that you're not that far from me?

JAS I was using the Anser 2011 model. I have now got the new 2013 Anser's which are definitely an improvement on the first model - I have had these about 4 months, didn't go for Ping shafts tho' I put in DG Superlite S300 ... works really well for me.

I live at Fringford near Bicester - so not too far from you.

Hope you get the club back quickly

Just got a whole lot worse this weekend...down the range Friday night and was pinging sweet 8 irons then a couple of mishits, as I went to put the 8 back in the bag...yup the weight had gone too

Now in a situation where my 6 iron is back with Ping and my 8 needs to go back (to be honest I want the whole set checked out now). Really annoyed because the winter work is all coming together and I've a busy schedule over the next few weeks, the turnaround time is about 5 days....not good at all, I guess I'll find out just how good Ping's customer service is.

Not good jas , not good at all. I had a good look at the i20s before going for the titleist. Glad there's nothing that can fall off them!!

JAS

Never blame your tools, you know some gimmick hanging of an iron is superfluous.

The weights aren't gimmicks - they are to balance the clubs - bear in mind each club cannot be a perfect swing weight - especially in cast clubs.

But I would want to get he whole set checked now - sounds like there was a problem with the glue being used for your set.

I've lost all faith in Ping. Had build quality issues before and this just confirms how badly they are made.

The new grey finish on the drivers is ghastly too.

SR - a couple of weights coming off doesn't constitute "badly they are made"

Could be worse you might have Rory's Nikes

Not just that though GWR, I had two sets of S57's where the face bubbled up.

Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole these days.

I have a ping driver, 3 wood and hybrid which are all of the highest build quality. Certainly a lot better than the tacky looking clubs taylormade produce.

Does anyone else think that the current TM range looks like it was designed with the taste of chavs in mind?

Such a shame because, I've grew to really like them (got them late April/early May last year). It was only when I put my old G5 5 iron in the bag as a substitute for the i20 6 iron that I realised how clunky the old G5s are and how sweet the i20s are.

If Ping deal with it properly and promptly then fine...no damage done but if I get messed about or it keeps recurring then I will reluctantly jump on the "never again" bus too. Lets see what happens.

Tut tut Mac, I thought you used Hickories.

Do you know about that Hickory only course in Fife near Cupar? Kingarrock?

By the way, I have a TM driver and 3 wood, so I must be a chav

Mizuno replaced a full set of project x shafts after they started to rust after I left them in a wet bag (naive) and phoned me up to ask what grips I wanted too.

Snapped a 300 quid driver shaft when bag fell down stairs at work. It was roddio pentacross Japanese shaft and their policy is only to replace if you are the original owner. Same with crazy and quadra composites and these shafts are north of four hundred quid. I must say mizuno were pretty great but sold the mp59 the week after and bought tourstage x blades

I damaged my Anser 7-iron by hitting a large (hidden) rock last week...... it is irreparable in that it gouged the face and the weight cam loose.

Ping, after initially saying they would only supply a new club and not just the head only - they have agreed to supplying the complete club but only charge for the head.

So well done Ping.

GWR-Golfer wrote:I damaged my Anser 7-iron by hitting a large (hidden) rock last week...... it is irreparable in that it gouged the face and the weight cam loose.

Ping, after initially saying they would only supply a new club and not just the head only - they have agreed to supplying the complete club but only charge for the head.

So well done Ping.

Was the head about 85pc of the iron cost, would be interested to know breakdown of costs on the iron for future reference.

I haven't got the final bill yet from my Pro.... I'll post the info here when I get it.

It was initially a case of getting the replacement ordered - I have had the damaged one back with the weight fixed ---- I then filed down the face of the damaged one so I at least have the club to play with temporarily... not ideal but it works (only had 1x7-iron yesterday, so it was ok)

I have just had a (cheap but new) G15 driver sent back - the head came loose. No charge and seems ok now. But considering it was only 2 months old I was disappointed...
Have just invested in some i20's after a couple of seasons with an old set of mp30 something or other and the difference is remarkable! I think that says more about me than it does about the mp's tho...

GWR-Golfer wrote:I damaged my Anser 7-iron by hitting a large (hidden) rock last week...... it is irreparable in that it gouged the face and the weight cam loose.

Ping, after initially saying they would only supply a new club and not just the head only - they have agreed to supplying the complete club but only charge for the head.

So well done Ping.

Ouch!! Hands/wrists ok GWR?

Update on mine...Ping did deal promptly and without any cost to me so fair do's

barragan wrote:well this tale appears to have a happy ending. my local pro kindly sent the club down for me and I've just collected it, reshafted and straight back in the bag for saturdays game. big thumbs up to ping as i only appear to have been charged for post and delivery (less than a tenner). very pleased customer.

Not so fast...
After two rounds back, a wee while ago now, the plastic hosel developed a wee crack...three months down the line (on Saturday morning) it split at impact on a tee shot revealing the shaft has split once again. My gut feeling is that there must be an issue with the clubhead at the point where the shaft is connected. Apparently ping are going to reshaft it again under warranty, but I can't help feeling that a few months down the line I'll be back in the same position again.

I had a set of Pings years ago. They were fine for ages, then in the space of 6 months all the shafts broke just near the hosel.

I started having them reshafted, as each one went, but after five had gone I gave up and bought a new set.

This one has reared it's ugly head again with the i20 irons, got the 8 iron out the bag on the 2nd hole of the morning round of the club champs (had also used it approaching the 1st hole). Lo and behold the flippin weight port had fallen out again. (the 8 was one of the clubs it happened to back in March). Most annoying as I was told then that it had been the extreme cold of winter that had probably caused it, can't wait for the August excuse :-/

Most annoyed at the timing as I'm about to head off to Carnoustie for a week with a great pre-amble of courses on the way up....not a period to be without an 8 iron really.

So, with a mid afternoon teetime at Ganton tomorrow I've agreed to leave a bit earlier and take a small detour to Ping at Gainsborough where they will fix it on the spot for me. Fair enough I suppose although the inconvenience is getting a bit waring.

My less than 1 year old i20's are starting to get rust spots on the shafts. After one of the longest driest spells in years! Going to see how that develops before returning them I think.

JAS,
If my son's experience is anything to go by, this is an ongoing problem for Ping - he's lost three now. New set of clubs about to be fitted, as if he needed that excuse. Perhaps not Pings though.

Sorry to hear that but it's quite good timing for this thread re-appearing as I have a good news tale for Callaway/Odyssey.

Nearly 2 years ago I bought the black series tour #9 putter and within a few weeks noticed that rust was appearing on the back (in where the "odyssey" was painted behind the face). This was annoying but I didn't do anything about it at the time on the basis that it was made of steel and had got damp so rust was a possibility.

Anyhoo - was looking at putters recently and spotted a "2 year product defect" type clause on the Odyssey website so thought I'd get in touch on the off chance. Was asked to send it in via an authorised retailer (cost nothing!) and fully expected them to tell me to bugger off as it had been so long and the rust wasn't on the face. Anyway, a couple of weeks later and they reverted to the retailer telling him that it was actually a product defect and shouldn't have rusted but unfortunately they no longer make that putter. So they gave me the brand new black pro type #9, which is retailing for about £50 more than I bought the old one for nearly 2 years ago.

Good work Callaway, I'm impressed.