Ping’s newest better-player irons have a new technology that helps blend feel and forgiveness in a traditional-looking club.
Gear: Ping i59 irons Price: $275 per club with Project X LS steel shaft and Golf Pride New Decade MCC Arccos-enabled grip. $290 per club with UST Recoil 760 ES graphite shafts. (From $250 each at dickssportinggoods.com and $285 per club at carlsgolfland.com) Specs: Forged 1025 carbon-steel body with a 17-4 stainless steel face, aluminum insert, tungsten toe and hosel weights. Available: August 24, 2021
When elite golfers such as Viktor Hovland look down at an iron in the address position, there are things they want to see and things they don’t want to see. A thin topline, relatively little offset and clean looks are a must. Typically, they don’t like to see game-improving features such as a wide back piece that might enhance sound and feel, or an especially wide sole.
But with the creation of the new i59 irons, which replace the iBlade, Ping engineers have tried to sneak a few elements into a better-player’s iron to deliver more distance and forgiveness on mis-hits without sacrificing the feel and control that accomplished players demand.
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Tyrrell Hatton has won once on the PGA Tour and five times on the European Tour, providing great exposure for Ping over the years.
Tyrrell Hatton, ranked No. 9 in the Official World Golf Ranking and winner of five European Tour events plus another on the PGA Tour, has re-signed to play Ping equipment. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
“There’s a comfort level with the people at Ping and with their clubs tee to green that gives me a lot reassurance and confidence that I’m always in a good position to play my best golf,” Hatton said in a media release. “I have enjoyed working with Ping for a number of years now, and the team knows exactly what I need to compete at the highest level. I’m excited for the future knowing that I will continue to have Ping as part of my team”.
Hatton is also in prime position to play for Europe in this year’s Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
“You could hardly turn on a golf telecast over the past year and a half and not see Tyrrell among the leaders, and on a few occasions he’s been holding the trophy at the end,” John K. Solheim, Ping’s president, said in the media release. “Tyrrell has won six times since 2016 and has climbed to ninth in the Official World Golf Ranking. He’s brought the success he achieved on the European Tour over to the states, where last March he earned his first PGA Tour victory on a big stage at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. We appreciate his competitiveness and determination, and we’re proud to be associated with a truly international player who can compete with anyone, anywhere. His record of consistency proves that.”
The Ping G425 irons have a variable thickness face, deep undercut cavity and a unique weighting system to increase distance and stability.
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Gear: Ping G425 irons Price: $137.50 each with Ping AWT 2.0 steel shafts or $150 each with Alta CB Slate graphite shafts Specs: Cast 17-4 stainless steel head with undercut cavity, multimaterial badge and hydrophobic finish
When Ping designates an iron is an “i” club, it is likely something made to appeal to better players, such as the iBlades that PGA Tour player Tony Finau uses or the i210 irons that Viktor Hovland has in his bag. Clubs that get a “G” designation, such as last season’s G410 irons, are made to produce distance and be playable for a broader segment of players.
Such is the case this year with the new G425 irons, with which Ping is trying to deliver an iron that hits shots farther and higher with a steeper descent angle for more stopping power on greens for recreational golfers.
The variable thickness face of the G425 helps broaden the sweet spot and boost forgiveness on mis-hits. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
To create more distance, Ping gave the G425 irons a variable-thickness face made from heat-treated 17-4 stainless steel. It is strong and thin, and combined with the sizeable undercut-cavity design, it allows for more flex at impact. That should help golfers boost ball speed.
The weight screw in the toe helps to increase stability in G425 irons. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Simultaneously, the G425 irons were designed to be more forgiving than last season’s G410 irons, even though they have a slightly smaller blade length. Typically, larger clubs are more forgiving, but Ping added extra weight in the heel area and a weight screw low in the toe to create extreme perimeter weighting. The extra mass does not inhibit the unsupported face from flexing but does boost the moment of inertia to make the clubs more resistant to twisting on off-center hits. Ping said the smaller G425 irons have a 3 percent higher inertia than the G410.
Ping G425 irons have a significant undercut cavity to pull the center of gravity back and down. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
To enhance sound and feel, Ping made the back badge on the G425 using aluminum, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene and dampening tape. The multiple layers of material soak up excessive vibrations and give the clubs a premium look.
At address. the G425 irons have a clean, reassuring look. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
At address, golfers will see that the topline of the G425 is moderately thick, and there is some offset designed into the heads to help golfers square the face at impact more efficiently. The soles are wide and curved enough to help golfers who tend to hit fat shots, the leading edges have some pre-wear and the back edge has been beveled. Ping also designed the G425 with a Hydropearl 2.0 chrome finish that repels water, so the clubs perform better in wet grass and damp conditions.
Each G425 iron comes standard with a Golf Pride Lite 360 Tour Velvet grip fitted with an Arccos sensor. Golfers who purchase one or more the G425 driver, fairway wood, hybrid, iron (up to five) or Crossover are eligible for 14 free Arccos screw-in sensors and a 90-day app free trial for a $19.99 shipping and handling fee.
The new Ping G710 irons provide slower-swinging players with more distance and forgiveness with enhanced sound.
Gear: Ping G710 irons Price: $175 per club with Ping AWT 2.0 steel shafts and Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet Arccos Caddie grips; $190 with Ping Alta CB Red graphite shafts Specs: Hollow-body 17-4 stainless steel head, plasma-welded maraging steel C300 face, tungsten toe and hosel weights Available: Jan. 20
Two years ago Ping released its first hollow-bodied iron set, the G700, for mid- and higher-handicap golfers who want to hit the ball higher and farther. The company has now released the update to that club, the G710, promising it will help golfers get more distance and be more forgiving.
While the body of each G710 iron is cast from 17-4 stainless steel, the hitting areas are made from hardened maraging steel. Its strength allowed engineers to make it thin, and because the clubs are hollow, the hitting area can flex more efficiently at impact. Ping said the G710 creates the most face deflection of any Ping iron to help golfers generate more ball speed and more distance.
Tungsten added under the hosel and in a screw piece in the toe area boost the moment of inertia. (Ping)
Ping also added pieces of tungsten in the heel and toe areas to increase the perimeter weighting and boost the moment of inertia. Ping said the G710 has a moment of inertia that is 5 percent higher than the G700, which means it should perform better on off-center hits.
What might surprise golfers the most is how the G710 sounds at impact. Typically, hollow-bodied irons have a higher-pitched sound, not the deep, resounding tone that comes from many solid, better-player’s clubs. After studying the sound waves clubs produce at impact, Ping’s designers added an Ethylene-vinyl acetate polymer piece to an area inside the head to absorb excessive vibrations and enhance the sound. As a result, the G710 has a similar sound profile to Ping’s Blueprint irons, the clubs used by some tour players such as Louis Oosthuizen.
The G710 iron’s face deflects – or bends – more than any other Ping iron. (Ping)
While the G700 irons had a chrome finish, the G710 irons are darker. The hydropearl stealth chrome finish reduces glare and repels water to help players get more consistent results and avoid fliers created by water on the face. The darker finish also makes the G710 appear smaller than the G700, even though the two irons are identical in size.
Each G710 iron comes standard with Golf Pride grips that have an embedded Arccos sensor. (Ping)
Ping is making Arccos Caddie Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet Smart grips standard on the G710 irons. Each grip’s embedded sensor can link with a free Arccos smartphone app and provide valuable data such as how far players typically hit each club and where they tend to miss. Golfers receive a 90-day free trial of the Arccos Caddie app and eight additional screw-in sensors at no charge after the purchase of six or more G710 irons. If players like the added Caddie feature, which uses analytics to make club suggestions and provide strategic feedback, they will need to buy a $99.99 annual subscription after the 90-day trial is complete.
