Ping i20 Moderator review --- "You're gonna need a bigger boat"

[Asleep]

***First date*** and a new Ping customized bag

GolfWRX was invited to test drive Ping's i20 irons in late 2011, and after hitting them I told the design team they had a decided winner here. An iron that will compete with the best cavity-backs in the game in design, feel, and performance. An iron to compete with the last set of irons I had purchased & bagged -- the 2008 AP2s.

In fact, I was naively wondering if Ping was going to have the production capacity to meet the increased demand I was sure would meet Ping upon the release of the i20 irons ( of course they do. ) It kept rolling through my head, though: you guys will need extra shifts to meet demand ... have to take on more help ... might have to re-open a closed factory ...

You're gonna need a bigger boat!

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Such was my resolve after our initial testing.

Now it's time to do some real world testing of the i20 irons -- on my courses, in all conditions, with production samples. I've always found the proof is in bagging a set of irons and getting 15-20 rounds in with them to see how they perform over time with good & bad swig days, on multiple types of courses. Too often in the past I've had an intense honeymoon phase with irons that quickly, disappointingly wanes into indifference after a few weeks. Perhaps it just takes me a little longer to get to the heart of the matter. Perhaps I need to dot all the "i"s and cross all the "t"s. Lets call it thorough. Consider this my first installment in a rolling Editor Review of Ping's new i20 irons ..... I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.

And so it begins...

The i20s arrive with cute little protective socks on each one ( that are actually quite functional ),
and a pink tag letting me know a real person built my irons and checked the specs to ensure they matched my requirements.
Kind of like my own personal Ping elf. .. .... :lol:


3 through PW, top to bottom.
3



4



5



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8



9



W




full disclosure: Ping provided the irons for review

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Posted 11 February 2012 - 04:39 PM

Sky blue day today with highs around 50 gave me my first chance to hit the new i20s. I head over to Memorial Park Golf Course because it's close.

I warm up with wedges and get to it. Off the bat I notice the head weight a bit more than usual. Coming from 130 gram Dynamic Golds to these 109 gram CFS shafts, I'm dropping a decent chunk of cut shaft weight. Now I ordered my i20s to swingweight at my usual D3, which may be a point or two too high if trying to match the feel of a D3 with DGX100s. So I'd recommend you consider this, and maybe drop your swingweight spec. by a point or two, if you're trying to match in the hand feel. Word to the wise. Does it make a big difference to me? No. We're only talking 2/3 nickels worth of weight here.

So I'm hitting off the mats -- Memo only has mats -- and I'm liking the i20s fine. Feel/sound is as remembered. Loving them? Nope. Why? They're new irons to me, with new shafts. They feel different than what I'm used to. Of course they do, they're supposed to because they are different. :lol: Plus, I'm hitting off mats.

Range mats are no place to judge iron performance, imo. Mats don't allow an iron to do what it does naturally, which is deflect down into the ground off impact. You don't get the "down" part. And mats hurt over time. I know personally that I subconsciously alter my swing if/when I have a long irons session on a mat. My attack gets shallower -- helps minimize the impact of beating a rod with a metal object on the end of it into an unforgiving surface repeatedly. :black eye:

But this is the thing with new irons. For many of us they're not going to be perfect out of the box. You have unfamiliar clubs in your hands. It takes time to adjust to the differences of your new dance partner. For some it's just not an issue. For me, it takes a handful of range sessions and a handful of rounds to stop being conscious of my new "different feeling" irons and just point & shoot. Too many times I see guys with new irons one week that they traded in for something different a month later: "Ahh, they just didn't suit me," ... "Liked them in the store, but awful on the course," ... "Couldn't hit a fade/draw/high/low/stinger/knuckler with 'em." Well give it more than a couple of weeks, for crying out loud.

Even though I'm purposefully down at the end of the range, a few folks around me are ohh'ing and ahh'ing about the i20s. I let a number of guys try them, then I go through my usual routine with new irons. I hit 10 or so balls with each iron, PW up to the 3-iron. They all get to get dirty. I try not to judge much other than feel ... I'll consider the rest further down the road. ( By the way, feel is very good with these. ) One thing I've learned over the years trying/testing/reviewing irons is you just have to wait a while before making up your mind. Or as Diana Ross And The Supremes said, You Can't Hurry Love


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Oh, forget to mention the cool new Ping 4 Series bag I got yesterday to go with the i20s. Whaddaya think?

Can't quite make out the unusual name embroidered on the side of it, though ..... ?







More to come...

[Geo]

HAH! Great reference! Look forward to reading more of your real world impressions, Todd. I've got nothing better to do until lefty production catches up. :sad_clown:

[tinman]

Thanks for the pics.I never get tired of looking at those irons & i can't wait to demo them soon.I've never owned a Ping iron before,but these will probably be my first.Great photo's btw!!!!

[MtlJeff]

oh yeah, Ping....i remember when i played their stuff. They are still around?

Those look really nice, i may have to buy them and then start an epic groundbreaking thread about them. Keep us updated please!

[Foreleft]

Stopped by Dick's Sporting Goods after work, excited to finally see the irons. Went to the Ping display - they had the signage up, but no irons. Clerk asked if he could help me - told him I stopped to see the i20's. He states they are not out yet - I state they were released today. He checks memo taped to register, goes in back and pulls out the very pretty cardboard box. Now we're talking.

Look better in person than the pics let on. Didn't get to hit them, but appear to be everything I had hoped for appearance-wise. Ont thing I noted was that the back of the cavity was visible at address, which I do no like, but I am going 4-P, so no harm, no foul.

Going to wait until I can get on nFlight and do the fitting up right.

[Geo]

Ah--what shafts did you go with? I see that you went with the ID8 cord--[b]incredible [/b]grip, that!

[jones137]

Can't wait to read this.....got a set on the way from ping as we speak.

What shafts did you go with?

Looking forward to this review.....

[Dizz]

He went with CFS Stiff in the irons and DI-6 in the woods... Lol.

[Asleep]

[quote name='tinman' timestamp='1328841823' post='4249441']Great photo's btw!!!![/quote]
Courtesy of a new [url="http://www.ubergizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/sony-nex-5n.jpg"]Sony NEX 5N[/url]. Thanks.


[quote name='beruo' timestamp='1328842376' post='4249523']
Ah--what shafts did you go with? I see that you went with the ID8 cord--[b]incredible [/b]grip, that!
[/quote]
Yep, I liked the CFS in the irons. Agree ID8 is money!

[radiman]

I'm not really a Ping guy, so I don't have extensive experience with their irons. But I am interested in how these compare to the S56. I really like the looks of both sets, but could go with a little more forgiveness if needed. I really like the look of the last 2 ping lines. They just keep getting better and better.

[TheMackDaddy]

I've never been so exited for a line of woods in my life! I know this is an iron thread but... WOW! Im exited for the i20 woods!

[enduro]

I've played Ping irons for years but dont understand all the hype about the i20 irons. IMO they are hideous, thick topline. lots of offset and a cheap plasticky looking cavity insert,. IMO a real downgrade in looks from both the i5 and i15 irons.

[596]

Guy and his wife walk into my Inn lobby today to checkin for a few days in Sedona. After a few moments i find that he was actaully 2 hours behind schedule as he had stopped at the PGA Superstore. He walked out of that store with a brand new set of I20 irons. He was fitted and bought right away. He was playing I10's til today. He says he gained 15 yards with the i20 7 iron over his i10...........168 to 183. He looked like he could pound a ball!!!!

I saw the i20's the other day and really did not like the looks....good lord I thought I would never complain about the looks of an iron.......but I like the looks of my S58's alot more.

[KarstenK]

[quote name='enduro' timestamp='1328845329' post='4249925']
I've played Ping irons for years but dont understand all the hype about the i20 irons. IMO they are hideous, thick topline. lots of offset and a cheap plasticky looking cavity insert,. IMO a real downgrade in looks from both the i5 and i15 irons.
[/quote]
couldnt disagree more....these have the least offset in an i series to date, the cavity is light years better than those awful looking sets you mentioned. I gamed i5's and i15's each for a couple of seasons and these look much cleaner. The long irons are thick but i series long irons have been thick for a long time. Have you even looked at the pics above of 6-pw?......there is less offset than many "player's" irons. I loved how my i15's played, but they sucked to look at.

[ROBOPTI]

AWESOME write up .... But bottom line

 

 

You're gonna need a bigger boat!

 

 

May I compliment you on your insertion of emoticons ... and I pride myself as an emoticon connoisseur

[ekimox]

I checked out the i20's at my local golf store yesterday. I was really looking forward to them but in all honesty I was pretty let down by their overall size. The 3 and 4 irons could pass for hybrids and I felt that the topline on the rest of the set was too thick for my eye. I hit them side by side with the MP53's and 712 AP2's (my first 2 choices) and althought the i20's felt ok (to me not as solid as the AP2 and especially the MP53) I just couldn't get past the looks and the fat sole. The i20 woods look incredible. Ping definitely has a winner on their hands with the entire line up but the irons just aren't for me. The shafts in the i20's were CFS stiffs.

[mosesgolf]

Wow. Those are some BEAUTIFUL looking clubs. I had a set if i15's and they were fantastic. No doubt i20's will be just as good if not better.

[whatshannenin]

The 3-5 look like they are from a different set! Tons of offset compared to the rest of the set which look great. Does Ping still offer the option of bending out offset in the WRX Dept? If so, I could definitely play those irons!

[andyville99]

Stopped in Golfsmith today to see the i20 line... first impressions: if they would just make the entire set of irons with zero, and I mean ZERO offset, I'd buy 'em on the spot. Couple of observations: the 3 iron looked like it had about 23* of loft. Looked more like a 4 iron. The look of the driver and 3 wood was superb - the matte black finish just looks wicked. The drivers also looked like they had waY more than the stated loft. the 9.5 looked like 12, the 8.5 looked pretty playable. the 14* 3W looked serious!

They have some serious winners on their hands - my peeves are just my personal preferences - overall, though, these look like they will rock!

[John - Memphis]

I went to a Ping NFlight club for a fitting. I hit the irons and the Driver. I was so looking forward to hitting the irons and was willing to pull the trigger on a set but was just not impressed. They are long but ball flight was meh and too high. The fitter said every shot looked like a flier. Bummed.

But, the driver is so SWEET. I can't tell you how much I loved that beauty. Solid, long, great sound, perfect trajectory and a beautiful matte black finish. I went with the TFC707 X.

[MK7Golf21]

i want to get a set soon but most fitters around me only have s300, kbs tour and cfs shafts. I want to get a real fitting,,, anyone else running into this problem?

[enotsyer]

Tried them yesterday at my local golf store. The top line looks thicker then my i15's but the offset is less. They felt softer then my i15's, although I never found the i15's to be too harsh. The sole on all the irons looks bigger then the i15's but I don't mind. They feel heavier then the i15's, in a good way, more solid. Color wise and cavity wise they are flawless in my opinion, everything the i15's are not, and I hit them just as good as I do my i15's.

Ordered a set, 5-UW, green dot, CFS stiff, standard length, 703 grips and D2 swingweight. I'll do a few comparison shots when they arrive in a few weeks between these and my i15s for those that are interested (I don't think anyone has posted pictures comparing the two yet).

[winzenz]

Was very excited to demo the i20 irons yesterday and put them up against my i15's. Appearance wise I really liked the i20's, but i don't buy irons based upon appearance alone. My i15's are black dot, +.5", AWT stiff shaft, swingweight D2. The i20 was black dot, standard length, CFS stiff shaft, standard swingweight (D0?). I probably hit 15 balls with each iron and i have to say I could not tell much of a difference. The feel was very similar but, suprisingly, I felt the i20 had a higher ballflight. With the CFS shaft I expected a lower ballflight. Based upon my experience I see no reason to bench my i15 irons and move to the i20.

[Featherbed Bent]

Gorgeous - stupid ground shipping means mine won't arrive until tomorrow

But i did get my i20 Driver, 3 -wood and hybrid today. The matte finish is beautiful and functional. The 3 wood just feels like you can bomb it with utter control. Perfect weight, feel, and I love the way the club head sits on the turf. Same with the hybrid.

For me, the Project X black felt the best, I got 6.5 in all 3 clubs - 9.5 Driver, 14 3-wood, and 17 Hybrid.

Sucks that it is raining in Miami!

Can't wait for the irons!!

[wolfpack]

They look [size="6"]GREAT![/size][size="2"] Very tasty.[/size]

[filler83]

So for those who have hit the i15 irons, too, which set would you say is relatively more forgiving?

[JaxBeachNole]

[quote name='filler83' timestamp='1328920790' post='4256673']
So for those who have hit the i15 irons, too, which set would you say is relatively more forgiving?
[/quote]

I would say so, I hit the i15 with their stock shaft and i20 with x100 and the i20 was definitely more forgiving. Longer. Looks better. Longer. And Longer. Ordered them on the spot.

[ufgatrs82]

Not usually a ping fan but those are some of the best they have put out in some time. Love the I20 driver as well.

[walts00]

My set came in today....they have a great look throughout the set. The 3-5 irons are a bit chunky with some offset which, for me, inspires confidence as they look incredibly easy to hit. The 8-pw look perfect...compact and boxy with little offset. I think these are the best cast players cavity back irons to come along since the TM R7TPs.

[mantan]

They are absolutely gorgeous clubs. Comparing them to my i5s, thee heads are a little smaller in the short irons...but still a very comfortable size. The mid irons seem almost identical. The biggest difference in performance is the ball seems to jump off the face. They feel a lot 'springier' than the i5s. The trajectory is a little higher with the CFS than the zz-65, but it's still a very strong ball flight. I was hitting into a 20 mph wind at my home course and the i20s weren't being held up at all. The ball flight was higher, but the ball was landing 3-5 yards further.

Unfortunately I only had a short window of time to sneak out today. I'm looking forward to spending more time with them.