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Ping rejuvenates its famed Eye2 wedge with the Glide ES

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Ping has rejuvenated a more than three-decade old design with its new Glide ES wedges. ES stands for “Eye Sole,” referencing the best-selling wedge in Ping history, the Eye2.

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Ping’s Eye2 XG wedge, which conforms to the USGA’s 2010 groove rule.

Different golfers use wedges in different ways, but Eye2 wedge users tend to agree on one thing — the club is fantastic from bunkers. In just the past year, conforming-groove versions of the original Eye2 have been spotted in the bags of several PGA Tour players, the most notable of which are Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and Hunter Mahan.

Not bad for a golf club that was popular in a decade where boom boxes, Care Bears, Miami Vice, Rubik’s Cubes and Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller” were all the rage.

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What makes the Eye2, and now the Glide ES, an exceptional bunker club, according to Ping Senior Design Engineer Marty Jertson, is a part of the club that (hopefully) never contacts the ball: its hosel. More than any other Ping wedge, the hosel of the Glide ES is tapered, or reduced in size as it transitions from the ferrule to the leading edge of the club. That creates less drag as the club moves through impediments such as sand or grass and leads to more consistent strikes.

According to Ping studies, the design of the Glide ES, which uses the same 431 Stainless Steel design, 24-degree groove sidewalls and moisture-repelling satin-chrome finish as the company’s other Glide wedges, creates 7 percent less hosel drag on bunker shots when compared to the company’s other designs. Because of its overall reduction in surface area, the entire club head also creates a 2 percent reduction in overall drag.

Related: Our review of Ping’s Glide WS, SS and TS wedges.

So how do you know if its for you? If you struggle with bunker shots this is the one, Jertson says. If your short game is more refined, read on.

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The Gilde ES has a “scooped sole,” which creates two distinct surfaces on the bottom of the club. The front portion of the sole is engaged on shots that have the club shaft leaning toward the target. It will tend to dig into the ground slightly more than the company’s Glide SS wedges, but not as much as the company’s Glide TS wedges.

When the shaft is leaned backward or the club is used in the opened position, the rear part of the sole will dig into the ground slightly more than the company’s Glide WS wedges, but not as much as the company’s Glide SS wedges.

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If you’re a current Eye2 wedge user, know that the club will tend to dig less than the original version — particularly on full shots.

The Glide ES wedges are available in lofts of 56, 58 and 60 degrees ($140 with steel, $160 with graphite) and will be in stories on July 30. They come stock with Ping’s CFS wedge shaft or the company’s TFC 419i (Soft R, R, S flexes) if graphite is your thing. The stock grip is Ping’s Dyla-wedge, which is 0.75 inches longer than standard grips to encourage golfers to choke down on shots around the green for better control.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the Glide ES wedges in our forum. 

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4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Ray Neese

    Jun 25, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    Saw on Instagram Golf WRX a Ping Eye 2, Glide 3. Looked to me more like PM and Hi Toe.

  2. other paul

    Jul 19, 2015 at 11:19 am

    So am I supposed to buy this or the PM grind mackdaddy2?

  3. Ballstrikka

    Jul 18, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    +1

  4. Christosterone

    Jul 18, 2015 at 12:05 pm

    Dear Ping: PLEASE make a glide set of irons!!!
    -Christosterone

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Equipment

Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.

From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.

Specs/ Additional Details

-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)

-Original Anser Design

-PING PP58 Grip

-Putter is built to standard specs.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made

This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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Inside Collin Morikawa’s recent golf ball, driver, 3-wood, and “Proto” iron changes

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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.

The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.

On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.

Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.

At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.

“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.

Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.

“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.

“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.” 

In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.

On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.

According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.

“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.” 

See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here. 

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Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage

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Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.

It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”

“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”

 

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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.

Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:

“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.

“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.

“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.

“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.

“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”

So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.

His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here

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