Equipment
Spotted: In-hand photos of the new Ping i500 irons
First, we spotted Tony Finau testing out an unidentified Ping utility iron that was rumored to be the new i500 by GolfWRX Forum members. Then, we learned that Ping’s Director of Product Design Marty Jertson used “Ping i500” long irons to qualify for the 2018 PGA Championship.
Now, we have in-hand photos of the Ping i500 irons in our forums. It’s now clear that this will be a full set of clubs, not just utility irons. It also appears, judging by the screw in the toe of all the irons pictured, that the irons will have a hollow-bodied construction throughout the set.
Check out photos of the 7 iron below, and check out photos of all the irons we photographed in the forum thread.
Ping i500 7-iron
Click here for more photos and discussion.
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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rex235
Aug 9, 2018 at 4:13 pm
Let us know if and when a LH i500 model shows up…
Mike
Jul 28, 2018 at 9:18 am
Don’t understand the Ping strategy. G400, G700, I500, I210, I700, etc. And the prices are sky-high, ESPECIALLY re the G700. As a mid-handicapper, am I really going to spend $1,200 for a set of irons? What will these do that the previous G-Max irons can’t do (& they can now be had for half the cost).
Mat
Aug 9, 2018 at 5:42 pm
You think $1200 is a lot for irons? And why not wait so you can have these for ‘half the cost’?
If you hit the G700 and the i500, you’ll know immediately that they are very, very different clubs.
mizuno29
Jul 14, 2018 at 11:18 am
Remember the Anser irons? They were 8620, the body of this iron is 17-4, the face is 8620. I’ve hit this club, got a set on order, they are $162.50 per with the graphite Recoil shaft, they have all the same playing characteristics that the G 700’s have without all that offset, but you can control the trajectories with these and the 700’s you couldn’t. Hollow club design is the future of irons, makes the face hotter, launches higher, and produce very little spin. Great job Ping!
Mmmmooooo
Jul 13, 2018 at 1:50 am
Hit it. Feels and sounds terrible. Very hollow and cracked sounding. Need foam in it lmao
David
Aug 7, 2018 at 5:50 pm
Came to the exact opposite conclusion. Love the feel and sound.
jc
Jul 2, 2018 at 4:28 pm
one thing for sure…they will be longer, higher, straighter and more accurate..might as well throw your old stuff out or donate to kids.
Mike
Jul 13, 2018 at 8:17 am
And they’ll probably be on about $160+ a club. (refer to G700)
Austin
Jul 1, 2018 at 12:57 am
It is a hollow body full set. Also coming out with new i210s that look and feel good
george
Jul 1, 2018 at 10:46 pm
…. look and feel good when you grab the club in your hand and rub it down….
Captain Obvious
Jun 30, 2018 at 12:13 pm
Clearly says forged for people who comment without actually looking at the pictures…. ????
Caroline
Jun 29, 2018 at 11:21 pm
Any one else find the lie angle on Pings getting changed after a few rounds on these hard summer fairways? I guess the notch in the hosel makes them easier to bend?…I had my short iron lies corrected a month ago and today I had them checked and two of them were off enough to be reset again???
dilly dilly
Jun 30, 2018 at 1:15 am
Most Pings are cast and don’t bend at all.
Tom
Jul 1, 2018 at 12:27 pm
cast stainless is difficult to adjust. Ping knew this and addressed this with the hosel notch.
Steve Buchanan
Jul 9, 2018 at 11:54 am
Of course they bend. Even the old Ping Eye 2 Irons were bendable. They did it at the factory as one of the last steps. That is how they adjusted to the correct lie. They didn’t have different castings for the different lies. The irons were pounded by a mallet into the correct lie and then the dot was painted to show which lie it was as the last step.
Swing Dr
Jul 1, 2018 at 7:11 am
Impossible. The guy checking them probably doesn’t have his machine calibrated correctly. Send them back to Ping for loft/ lie and put your mind at ease.
calc
Jun 29, 2018 at 7:21 pm
Drink GOLFERAID …. there’s a swing in every can …. 😮
ogo
Jun 30, 2018 at 3:08 pm
LOL 😀
Tom
Jun 29, 2018 at 6:58 pm
That iron has 7 less screws in the head than PXG…..lol!
Tom
Jun 29, 2018 at 5:46 pm
PING clubs are the most copied of all time and have brought the most innovations to the industryratepayers by far. They are engineers, it’s the others who copy.
i500 is a beauty to behold.
Jeffrey Anderson
Jun 29, 2018 at 10:54 pm
Stan Thompson had ‘‘tthis design in the 60’s -70’s
Less the hotel ….
Great looking iron
Milo
Jun 29, 2018 at 3:11 pm
Doesn’t look to bad honestly.
Marklar
Jul 12, 2018 at 2:50 am
*too
HDTVMAN
Jun 29, 2018 at 3:07 pm
These are hollow and not “gel” filled. I have the G700’s and the ball “flies long and high” off the face. The i500 is designed for the low-digit handicap player. The new designs are great looking and perform beautifully, construction is based on Ping driver, fairway, and hybrid construction.
calc
Jun 29, 2018 at 7:12 pm
So the toe port is for variable weighting and the rest of the head is solid? Okay, I suppose that’s better than lead tape but why only the toe?
Swing Dr
Jun 29, 2018 at 7:30 pm
Good question. There is a matching screw hidden in the hosel for heel-toe balance.
Travis
Jun 30, 2018 at 10:18 am
If they can drill out a section and put heavier weight in the toe it will move COG more towards the middle of the face instead of being heel biased.
Noa Idea
Jul 4, 2018 at 9:34 pm
the g700’s have a lot of good points, but they are way too loud at impact. Hope the i500’s have sorted that issue.
MuskieCy
Jun 29, 2018 at 2:15 pm
They are all copying the Adams XTD forged irons from 2014.
Forged face, hollow urethane-filled bodies.
Wiger Toods
Jun 30, 2018 at 3:34 am
Not even close. Cavity is much bigger in the 500.
calc
Jun 29, 2018 at 1:51 pm
Looking at the i500 toe, is that a weight port or is it a jello-elastomer port… like TM and PXG ??!!!
DougWilsonsSlapper
Jun 29, 2018 at 11:45 am
Countdown to “their copying TM who’s copying PXG” and “these aren’t forged” and “Ping are ugly” and “thick topline” in 3…2…1…
JJD
Jun 29, 2018 at 1:13 pm
Yeah but, I don’t think these are forged. And, everyone knows they are just copies of TM and as you know, they copy PXG. But we all know PXG copies Tommy Armour.
Marooned
Jun 29, 2018 at 2:35 pm
No. PXG copied TaylorMade. In the year 1993 TM put foam in the Burner midsize irons. In 1993 PXG did not even exist.
That’s why PXG lawsuit never go anywhere, seemed just like a poor PR stunt from PXG to be honest since it’s pretty easy to look it up beforehand…
Tim Armington
Jun 29, 2018 at 11:30 am
Really like it!!! What is the difference between the i500 and the i210?
calc
Jun 29, 2018 at 1:45 pm
That’s easy….. i500 minus i210 = i290 …. 😮
Chuck Barkley
Jun 29, 2018 at 3:07 pm
One’s a race track in Indy, and the other is a freeway in Los Angeles!!! Hahahaha!!! Yuk yuk!! I should’a been a comedy guy.
Anthony Williams
Jul 3, 2018 at 12:40 am
lol
2putttom
Jun 29, 2018 at 10:57 am
I’ll give em’ try
calc
Jun 29, 2018 at 1:53 pm
… sure you will Karsten Jr. ….!!!!
2putttom
Jun 29, 2018 at 4:19 pm
calc ! ya bald headed wombat where ya been … are we still on for Monday?
The dude
Jun 29, 2018 at 10:50 am
They look great……but printing Forged on the back of the cast club is a bit misleading (I know….marketing has their hook for gullible wannabe players)
Brooky03
Jun 29, 2018 at 11:34 am
How do you know it’s not forged? You can forge multiple pieces of the club and weld them together. That’s still a forged club. It’s possible just the face is forged and the body of the clubs are cast, but you can’t know that from the pics.
calc
Jun 29, 2018 at 1:47 pm
Ping and other golf club companies who claim their clubs are “forged” are scamming gullible golfers… they’re more like “forgeries”… 😉
calc
Jun 29, 2018 at 1:50 pm
… not “forged”…. “forgeries” ….. 😮
Travis
Jun 30, 2018 at 10:20 am
Titleist AP2’s are only a forged face, they call them “forged”, nobody seems to complain about that….