Equipment

SPOTTED: Ping “Blueprint” Forged prototype irons

Published

6 years ago

Oct 2, 2018

On Tuesday, Ping staffer Louis Oosthuizen posted photos of Ping prototype irons, which look as though they will be called “Forged Blueprint” based on the stampings.

See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the Ping prototype irons.

Looking forward to testing my new @pingtour prototype irons. #forged Been working with @PingTour for a long time to get these in the bag ???? pic.twitter.com/REAh5glGee

— Louis Oosthuizen (@Louis57TM) October 2, 2018

Judging by their sleek designs, and the fact that Louis Oosthuizen is testing them, the irons could be the replacements for Ping’s previous iBlade irons, which mixed design principles of both blade irons and more forgiving cavity back irons. But if you look closely, the irons also have a screw, or “tuning port,” in the toe of the irons. This could mean that they are hollow-bodied, much like the current, game-improvement G700 irons. But the irons also say forged; is the entire iron forged, or just the face? Are we looking at a forged blade iron with the forgiveness designs of a G700?

For now, we’re left to speculate on the designs and analyze the photos from Louis.

See what GolfWRX Members are saying about the Ping prototype irons.

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Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

20 Comments

Kevin

Jan 5, 2019 at 9:46 pm

As someone who has heard from Ping inside reps I can tell you they have no foam inside and the screw on the toe will open up to a hallow inside. The club is fully forged and may not be released to the public in general. I would love to have a set of these myself but I fear they might not be released to the public. Ping is only going to release these if they fee the demand is worth the price tag they would need to place on them due to the forging process as it is far more expensive than casting as they have done for most of their irons. They now have access to the Nike golf technology as Nike sold them many patents when they exited the golf business as Nike repspected Ping enough to go to them first and is the reason why a decent amount of the Nike tour pros are playing Ping now.

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ht

Oct 3, 2018 at 3:53 pm

NIP set of MP-64’s in the BST right now for less than half of what these will cost. Can’t see any other reason to buying other than to satisfy your hoe urges. Nothing wrong with being a club hoe

Reply Report comment
William Davis

Oct 3, 2018 at 1:54 pm

I have a set of 25 year old Mizuno TP9 irons. Why would I want these?

Reply Report comment
- William Davis
  
  Oct 3, 2018 at 2:06 pm
  
  …. and I’m only 22 years old ….!!!!!!
  
  Reply Report comment
- The dude
  
  Oct 3, 2018 at 8:05 pm
  
  Ya don’t get IT
  
  Reply Report comment
Jim

Oct 3, 2018 at 12:14 pm

Meh… Buy & use late 60’s / early 70’s Wilson Staff – better clubs, solid carbon steel, no hollow or foam-filled gimmicks. But of course, if “growing the game” and helping manufacturers survive is your goal, then by all means acquire new clubs every few months.

Reply Report comment
- oppie
  
  Oct 3, 2018 at 2:03 pm
  
  … for rich, old and impotent Baby Boomer (1945-1965) golfers who have more money than brains or talent… and gotta have a good looking WITB set of arsenal of weapons.
  
  Reply Report comment
Mokokos

Oct 3, 2018 at 11:37 am

This not the first attempt by Ping of this type of forged irons. I have the 2nd generation Anderso irons which were forged and hollow bodied. They are very good and accurate and Miguel Angel Jimenez won a tournament gamingvthese irons. The only drawback was the dead feel and dull sound of these irons. Hopefully Ping has addressed that issue with these prototypes. I still think when you go hollow body you need some kind of creative insert to improve the feel and sound of the strike.

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- Mokokos
  
  Oct 3, 2018 at 11:40 am
  
  Sorry, I meant to type Anser irons.
  
  Reply Report comment
- oppie
  
  Oct 3, 2018 at 2:05 pm
  
  Yes…. sound and orqasmic impact feeeel are so important to incompetent duffers with no consistent swing.
  
  Reply Report comment
ogo

Oct 2, 2018 at 1:46 pm

Kudos to Andy Tursky for this!!!:
“But the irons also say forged; is the entire iron forged, or just the face? Are we looking at a forged blade iron with the forgiveness designs of a G700?”
I’ve been questioning the “fake forged” scam starting with the P-790 and now you’ve taken up the cudgel questioning another hollow iron design. Welcome aboard!!!!

Reply Report comment
- ogo
  
  Oct 2, 2018 at 1:52 pm
  
  Furthermore, it’s obvious the club OEMs are attempting to design in that soft buttery feel of fully forged irons but only hit on the sweet spot. A hollow iron filled with jello goop may absorb the clank of off-center hits to make the duffers feeeel gooood. Obviously an open cavity back with a rubbery insert just doesn’t do it so PING is following the herd their their PXG/TM hollow versions.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - jo
    
    Oct 3, 2018 at 9:21 pm
    
    maybe in some cases, but wait until you get old and you’ll appreciate the shock absorption.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - ogo
      
      Oct 4, 2018 at 9:55 pm
      
      Use soft lady’s flex graphite shafts because you must stop the mis-hit ‘shock’ in the shaft… NOT the clubhead.
      
      Reply Report comment
James

Oct 2, 2018 at 11:39 am

Looks like there is a faint mark on the toe area to designate tungsten (much like the iBlade).

Reply Report comment
- ogo
  
  Oct 2, 2018 at 2:28 pm
  
  Do you know why TM and PING are inserting very high density tungsten plugs low in the toes of their irons…. and why PXG achieves the same effect with external tungsten screws? I do…. 😀
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Luke
    
    Oct 2, 2018 at 5:26 pm
    
    Why?
    
    Reply Report comment
    - oppie
      
      Oct 3, 2018 at 2:09 pm
      
      … because most recreational golfers hit low in the toe… and the extra metal toe weight compensates for incompetence.
      
      Reply Report comment
rex235

Oct 2, 2018 at 10:27 am

Am in as soon as they show a LH set.

Reply Report comment
- Roy
  
  Oct 3, 2018 at 9:36 am
  
  so never…:-(
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

8 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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