Equipment

GolfWRX Insider: Viktor Hovland dials in his Ping i210 irons

Published

4 years ago

Jul 15, 2020

The best players in the world are at “Jack’s place” this week, and coming into the Memorial very few players are as hot as Viktor Hovland. With top 25 finishes in every event since the return to play and a solo third last week at the Workday Charity Open, the Oklahoma State Cowboy is on the cusp of a win—maybe even multiple wins fast—if this pace keeps up.

However, the tweaking never stops on tour. This week, Viktor was looking for a “bit more height” and “a bit more” spin without sacrificing any distance. That means “I want to hit this i210 7-iron 174 yards, with this shaft, and this loft, BUT I want a bit more height and a bit more spin.” Not a ton of areas for adjustment in that scenario. So you want it to spin more, go a bit higher, but we can’t change anything? OK. Challenge accepted.

Why? is probably your next question. I mean, the guy is red hot.

The fact that he is red hot is the reason. In this case, with as well as Hovland is hitting the ball, he feels like new opportunities (i.e. birdies) could become possible if the ball could stop a little quicker when it hits the green. Crazy how dialed these guys get. He’s hitting it so well that the ball stopping even two feet quicker is the difference between 17 and 20 under.

For Ping tour rep Kenton Oates, this ask requires some serious savvy. Viktor is a shallow path “picker” of the golf ball. Not only does he not put a ton of spin on the ball, but he also doesn’t interact with the ground all that much. It’s in that turf interaction (or lack thereof) that Kenton found the answer.

“Viktor came to us wanting to add a slight about of height and spin. We discussed our options and decided to try to get the club into the ground more to create more height was the best option as we were not too keen on changing major variables (length, shaft, or loft).

“Our hope was he would see an increase in launch and spin due to the reduced bounce/camber of the sole (four degrees of bounce taken from each iron) and after testing for a few hours on TrackMan, that is exactly what happened (gained approx 1 deg launch 150-250 mph of spin and a 1.5-2 [degree] steeper landing angle) and an added bonus it improved the feel of the irons for Viktor giving him even more confidence.“

These guys are so good.

See Viktor Hovland’s full WITB here.

See Viktor Hovland’s full WITB here.

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10 Comments

Chuck

Jul 16, 2020 at 10:54 pm

That is an astonishing number; removing 4 degrees of bounce. That has to have been fully half, of more, of the total bounce angle per each iron. And what; it was ground off like working with wedges? What happened to all of that swingweight?

I am not doubting what was done; I am just wondering about the explanation of it.

Reply Report comment
- KO
  
  Jul 17, 2020 at 8:35 pm
  
  Hand ground each head. About 80% of longest iron down to about 33% of pw. Head weight easily restored with CTP weight in back cavity.
  
  Hope this helps
  
  Reply Report comment
jgpl001

Jul 16, 2020 at 6:08 am

I can believe there is 4 deg bounce taken off these soles?
The soles are clean, but wow they are wideee
Personally, as a sweeper and picker of the ball the soles I would have a mental block looking at the width of these, you could land a 747 on them…
Still great article and insight on how these great players think and work, more of these articles please

Reply Report comment
- Nick
  
  Jul 16, 2020 at 3:36 pm
  
  I feel the same way. I’m a picker and I have a hard time playing the I series. I had i25s and went into the i500 because of the thinner sole as I could actually take a divot and get better numbers
  
  Reply Report comment
Evan

Jul 16, 2020 at 5:39 am

Why would less bounce = higher launch and spin?

Reply Report comment
- Dave
  
  Jul 16, 2020 at 6:37 am
  
  Evan – the ball will usually strike the face a touch higher with less bounce, popping the ball up a bit more. With the club going into the ground a bit steeper the ball will likely stay on the face a bit longer too, getting that extra friction and spin.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Evan
    
    Jul 16, 2020 at 5:36 pm
    
    Thanks, that makes sense.
    
    Reply Report comment
- matt
  
  Jul 16, 2020 at 9:41 am
  
  it shouldn’t. yes it should increase launch, because the club is sliding lower under the ball. Impact (or exit point)will come a bit higher on the face due to more skidding up the face. This will reduce spin though. Something else was going on in that fitting. Less bounce almost always equals higher launch and less spin
  
  I’d also say I think playing with turf interaction is a pretty massive variable..
  
  Reply Report comment
Karsten's Ghost

Jul 16, 2020 at 5:31 am

Now THAT is a classy looking iron.

Maybe you can order them “Hovland-style” from PingWRX?

Reply Report comment
Josh

Jul 15, 2020 at 9:31 pm

Pretty clean soles (ie no iron #) now that they ground the bounce off. Nice touch adding the iron # on backside of each club.

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Whats in the Bag

Sam Burns WITB 2024 (April)

Published

16 hours ago

Apr 22, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Sam Burns’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.

Driver: Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond S (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 TX

3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond T (15 degrees @16)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Check out more in-hand photos of Sam Burns’ WITB in the forums.

Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Irons: Callaway Apex TCB ’24 (4-AW)
Shafts: Project X 6.5 (4-PW), True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 Tour Issue (AW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-14F @55), WedgeWorks Proto (60-T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 Tour Issue (56, 60)

Check out more in-hand photos of Sam Burns’ WITB in the forums.

Putter: Odyssey Ai-One #7S

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align

Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour X

Check out more in-hand photos of Sam Burns’ WITB in the forums.

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Whats in the Bag

Will Zalatoris WITB 2024 (April)

Published

17 hours ago

Apr 22, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Will Zalatoris’ what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage.

Driver: Titleist TSR2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X (44.5 inches)

3-wood: Titleist TSi2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X

See more photos of Will Zalatoris’ WITB in the forums.

Irons: Titleist T350 (3), Titleist T150 (4-PW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Prototype G.O.S.T. 10 ST X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-08F, 54-10S @55, 60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

See more photos of Will Zalatoris’ WITB in the forums.

Putter: L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max

Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord

See more photos of Will Zalatoris’ WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

New Level launches new 480-DB irons, blending performance and forgiveness

Published

19 hours ago

Apr 22, 2024

Brian Knudson

New Level has been making some really good golf equipment since the company started up in 2018. Offering irons that are more geared towards the better player, precision has been a fundamental philosophy for New Level in creating irons and wedges.

The 480 line of irons has been the flagship of the brand, and the newest member of that team is the 480-DB iron that is now open to pre-orders. A new cavity design is what the whole 480 line is about, and the 480-DB takes advantage of that with added ball speed and a larger sweet spot.

For players who require their irons to offer the best feel, rest assured the DB is a fully forged (from 1020 carbon steel) one-piece golf club. No multi-piece, hollow design with this iron.

While the 480-DB is the next generation of the popular 902-OS, New Level didn’t follow the current trend in golf by chasing distance with the new iron. They actually weakened the lofts on the 480-DB with the spec sheet showing a 33-degree 7-iron and 45-degree pitching wedge. These lofts allow the DB to have less offset while still offering consistent distance off the face.

A traditional design was also at the forefront of the new irons to make sure that golfers with an eye for detail can look down at them with confidence that they will perform under any condition.

A weight low in the back cavity will allow their master club builders to dial in the perfect weight for the golfer, no matter the length or shaft being used. New Level believes that the new 480-DB is one of the most forgiving one-piece forged irons on the market today. A pre-worn leading edge on the sole should get through the turf quickly and with reduced digging for better turf interaction.

You can pre-order the New Level 480-DB right now on the New Level website.