I have only seen a few players using the i-series on tour. Also, not many people seem to talk about it on the forum. No love for i-series or did I just miss something from the forum? Reviews, comments etc?

Well I'd give you a review of my I-Series Craz-e putter, but somehow I don't think you'd be interested in a review of a mallet putter...

Actually, I am in the process of looking for a mallet putter... Could you please give a brief review? Thanks.

Well OK then... Why don't I tell you why I chose this putter above all others.

First reason I bought the PING is because my Odyssey 2-ball mallet is sitting at the bottom of the pond near the 10th green at my home course - true story!

I stink as far as putting goes, and I think the best I can hope for is to be an average putter who has the very rare good day on the greens. I have always previously used a mallet-style putter, but after going through a really bad patch, I decided that I was going to try an Anser style putter just to shake things up a bit.

So having tried lots of traditional putters at the shop, and coming down to a decision between a Karsten Ping Anser and an Odyssey XG #3, I thought the smart thing to do would be to compare these to a mallet putter just to make sure I was making the right decision. So I randomly picked the I-Series Craz-e off the shelf and started sinking a large number of consecutive putts from 4 feet. How can you argue with results? The Craz-e just set up dead square to my eye and was beuatifully balanced with a good "heft" to it. This thing feels much heavier than my old 2-ball, and the alignment aid was much easier on the eye.

Look, to cut a long story short, this is what I like about the I-Series Craz-e:

Weight is fantastic.
Easy to align it to the target - looks dead square to me, while some mallets appear closed to my eyes (probably has more to do with the angles and offset of the shaft)
Face-balanced and heavy - really suits my SBST stroke (obviously why I have always subconciously gone for mallet putters)
Feel off the face is solid - not too soft, not too hard.
You can order your desired length and lie.

Criticisms:
Distance control can be hard to judge sometimes - I am not completely used to it yet.

Try this putter if:
Your stroke is SBST and your tendency on misses is to pull the ball left.
You favour forgiveness over feel.
You like a heavy putter.
You play on slow greens.

Avoid this putter if:
You are a traditionalist.
You play on really slick greens that require touch and exceptional distance control.
You have a "gated" stroke

Hope this helps - feel free to ask any questions

Very happy with my i-series Piper--particularly seems to help me with distance control.

Thanks for the extensive review. Is the insert soft like Odyssey white hot or more firm? Tks.

Hhmmmmmmm...

I would say it is slightly firmer. In all honesty, the insert is not the reason why I bought the club - I still would've bought it even if it had no insert.

Hey, you are in Melbourne. I will be visiting there in a couple months. Maybe we should meet up and play some golf together!!!

Very happy with my I series Piper H.
To my eye - it sets up much cleaner and squarer than the Odyssey XG9 and has a nice weight about it (but I don;t think it is a 365g headweight).
Good Feel
Great Value.

what is not to like?
Cheers

Sure, if I can manage some time off work. Where are you coming from? Are you coming for business? Unfortunately I can't get you on to any of the sandbelt courses though...

I, too, have the iSeries Piper H. Great feel, excellent distance control. I do wish the two alignment lines were a little closer together like the Karsten series Piper. I think that putter frames the ball a little better.

They're ugly as sin. That's my only problem so far

I'm seeing a lot of love for the Karsten series Craz-E, but not as much for the i series.

Other than the $ and the colors, can anyone who has tried both offer up their opinions?

Thx.

-TJW

I agree.

I'm a huge fan of Ping irons, bags, and classic putters (I've owned some of each), but I've always been disappointed with its insert putters.

It seems like Ping has never quite been able to get an insert putter right. I can't think of a single insert line that I'd consider a success (Isopur, Isopur 2, TiFx, ISO Force, G2i). The successful model I can think of is the G2i Craz-E, which I heard sold well, but I still think the G2i line in general wasn't that successful.

I think the new IWIs are a step in the right direction (with the steel, milled faces, the interchangable weights, and the heavier starting weights), but their styling is again pretty bad. For a company that has some of the most timeless putter designs, they sure haven't used those design principles in creating an insert putter, and I think that is their biggest fault.

More generally, because Ping changes the entire design of its insert putters so often, the company really doesn't have an identity in that segment of the market. At least Odyssey has stuck with "White Hot" (and its some variations) for several years now. And Scotty Cameron has stuck with elastomer-backed metal (either Teryllium or GSS) for over a decade.

Ping could stand to take a lesson from those companies. Ping has to find an identity in their insert putters and run with it. With Ping's history in putter making, it shouldn't that tough.

Glad to get that off my chest.

They are pretty solid putters

they feel good to me, but im more into non insert putters
they provide a cleaner look and feel

the reason not many people talk about them is beacause they marketed this putter very poorly, which caused less people to know about and buy it

Looks like Angel Cabrera is using the 1/2 Crazee center shaft I series at the event on the Euro Tour this week. It caught my attention because I have the same putter and like it a lot.

I'm thinking the reason these don't get much love online is because "we're" all about the one piece, milled, tour-issed, showpiece putters. Shoot, I'm even guilty of that to some extent, and while I prefer the more responsive feedback of the insertless lines, these are some of the best inserts on the market, IMO. They don't have a plasticky feel like the G2i/G5i lines (let alone that horrid isopur insert), but are very muted, making a good option for those who use the harder distance balls but would prefer a nice soft feel on the green. The insert is fairly responsive in that it is neither sluggish, nor does it feel like there's any rebounding or hot spots (like I've seen with some of the Odyssey inserts). Again, there's not a lot of fanfare here for these on sites like Golfwrx, but I'm sure they're doing well enough for Ping to keep them in the lineup. And with the first release of the Anser 4 since the Isopur2 (i think), that was a good enough reason for me to get one.

^^^^^

how much extra did it cost to get it weighted and with the guyson finish?

I had the I-series Anser...unhappy with the fell of insert...it did well inside 10" but for longer lag putts, I found a lack of feel with the I-series. I recently bought the Karsten B60 and love the feel from all distances.....maybe it was the insert in the I-series.

do a search...