15 replies to this topic

[williamo]

Hi everyone,

I have a question for all you Ping lovers. Are Ping releasing any new irons in the S-57 style in 2009/2010? Maybe s-56 irons?

I am so bored at the big sole on my Ping Rapture irons. I really need something more blade style.

Anyone that have any thoughts about Ping S57 4-PW? Should I buy a 3 iron too? How is the 3 iron compared to my Ping Rapture V2 20* Hybrid?

I have Ping AWT shafts in my irons and they are pretty good. Anyone that know any better shaft i should try first before I buy?

[speeder717]

The S57 is a great looking and feeling iron.  Also the S57 iron is more forgiving then the i10 iron which is an admitted engineering flaw by the company.  I would Say that having a 3 iron these days is not necessary for most players today with the hybrids that we have available to us, regardless of talent level.  When many of the tour players are ditching 3 irons, we can ditch 3 irons.  The AWT is a great shaft, I play it in my S57s and love em.  I had the chance to get fit by the ping tour department last year and was blown away.

[williamo]

Okey. I have the AWT steel shafts R Flex in my Rapture irons at the moment and I like them. I have heard from the guys at the store that the AWT shaft wis simple. Is the AWT Stiff heavier than the R Flex?

[dlygrisse]

Ping has 2 year product cycles, they will probably roll out the S56 in the fall of 2010.  That being said the I15 might be a better choice or pick up an old set of S58's or even S57's both great clubs.  It would not be a bad idea to keep your Rapture long irons and use those with the more blade like short or middle irons especially if you have the same shaft in them, I mean the Rapture is basically a hybrid anyway.  The AWT shaft is a good shaft for a average player or someone who does not have pro-ish club head speed.  If you start ballooning the ball then you may want to go with a heavier shaft, if your ball flight is fine then I would stick with the AWT, I have it in my irons and love it.  Yes, the stiff is a little heavier than the R flex.

[williamo]

Is the S-57 conforming the new groove rule? How about the i15?

[blonday]

William Odin, on Nov 14 2009, 10:00 AM, said:

Is the S-57 conforming the new groove rule? How about the i15?

The i15 is conforming.  The S-57 is not... UNLESS...  you have their WRX department make a set for you specifically with conforming grooves.

[MKGalleryGolf]

Actually, the S-57's built beginning Dec. 1 WILL BE CONFORMING!

[cwstark520]

I have i10's (that I will continue to use as I am not a professional golfer) with ZZ-65 shafts.  If you are using stiff flex AWT, I would recommend trying that shaft.  I would also try the i15 irons, I have hit them and they are very solid.

[williamo]

So all the new groove talk doesn't affect the "amateurs"? So I can play with what ever I want until I get pro? When are you becoming a "pro" and being affected by the new rules? I mean in what type of tour? Challenge tour? European tour?

[cwstark520]

If you are not a touring professional or not going to try and qualify for the US Amateur, etc...you really do not have to worry about the groove rule change until 2024.  (That will probably change, but as for now if you are a "weekend warrior" you are OK until then).  My point was that I will use my i10's for the next few seasons and then buy a new set.  I think that is one of the reasons why the USGA and R&A gave us recreational players until 2024 to buy "conforming" clubs.

Your initial question was about shafts to try, I like Ping's ZZ-65 and thought you should give them a try if you are going to buy a new set of Ping irons.  You should be able to try various shafts in any of the Ping clubs on the market if you go to any reputable Ping fitter.  



PS - No, I do not plan on playing on any Professional Tour or in a US Amateur event, so I am not concerned about the groove rule at this point.

[robbie91]

cwstark520, on Nov 15 2009, 07:22 AM, said:

If you are not a touring professional or not going to try and qualify for the US Amateur, etc...you really do not have to worry about the groove rule change until 2024.  (That will probably change, but as for now if you are a "weekend warrior" you are OK until then).  My point was that I will use my i10's for the next few seasons and then buy a new set.  I think that is one of the reasons why the USGA and R&A gave us recreational players until 2024 to buy "conforming" clubs.

Your initial question was about shafts to try, I like Ping's ZZ-65 and thought you should give them a try if you are going to buy a new set of Ping irons.  You should be able to try various shafts in any of the Ping clubs on the market if you go to any reputable Ping fitter.  



PS - No, I do not plan on playing on any Professional Tour or in a US Amateur event, so I am not concerned about the groove rule at this point.

i think your actually even okay if u play in the us am -- its only 2nd stage and up of us open qual or trying to qualify for any pga tour senior tour or lpga tour event

[Jimbud]

William Odin, on Nov 14 2009, 08:11 AM, said:

Okey. I have the AWT steel shafts R Flex in my Rapture irons at the moment and I like them. I have heard from the guys at the store that the AWT shaft wis simple. Is the AWT Stiff 00heavier than the R Flex?

The stiff AWT is about 10 grams heavier the the regular flex.  Still about 20 grams lighter then the DG 300.  As said above I'm just guessing that about 90% of us on this forum don't need to be worrying about the new groove rule.  For those of you that do need clubs that comply to the new groove rule. I envy you and congratulations on your achievement.

[hardten]

William Odin, on Nov 14 2009, 07:30 AM, said:

Hi everyone,

I have a question for all you Ping lovers. Are Ping releasing any new irons in the S-57 style in 2009/2010? Maybe s-56 irons?

I am so bored at the big sole on my Ping Rapture irons. I really need something more blade style.

Anyone that have any thoughts about Ping S57 4-PW? Should I buy a 3 iron too? How is the 3 iron compared to my Ping Rapture V2 20* Hybrid?

I have Ping AWT shafts in my irons and they are pretty good. Anyone that know any better shaft i should try first before I buy?

From Raptures to S-57s, from V2 hybrid to s-57 3 iron. Don,t know what kind of game you have but your change couldn,t be much more extreme. Why do you need something more bladelike,for the looks? Some guys are into looking at thier bags and some playing good golf. For some it's one in the same for some it's a cruel expensive blow to find out it's not. BTW I think the AWTs are pretty decent shafts and I have played most.

[CosmosMpower]

Wait a second.  You want to go from Ping's most forgiving SGI style iron to their least forgiving nearly blade style iron?  That is a big difference in forgiveness.  I would say if you're not a single digit probably jump to something like the i5/i15 before going to the S57.  Even the i10's are pretty harsh compared to the Raptures.

I'm about a 15 and couldn't even deal with the punishment from miss-hits on the i5's so I ended up with all G10's and couldn't be happier.  I had several approach shots that I caught on the toe yesterday and thought would be short but still trickled onto the green.  You won't get that with a S57.

Edited by CosmosMpower, 16 November 2009 - 01:31 PM.

[Chris_NH]

CosmosMpower, on Nov 16 2009, 01:30 PM, said:

Wait a second. You want to go from Ping's most forgiving SGI style iron to their least forgiving nearly blade style iron? That is a big difference in forgiveness. I would say if you're not a single digit probably jump to something like the i5/i15 before going to the S57. Even the i10's are pretty harsh compared to the Raptures.

I'm about a 15 and couldn't even deal with the punishment from miss-hits on the i5's so I ended up with all G10's and couldn't be happier. I had several approach shots that I caught on the toe yesterday and thought would be short but still trickled onto the green. You won't get that with a S57.

My experience has been a bit different.  I've been playing Zing2s and am a 14 handicap (although my iron play is probably the strongest part of my game, overall), and looking to buy something newer (I'll admit - I just want some "new toys").  I bought the S57s and was, frankly, a bit afraid of them before they arrived - primarily because of many of the "unforgiving" comments.

I personally think the forgiving-vs-unforgiving thing is overplayed a bit.  I have found I hit the S57s very well and, in just about all cases, a bad shot with the S57s comes from a swing that would produce a bad shot with the Zing2s or anything else I was holding at the time.  I really haven't been able to identify any shots where I felt like the S57s were more "penal" than the Zing2s or Callaway X20 Tours (the other club that is under consideration for me).

My suggestion to the original poster - try them as much as possible at a golf shop, or a loaner set if you can make that happen.  But then, buy some used ones in good condition.  If you find them unduly penal, sell them and move onto something else.  There's no reason to get married to a set of irons (especially since we're in the forum for "golf swingers") ;-)

Edited by Chris_NH, 16 November 2009 - 03:18 PM.

[williamo]

Chris_NH, on Nov 16 2009, 04:17 PM, said:

CosmosMpower, on Nov 16 2009, 01:30 PM, said:

Wait a second. You want to go from Ping's most forgiving SGI style iron to their least forgiving nearly blade style iron? That is a big difference in forgiveness. I would say if you're not a single digit probably jump to something like the i5/i15 before going to the S57. Even the i10's are pretty harsh compared to the Raptures.

I'm about a 15 and couldn't even deal with the punishment from miss-hits on the i5's so I ended up with all G10's and couldn't be happier. I had several approach shots that I caught on the toe yesterday and thought would be short but still trickled onto the green. You won't get that with a S57.

My experience has been a bit different.  I've been playing Zing2s and am a 14 handicap (although my iron play is probably the strongest part of my game, overall), and looking to buy something newer (I'll admit - I just want some "new toys").  I bought the S57s and was, frankly, a bit afraid of them before they arrived - primarily because of many of the "unforgiving" comments.

I personally think the forgiving-vs-unforgiving thing is overplayed a bit.  I have found I hit the S57s very well and, in just about all cases, a bad shot with the S57s comes from a swing that would produce a bad shot with the Zing2s or anything else I was holding at the time.  I really haven't been able to identify any shots where I felt like the S57s were more "penal" than the Zing2s or Callaway X20 Tours (the other club that is under consideration for me).

My suggestion to the original poster - try them as much as possible at a golf shop, or a loaner set if you can make that happen.  But then, buy some used ones in good condition.  If you find them unduly penal, sell them and move onto something else.  There's no reason to get married to a set of irons (especially since we're in the forum for "golf swingers") ;-)

Thanks you very much for your comments. This is exactly what I wanted!

Yes CosmosMpower, I am very tired at my crappy irons and I am going to buy something harder.. It is no feel in my irons and I am looking forward to be able to control the ball all little more than this. I can hit a draw, fade, low and high with this irons. But it is not so controlled as I could be. I am way better than this s*** clubs. I bought this golfclubs for 900$ in Stockholm, Sweden because I felt like now after my 4 years brake I wanted to hit forgiving Irons. My handicap was then 18 and now I am down at 9. This club has helped me a lot when I couldn't his the ball so well but now I am hitting the ball very well.

I am looking forward to try the S57 and i15 at Golfsmith in Florida. Someone that has been to a Golfsmith store? Anything else I should try?

Maybe I shouldn't buy the S57 now because Ping are releasing a new one in Sep 2010 and then mine will be less valuable.

Edited by William Odin, 17 November 2009 - 02:04 AM.