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IRONS
Given the success of their G15 irons, both with consumers and on the tour, PING had an especially difficult task in creating a worthy follow-up in the G20. Despite being 2 years old, the G20 irons are the most played SGI on the tour, gamed by staff pros and non-staffers alike. They are functional from the long irons down to the wedges for players of all levels (only one tour player has had them ground). Holdouts from the G15 will find even fewer reasons to not get on board with the current iteration.
The G20 irons sport a very similar head profile and same face profile a** the G15s. PING also made the face of the G20s thinner, relying on the elastomer CTP weight to provide rigidity and reduce unwanted vibration. They also redesigned the cavity badge with aluminum and elastomer to further help in creating a solid feel while helping with distance control through weight and CG manipulation.
By taking weight away from the face, and removing the CTP connection to the sole, they increased the MOI by increasing trajectory and keeping spin under control. Further distance is a plus, but functional distance control was the priority. The redistribution of the weight increases the inertia on both the horizontal and vertical axises which, as discussed before, lowers significant distance losses on mishits around the face by increasing trajectory and controlling spin.
PING improved the appearance of the G20 irons at address through a subtle change in the hosel transition. Side-by-side comparisons show that they flattened the surface coming into the hosel to blend the appearance and help “capture” the ball--creating the visual effect of a more compact iron. The finish utilized is a little shinier and smoother, and darker than previous irons, but will still provide the durability PING is known for.
The net result of all these changes is an iron that is packaged the same, looks smaller, is more forgiving, and feels more solid. In PingMan and player testing, PING found that despite a slightly lower launch angle, because ball speed is increased, the ball climbs higher with the G20 irons than the G15s over the course of the ball flight. This results in longer 4 iron distances and same 7 iron distances, creating better distance gapping. Additionally, player satisfaction was greatly improved--a significant finding given the comparison to an already great iron.
The CFS shaft line is another advance PING has added to the G20 irons. The CFS shafts are based on the ZZ65, but has been expanded from the original hard stiff flex to a line ranging in flex from a soft regular to X-stiff. Blind testing showed that players generally liked the feel of the ZZ65 and the benefits of that shaft, so PING wanted to bring this to a larger audience so they modernized and reintroduced this as the CFS (control, feel, stability).
In the Stiff flexed CFS, PING extended the tip by an inch to bring the stiffness to the current industry standard. One of the characteristics that makes the ZZ65 unique is the thicker tip section, providing a stable experience. Short irons get slightly less tip reinforcement to help with feel. Then X-flex CFS shafts have a tip that is 1” shorter and 5 grams heavier. Regular and Soft Regular shafts, on the other hand, have no tip reinforcement to help activate the tip. CFS shaft weights on a trimmed 7iron are 94 grams for the SR, 99 grams for the R, 109 grams for the S, and 114 grams for the X.
Given the success of their G15 irons, both with consumers and on the tour, PING had an especially difficult task in creating a worthy follow-up in the G20. Despite being 2 years old, the G20 irons are the most played SGI on the tour, gamed by staff pros and non-staffers alike. They are functional from the long irons down to the wedges for players of all levels (only one tour player has had them ground). Holdouts from the G15 will find even fewer reasons to not get on board with the current iteration.
The G20 irons sport a very similar head profile and same face profile a** the G15s. PING also made the face of the G20s thinner, relying on the elastomer CTP weight to provide rigidity and reduce unwanted vibration. They also redesigned the cavity badge with aluminum and elastomer to further help in creating a solid feel while helping with distance control through weight and CG manipulation.
By taking weight away from the face, and removing the CTP connection to the sole, they increased the MOI by increasing trajectory and keeping spin under control. Further distance is a plus, but functional distance control was the priority. The redistribution of the weight increases the inertia on both the horizontal and vertical axises which, as discussed before, lowers significant distance losses on mishits around the face by increasing trajectory and controlling spin.
PING improved the appearance of the G20 irons at address through a subtle change in the hosel transition. Side-by-side comparisons show that they flattened the surface coming into the hosel to blend the appearance and help “capture” the ball--creating the visual effect of a more compact iron. The finish utilized is a little shinier and smoother, and darker than previous irons, but will still provide the durability PING is known for.
The net result of all these changes is an iron that is packaged the same, looks smaller, is more forgiving, and feels more solid. In PingMan and player testing, PING found that despite a slightly lower launch angle, because ball speed is increased, the ball climbs higher with the G20 irons than the G15s over the course of the ball flight. This results in longer 4 iron distances and same 7 iron distances, creating better distance gapping. Additionally, player satisfaction was greatly improved--a significant finding given the comparison to an already great iron.
The CFS shaft line is another advance PING has added to the G20 irons. The CFS shafts are based on the ZZ65, but has been expanded from the original hard stiff flex to a line ranging in flex from a soft regular to X-stiff. Blind testing showed that players generally liked the feel of the ZZ65 and the benefits of that shaft, so PING wanted to bring this to a larger audience so they modernized and reintroduced this as the CFS (control, feel, stability).
In the Stiff flexed CFS, PING extended the tip by an inch to bring the stiffness to the current industry standard. One of the characteristics that makes the ZZ65 unique is the thicker tip section, providing a stable experience. Short irons get slightly less tip reinforcement to help with feel. Then X-flex CFS shafts have a tip that is 1” shorter and 5 grams heavier. Regular and Soft Regular shafts, on the other hand, have no tip reinforcement to help activate the tip. CFS shaft weights on a trimmed 7iron are 94 grams for the SR, 99 grams for the R, 109 grams for the S, and 114 grams for the X.
I will definetly game this I am going to get an all PING G20 bag for next season, I will order it right away now with my current G15 specs even without hititng them. They look lovely!!
