0
GolfWRX was invited to test drive Ping's i20 irons in late 2011, and after hitting them I told the design team they had a decided winner here. An iron that will compete with the best cavity-backs in the game in design, feel, and performance. An iron to compete with the last set of irons I had purchased & bagged -- the 2008 AP2s.
In fact, I was naively wondering if Ping was going to have the production capacity to meet the increased demand I was sure would meet Ping upon the release of the i20 irons ( of course they do. ) It kept rolling through my head, though: you guys will need extra shifts to meet demand ... have to take on more help ... might have to re-open a closed factory ...
You're gonna need a bigger boat!
Such was my resolve after our initial testing.
Now it's time to do some real world testing of the i20 irons -- on my courses, in all conditions, with production samples. I've always found the proof is in bagging a set of irons and getting 15-20 rounds in with them to see how they perform over time with good & bad swig days, on multiple types of courses. Too often in the past I've had an intense honeymoon phase with irons that quickly, disappointingly wanes into indifference after a few weeks. Perhaps it just takes me a little longer to get to the heart of the matter. Perhaps I need to dot all the "i"s and cross all the "t"s. Lets call it thorough. Consider this my first installment in a rolling Editor Review of Ping's new i20 irons ..... I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.
And so it begins...
The i20s arrive with cute little protective socks on each one ( that are actually quite functional ),
and a pink tag letting me know a real person built my irons and checked the specs to ensure they matched my requirements.
Kind of like my own personal Ping elf. ..
.... 
3 through PW, top to bottom.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
W
full disclosure: Ping provided the irons for review
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Posted 11 February 2012 - 04:39 PM
Sky blue day today with highs around 50 gave me my first chance to hit the new i20s. I head over to Memorial Park Golf Course because it's close.
I warm up with wedges and get to it. Off the bat I notice the head weight a bit more than usual. Coming from 130 gram Dynamic Golds to these 109 gram CFS shafts, I'm dropping a decent chunk of cut shaft weight. Now I ordered my i20s to swingweight at my usual D3, which may be a point or two too high if trying to match the feel of a D3 with DGX100s. So I'd recommend you consider this, and maybe drop your swingweight spec. by a point or two, if you're trying to match in the hand feel. Word to the wise.
Does it make a big difference to me? No. We're only talking 2/3 nickels worth of weight here.
So I'm hitting off the mats -- Memo only has mats -- and I'm liking the i20s fine. Feel/sound is as remembered. Loving them? Nope. Why? They're new irons to me, with new shafts. They feel different than what I'm used to. Of course they do, they're supposed to because they are different. Plus, I'm hitting off mats.
Range mats are no place to judge iron performance, imo. Mats don't allow an iron to do what it does naturally, which is deflect down into the ground off impact. You don't get the "down" part. And mats hurt over time. I know personally that I subconsciously alter my swing if/when I have a long irons session on a mat. My attack gets shallower -- helps minimize the impact of beating a rod with a metal object on the end of it into an unforgiving surface repeatedly.
But this is the thing with new irons. For many of us they're not going to be perfect out of the box. You have unfamiliar clubs in your hands. It takes time to adjust to the differences of your new dance partner. For some it's just not an issue. For me, it takes a handful of range sessions and a handful of rounds to stop being conscious of my new "different feeling" irons and just point & shoot. Too many times I see guys with new irons one week that they traded in for something different a month later: "Ahh, they just didn't suit me," ... "Liked them in the store, but awful on the course," ... "Couldn't hit a fade/draw/high/low/stinger/knuckler with 'em." Well give it more than a couple of weeks, for crying out loud.
Even though I'm purposefully down at the end of the range, a few folks around me are ohh'ing and ahh'ing about the i20s. I let a number of guys try them, then I go through my usual routine with new irons. I hit 10 or so balls with each iron, PW up to the 3-iron. They all get to get dirty.
I try not to judge much other than feel ... I'll consider the rest further down the road. ( By the way, feel is very good with these. ) One thing I've learned over the years trying/testing/reviewing irons is you just have to wait a while before making up your mind. Or as Diana Ross And The Supremes said, You Can't Hurry Love 
Oh, forget to mention the cool new Ping 4 Series bag I got yesterday to go with the i20s. Whaddaya think?
Can't quite make out the unusual name embroidered on the side of it, though ..... ?
More to come...
In fact, I was naively wondering if Ping was going to have the production capacity to meet the increased demand I was sure would meet Ping upon the release of the i20 irons ( of course they do. ) It kept rolling through my head, though: you guys will need extra shifts to meet demand ... have to take on more help ... might have to re-open a closed factory ...
You're gonna need a bigger boat!
Such was my resolve after our initial testing.
Now it's time to do some real world testing of the i20 irons -- on my courses, in all conditions, with production samples. I've always found the proof is in bagging a set of irons and getting 15-20 rounds in with them to see how they perform over time with good & bad swig days, on multiple types of courses. Too often in the past I've had an intense honeymoon phase with irons that quickly, disappointingly wanes into indifference after a few weeks. Perhaps it just takes me a little longer to get to the heart of the matter. Perhaps I need to dot all the "i"s and cross all the "t"s. Lets call it thorough. Consider this my first installment in a rolling Editor Review of Ping's new i20 irons ..... I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow.
And so it begins...
The i20s arrive with cute little protective socks on each one ( that are actually quite functional ),
and a pink tag letting me know a real person built my irons and checked the specs to ensure they matched my requirements.
Kind of like my own personal Ping elf. ..
....
3 through PW, top to bottom.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
W
full disclosure: Ping provided the irons for review
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Posted 11 February 2012 - 04:39 PM
Sky blue day today with highs around 50 gave me my first chance to hit the new i20s. I head over to Memorial Park Golf Course because it's close.
I warm up with wedges and get to it. Off the bat I notice the head weight a bit more than usual. Coming from 130 gram Dynamic Golds to these 109 gram CFS shafts, I'm dropping a decent chunk of cut shaft weight. Now I ordered my i20s to swingweight at my usual D3, which may be a point or two too high if trying to match the feel of a D3 with DGX100s. So I'd recommend you consider this, and maybe drop your swingweight spec. by a point or two, if you're trying to match in the hand feel. Word to the wise.
Does it make a big difference to me? No. We're only talking 2/3 nickels worth of weight here. So I'm hitting off the mats -- Memo only has mats -- and I'm liking the i20s fine. Feel/sound is as remembered. Loving them? Nope. Why? They're new irons to me, with new shafts. They feel different than what I'm used to. Of course they do, they're supposed to because they are different.
Plus, I'm hitting off mats. Range mats are no place to judge iron performance, imo. Mats don't allow an iron to do what it does naturally, which is deflect down into the ground off impact. You don't get the "down" part. And mats hurt over time. I know personally that I subconsciously alter my swing if/when I have a long irons session on a mat. My attack gets shallower -- helps minimize the impact of beating a rod with a metal object on the end of it into an unforgiving surface repeatedly.
But this is the thing with new irons. For many of us they're not going to be perfect out of the box. You have unfamiliar clubs in your hands. It takes time to adjust to the differences of your new dance partner. For some it's just not an issue. For me, it takes a handful of range sessions and a handful of rounds to stop being conscious of my new "different feeling" irons and just point & shoot. Too many times I see guys with new irons one week that they traded in for something different a month later: "Ahh, they just didn't suit me," ... "Liked them in the store, but awful on the course," ... "Couldn't hit a fade/draw/high/low/stinger/knuckler with 'em." Well give it more than a couple of weeks, for crying out loud.
Even though I'm purposefully down at the end of the range, a few folks around me are ohh'ing and ahh'ing about the i20s. I let a number of guys try them, then I go through my usual routine with new irons. I hit 10 or so balls with each iron, PW up to the 3-iron. They all get to get dirty.
I try not to judge much other than feel ... I'll consider the rest further down the road. ( By the way, feel is very good with these. ) One thing I've learned over the years trying/testing/reviewing irons is you just have to wait a while before making up your mind. Or as Diana Ross And The Supremes said, You Can't Hurry Love Oh, forget to mention the cool new Ping 4 Series bag I got yesterday to go with the i20s. Whaddaya think?
Can't quite make out the unusual name embroidered on the side of it, though ..... ?
More to come...
Look forward to reading more of your real world impressions, Todd. I've got nothing better to do until lefty production catches up. :sad_clown:
Now we're talking.
The matte finish is beautiful and functional. The 3 wood just feels like you can bomb it with utter control. Perfect weight, feel, and I love the way the club head sits on the turf. Same with the hybrid.
