192 replies to this topic

[bjackson]

For an overview of GolfWRX’s trip to Phoenix, read this linked thread

Click here for background information about the new Anser driver

So thanks to our trip to PING, SheriffBooth and myself were lucky enough to get fitted for and receive our own PING Anser driver. However, this will not be your typical review thread. Per instructions from PING, we will be posting one photo with a 72 character limit worth of text per day until the club becomes available at retail. That said, here is my first post...

Sleek, matte black crown. Stealth bomber. Looks to be #FilthyLong.

[acy32281]

Wow. This thing looks SICK! This is my new driver when it becomes available. This may finally kick the G10 out of the bag. I was thinking about an i20 but think I'll wait.

[SheriffBooth]

Tweak your launch and trajectory to be #FilthyLong.

[TheMoneyShot]

SheriffBooth, on 25 July 2012 - 01:20 PM, said:

Tweak your launch and trajectory to be #FilthyLong.

Ping Anser Manual.jpg

Great info.  You just found a weak spot in me by posting this info.  I love adjustable clubs!

[Bob57]

The instruction manual is a scream.  Do you really need instructions with virtually no adjustability.  Will love to hear the proper trajectory technology rational.. August 17 first day they can be sold..

As unimpressive as the Driver (it is kind of D2 shaped with the i20 being shaped more like a D3) look is the fairways and hybrids look outstanding..

Edited by Bob57, 25 July 2012 - 07:32 PM.

[bjackson]

After one day of testing, ball launched high. Time to adjust the loft.

[bjackson]

Carrying balls into the trees at Stanford driving range. #FilthyLong

[schlebrock]

Instructions from Ping to limit the amount of text that can be said about this club? WTF?

Really dumb idea Ping.

[bjackson]

schlebrock, on 26 July 2012 - 10:17 PM, said:

Instructions from Ping to limit the amount of text that can be said about this club? WTF?

Really dumb idea Ping.

I disagree. Rather than write a review consisting of a few paragraphs that the GolfWRX community will read once and are done with, PING is trying something different that allows for more longevity. This way members need to follow this thread on a daily basis to see Wyatt's and my progression as we go through the testing stages for this driver. Plus it requires creativity from both Wyatt and me in that we need to make concise, to the point statements or observations. No room for fluff or otherwise unimportant or uninteresting things.

[lvmike]

Love that this is testing your writing creativity!!  

I think Ping was clever in their 'deal' with you two.   In fact, sometimes I wish I was less wordy when providing a review.  Doesn't hurt to cut to the chase or to leave a little to drool about.  Anxiously awaiting your next 72 characters...although I'm skeptical about anything beating my G15 digital loft with spine aligned RIP Beta (I just love it's technical exactitude! ~ yes, fully aware I just made up a word)

[schlebrock]

bjackson, on 26 July 2012 - 10:27 PM, said:

schlebrock, on 26 July 2012 - 10:17 PM, said:

Instructions from Ping to limit the amount of text that can be said about this club? WTF?

Really dumb idea Ping.

I disagree. Rather than write a review consisting of a few paragraphs that the GolfWRX community will read once and are done with, PING is trying something different that allows for more longevity. This way members need to follow this thread on a daily basis to see Wyatt's and my progression as we go through the testing stages for this driver. Plus it requires creativity from both Wyatt and me in that we need to make concise, to the point statements or observations. No room for fluff or otherwise unimportant or uninteresting things.

I appreciate that it's a challenge to both you and SherrifBooth to come up with creative posts and I'm not trying to disparage your writing. I can appreciate the difficulty in the limitations that 72 text characters per day present.

However, reading "Carrying balls into the trees at Stanford driving range. #FilthyLong" isn't going to give me the information I need to purchase this club. In fact, I can't imagine any 72 characters alone would generate me to make a purchasing decision. Nor do I want to come back over and over again to piece together several 72 character posts in order to find out if this club is better than my Ping i20 or my Adams Fast 12 LS. But I'm just one person and that's my opinion.

We'll see if Ping's logic works but 12 posts in 3 days so far isn't what I would call creating "buzz" for a new club.

[rlynham]

While schlebrock may have been a little harsh he does have a point.  I don't think the "less is more" approach will be very effective.

[scottvw13]

rlynham, on 27 July 2012 - 08:59 AM, said:

While schlebrock may have been a little harsh he does have a point.  I don't think the "less is more" approach will be very effective.

I agree.  For example, I want to pre-order an anser driver, and it would be extremely beneficial to know how launch conditions compare to the I20, which I have hit on a trackman.

Not likely to get that data in 72 characters...but thankfully I know that someone can hit it 305 in the trees LOL

[weissmanjeff]

Note to Ping: Golfwrx audience is not the same as Twitter audience.

Interesting marketing idea, but falls short as far as effectiveness goes.

[richard t]

Hmmmmmm, I see a new Bubba and Hunter commercial coming. Go Ping!

[caloge]

What shaft did you get fitted for? (other thread indicates a number of stock not "made for" shaft offerings).

are you still getting the ball up too high? is it the head or shaft?

[tembolo1284]

why french? icky.  make it in english, spanish, german, chinese.  That would be niiiiiiiiiiiiice.

[golfheaven69]

The marketing ploy is childish. Will read when complete.

[mosesgolf]

weissmanjeff, on 27 July 2012 - 09:18 AM, said:

Note to Ping: Golfwrx audience is not the same as Twitter audience.

Interesting marketing idea, but falls short as far as effectiveness goes.

As does the humongous .5* of adjustability.  

[floyd]

From what I hear it is going to be the best Ping driver ever.

[bjackson]

mosesgolf, on 27 July 2012 - 04:30 PM, said:

As does the humongous .5* of adjustability.  

I fail to see how this isn't enough. The idea is you get fit into a head/shaft combo that, at neutral, fits you. Then from there you are given the ability to tweak the setup to allow for something that promotes either higher launch and more carry or lower launch and more roll once on the ground. If you need a full degree tweak, something is off and your original head/shaft combo obviously wasn't a correct fit and you should have been placed into a different head. Seems simple enough to me.

[Qwiksilfver]

With a normal adult IQ, you can read and comprehend on average 300 words/minute. Not so intrigued by this form of "marketing".

Sorry for all characters, my mind already hurts from all this writing........

Edited by Qwiksilfver, 27 July 2012 - 06:36 PM.

[whatsthecourserecord]

Ben, how did your numbers with the Anser compare with those of the Razr Fit in your sig? Thanks.

[bjackson]

Qwiksilfver, on 27 July 2012 - 06:31 PM, said:

With a normal adult IQ, you can read and comprehend on average 300 words/minute. Not so intrigued by this form of "marketing".

Sorry for all characters, my mind already hurts from all this writing........

So you are implying that because someone had an idea for a different review format, they are somehow undermining your intelligence? Give it a rest people. I'm done trying to defend the fact that this is different than most of you are use to reading. Get over it. This is a positive community that will not put up with smart aleck remarks or jabs at ideas they don't agree with. I commend PING on wanting to do something different than every other review out there. By posting my thoughts on a daily basis for a month, I'll have to be exact in my wordings given the character limit. As Albert Einstein said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

[bjackson]

whatsthecourserecord, on 27 July 2012 - 06:56 PM, said:

Ben, how did your numbers with the Anser compare with those of the Razr Fit in your sig? Thanks.

Not sure as I haven't done a side by side comparison with a launch monitor. Those numbers were from my fitting a PING (I didn't bring my clubs to Phoenix).

[bjackson]

caloge, on 27 July 2012 - 11:43 AM, said:

What shaft did you get fitted for? (other thread indicates a number of stock not "made for" shaft offerings).

are you still getting the ball up too high? is it the head or shaft?

I got put into an 'ahina 70x. I'm launching it a little higher than I'd like, but nothing crazy. This head is high launch/low spin. I have an 'ahina 60x in my Razr Fit and launch that a little lower, which means to me it is the Anser head that is increasing my launch angle, not the shaft.

[bjackson]

scottvw13, on 27 July 2012 - 09:14 AM, said:

For example, I want to pre-order an anser driver, and it would be extremely beneficial to know how launch conditions compare to the I20, which I have hit on a trackman.

The Anser launches slightly higher than i20 with slightly less spin.

[Bob57]

Ping needs to supply what their production variation numbers are for their driver loft numbers.  Yes you can adjust it .5 degree either way, but there is no way an 8.5 is an 8.5 and no way every 8.5 has the same production variation.  In the past when you asked for the lowest digitally measured loft 8.5 if you were lucky you got an 8.6 with most being in the 8.8 area with many as high as 9.4 (personal experience).  Unless Ping has discovered how to control those production variations or has a tremendous scrap rate their past production acceptance would bring into question what your plus or minus .5 degree is really accomplishing in absolute numbers... Am I really adjusting my 8.5 between 8 and 9 or am I really adjusting my 8.5 between some other numbers...

[rob8]

can the testers discuss the different shaft options?  I spoke with a ping fitter and ask them if they could get phenom or blur in x-flex, they said they could. Might be a $40 upcharge.  Also asked if changing shafts would be easy, they said as of right now you have to send the head back to ping in order to get the right swing weight if shafts weighed differently.

[bjackson]

rob8, on 27 July 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:

can the testers discuss the different shaft options?  I spoke with a ping fitter and ask them if they could get phenom or blur in x-flex, they said they could. Might be a $40 upcharge.  Also asked if changing shafts would be easy, they said as of right now you have to send the head back to ping in order to get the right swing weight if shafts weighed differently.

That and many other questions people have/will ask can be found in the link at the top of the thread. http://www.golfwrx.c...ictures-inside/

bjackson, on 24 July 2012 - 10:53 AM, said:

There are four standard shaft options, PING’s TFC proprietary, Aldila RIP Phenom, Fujikura Blur, and Mitsubishi Rayon ‘ahina – all shafts are the real deal, with none of the ‘Made For’ nonsense that ruffles many feathers here. No upcharge either!