


Do you feel like ping got passed by or are they still elite?
#121
Posted 19 October 2012 - 10:39 PM

TEE XCG5 16.5* 4W, Giga XF-11 17*
Mizuno Intage 27* 9W
Giga U3 21* hybrid
Adams V4 6H/7H
Adams V4 forged irons 8-PW,GW,SW,LW
HEAVY PUTTER mid-weight K4 putter
Sun Mountain H2N0 stand bag
Wilson Harmonized 55*/60*wedges
Cleveland 588 56/60
#122
Posted 19 October 2012 - 11:09 PM
I'm starting to get pissed.
Taylormade M2(2016) 9* driver reg
Taylormade RBZ 13* 3 wood reg
Adams TL2 - FW 16* 4 wood & 4,5 hybrids reg
Ping G 6-U CFS graphite reg
Ping Glide 54 ss & 58 ss reg
Ping Anser g5i putter
#123
Posted 19 October 2012 - 11:49 PM
#124
Posted 20 October 2012 - 01:19 AM
#125
Posted 20 October 2012 - 06:11 AM

#126
Posted 20 October 2012 - 09:07 AM
bullie76, on 19 October 2012 - 11:09 PM, said:
I'm starting to get pissed.
I've used PING repair 4 times in the last 6 months, never a problem & amazingly inexpensive & fast.
#127
Posted 20 October 2012 - 09:59 AM
BrianL99, on 20 October 2012 - 09:07 AM, said:
bullie76, on 19 October 2012 - 11:09 PM, said:
I'm starting to get pissed.
I've used PING repair 4 times in the last 6 months, never a problem & amazingly inexpensive & fast.
There is a reason I use the avatar that I have. Seems like no matter who I deal with, I get screwed. Maybe the born loser character might be more appropriate.
All I can say is I'm fast approaching 2 months on this ordeal. I'm done with Ping after crap. I just hope I eventually get the clubs back.
Taylormade M2(2016) 9* driver reg
Taylormade RBZ 13* 3 wood reg
Adams TL2 - FW 16* 4 wood & 4,5 hybrids reg
Ping G 6-U CFS graphite reg
Ping Glide 54 ss & 58 ss reg
Ping Anser g5i putter
#128
Posted 20 October 2012 - 11:08 AM
#129
Posted 20 October 2012 - 12:07 PM
Gripit_Swiftit, on 12 October 2012 - 10:13 AM, said:
Not sure that having an engineer at the head of the business is ALWAYS a good idea. They are stereotypically not the most personable people or best business men in the group. The smartest, usually, but intelligence and business accumen are separate concepts.
#130
Posted 20 October 2012 - 12:21 PM

#131
Posted 20 October 2012 - 04:53 PM
I'm on my fist set of pings after a lifetime of Mizzies. Horrible blanket statement.
TaylorMade TP R15 3W Fuji Speeder TS 8.3 Xflex
TaylorMade TP R15 20* Fuji Speeder 869 TS Xflex
Mizuno JPX-900 Tour 4-PW KBS CTaper Xflex
Mizuno T7 50,54,58 KBS CTaper Xflex
OdysseyWorks 38" 2 Ball Fang
#132
Posted 20 November 2012 - 10:31 PM
the last 3 or 4 years, including G10, Rapture V2,
S58, S56 and i20.
Thinking back on what Stage said about the older
Ping irons being played by a player for years as he
progressed from a 20HC up to a scratch, I'd have to
say the i20s would be the modern equivalent.
Any 20 HC who plays the G series can play the i20.
They are very forgiving and easy to launch high. As
a player improves he can stay with these irons as
they are relatively compact and allow for shot-making.
These irons are at the technological forefront and are
also as "long" as any other irons out there today.
They have a soft, almost forged feel to them and have
Won awards as well as praise from many.
Whether you like these irons or not, you can't say that
Ping is a tired old company that is still basking in past
glories. They're still pushing the envelop, just not
shouting from the rooftops like some others.
Ping G15 4 wood w/PL Blue 65S
Ping G10 18 and 21 Hybrids w PL Blue HY S
Ping S58 Irons 4-P with Ping AWT R
Ping Gorge Wedges 52 and 58 w/CFS Wedge
Odyssey White Hot Tour #1
Member #3---------Outlaw Golf Association
Non Physics Geezer Division
#133
Posted 21 November 2012 - 09:23 AM
i've only been in the game for 4 years, with no brand affiliation coming into it...especially for equipment. I used a set of hand me down titleist DCIs my first year, then the next year decided I was going to get fitted and buy my own. after doing a fair comparison and testing i ended up with the i10s. used a hand-me-down odyssey rossie putter for a couple years, then decided i wanted my own. spent a solid month searching for what i wanted going and trying out putters multiple days each week at the store. ended up with a Ping Scottsdale B60.
when i took a trip to phoenix i visited Karsten Mfg facility, got fitted for some irons, bought a divot tool and Karsten Solheim's biography over in the repair shop.
to me....especially the "Anser style" models....you can either buy a Ping putter or you can buy immitators, and that includes peoples beloved scotty. i just bought a Ping redwood ZB that is the best looking putter I've ever seen.
a year ago i did another thorough search for a new set of irons. multiple mizunos, nike VR Pro blades, TM MC, R11, Cobra S3, a couple cally's, and I believe one or two more. i picked the Ping S56. then i went to do a proper, outdoor with launch monitor fitting. the pro and the guy running the LM were on TM staff, and this was at one of TMs 6 performance lab locations in the entire country. he really wanted to get me into something TM (probably got a better commission on it), but even he agreed that i hit the S56 the best.
recently i bought my wife her first set of clubs. you guys know how that type of thing can go when you try to tell your wife what to do or what she wants. i handed her about 5 different irons with some basic instructions on how to test them (hit 4 or 5 with each, switch clubs, go through this a few times, get it down to your two favorites, then repeat the process) and didn't say a thing. she came back and said "i like this one." sure enough it was Ping's new Serene. i asked her why...she said "because it doesn't feel wimpy, it goes the highest, and when i don't hit it well it doesn't hurt as much." basically she said it was the most forgiving. we did the same thing with drivers and she came back with the Ping driver as well without even knowing that it matched her irons.
no, i'm not a blind Ping fanboi, I have a Nike driver, Nike 3w, and Adams hybrid. but Ping's innovation throughout the years with perimiter weighting, the anser putter, the casting process they invented, the iPing putting app, has given me great respect for the company.
Titleist 917F3 13.5 Fuji Speeder Pro TS 84X
Mizuno MP4 3-P X100
SM7 50F 54M 58M S400
Bettinardi BB1
@protrajT
#134
Posted 21 November 2012 - 12:17 PM
#135
Posted 21 November 2012 - 12:32 PM

Ping Rapture 13*/Fuji MS 7.2 TS X
Ping G25 19*/Fuji MS 7.2 TS X
Ping S55 (3-PW)/ PX 6.5
Ping Tour Gorge 54* and 60*
Odyssey 2-ball Versa, 34"
#136
Posted 21 November 2012 - 12:36 PM
kellygreen, on 21 November 2012 - 12:32 PM, said:
The issue is that Ping simply has a different brand philosophy and marketing strategy than does Taylor Made.
Taylor Made is a publicly-owned company....and has to live by the rules of Wall Street. Which means--in order to keep investors happy and the stock price up---it has to show a consistent pattern of growth in sales and revenue each year. Which is why Taylor Made has such an aggressive marketing strategy, so many product lines, and an incredibly short product cycle. They need to keep attracting new customers...and need to churn product through the hands of the customers they do have.
Taylor Made---for now---is managing to keep all these plates spinning without alienating their customers, but that may change in time, if they start to feel taken advantage of. Callaway (when it first went public) tried a similar strategy, and it eventually blew up in their face.
Ping, OTOH, is still a privately owned company. So it only has to satisfy (in terms of profitability) the desires and ambitions of the Solheim family, and the business' creditors.
As a result, Ping has been free to take the approach of only bringing new product to market when it feels that it will have significant performance benefits to the player. So you tend to see a steady EVOLUTION of particular product lines geared towards particular types of players. Rather than an effort to be "revolutionary" at regular intervals...and throwing product at the market in an effort to see what (if anything) sticks.
Among publicly traded companies, Titleist has tried to implement a similar strategy, but (unlike Taylor Made) it has the revenue generated by its utter domination of the golf ball market to run interference for whatever additional revenue it may be "leaving on the table" by pursuing that strategy instead of what Taylor Made is doing.
Bottomline, I see what TM is doing as an effective "short-term greedy" strategy..but one that might have very bad long term consequences for the brand.
What Ping and Titleist are doing are "long-term greedy" strategies. Where you give up some revenue in the short-term, but you win in the long term by cultivating intensely loyal customers.
Excellent analysis
PING K15, 5w
PING K15, 4 hybrid
PING Gmax, 5-SW
PING G20, LW (bent to 60*)
PING Nome
#137
Posted 21 November 2012 - 12:51 PM
Back to PING, I consider them the Buick of golf. Classy, not elite like Cadillac, but has the same regular customers who swear by their products. Quality.. yes, boring ..yes, a step behind the game with the anser driver..yes.. Hunter mahan is not going to help sell clubs. Bubba, maybe. Maybe they should promote the senior tour players for advertising.
TaylorMade, Titleist, Nike, and Cleveland are still the tops IMO. They take risks, and continue to be at the top. I included Nike,b/c they have improved every year on their products.
#138
Posted 21 November 2012 - 01:22 PM
Only a private company could do what Ping does, and the whole industry has benefitted from this.
#139
Posted 21 November 2012 - 01:28 PM
Kevin
I have been wrong before
I will be wrong again
=============================
Geometrically Oriented Linear Force
Turtleback Golf & Conference Center
#140
Posted 21 November 2012 - 01:35 PM

Titleist 917F2, 15*, Original D.Blueboard 83 x5ct "S"
Titleist 716T-MB 17* 2 iron, PX Flighted 6.0
Titleist 716CB 3-PW, PX Flighted 6.0
SM6 F-52*, PX Flighted 6.0
SM6 M-58*, DGS200
SC California Monterey
ProV1x
#141
Posted 21 November 2012 - 01:44 PM
Being in for a set of irons, Ping will definitely get a look from me in the next couple of months.
Callaway XR 16 Pro
Taylormade P790 UDI 2 iron/Nike Vapor Fly Pro 2i
Callaway XR Steelhead 3h
Nike Vapor Pro 4-PW
Mizuno S5 52*
Cleveland CBX 56*
Slighter Redmond/Ping 1966 TR Anser2
Bridgestone e6
#142
Posted 21 November 2012 - 02:16 PM
Pepperturbo, on 21 November 2012 - 01:35 PM, said:
What does "it" mean.
Why do we always get into these little semantics pissing contests? :-)
Cheers,
Kevin
I have been wrong before
I will be wrong again
=============================
Geometrically Oriented Linear Force
Turtleback Golf & Conference Center
#143
Posted 21 November 2012 - 03:33 PM
kevcarter, on 21 November 2012 - 02:16 PM, said:
Pepperturbo, on 21 November 2012 - 01:35 PM, said:
What does "it" mean.
Why do we always get into these little semantics pissing contests? :-)
Cheers,
Kevin

Titleist 917F2, 15*, Original D.Blueboard 83 x5ct "S"
Titleist 716T-MB 17* 2 iron, PX Flighted 6.0
Titleist 716CB 3-PW, PX Flighted 6.0
SM6 F-52*, PX Flighted 6.0
SM6 M-58*, DGS200
SC California Monterey
ProV1x
#144
Posted 22 November 2012 - 08:21 AM
stage1350, on 13 October 2012 - 06:29 PM, said:
pgagreg1, on 13 October 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:
TP certainly did it first.
But in this it wasn't TP that Ping was copying
Scotty made them popular for the masses

Now, if we can get away from Greg's douchey need to defend Cameron and get back on topic, one of Ping's declining issues was the introduction of the G series of irons. It represented a fundamental shift in their client base. You'd see low caps and hackers alike with Eye 2, Zings, and ISI irons because the sole would get you through without digging, but had enough grind to allow a level of shotmaking. There was one wood model for each series, take it or leave it. It made the hackers still improve their game. But it also gave them a set of clubs they could play all the way to single digits.
Today, the G series of irons has a wide sole, high bounce and offset configuration more like the Callaway GI irons. Yes, they will elevate and go straight (or left if you actually have a swing due to offset) but you will have upgrade your clubs to the I series or S series as you get better. The days of playing the same set of Pings for 20+ years will not happen anymore.
Ping lost a lot of pretige when the elimination of beryllium in golf clubs occurred. The BeCu and BeNi irons and putters were legendary with players. Combine that with caving on the groove rule and export of a lot of club manufacturing to China, and the company is a fraction of what it used to be. The mistique of the BeCu Eye 2 wedge was eliminated when the groove rule declared them non-conforming under the new rules. The Eye 2 XG wedges are nothing compared to the BeCu originals.
The other mistake that Ping made was to not adapt to the "right f**king now" attitude of today's buyer. They want a set of irons that they can walk out the door with. Fitting and custom options, while important for people that "get it," doesn't matter to most hackers. Compare that to TM or Mizuno that have less options, but clubs are ready to go out the door.
There is opportunity for Ping to return to a place of power with the Anser series. The Anser irons are a playable set for a -20 up to a plus handicapper. Go more to a "one size fits all" for the bell curve out to the third standard deviation. Go back to using WRX to modify clubs for the Professional and strong Amateurs regarding offset and grinds. Doubly so with woods, hybrids, and wedges. Between the Anser, I series, G series, and the occasional K series of woods, there is just too much differentiation. Put it all into 1-2 good designs instead of creating 3-4 halfa$$ed models.
I think you hit the nail on the head. My first PINGs were G10's and I was a 25+ and was finally getting serious about playing. As my swing has gotten better they turned in to gentile draw then hook machines. Looking at them you can't tell that they are almost 7 years old and hit a bazillion balls, Still love them and they are the greatest irons I've played, but they are not in the bag due to the high bias.
Like thier hybrids but the woods never could stay in the bag for long.
Maybe it's time to look for some used i15's...
Nike VRs 4W (17*) Fubuki Stiff Shaft
Adams 2015 Red Hybrid 20* and 23* Matrix Altus Stiff Shaft
Nike Covert 2.0 Irons 6-AW Reg Shaft w/ Pure Grips
Cleveland CBX 54* & Smart Sole S Wedge 58*
TaylorMade Spider Blade 2.0 35”
Titleist TruSoft Ball
Ping Traverse Cart Bag
Walter Hagen Spikeless Casual Shoes
#145
Posted 22 November 2012 - 09:09 AM

#146
Posted 22 November 2012 - 10:36 AM
cheers.
#147
Posted 22 November 2012 - 10:44 AM
Pepperturbo, on 21 November 2012 - 03:33 PM, said:
kevcarter, on 21 November 2012 - 02:16 PM, said:
Pepperturbo, on 21 November 2012 - 01:35 PM, said:
What does "it" mean.
Why do we always get into these little semantics pissing contests? :-)
Cheers,
Kevin

LOL
Happy Thanksgiving Pepper!
I have been wrong before
I will be wrong again
=============================
Geometrically Oriented Linear Force
Turtleback Golf & Conference Center
#148
Posted 23 November 2012 - 01:03 AM
That said, I love PING and only played PINg until last year (when I sold my Rapture V2 driver and Redwood putter)). PING makes great products they stand behind. their customer service is tops as well. They HAVE had some recent quality control issues concerning club specs (not product quality) such as clubs built to the wrong length or installing the wrong shaft flex in one club (they put an S flex C-Taper shaft in My S56 PW. I requested X flex. They corrected the issue on their dime--as it should have been-- and sent me a hat for the trouble. They even re-cleaned my entire set. The 3-9 iron all had the correct X-flex shafts in them). Publicly, it may appear that PING has fallen behind. But they don't pay the advertising dollars that TM does. I will still argue that PING is the best golf company top to bottom. And yes, a very significant part of Karsten Manufacturing's revenue comes from aircraft parts (government contract work), not golf clubs. BTW, PINg clothes are not made by PING. They contract that work out and put their logos on the stuff (VERY common in golf apparel).
#149
Posted 23 November 2012 - 02:51 AM
D-Fuzz, on 11 October 2012 - 11:14 PM, said:
Agreed. Taylor and Callaway have become marketing companies that just happen to sell golf clubs. They could market gardening accessories. It's just a product.
On the other hand, Ping and Mizuno are golf club manufacturers. Their focus is golf clubs and not marketing.
Cobra are trying to join the TMAG/Callaway club. Techno buzz and one size fits all.
For Karsten's size, they consistently manufacture high quality products. Their attention detail, again, given their size, is pretty amazing.
#150
Posted 23 November 2012 - 10:24 AM

Ping G15 4W 17*
Taylormade 09 Rescue 19*, 22*
Ping G25 5-9, PW, UW
Cleveland CG14 54*, 58*
Odyssey Original White Hot 2 Ball
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
