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PRODUCT TESTED - 2013 PING ANSER IRONS
CLUB SPECIFICATIONS: 3-PW, custom lofts, custom lie, standard length, KBS TOUR CTAPER x flex SSx1. SEE BELOW FOR CUSTOM BUILD SHEET (coming soon).
PROS:
The ANSER iron is the ULTIMATE combination of craftsmanship, engineering and materials… and could be “THE ANSWER” to your game. Did I mention it’s FORGED?
CONS:
PRICE… With a U.S. MSRP of $200.00 per club, many people may fall in love only to pass on them for a cheaper option.
WHO is this iron for? LOW / MID / HIGH handicap?
READ BELOW FOR THE ANSWER(S)
BOTTOM LINE:
“Clean, sophisticated lines combine with the forgiveness you expect of a PING iron. This forged iron appeals to the eye with its satin-chrome finish and inspirational head shape. Beyond its appearance, the ANSER delivers a key performance benefit: the ability to launch the ball higher with your long irons, and low and controlled with your short irons. Optimizing your ball flights gives you confidence to play a larger variety of shots.”
LOOKS:
Initial Impressions
I should almost not write anything and let the pictures speak for themselves…
NOT ONE ELEMENT HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED. SATIN FINISH, CLEAN LINES, MILLED FACES, PROGRESSIVE STABILIZING BARS, PERFECT BLEND OF TUNGSTEN AND 8620 STEEL.
Custom orders – like this one, are processed through the PING WRX department to ensure proper quality control. The same people who build your irons also do the work on clubs for players like Bubba Watson, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen and Hunter Mahan. What does this mean? PERFECTION. Honestly, there was not one thing out of line…
Shaft stickers – each in the same location, perfectly straight – no flaws.
Grips – logo down, perfectly straight, each grip measured the same length with the letters in Golf Pride equally proportioned.
Paint fill – not one drop of paint outside the lines.
Ferrules – flawless (and yes PING lovers they have them).
You might be wondering what I was doing measuring the grips…? Honestly, I was trying to find something wrong. I don’t know how many times I have received a set of brand new custom irons only to be disappointed by poor craftsmanship. PING WRX A+.
Playing position/In the bag
PING really has addressed/improved on the original design that was struggling to find its identity. No longer does the iron look too big or clunky. The short to mid irons look workable and frame the ball nicely with little offset. I started to notice the offset being a little too much for my preference in the 4 and 3 irons – yet, they look easy to hit.
Moving to the bottom of the club – the soles are a little larger than player’s irons, yet smaller than you would find in a progressive set of irons. The specification sheet would also indicate that there is more bounce than the typical player’s irons, which I don’t see at address.
In the bag these look incredible. Very subtle and clean – with a dark satin finish.
RATING = *****
PERFORMANCE/PLAYABILITY:
One of the most important things I have been looking for in irons post children is repeatability. What can I hit consistently and still compete? These irons flat out perform… VERY consistent. Once I got the feel for the irons – it was just like clockwork – same distance every time. If you happen to miss the center of the face and hit the heel or toe distance is not sacrificed. This is where the ANSER irons separate themselves from other forged irons…
Like a typical forged cavity, you can work a ball in either direction – NOW – it may not move like a blade, but you can move it where you want when you want with the proper swing/contact.
I was very impressed with how I could control the ball flight – and like the shape and distance – the flight is very consistent. The main reason for this is the utilization of “stabilization bars”. In the long irons the stabilizing bars in the cavity are wider and thinner to lower the CG for higher ball speeds and initial launch. This is very noticeable with the three iron in particular, as tee shots are shorter par 4’s have a flight that gets up quick and flattens out. Moving down in the set the shorter irons the stabilizing bars become more vertical and thicker to create a CG that promotes a more penetrating flight with optimal spin. Full shots have a very strong flight that doesn’t balloon, which allows you to attack more pins – regardless of the conditions. After doing some research I also found out that the bars also support the streamlined face design to increase ball velocity for greater distance – especially in the longer irons.
RATING = *****
FEEL:
For the past 13 years I have played forged irons – some better than others. There have been retail and tour issue blades, cavities, progressive cavities – you name it… The ANSER irons feel better than any iron I have owned. I’m not sure if it’s the machine milled face or the forging – but you will be hard pressed to find a better feeling club with the same technology and performance. In fact, the ANSER irons made the clubs that were in my bag feel hard – they also happen to be forged.
For reference all of my testing has been done in colder conditions as fall has arrived in the NW. With every set of irons that I have owned – the colder weather can also make miss hits with forged irons sting… sting to the point where you can’t feel your hands for the rest of the hole. This usually happens when I have a ball sitting up a little in the rough and I catch it high on the face. Try to hit the ANSERs bad… there will be NO sting or numbing.
RATING = *****
OVERALL BOTTOM LINE:
The PING ANSER irons are the real deal! REMEMBER – like any club, make sure you take the time to get properly fit. PING essentially pioneered OEM fitting, and chances are your local big box store, retailer, custom shop or course has a fitting cart. POINT BLANK – GET FIT!
Before I finish my initial remarks here are a couple of questions that I sent to PING as I was testing the irons… I think this will be beneficial to those of you who look at the clubs and scratch your head or look at the price and move to a cheaper option.
Q. Who is this iron targeted towards? Unlike a lot of irons – there are a wide range of people playing them from Hunter Mahan to the 20 handicapper weekend warriors. The old version of the website mentioned the handicap level and comparison of the iron offering from PING, but I am curious to hear who this is geared for.
A. Performance-wise (head size, clean lines, workability, feel, distance control), it appeals to a more accomplished player but it also represents the ultimate in PING iron technology in both materials (8620 steel, tungsten sole weight, Project X stock shaft) and process (forged, milled grooves and cavity), while offering the forgiveness less accomplished players need. Regardless of ability, there is a certain golfer who just wants the most technologically advanced, highest quality available. The Anser iron represents that iron.
Q. How much of a hindrance is the price? This also could be already answered when you tell me the target market of the iron…
A. We believe the Anser iron represents a tremendous value when you consider all the quality, technology and components (Project X) that go into it.
RATING = **** 3/4 (price being the only hindrance)
VISIT http://www.ping.com/...l.aspx?id=13993 for more details on the ANSER irons.
CLUB SPECIFICATIONS: 3-PW, custom lofts, custom lie, standard length, KBS TOUR CTAPER x flex SSx1. SEE BELOW FOR CUSTOM BUILD SHEET (coming soon).
PROS:
The ANSER iron is the ULTIMATE combination of craftsmanship, engineering and materials… and could be “THE ANSWER” to your game. Did I mention it’s FORGED?
CONS:
PRICE… With a U.S. MSRP of $200.00 per club, many people may fall in love only to pass on them for a cheaper option.
WHO is this iron for? LOW / MID / HIGH handicap?
READ BELOW FOR THE ANSWER(S)
BOTTOM LINE:
“Clean, sophisticated lines combine with the forgiveness you expect of a PING iron. This forged iron appeals to the eye with its satin-chrome finish and inspirational head shape. Beyond its appearance, the ANSER delivers a key performance benefit: the ability to launch the ball higher with your long irons, and low and controlled with your short irons. Optimizing your ball flights gives you confidence to play a larger variety of shots.”
LOOKS:
Initial Impressions
I should almost not write anything and let the pictures speak for themselves…
NOT ONE ELEMENT HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED. SATIN FINISH, CLEAN LINES, MILLED FACES, PROGRESSIVE STABILIZING BARS, PERFECT BLEND OF TUNGSTEN AND 8620 STEEL.
Custom orders – like this one, are processed through the PING WRX department to ensure proper quality control. The same people who build your irons also do the work on clubs for players like Bubba Watson, Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen and Hunter Mahan. What does this mean? PERFECTION. Honestly, there was not one thing out of line…
Shaft stickers – each in the same location, perfectly straight – no flaws.
Grips – logo down, perfectly straight, each grip measured the same length with the letters in Golf Pride equally proportioned.
Paint fill – not one drop of paint outside the lines.
Ferrules – flawless (and yes PING lovers they have them).
You might be wondering what I was doing measuring the grips…? Honestly, I was trying to find something wrong. I don’t know how many times I have received a set of brand new custom irons only to be disappointed by poor craftsmanship. PING WRX A+.
Playing position/In the bag
PING really has addressed/improved on the original design that was struggling to find its identity. No longer does the iron look too big or clunky. The short to mid irons look workable and frame the ball nicely with little offset. I started to notice the offset being a little too much for my preference in the 4 and 3 irons – yet, they look easy to hit.
Moving to the bottom of the club – the soles are a little larger than player’s irons, yet smaller than you would find in a progressive set of irons. The specification sheet would also indicate that there is more bounce than the typical player’s irons, which I don’t see at address.
In the bag these look incredible. Very subtle and clean – with a dark satin finish.
RATING = *****
PERFORMANCE/PLAYABILITY:
One of the most important things I have been looking for in irons post children is repeatability. What can I hit consistently and still compete? These irons flat out perform… VERY consistent. Once I got the feel for the irons – it was just like clockwork – same distance every time. If you happen to miss the center of the face and hit the heel or toe distance is not sacrificed. This is where the ANSER irons separate themselves from other forged irons…
Like a typical forged cavity, you can work a ball in either direction – NOW – it may not move like a blade, but you can move it where you want when you want with the proper swing/contact.
I was very impressed with how I could control the ball flight – and like the shape and distance – the flight is very consistent. The main reason for this is the utilization of “stabilization bars”. In the long irons the stabilizing bars in the cavity are wider and thinner to lower the CG for higher ball speeds and initial launch. This is very noticeable with the three iron in particular, as tee shots are shorter par 4’s have a flight that gets up quick and flattens out. Moving down in the set the shorter irons the stabilizing bars become more vertical and thicker to create a CG that promotes a more penetrating flight with optimal spin. Full shots have a very strong flight that doesn’t balloon, which allows you to attack more pins – regardless of the conditions. After doing some research I also found out that the bars also support the streamlined face design to increase ball velocity for greater distance – especially in the longer irons.
RATING = *****
FEEL:
For the past 13 years I have played forged irons – some better than others. There have been retail and tour issue blades, cavities, progressive cavities – you name it… The ANSER irons feel better than any iron I have owned. I’m not sure if it’s the machine milled face or the forging – but you will be hard pressed to find a better feeling club with the same technology and performance. In fact, the ANSER irons made the clubs that were in my bag feel hard – they also happen to be forged.
For reference all of my testing has been done in colder conditions as fall has arrived in the NW. With every set of irons that I have owned – the colder weather can also make miss hits with forged irons sting… sting to the point where you can’t feel your hands for the rest of the hole. This usually happens when I have a ball sitting up a little in the rough and I catch it high on the face. Try to hit the ANSERs bad… there will be NO sting or numbing.
RATING = *****
OVERALL BOTTOM LINE:
The PING ANSER irons are the real deal! REMEMBER – like any club, make sure you take the time to get properly fit. PING essentially pioneered OEM fitting, and chances are your local big box store, retailer, custom shop or course has a fitting cart. POINT BLANK – GET FIT!
Before I finish my initial remarks here are a couple of questions that I sent to PING as I was testing the irons… I think this will be beneficial to those of you who look at the clubs and scratch your head or look at the price and move to a cheaper option.
Q. Who is this iron targeted towards? Unlike a lot of irons – there are a wide range of people playing them from Hunter Mahan to the 20 handicapper weekend warriors. The old version of the website mentioned the handicap level and comparison of the iron offering from PING, but I am curious to hear who this is geared for.
A. Performance-wise (head size, clean lines, workability, feel, distance control), it appeals to a more accomplished player but it also represents the ultimate in PING iron technology in both materials (8620 steel, tungsten sole weight, Project X stock shaft) and process (forged, milled grooves and cavity), while offering the forgiveness less accomplished players need. Regardless of ability, there is a certain golfer who just wants the most technologically advanced, highest quality available. The Anser iron represents that iron.
Q. How much of a hindrance is the price? This also could be already answered when you tell me the target market of the iron…
A. We believe the Anser iron represents a tremendous value when you consider all the quality, technology and components (Project X) that go into it.
RATING = **** 3/4 (price being the only hindrance)
VISIT http://www.ping.com/...l.aspx?id=13993 for more details on the ANSER irons.
Edited by swanry30, 04 December 2012 - 12:22 AM.
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