Equipment
Ping Glide 2.0 wedges: What you need to know
Ping’s Glide 2.0 wedges are the sequel to the company’s original Glide wedges, which were released in 2015 to critical acclaim. With big shoes to fill, the Glide 2.0’s are pushing the boundaries of groove sharpness, and offer several other upgrades over the originals to help improve performance and feel.
The Glide 2.0 wedges are currently available for pre-order: $150 per wedge with a steel shaft, $175 per wedge with a graphite shaft. Here are 6 more things you need to know about them.
1) Sharper Grooves, and More of Them
Ever since the USGA rolled back its rules on grooves at the turn of the decade, eliminating “square grooves,” golf equipment companies have been looking to create higher-spinning wedges through other means. With its Glide 2.0 wedges, Ping has upped the sharpness and number of its grooves to give golfers more spin. The company says the new grooves have “sharper groove edges than any previous Ping wedge.”
Working within the USGA’s groove rules, Ping uses a wheel-cut milling process to create the sharper groove edges, which interact more with the cover of the ball to produce more friction at impact… and thus more spin.
Ping also uses different groove designs based on a wedge’s loft.
- The lower-lofted wedges (46, 50 and 52 degrees) have 20-degree groove sidewalls with a 0.005-inch edge radius to improve full-shot performance.
- The higher-lofted wedges (54, 56, 58 and 60 degrees) have 28-degree sidewalls with a 0.004-inch edge radius to impart more spin on shots around the green.
The company also spaced its grooves closer together so it could add an additional groove to its lower-lofted wedges, and two additional grooves to its higher-lofted wedges. For average golfers and Tour players alike, the results will be more spin and consistency. Golfers should also see a slightly lower launch angle and a more penetrating flight, according to Ping.
“These grooves are better than square grooves,” says Marty Jertson, Senior Club Designer at Ping. “And they’re very close to the [legal] limit.”
2) Hydropearl Finish, 431 Stainless Steel
Ping used to design its wedges with what it called a “blast” finish, but the company discovered that a new “hydropearl” finish works better to fend off water and grass at impact, leading to more consistency.
The new finish has a high degree of “hydrophobicity,” or its ability to repel water. The finish is especially beneficial for golfers when they’re playing from thick grass, wet grass or in the morning dew.
Like the original Glide wedges, Glide 2.0 wedge heads are cast from 431 stainless steel.
3) Bounce Remains an Issue, Ping Clears It Up
The two hottest issues in golf when it comes to wedges are grinds and bounce. Despite all the industry talk about those two words in recent years, Ping data suggests most golfers are still confused about them.
In an effort to clear it up, Ping has decided to advertise the bounce number on its wedges. The company encourages golfers to “use the bounce,” and make sure to get fit into a wedge that has the right bounce for their game and typical playing conditions.
4) All Four Grinds Available
When Ping launched its original Glide wedges, it at first only released its three most popular grinds: Wide Sole (WS), Standard Sole (SS) and Thin Sole (TS). A few months later, it added its specialized Eye Sole (ES) grind. With the launch of the Glide 2.0 wedges, all four grinds are being offered from the start.
The ES (available in 54-08, 56-08, 58-08 and 60-08) is a bunker-specific grind inspired by the company’s Eye 2 wedge that can help golfers find more consistency. Its leading edge is made a bit sharper than Ping’s other wedges, but its sole has more bounce. That encourages the sole to dip below the below the surface of the sand and then glide through, which is particularly helpful on open-face shots from the sand or rough. Its thinner hosel also more easily moves through the sand, especially when the face is positioned opened.
Ping also made updates to the other three grind options in the line.
WS (56-14, 58-14, 60-14): The already wide sole has been widened, but the bounce has been toned back by 1 degree compared to the original “WS” design. The new sole will be especially effective in powdery or fluffy sand, according to Ping.
TS (58-06, 60-06): After much testing with Tour players, a lot of research and many prototypes, Ping’s WRX-inspired half-moon sole design was implemented into the TS grind in the Glide 2.0 wedges. It has much more heel and toe relief than the original TS grind.
SS (46-12, 50-12, 52-12, 54-12, 56-12, 58-10, 60-10): The standard sole, which is the best grind for the majority of golfers, underwent only minor changes to the heel relief and leading edge. Ping says the changes make them glide even a little more easily through the turf and sand than the original models.
5) Ping Encourages You to Grip Down
As seen on the original Glide wedge, the Glide 2.0 come with a grip that’s longer than your typical club grip — it measures about 0.75 inches longer than a typical grip. That’s because the company encourages golfers to grip down on the club more often to improve distance and club face control, and the lengthened grip allows golfers to do so.
6) Shafts, Specs and More
Glide 2.0 wedges come stock with a custom-engineered AWT 2.0 Wedge shaft that is optimized in weight (118 grams), flex and balance for wedge shots, according to Ping. Also available at no upcharge are the KBS Tour, True Temper Dynamic Dynamic Gold, Nippon N. S. Pro Modus 3 105, XP 95, and Project X shafts.
See more photos of the Glide 2.0 wedges in our forums, and join the discussion.
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Equipment
Cobra launches new limited-edition Darkspeed ‘season opener’ driver
Cobra Golf has today introduced a new limited-edition Darkspeed season opener driver in celebration of golf’s first major.
The new Darkspeed season opener limited edition driver combines a unique colorway with azaleas on the sole and Augusta green highlights for a festive, spring feel.
The driver comes paired with a matching limited edition head cover and a Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black shaft in choice of X, S, or R flex and 9- and 10.5-degree loft options.
The Cobra Darkspeed season opener driver is available in X and LS models and retails for $649. It is available now on cobragolf.com.
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (3/29/24): Mint Miura MB 101 irons
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a set of Mint Miura MB 101 irons.
From the seller: (@Citixen): “MINT Miura MB 101 5-PW KBS $1700 + Shipping. Miura MB 101 irons 5-PW with KBS C-Taper Lite X Stiff shafts +0.5″, Standard Loft and Lie. Mint condition, includes magnetic head-covers.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Mint Miura MB 101 irons
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Whats in the Bag
Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)
- Chesson Hadley what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.
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Ball
Sep 8, 2019 at 2:20 pm
Some of the best wedges I’ve ever played, very forgiving