Equipment
2020 Ping G710 irons: Loaded with new tech for distance and forgiveness
With the introduction of the Ping G710 irons, Ping continues the tradition of making golf easier and more fun for the average golfer by offering their longest and most forgiving iron to date.
Ping G710 irons: Here’s why they’re better
One of the strongest materials available to the golf industry for club faces beyond titanium is maraging steel. Generally, we see it used in fairway woods, hybrids, and driving irons, but as designers continue to see faster ball speeds, higher launch, and greater MOI, maraging steel has made its way into more irons sets including, you guessed it, the Ping G710’s.
Thanks to the maraging steel’s high strength and durability attributes, engineers can push the face thinner, which in turn creates more discretionary mass to more around the head to raise MOI and increase forgiveness. The engineers at Ping didn’t just stop at thinner. Each face of the G710 series iron is machined with variable-wall thickness to increase ball speeds around the whole hittable surface to help with those pesky mishits and keep ball speeds and distances consistent.
Just like with other hollow irons from Ping, including the i500 and G700, the face is only part of the technology story. The body of the iron is maximized to flex along with the face to assist in energy transfer to the ball while also being built to provide a solid and pleasant feel. It’s one thing to offer more forgiveness, but if golfers don’t like the feel, all the effort is wasted.
The 5 Percent Factor: Ping has never shied away from providing quantitative values to back up how a product is better than a previous design. In the case of the G710, it offers a five percent boost in MOI compared to the previous G700, thanks to optimally placed tungsten heel and toe weights in the head. This further allows designers to actually shrink the head size while increasing forgiveness.
Hydropearl stealth
The G710s come with a new hydropearl chrome finish with black PVD coating. The hydropearl makes the surface of the irons hydrophobic to improve performance through the turf and in wet conditions. The finishing process goes through two-stages to ensure durability.
If you were ever curious about the effectiveness of the hydropearl’s ability to increase spin in wet conditions, check out the independent test video from the team at TXG.
Newly engineered shafts
With the G710, Ping is introducing the Alta Distanza Black 40 graphite shaft. This proprietary Ping-designed shaft is a no-upcharge option in the G710 iron. The shaft is the lightest weight in the Ping shaft matrix and produces maximum trajectory available in a Ping iron shaft. A more active tip in the 43-gram shaft delivers higher trajectories and best matches golfers with slower swing speeds.
Arccos sensors stock
Data is the most valuable asset to any golfer to help aid in improvement. From PGA Tour pros to weekend golfers, the more you know, the more you can systematically improve on weaknesses. Ping, along with Arccos, wants to help by offering Arccos sensors with each club.
The Arccos Caddie Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet is standard on every G710 iron and comes in three sizes. Along with the sensors, golfers who purchase G710s will also get a free 90-day trial of the app and eight additional screw-in sensors at no charge after the purchase of at least six G710 irons. (After the free 90-day trial the Arccos app is $99 annually)
Specs, pricing, and availability
The Ping G710’s come 4-PW with utility wedge and sand wedge also available to complete the set.
The stock steel shafts are Ping AWT 2.0 (R, S, X), while the stock graphite shafts are; Alta CB Red powered by AWT (SR, R, X), Alta Distanza Black 40, UST Recoil 760 ES SmacWrap (A), UST Recoil 780 ES SmacWrap (R, S)
Ping also offers a large array of aftermarket steel shaft options at no additional upcharge.
Ping G710 irons will retail for $175 per iron in steel and $190 per iron with graphite.
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Whats in the Bag
Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Pingback: Best irons in golf of 2021: Easiest to launch – GolfWRX
jgpl001
Jan 20, 2020 at 9:33 pm
Another nasty shovel
Please make it STOP
Mower
Jan 21, 2020 at 2:41 pm
lol… can’t take all this chunkiness!
Eric
Jan 29, 2020 at 11:42 pm
Have you tried them yet? The 700’s are a great iron. Don’t knock ’em till you try them!
HDTVMAN
Jan 20, 2020 at 4:29 pm
Very nice, but you can keep the Arccos…tried them and quickly sold them…HORRIBLE!
theweekday
Jan 20, 2020 at 2:15 pm
Holy offset batman!!!
Yosemite Sam
Jan 20, 2020 at 12:17 pm
$$$$ … ouch!
Rich Douglas
Jan 20, 2020 at 12:12 pm
This reads like a press release from Ping.
Another set of irons with jacked lofts. Oh, boy. I’m a big Ping fan and these are probably nice, but there’s just so much hype.
But what I really object to is the subscription for your grips! Seriously?
Karsten's Ghost
Jan 21, 2020 at 12:39 am
All of the releases this week have been exactly the same; press releases. It’s weak, but that’s what they do now.
19_Majors
Jan 20, 2020 at 10:38 am
Judging by the way these look, an iBlade 2.0 might be right around the corner…
JD
Jan 20, 2020 at 10:04 am
That offset is hideous.
Milo
Jan 20, 2020 at 9:29 am
These look awesome but no 3i is no bueno for me.
Caleb
Jan 20, 2020 at 9:44 am
Just forget the number on the bottom, the 4 iron is 20*, or 18.5* in power spec. That is a 3 iron.
Milo
Jan 20, 2020 at 9:49 am
That’s a good point, I actually didn’t look at the specs honestly.
Double J
Jan 20, 2020 at 10:56 am
You’re looking at the wrong model if you can actually hit a 3 iron, and considering 710’s.
Robin
Jan 20, 2020 at 5:24 pm
For punching out 747 method