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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Equipment
Spotted: Tony Finau’s driver shaft change at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Tony Finau has always been known as one of the longest players on the PGA Tour, but he has recently been working on adding a little more distance. Last year, Finau averaged 118.3 mph club head speed and 178.08 mph ball speed, all while playing a Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX driver shaft. This year, he has increased his club head speed to 123.93 mph and his ball speed to 183.32 mph.
However, Finau’s overall distance has decreased by two yards in that time. From a fitting perspective, something was amiss. We asked Tony about the shaft change at the Texas Children’s Hospital Open.
“[I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin. My driver’s been a little high spin for me over the last month or so, and so I just figured it was time to probably check out the equipment,” Finau said. “And it definitely showed me that I was using a shaft that’s maybe a little too tip-stiff for me, the way I load the club now. [I’m seeing] better numbers with the spin.”
Finau switched from the Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 70 TX into the Diamana GT 70 TX. The newer Diamana GT has a slightly different profile than the D+ Limited with the stiffest handle section in the Diamana lineup. The mid sections between the two are similar stiffness but the tip is just slightly stiffer in the Diamana GT. Both shafts are within one gram of each other in the 70 TX. The torque rating on the GT is 0.1 higher than the D+Limited’s 2.7 measurement.
Mitsubishi lists the Diamana GT as a shaft between the mid-launching Diamana TB and the new low-launch Diamana WB shafts. For most players, it would be considered a mid/low launch and low-spin shaft option. Mitsubishi’s Xlink Tech Resin System makes sure the maximum carbon fiber content is there for smooth feel without reducing the strength of the shaft. MR70 carbon fiber is used for reinforcing the shaft and boron is used in the tip for its high strength and compression properties.
Finau is still using his trusty Ping G430 LST driver in 9 degrees and has the adjustable hosel set to -1 degree of loft (standard lie angle). Finau’s long-time favorite Lamkin UTX Green grip is installed. He definitely has a few extra wraps of tape under that grip as you can see the bulge down where the grip meets the shaft.
One final note: Per Ping’s PGA Tour rep Kenton Oates, Finau’s driver is also adjusted to play with an additional degree of loft to help dial in his desired launch.
We’ll see how he fares with the new setup this week in Houston!
- Check out the rest of our pictures from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
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Whats in the Bag
Zac Blair WITB 2024 (March)
- Zac Blair what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (10 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Red 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade M5 Rocket 3 (14 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder 757 Evolution V1 X
Utility: Titleist U510 (3)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Blue 85 X
Irons: Ping i210 (4-6), Miura MB-001 (7-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 58-08M @57, 60 @61), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (52-M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 X
Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
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Whats in the Bag
Martin Trainer WITB 2024 (March)
- Martin Trainer what’s in the bag accurate as of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Wilson Staff Staff Model (6.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Kai’li Blue 70 TX
3-wood: Wilson Staff WLabs Prototype (13 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 80 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Staff Model (2, 4-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Wilson Staff Staff Model (52, 56, 60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Putter: Bobby Grace Greg Chalmers Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
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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