Fall 2021 is turning into Forged season for PING, and though we have seen them drop forged designs before, this time around feels a little bit different in terms of potential commitment to it for the future. Of course, time will tell.
For the present? PING is officially introducing their new Glide Forged Pro wedges. Read along to find out just what is going on under the hood.
2021 PING Glide Forged Pro Wedges
This wedge release is very much a culmination of a lot of feedback from PING’s impressive and deep Tour staff as to just what they wanted in a wedge for the more discerning and precise golfer. The new Glide Forged Pro’s are, yes, forged from 8620 carbon steel to help give that feel and feedback that the best golfers in the world want out of their wedges.
In terms of shape, this is a Tour-Preferred teardrop shape with a shorter overall heel to toe blade length and a flow into the hosel that helps keep the compact appearance cohesive. As these are smaller and more precision based wedges, there isn’t a ton of tech verbiage to digest, but there are still some tricks up PING’s sleeves.
Each wedge has its grooves precisely machined into the head which has allowed for PING to create steeper grooves. Not only that, “Friction Face” is what the company is referring to as a new Emery face blast, as the goal here being consistency in launch as well as spin from wet and dry conditions. After all, the name of the game in wedges this size is predictability first and foremost.
Grind options consist of an “S”, offering moderate bounce and a more rounded leading edge which is the one PING believes most users will fit into. However, there is also a “T” grind with a narrower sole and much lower bounce than the “S” (about 3° less on average), which is fully focused on versatility. We do have to mention, there will also be a specialty “EYE2 Toe” version in 59° which blends that legendary high-toe shape with the new Forged Glide. Also, lefties rejoice as these wedges will be RH/LH.
Does a forged PING wedge catch your fancy? Is it something you plan on seeking out to try, or buy? Talk about it with thousands of golfers just like you in the comments below or directly on the THP Community!
The Details
In Stores: 9/2
Cost: $199
I’ll be curious to see if this compact nature gets them into the bags of more of their Tour staff.
These have a better look to them and the smaller head looks great
Nice looking wedges but they’re not designed for the high cappers like me.
I’ve always been curious about the glide, but for whatever reason never tried one.
Next time. But that’s what I always say.
"Forged"
"Pro"
They are certainly hitting the sound bytes for more compact player stud wedges.
But her face. So!!!! Round!!! The bottom groove makes it look strange to me..
View attachment 9023922!!
That’s the S grind, T grind is a straighter leading edge.
ok. Then I will hold judgement.
No you won’t hahaha
well, we can pretend..
IMO reminds me of Tom Watson Ram wedges circa ’88 – Hogan EQ etc
They are old school looking wedges imo & should make a ton of bags upcoming
Now I will need to wait until I have these in hand. Maybe more than once. And maybe a 90-day trial. There are a lot of seriously good looking wedges out there, and coming, and… hmm. Definitely a wait and see for me.
My 3.0’s are going to be worn in a couple of months so am beginning to contemplate new wedges. Would love to stay with PING but it’s already been more than 2 years without a refresh!
They do seem to fly under the radar. Based on my experience they are more than a solid choice. They are the most consistent clubs in my bag, and I believe my short game is much better than it should be, given how little I get to play and practice, in large part due to my Glide wedges.
Mr. Cobb, you owe it to yourself to give them a try.
With so many brands offering so much in terms of loft and grind and finishes, how does a new one, more expensive than many stand out?
For me the new Glide Forged Pro and the older Glide Forged remind me of my old Snake Eyes wedges I built back in the 90s and wore out. I have tried to find a replacement and nothing has made the cut. June I picked up a 60 Glide Forged and was blown away by it The Glide Forged looks kinda simple but really meets my personal preferences. They look great, feel great and are way more forgiving/helpful than I thought they would be. I went back last month to get a 56 but they were all gone and since I heard Ping was bringing out new models I decided to wait. When I read James was dropping a article the other day I got pretty excited and was real pleased with the article. A 56 will most likely make my bag the day they hit my local shop. BTW I’m not a Ping guy I just want what works and i have chipped in more since I got my 60 than the previous year before I got it.
Not a PING full bag guy, but I love PING wedges. Had the Glide 2.0 and in the last 2 years the 3.0’s. Like other clubs PING makes, the wedges just work. Not very splashy, doesn’t look gimmicky, and are quite forgiving. In addition, the Glide wedges are semi-cavity backed and lean towards "game improvement," and have a hydropearl finish that retain spin under wet conditions better than the competitors.
To top it off, not many people have these. I’ve even had conversations about them with a few mostly PING players who overlooked their wedges. So there’s a unique-ness factor vs. the 80% of the folks with Vokeys or MD Jaws in their bags.
I LOVE my Glide 3.0s. Haven’t seen this one in person yet. Because the 3.0s haven’t been replaced, im looking at the Zipcore and full face.
But the 3.0 have been my favorite wedges to date.
These are their Tour style wedge, what their staff have been asking them for. I highly doubt we see the more forgiving version go away.
I think they are almost entirely going to be purchased by "Ping full bag guys".
Or maybe I should say "Ping full bag guys plus a few of us hard-core wedge ho’s".
The only people I see playing Ping wedges also play Ping irons. I’ve never seen a Ping wedge of any kind in someone’s bag alongside a bunch of Callaway or Titleist irons and Taylormade woods. But I see plenty of Vokeys in bags with no other Titleist clubs or Clevelands in bags with no other Cleveland clubs.
P.S. I’ll edit my initial answer to add "in the past 20 years". Back in the early-mid 1990’s I do recall seeing Ping Eye2 wedges played by people with no other Ping clubs. But that seemed to go away when Ping moved on from the Eye2 designs. I think it was a Tour influence at the time.
But will the 3.0 be replaced ? ( well if course, but are they on the horizon?)
Guess, I can always buy new 3.0s.
They won’t discontinue that line.
Well, who knows actually as they’ve made some super questionable choices lately.
You haven’t played with me. ? I’m on Callaway CF19 irons.
I play the Ping Glide 3.0 52/58 and love them for the extra forgiveness.
To answer @JB question, this new pricey release doesn’t get me going. I’ll stick with my Glide 3.0’s, they work for me just fine.
View attachment 9026614
Not sure I can get down with that.
1. I still don’t love ’em.
2. He doesn’t love me.
You can put whatever you want on the website about measured offset and stuff. Over the ball it looks terrible.
They are fine.. but the face.. woof. Plus, weird stock shaft to me.. how can you charge so much and still have a weird made for shaft??
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Yeah, it’s tough. I asked him to explain the intentions behind the look. The reasons for a couple of the things, and he.. needs to learn better answers. Lol
It’s such an odd approach to me, and kind of counter to trends in others.
I was just looking at them thinking, well you could bend the loft out them take a grinding belt to them and fix them..
Or you could just buy a good looking wedge for min $20 less and be good to go from the beginning.. lol.
Thanks, James. Excellent and concise writeup.
The face tech is interesting. The rest of the wedge? Not so much to me.
These are fairly compact and the rounded leading edge is very different from the T22. They look clean but the shape is not that attractive to my eye. And the S Grind may be fine in a 50, may be limiting for some in a 54, but the T Grind is useless for most of us – that’s why they call it "Pro." BTW, the "Pro" on the flange reeks of desperation to me. Buy me – I say "Pro".
The previous Ping Tour Wedge did not seem to get a lot of action at retail. I thought about giving it a go a few years ago and they would have worked, but something kept me from it.
These don’t look as good as the T22 or that other wedge I use – Artisan. This is a pass and they’ll probably do as well as the last Tour Wedge – not very well at retail. These are not a solid choice for most of us. It’s a "Pro."
I think this continues a very weird year for Ping as to their decisions – not launching the 425 driver in the USA first, not having product available at times for 6 months. They seem to have some of the worst of it. And the driver itself? Not really much better, if at all, then the 400 Max. AND the sound? My ears are still pinging. Ping needs to be make some changes.
I’ve had 2 in-person conversations about these wedges today, partly focusing on why I don’t like them, and why the guy that wants me to like them doesn’t like me now.
I like a straighter front edge. You said you don’t, so I could see why these would appeal to you there. That transition in a wedge is just not good though. And totally out of step with the direction most are going. I just don’t get it.
I have a friend here on staff with a different manufacturer that LOVES them. He plays the most center shafted monstrosity of a putter I’ve ever seen though, and I’ve told him that it makes sense, because this is the center shafted of wedges. It’s just wrong.
I took a look, too. They were "off" to my eye. Disappointed.
I looked at this post again. Sorry for sounding like an a-hole. Must have been in a mood when posting.
Okay, not the best-looking wedges. When I go to the Superstore again, I am going to give them a look and a hit.
They have the Eye 2 High Toe in the 59 with 8 of bounce. That is intriguing, too, because it almost looks normal – not bad.
View attachment 9070603
I’m shocked at how much I like this wedge…I just customed mine off the site.
I took the 59 which is an S Grind and did Ping custom heel and toe grinding (half-moon).