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Ping Demo Day Review

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THP Experiences
The 2011 THP Golf Outing & Demo Day has concluded and one of the many wonderful things that took place was the ability to hit just about every piece golf equipment you could imagine. We provided notebooks, pens, and gear and ask that people give their thoughts on the equipment that they tried.

This thread will be devoted for the Ping Golf equipment that was out there.

K15 Driver
Tour S Wedges
Redwood Putter
G15 Irons
i15 Irons
K15 Irons
K15 Hybrids
S56 Irons

This is the list and we look forward to hearing everybody's thoughts that got to experience this incredible day of demoing equipment.
 
I play the Ping G15 irons now and really like them a lot. I was next to Ole Gray on the range and he was hitting the I15 really well so I decided to give it a try. I tried out the 7 iron and did really well with it. It was as easy to hit to me as my G15s. Ping has great irons and I would highly recommend trying them out.
 
Unfortunately I arrived at the demo day a bit late and only had opportunity to chip and putt. However, I brought my G15's to the outing to play. I have been gaming these for just over a year and love them. I have become a PING fan, having also picked up a set of the Rapture V2 irons which I am still getting used to, but so far they are awesome. I play the G15 Hybrids and have has some really good success hitting them. They are a bit unsual looking, but do work for me. I normally game the PING Rapture V2 Driver as well and that thing is just sick.

KellyBo also plays theh G15 irons and I had opportunity to play with her on Saturday at the Outing. She is deadly with those irons.

SMG
 
I tried the K15 Driver and K15 irons.

K15 Driver: This wasn't even on my radar coming into the demo day but after talking with golf4life during lunch I decided to give it a shot. From setup this driver just looks like it wants to go left which in my case is a good thing since I fight a slice off of the tee. First hit was beautiful high straight and the longest thing I'd hit all day, second hit was more of the same. I was hitting the 10.5 stiff which was a bit high lofted for me, I'm hoping to find somewhere local to try out a 9.5 to see if it's more of the same with the driver. Overall I came away very impressed, anytime I can hit a ball as straight as I did with that club it has me pondering.

K15 Irons: I was comparing these shovels against another hybrid iron set and came away equally impressed. What these irons lack in style they more then make up with performance. Very easy to get up in the air and distance was quite comparable to the other GI irons I was hitting at the outing.
 
I wasn't at demo day but have had the chance to hit most of the stuff above and since this thread isn't getting a ton of play, thought I'd give some comments:

K15 Driver - Currently in my bag with the TFC Ping Shaft, but have a K15 with a Aldila Serrano on the way. THis is the most hitable driver I've ever owned. Very accurate and plenty long. Also added the 3W to my bag this year replacing an I15 and couldn't be happier with it's performance. Ping is on to something with this "Straight Flight Technology"...

Ping Tour S Wedges - I switched to these from the "W" series (after a short stint with the CG 16's)...There are some great wedges out there this year and these fit right in with the best of them.

G15 Irons - I've hit them plenty of times as a number of my friends have them. Just can't get used to the chunky top line and wide sole.

I15 Irons - Played these all of last year. Very nice irons...Workable and forgiving. Anyone could hit these irons. At times wonder why I got rid of them.

S56 Irons - I bought these this year and struggled with them at first, but have since been hitting them fantastic. They do punish you a bit on a high face miss but when you hit them sweet they are as nice as any iron I've played. Bought a set of Ansers to compare them to, but they aren't back from their lie adjustment yet. So far I am really liking the S56's.

Anxious to see what Ping comes out with later this summer. I'm guessing a 20 series and maybe a S55? I try new stuff every year but always go back to my beloved Pings.
 
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K15 Driver - Good driver head. Really good driver head with a shaft that brings me back 5 years. Not in a good way though. Put a decent shaft in this driver and I think it could be a winner.
G15 Irons - Very forgiving, although I find this to be the only iron that looks get into the way for me.
S56 Irons - No forgiveness high on the club head (my miss) and very little out on the toe, but when hit well, they are a very good iron. Not my cup of tea really, but I know many liked them at demo day.

The Tour S wedge was the only club that Ping had at the demo day that I was pretty impressed with. Very good wedge that could be in my bag pretty quickly. Lack of options compared to some other models does hurt though.
 

I15 Ping Irons I was really impressed with the I15 Ping irons. They were fun to hit and very solid with great turf interaction. I could game these irons in a skinny minute. Ball flight was a good mid trajectory and I found these easier to hit the ball without as much side spin. Not sure why but they are straighter and a winner in my book!

K15 Ping Driver This driver was a surprise to say the least. It was easy to hit with a nice little draw (not hook). I found it very forgiving and although I only hit hit five or six times it peaked my interest! The sound was good, the feel off the face solid, and the looks were ok with me. I would buy this drive, if I was in the market for one.
 
K15 Driver- Clubhead promotes an inside takeaway due to the SFT weighting which helps square the clubhead at impact, hot face, stock shaft is ok (R flex is whippy compared the the S), very stable and forgiving on mishits, amazing sound when caught flush.

Tour S Wedges- If not for my current wedges, these would be in my bag tomorrow. Loft and bounce options are a little limited compared to other alternatives, aggressive head that is also very versatile, KBS shaft works well with the club, firm 'click' sound on well hit pitch shots

G15 Irons- sneaky good irons, large club heads deliver consistent results, ball jumps up into the air without ballooning, very stable on mis-hits, not very hot but solid feeling, limited distance loss on mis-hits.

i15 Irons- not very forgiving, almost a 'harsh feeling' when hit whether its a good or bad hit, best looking at address of all the PING irons, longest irons of the PING irons family that I hit, never fully got comfy hitting these though

K15 Irons- Large club head gets the ball up in a hurry but almost too high, very forgiving (even more so than the G15), extremely forgiving, distance isn't as comparable other PING irons
 
K15 Driver - This was one of my favorite drivers coming into the demo day and nothing changed. I love this driver. Once you accept the looks and sound it just flat out works. Shaft isnt the best but it does seem to work with the head. The ball seems to explode off the face and wants to go straight and far.
Tour S Wedges - I was very impressed with this wedge. Love the look and it just performed very well for me.
Redwood Putter - Wasnt a fan before and still am not a fan of the Redwood
K15 Irons - Easy to get the ball up in the air with these and they have that SGI feel to them. Not a fan of the looks at all.
K15 Hybrids - If you can get past the look its a very good hybrid but I think there are better options.
S56 Irons - One of the best looking irons period. Not forgiving on misses but feel is good on well struck shots as to be expected. They would look real nice in the bag but these are player sticks for sure.
 
cheffor said:
I tried the K15 Driver and K15 irons.

K15 Driver: This wasn't even on my radar coming into the demo day but after talking with golf4life during lunch I decided to give it a shot. From setup this driver just looks like it wants to go left which in my case is a good thing since I fight a slice off of the tee. First hit was beautiful high straight and the longest thing I'd hit all day, second hit was more of the same. I was hitting the 10.5 stiff which was a bit high lofted for me, I'm hoping to find somewhere local to try out a 9.5 to see if it's more of the same with the driver. Overall I came away very impressed, anytime I can hit a ball as straight as I did with that club it has me pondering.

K15 Irons: I was comparing these shovels against another hybrid iron set and came away equally impressed. What these irons lack in style they more then make up with performance. Very easy to get up in the air and distance was quite comparable to the other GI irons I was hitting at the outing.
Click to expand...

I always smile at the "shovel" reference. Great Golfwrx terminology.
 
K-15 Driver - This is a driver that I wanted (and expected) to really like. I was pretty bummed to find out that I didn't really like it at all. I couldn't hit it well and I didn't love the feel/sound. I did see some people bombing this thing and I liked that they had a HT version available. We found that it worked very well for one of the people on the launch monitor.

Tour S Wedges - Very attractive looking wedge and the 'natural' finish is great. I didn't like that it wore so quickly, but that's expected. Very nice wedge and I think anybody looking should give them some swings to see what they think.
 
K15 Driver- One of my favorite drivers from last demo in September and again it performed as well as anything on the range. I hit the ball high right away but it just keeps going. Great distance and very easy for me to hit it straight.

Tour S Wedges- Very nice wedges! I saw great green side control and if I needed to I know I would have no issues with stopping a ball with this wedge. The shape and overall size of these wedges are really nice!

i15 Irons- These are some very nice irons, great look with a nice top line. Decent forgiveness out of the longer irons and I was getting a little more distance out of the 7 iron than I was with most iron sets out there.

S56 Irons- I really wanted to love these irons, they look great but they are a tough iron to hit solidly unless you're a very good ball striker. I hit a few good but still came up short of the target that I was using with all the other blade irons I hit that day. When you hit them in the middle they feel amazing, I'm sure more reps and more familiarity with these would get me more distance.
 
K15 - once you get over the sheer size of the head this thing flat out performs. If you need a driver that gives you that "can't miss" feeling, this is it. I agree with JB that I think Ping needs to up their stock shafts. I have hit this with a C Kua shaft in it and that combination is lethal. To me the face on this club is extremely hot.

i15 irons - reminded me of my i10's. I liked the turf interaction and thought the performance was solid. A mid ball flight and a compact club head that offered forgiveness. I think these are a nice looking set of irons.

g15 irons - The odd iron looks started with the g10 irons and they have not really improved. I think if they improved the looks people would flock to these irons. For me they were one of the easiest irons to hit at the demo day. The thick top line and huge offset may be a turn off to some and possibly blamed for hooks. Not here, I did not have any hooks with these irons. While trying to right down blurbs on the range about what I was testing this is what I found in my notebook after demo day. "An iron that I can just aim, swing, and love the result? Yes please I will take that every time. Close my eyes and I know what the shot will look like and where it will go. Easy to hit with a ton of forgiveness...DUH WINNING!" Obviously Charlie Sheen wrote in my book.

Tour S Wedge - I think PING wedges have gotten better over the years. I have a Tour-W in my bag and really like it, but this one just seemed much better. Even with range balls it seemed to have that stopping power. If I hadn't just replaced the wedges in my bag, this might have found it's way in.
 
Sounds like those wedges were pretty sweet. Will have to give them a go some time. I can attest to the fact the right shaft in the K15 driver makes a startling difference. Little surprised they sent the Redwoods and not some Scottsdales.
 
I hit the K15 driver, I also took it out for a round of golf. I really liked how straight this driver was, also liked the sound. Unfortunately it was a 10.5* and I was hitting short moon balls with it. I'm going to look into a less lifted head with a better shaft and see how I hit it. As for left or right though this club was very forgiving.
 
K15:
This was the only Ping club I was able to hit. I love this driver head. To me this has a real nice smash to it on contact. The ball leaps off the face. My only problem with the club is the stock shaft does not work for me. I just can't not overcook a draw. I also think it could be a swing issues as sometimes I'll come over the top. I think the shaft really blows my miss up because that face is on another level. Really like this driver.
 
S56 Irons - One of Ping's best looking irons IMO. I really wanted to fall in love with these iron. I play the the i15 irons and was looking for something a little more traditional. I gave it a good shot but there was no chemistry between us. Or maybe the fact that S56 being a players iron it was just out of my league. Just like Tara from the ibar.
When hit well the S56 felt amazing and the ball soared through the blue Florida sky and also was easy to work the ball. When hit poorly it did not feel too good and there was noticeable distance loss. I would have liked to try this club with other shaft options instead the KBS. In the end my i15s are longer and more forgiving than the S56 but not as pretty. So what I am saying is I don't have the game (yet) to be playing these irons.

Wedges - These were nice. Really nice. I would buy them. Looked good, provided good distance and control. I found them easy to use out of the sand. The S shaped sole made these wedges very versatile to use the bounce from a variety of lies. These wedges had a great soft feel with touch shots around the green. Only negative is the ID8 grip. The wear of the finish was noticeable but would not bother me in deciding to purchase these wedges. If you like biscuits & gravy you will love this wedge.
 
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Only got to hit the K15 irons. I might have hit a couple shots with the driver too but I just can't remember and forgot to write anything in my notepad about it. Anyways, I hit the K15 7 iron and it is a beast: long and straight. The first couple I hit could not have been any striaghter. Nice feel and sound. It gave me a nice thwack on impact. These were the first things I hit, so I was a bit rusty, but you couldn't really tell with the way I was hitting it. The downside to me is the looks. These are not pretty, but it's something I could easily get over because the distances and ball flight is pretty darn awesome.
 
No K15 fairway woods? I think they would have been a huge hit had they been there to test.
 
G15 irons-- I didn't hit these at the demo day but I've gamed them prior to my Di11's. I love the G15's. Anyone looking for a GI set should do themselves a favor and try them out. Yes they are shovels and yes they are not the sexiest irons to gaze at in the bag. However they just plain work. I found for my steep swing these irons were just about perfect. Nice high ball flight and good distance. Just a great set of clubs for people who like to hit straight, high shots. Now who doesn't want to do that?

I15 irons--For those who want to work the ball just a little this set could be for you. These IMO are a little nicer to look at than the G15's but still they won't win any beauty prizes. However they work. Nice mid/high ballflight. The distance is more traditional with this club and for me that's a negative. I have grown to love the new trend of distance irons. Working the ball is no problem with these. I could pretty much hit anything except for a fade which I struggle to do with any club. Nice feel off the clubface. A very solid players iron.

S56 irons--I love the looks of these. I however do not love to hit them. When I hit them well I loved the feel. As good as any forged iron out there IMO. However I struggled with consistent contact with these clubs. Ball flight was mid. Just not for me at this moment and probably never.

Ping Tour-S wedges--I really liked these clubs. I like the looks of them and the grind just seems to work for me. I hit a few full shots and they came off just like I wanted them to do. Chipping with this club was very nice. Consistent solid contact on all my chips. I could definitely game these.
 
They were the only ones I tried on demo day but I made sure to hit the G15 irons because I heard from several people that they were very easy to hit... and the rumors were all true. Great ball flight from these clubs... high and straight, even on off-center hits... Unfortunately I lost a small amount of distance with these clubs (about 5-10 yards off my normal irons) and yes, they're not the greatest looking clubs but they do the job.
 
Big thanks to Ping for sending out so many clubs for us to try at the THP Demo Day. I really had a great time hitting so many of your clubs I've never even seen before. I generally don't gravitate towards Ping equipment, so it was nice to see for myself what so many had been talking about.

K15 Driver This driver is a rocket. I had any easy time adjusting to this club and just didn't want to put it down. Very impressed with this club.

Tour S Wedges It's a good wedge and about in the middle of a huge pack for me.

Redwood Putter I've always loved this putter. When I saw it was out there on the putting green, I just had to drain a few putts with it. This putter is truly a work of art. You did a fine job crafting this flat stick.

G15 Irons A really good solid iron that I had never hit before. Good ball flight and dare I say again...solid!

i15 Irons Not quite as forgiving as the G15, but very solid and very comfortable when I set up to hit shots. Really liked the feel of these a lot.

K15 Irons These were a little light and hollow feeling to me.

K15 Hybrids Unfortunately I did not get a chance to hit these.

S56 Irons A little too unforgiving for my liking and the ball flight was a little low, which is how they are designed. Just not something I like in an iron.

Faith The wife had a chance to hit this and loved it so much that she took out to play with. She LOVED this club. So much so she has requested me to pick her one up.

Again, thank you for sending out all of this great equipment. It was a real treat demoing it and really getting a feel for your entire line.
 
For those interested in the K15 driver...Try a shaft upgrade...I had the standard stiff TFC Ping Shaft in a 9.5 degree and liked it but my ball flight was a bit high. Just got the 9.5 K15 with the Aldila Serrano Shaft and my ball flight is perfect. Appears to be 10-15 yards longer for me. If you like the K15, order it with a custom shaft and you've got yourself a great driver.
 
Titleistforlife said:
For those interested in the K15 driver...Try a shaft upgrade...I had the standard stiff TFC Ping Shaft in a 9.5 degree and liked it but my ball flight was a bit high. Just got the 9.5 K15 with the Aldila Serrano Shaft and my ball flight is perfect. Appears to be 10-15 yards longer for me. If you like the K15, order it with a custom shaft and you've got yourself a great driver.
Click to expand...

I can only confirm what you have said. I believe the G/K15 drivers really shine when the right shaft meets the right swing. Once I got away from the stock shafts....holy cow what a difference.
 
K15 irons. Didn't like them at all. I guess I could learn to live with the looks if I was hitting them great. That wasn't the case however. Don't like the G15's either, so suppose it wasn't a big surprise really. As usual I can't really put my finger on what was wrong with them other than to say they're not for me.

K15 driver. Great stick! I currently play the G10 which I love to death and have sworn never to replace. Something about those TFC shafts that resonates well with my swing. But have to admit I'm seriously considering a switch to the K15. Maybe a cliché, but this driver sure is long and straight. Being a high hc'er, forgiveness is priority number one, and this one sure delivered. Loved the way it felt/sounded as well.
 
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