Ping i20 Irons Review - Forum Testing Review Thread

[Jman]

REFERENCE LINKS:

• Unboxing: CLICK HERE
• Initial thoughts: CLICK HERE
• First Round: CLICK HERE
• First Range Session CLICK HERE
• Second Round: CLICK HERE and HERE
• Second Range Session: CLICK HERE
• Third Round: CLICK HERE
  

WEAR AND TEAR RUNDOWN:

Date: 3/31/12

OK, so, with 3 rounds and two pretty long range sessions on the i20's in the Oklahoma clay and the sand as well I'll chime in on what I'm seeing as far as wear and tear on the irons. I know alot of people are freaking out about the face wearing off, I'll get to my thoughts on that at the end though.

Following are pictures of each iron and wedge with two views each. The first views is of the sole and the second is of the face. I do want two things known here though:

• First, with the soles, it needs to be brought up again that my wedge soles (PW, UW, SW, LW) look more worn because the finish was removed when I had them put grinds on the wedges...so don't freak about those!
• Second, I took the face pictures as close as I could get with the DSLR in NATURAL light and at an angle that would show ALL of the wear, at address the wear is not as noticeable...but I'll dive into my thoughts on all that at the end.

LW:

Spoiler

SW:

Spoiler

UW:

Spoiler

PW:

Spoiler

9i:

Spoiler

8i:

Spoiler

7i:

Spoiler

6i:

Spoiler

5i:

Spoiler

4i:

Spoiler

General Thoughts:
I've put off talking about or showing the wear because of all the hubbub there was whilst I was on vacation and due to the fact its not something I wanted to talk about until I really felt like I'd had them out and about enough. Well, 3 rounds and 2 range sessions are right around that mark for as much as I've swung them and the type of soil I play in.

You can tell form the angled pic's that there is obviously wear on the faces of the irons, that "washing" effect if you will. We've all hear that PING has addressed the issues and changed the color/finish on the groove area and I can't help but wonder if it will be a slightly lighter color. I say this because when I compare the marking/washing on the face of the i20's to my J40's the i20's look like they've worn more until you look closer and see that the J40's have worn MUCH more in an equal amount of use on them...it just looks less because it has a lighter shade on the face. I liken this to the Burner 2.0's or the W/S Ci11's, when you have a darker finish on an area of a club, its pretty obvious to me that you WILL show more wear.

Now, I know some guys baby their irons and want them to stay pristine because of re-sale or because it bothers them so they use iron covers and get really concerned about wear and I COMPLETELY GET THIS, an iron set has a weightier cost behind it and its YOURS so you can be picky about whatever you want and protect them however you want. Me though, my irons are workhorses. Forged like the J40's or cast like the i20's I don't care, they all go in the bag the same way, they all get the same chatter and the same abuse and frankly I personally love that.

So, are they wearing? Yes. Does it or will it bother me? I highly doubt it as I don't concentrate on the finish at address. If the grooves stay sharp like PING's do and the overall finish of the club holds up I could care less about the face fading because like I said before, to me, it just makes sense that a darker finish will show wear easier. Its all personal opinion on it though, and I know mine will be different form alot of guys and I have no problem with that!

 

[TC]

I think the face (groove area rather) wear rocks! It means I'm striping the ball where I want to. I could care less as long as my paintfill and my cavity aesthetics stay in tact. I sure do wish I was hitting i20's right now!

 

[Jman]

I think the face (groove area rather) wear rocks! It means I'm striping the ball where I want to. I could care less as long as my paintfill and my cavity aesthetics stay in tact. I sure do wish I was hitting i20's right now!

Again, I agree with you 1000%. Its why I personally stayed out of all the wear freak out while I was on vacation. But I get that some people aren't like that.

We agree on too many things. lol

 

[TC]

Again, I agree with you 1000%. Its why I personally stayed out of all the wear freak out while I was on vacation. But I get that some people aren't like that.

We agree on too many things. lol

And I really haven't seen anything online that shows an awful amount of wear that would be concerning. I saw on another forum where a dude took a dremel to the groove area. It looked fine. I imagine ours will look like that over time.

 

[Jman]

And I really haven't seen anything online that shows an awful amount of wear that would be concerning. I saw on another forum where a dude took a dremel to the groove area. It looked fine. I imagine ours will look like that over time.

Agreed, gives personality to them IMO. Its just one of those things that wouldn't change what I think about these beasts one way or the other.

 

[golf4life]

OK, was in golftec today for a practice session, and after I was done, I was able to jump on the monitor with the i20 7 iron to see what all the fuss was about (standard lenghth, black dot head). I also was very curious about the CFS shafts so I threw the CFS X in there.

I wish I'd taken a screenshot of the results, because I'm having a hard time remembering some of the numbers (like launch angle), but I did remember a few key averages (over about 25 swings).

Clubhead speed average: 87
Ball Speed average: 121
Carry Distance Avg: 191
Spin avg: 5850

Pretty freaking solid I think.

And then I took 3 swings with my TM MC 7 iron with the DG X100 shaft.
Clubhead speed: 86
Ball Speed: 119
Carry Distance: 187
Spin avg: 6800

Honestly, not a huge difference. In fact, I bet if I put the CFS X shaft in the MC reducing the weight by 20 or 30 grams, it would perform about the same as the i20.

As far as feel, I love the sound of the i20. A nice crisp sound at impact. And the feel of the shaft is superior to the x100 in my opinion.

I was hitting the stock hitting bay Srixon practice balls, so I bet with a B330-S or Penta TP I could get the spin up a little on the CFS X and make it the ideal shaft for me.

Next I hit some purposely bad shots with the i20. Forgiveness on the toe was a little better than on my MC. Forgiveness high on the face was pretty horrible though... I tested this by using about a 1/2 inch tee and hitting it fat. i was losing about 35 to 40 yards distance on these mis hits. But in reality, I don't hit it fat very much anymore, my misses are thinned in most cases so this may not be a big deal in the long run.

So I guess overall I liked the club, but I'm not sure its a huge upgrade over the MCs I already play, except maybe a little added lateral forgiveness.

The shafts on the other hand, are something special. I can't imagine that the KBS C-Tapers provide much more than these do, and they're significantly lighter than the C-Tapers too. Can you get these shafts to pu in non-Ping clubs?

 

[golf4life]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I averaged about a 14 yard to the left of center on the swings. All the shots started down the middle and drew to that number. But the dispersion around that average was very consistent. I think i could aim right about a dozen yards and hit center of green often.

 

[Griff]

Nice pics Jman! I like your take on the wear and I share similar thoughts to yours.

It's good that we are sharing our thoughts on this. I do think the wear is a little accelerated on the ones I'm looking at right now. I've owned more clubs than I should have in my life and I can't recall seeing this type of wear so early. What's strange is the 2 clubs that have seen the most use, the 4 and 5, are not doing this. They went through a bucket of range rocks off the grass and are in great shape. Good on the 4 and 5, not so good on the ones that have seen less use using a softer urethane covered ball. Tester in me has to point this out and it isn't something positive IMO.

On a personal note, it's not that big a deal. I don't see it at address, it doesn't effect performance, and like TC says it seems to be wearing most where I hit the ball. Lucky for me I've been hitting the middle

Like you said, there was some interest earlier in the thread and I wanted to show it and be done with it unless performance starts to suffer.

 

[Griff]

Thanks for sharing G4L. I don't think I've hit any as high on the face as you describe, if I have I didn't notice. I agree forgiveness across the face is very solid. Maybe you'd have better luck with ones that fit you? Unless you are standard across the board then disregard.

 

[runpuddrun]

The past 2 days I've been to Golf Galaxy's Ping Event and today I went to a big Demo day and met with the same guy both times. I probably spend about 2 hrs total hitting the i20 and G20. Conclusion: I still don't know which one is for me. he said I could go either way. I gave him my background (20 HDCP, getting lower) and practice tendencies (a lot) and he thinks either one could work for me. In the end, he said that right now the G20's would be the best choice, followed closely by the i20's. Need a S though and LOVED the stock CFS shaft. Also had a chance o hit the 4i and UW and SW and they were fantastic. The Choices, The Choices.

 

[Jman]

The past 2 days I've been to Golf Galaxy's Ping Event and today I went to a big Demo day and met with the same guy both times. I probably spend about 2 hrs total hitting the i20 and G20. Conclusion: I still don't know which one is for me. he said I could go either way. I gave him my background (20 HDCP, getting lower) and practice tendencies (a lot) and he thinks either one could work for me. In the end, he said that right now the G20's would be the best choice, followed closely by the i20's. Need a S though and LOVED the stock CFS shaft. Also had a chance o hit the 4i and UW and SW and they were fantastic. The Choices, The Choices.

Haha, not bad choices to have though!

I honestly think I'm going to nab a set of CFS pulls off the bay for way down the road when the testing is over. I'm in love with my CT's, but could be a cool WAY later experiment just for grins.

 

[Griff]

The past 2 days I've been to Golf Galaxy's Ping Event and today I went to a big Demo day and met with the same guy both times. I probably spend about 2 hrs total hitting the i20 and G20. Conclusion: I still don't know which one is for me. he said I could go either way. I gave him my background (20 HDCP, getting lower) and practice tendencies (a lot) and he thinks either one could work for me. In the end, he said that right now the G20's would be the best choice, followed closely by the i20's. Need a S though and LOVED the stock CFS shaft. Also had a chance o hit the 4i and UW and SW and they were fantastic. The Choices, The Choices.

Sounds like you are doing it the right way. What specifically in the i20s were you disliking/liking?

 

[FrankA]

The past 2 days I've been to Golf Galaxy's Ping Event and today I went to a big Demo day and met with the same guy both times. I probably spend about 2 hrs total hitting the i20 and G20. Conclusion: I still don't know which one is for me. he said I could go either way. I gave him my background (20 HDCP, getting lower) and practice tendencies (a lot) and he thinks either one could work for me. In the end, he said that right now the G20's would be the best choice, followed closely by the i20's. Need a S though and LOVED the stock CFS shaft. Also had a chance o hit the 4i and UW and SW and they were fantastic. The Choices, The Choices.

I was fearful that the i20s would be too much for me. Probably more of a G guy myself, so I went back and hit them about 4 or 5 different times just to make sure that I could continue to strike the i's well and I just kept hitting them better each and every time. The g20's are good, maybe even really good, but the I20's are great - look great, swing great, and feel great.

 

[Jman]

I was fearful that the i20s would be too much for me. Probably more of a G guy myself, so I went back and hit them about 4 or 5 different times just to make sure that I could continue to strike the i's well and I just kept hitting them better each and every time. The g20's are good, maybe even really good, but the I20's are great - look great, swing great, and feel great.

Boom goes the Frank! The i20's BEG to be hit hard for me so far (as seen in my testing) they just get better and better.

 

[runpuddrun]

Sounds like you are doing it the right way. What specifically in the i20s were you disliking/liking?

I liked their looks better, liked the offset a lot better, disliked the smaller face.

I was fearful that the i20s would be too much for me. Probably more of a G guy myself, so I went back and hit them about 4 or 5 different times just to make sure that I could continue to strike the i's well and I just kept hitting them better each and every time. The g20's are good, maybe even really good, but the I20's are great - look great, swing great, and feel great.

I think either on will work for me, but like you, and because i've only started golfing last year and with less than 1 full year under my golfing belt, don't quite know if I can handle the i20's. I know great players use the G20's as we as the i20's.

Boom goes the Frank! The i20's BEG to be hit hard for me so far (as seen in my testing) they just get better and better.

I actually really want the i20's to be honest... I don't really care for the looks of the G's but if they will work better for me, then that's all that matters, and I would get over the looks very fast. But I just felt that the i20's felt better, looked better and worked better for me, but I was biased going into it and don't know if that is weighing into my decision. Great players play the G20's and the i20's but I just don't know...

 

[golf4life]

Thanks for sharing G4L. I don't think I've hit any as high on the face as you describe, if I have I didn't notice. I agree forgiveness across the face is very solid. Maybe you'd have better luck with ones that fit you? Unless you are standard across the board then disregard.

Last time I was fitted I was bland old standard across the board. Things may have changed since then as the swing has changed. Again, not really concerned about the high on the face misses I was seeing as that's not my miss on the course. Was just interesting that they were quite punishing versus across the face (which are my misses). The ball flight with the CFS X shafts was really quite good based on the monitor. I dont remember exact results, but the flight was slightly lower than my MCs with the DG X100s.

I will reitirate how good these shafts are. Lighter than DG X100s, but with less spin and a little more distance it seems.

 

[Colt]

And I really haven't seen anything online that shows an awful amount of wear that would be concerning. I saw on another forum where a dude took a dremel to the groove area. It looked fine. I imagine ours will look like that over time.

The dremel buffing was actually something I mentioned as well. I said steel wool but I think that would be a long and tedious process. So I'm thinking about doing the buffing on the groove area with a Dremel as well. What I was more worried about was where I had read several people's claims that the sole of the iron was rubbing down to raw metal. However, I haven't seen any of that.


Siri does my posting for me using Tapatalk.

 

[Jman]

The dremel buffing was actually something I mentioned as well. I said steel wool but I think that would be a long and tedious process. So I'm thinking about doing the buffing on the groove area with a Dremel as well. What I was more worried about was where I had read several people's claims that the sole of the iron was rubbing down to raw metal. However, I haven't seen any of that.


Siri does my posting for me using Tapatalk.

I've seen pic's of one set who's soles were like that, they all had custom grinds on them though. lol

 

[Griff]

I liked their looks better, liked the offset a lot better, disliked the smaller face.



I think either on will work for me, but like you, and because i've only started golfing last year and with less than 1 full year under my golfing belt, don't quite know if I can handle the i20's. I know great players use the G20's as we as the i20's.



I actually really want the i20's to be honest... I don't really care for the looks of the G's but if they will work better for me, then that's all that matters, and I would get over the looks very fast. But I just felt that the i20's felt better, looked better and worked better for me, but I was biased going into it and don't know if that is weighing into my decision. Great players play the G20's and the i20's but I just don't know...

Any help in the G20 iron thread? I haven't hit the G20s so I can't really help other than speculate based on what the G15 was to me. When I started golfing in the 80s these i20s would have been in every single golfer's bag in the world, seriously. Nothing like these really existed when I started. No reason to not make it easier on yourself at ALL. Just giving perspective.

Last time I was fitted I was bland old standard across the board. Things may have changed since then as the swing has changed. Again, not really concerned about the high on the face misses I was seeing as that's not my miss on the course. Was just interesting that they were quite punishing versus across the face (which are my misses). The ball flight with the CFS X shafts was really quite good based on the monitor. I dont remember exact results, but the flight was slightly lower than my MCs with the DG X100s.

I will reitirate how good these shafts are. Lighter than DG X100s, but with less spin and a little more distance it seems.

Awesome G4L. Only reason I asked is that consistent left action, no idea why an iron like this would do that. Sounds like dropping the shafts in the MCs could rock for you.

I've seen pic's of one set who's soles were like that, they all had custom grinds on them though. lol

Love the grindage!

 

[golf4life]

Awesome G4L. Only reason I asked is that consistent left action, no idea why an iron like this would do that. Sounds like dropping the shafts in the MCs could rock for you.

Yeah, I think I'm still standard... and the shots were all starting out online and then drawing to the left..... same with my MCs so it wasn't the club, its my "new" swing that is so much more in to out, I have to relearn to have the face more open at impact than when I used to fade the ball. I really wish I could try these shafts in other clubs, but I outside of finding some pulls, I don't think that's gonna happen.

 

[Griff]

X Flex may take some time to find G4L. Saw some on ebay, no X.

i20s are sitting in the bag just waiting for me. May not have a round today, but a range session is not ruled out.

 

[Jeff Spicoli]

Yeah, I think I'm still standard... and the shots were all starting out online and then drawing to the left..... same with my MCs so it wasn't the club, its my "new" swing that is so much more in to out, I have to relearn to have the face more open at impact than when I used to fade the ball. I really wish I could try these shafts in other clubs, but I outside of finding some pulls, I don't think that's gonna happen.

I've got an inside out type club path and my miss is typically left. I've got the i20s in X-Stiff and if I miss it left, I put a really bad swing on it. These clubs are pretty forgiving.

 

[Minarets]

OMG! Just stopped in PGA Superstore in Kennesaw on the way back home from a wedding in ATL this weekend and my wife said "how about you pick you out a set for fathers day this June."

Prayers do get answered!! Now to decide between the CB3 and I20s.

 

[milo]

Congratulations cap c those are some sexy sticks.
How are they playing for you?

 

[Colt]

OMG! Just stopped in PGA Superstore in Kennesaw on the way back home from a wedding in ATL this weekend and my wife said "how about you pick you out a set for fathers day this June."

Prayers do get answered!! Now to decide between the CB3 and I20s.

I want my wife to be like yours!


Siri does my posting for me using Tapatalk.