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PING s55 Iron - Review Thread

SuperStroke
great write up so far everyone!

I am seeing a common trend here that these launch high and are very surprisingly really forgiving
 
golfinFF said:
great write up so far everyone!

I am seeing a common trend here that these launch high and are very surprisingly really forgiving
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So far that is just what I am seeing.


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PING s55 Iron - Review Thread

I guess my level of what is forgiving and what isnt is a touch different. Having played the altitudes and SpeedBlades for most of the year this past season after coming from my beloved i20's, those are truly forgiving irons toe personally.

Has the s55 surprised me, particularly toe side? Yes. Does they still penalize a bad swing? Absolutely.

As crisp as they are and as much as I'm enjoying what I'm seeing for my personal game so far, you still have to put a consistent swing on the ball, I don't want that to get lost. If the swing is wonky, the results will be too and you will KNOW it. There's a lot packed into this little package and I'm enjoying the heck out of them, but they are still demanding irons compared to a lot out there.

Not a knock on anyone here, just an observation.

Either way, they've been a lot of fun so far.
 
Jman said:
I guess my level of what is forgiving and what isnt is a touch different. Having played the altitudes and SpeedBlades for most of the year this past season after coming from my beloved i20's, those are truly forgiving irons toe personally.

Has the s55 surprised me, particularly toe side? Yes. Does they still penalize a bad swing? Absolutely.

As crisp as they are and as much as I'm enjoying what I'm seeing for my personal game so far, you still have to put a consistent swing on the ball, I don't want that to get lost. If the swing is wonky, the results will be too and you will KNOW it. There's a lot packed into this little package and I'm enjoying the heck out of them, but they are still demanding irons compared to a lot out there.

Not a knock on anyone here, just an observation.

Either way, they've been a lot of fun so far.
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Yes I did not mean to say they are GI forgiving, but they are more forgiving that what you would think. Is the toe as forgiving as a club like a g25 or rocket bladze, of course not, but an extreme toed 4 iron that still travels 180 is much more forgiving than a normal iron in this class.


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shanep said:
Yes I did not mean to say they are GI forgiving, but they are more forgiving that what you would think. Is the toe as forgiving as a club like a g25 or rocket bladze, of course not, but an extreme toed 4 iron that still travels 180 is much more forgiving than a normal iron in this class.


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That's the beauty of the tungsten toe weighting PING has been using for years and why their irons have always done well for this toe misser.

The big thing for me right now is the fact that, as they claimed, they have definitely improved the launch from the s56's. With the time of finally dialing in my distances I'm a bit surprised as to where they're at to be honest. Heck, they are longer for me than another stronger lofted GI iron I'm finishing up reviewing, a good bit longer at times.

There's def a lot packed into this little package and as I said I wasn't calling anyone out, I just think it's good for those reading to keep it real that they won't make a bad swing a great result, a bad swing is still a bad swing.
 
shanep said:
Yes I did not mean to say they are GI forgiving, but they are more forgiving that what you would think. Is the toe as forgiving as a club like a g25 or rocket bladze, of course not, but an extreme toed 4 iron that still travels 180 is much more forgiving than a normal iron in this class.

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This is often how I generally hear people describe the DPCs. Would you say they are in the same class as the DPCs in terms of forgiveness? More/less forgiving?
 
tequila4kapp said:
This is often how I generally hear people describe the DPCs. Would you say they are in the same class as the DPCs in terms of forgiveness? More/less forgiving?
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I gamed the DPC's for about a season, for me they're similar there, maybe a touch less from a distance off toe miss standpoint, but just as forgiving directionally.
 
tequila4kapp said:
This is often how I generally hear people describe the DPCs. Would you say they are in the same class as the DPCs in terms of forgiveness? More/less forgiving?
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For me so far, the DPC and s55 are close in forgiveness, the DPC are a hair more forgiving in the long iron but not much.
I prefer the look and feel of the s55, so much so that I gave away my beloved DPC's

Going to the course and noon today, will give more updates on the s55 this evening


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I also want to come back to the total package of distance, feel, forgiveness and launch. I think the reports so far give us a good sense of launch, forgiveness and distance. But what about feel as part of that package? These strike me as being the rare premium players club that are cast (presumably to increase distance???). I'm searching for ways to ask for more feedback on feel without turning this into a cast vs forged or club comparison, but am struggling for the right words. Is the quality of feel commensurate with with price and notion that you are playing a top of the line players club? Is it worse, equal, better than other clubs you've played in this category?
 
BTW, the testers are doing a great job. Thanks and keep up the good work.
 
tequila4kapp said:
I also want to come back to the total package of distance, feel, forgiveness and launch. I think the reports so far give us a good sense of launch, forgiveness and distance. But what about feel as part of that package? These strike me as being the rare premium players club that are cast (presumably to increase distance???). I'm searching for ways to ask for more feedback on feel without turning this into a cast vs forged or club comparison, but am struggling for the right words. Is the quality of feel commensurate with with price and notion that you are playing a top of the line players club. Is it worse, equal, better than other clubs you've played in this category?
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IMO cast vs forged is bunk. But there's a whole thread dedicated to that argument. Funny thing is with the i20's the common feedback was "I can't believe these are cast" or "softest cast irons I have ever hit" which is a common feedback about PING irons and always strikes me funny because the feel is sound based and the design itself impact that more than material, it just does.

As I've mentioned they sound very plush through impact, a nice tone to them that makes you truly feel like you compressed the heck out of the golf ball on a solid swing. Yet there is enough feedback there that the tone changes on misses across the face that will allow the user to indicate/know where they missed on the face very very quickly.I relate them there to the i20's but with a more crisp tone due to the smaller/thinner profile overall. Great feel/sound, completely what I would expect from a set like this and something that I know has taken many by surprise after hitting them.
 
Thanks, Jman. I'm aware of your feelings about that distinction. I don't have enough experience with forged to know one way or the other. I'm probably struggling to find the right words. I don't care about cast vs forged, per se. I'm interested in why Ping chose to go the opposite direction from other OEMs with the club in this category (top end players club), what we gain in terms of the total club design with that choice, and whether or not it works.
 
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tequila4kapp said:
Thanks, Jman. I'm aware of your feelings about that distinction. I don't have enough experience with cast to know one way or the other. I'm probably struggling to find the right words. I don't care about cast vs forged, per se. I'm interested in why Ping chose to go the opposite direction from other OEMs with the club in this category (top end players club), what we gain in terms of the total club design with that choice, and whether or not it works.
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To be fair for Ping. The Anser irons were the first forged offering from Ping for decades.

I need to step back from the ledge...
 
tequila4kapp said:
Thanks, Jman. I'm aware of your feelings about that distinction. I don't have enough experience with cast to know one way or the other. I'm probably struggling to find the right words. I don't care about cast vs forged, per se. I'm interested in why Ping chose to go the opposite direction from other OEMs with the club in this category (top end players club), what we gain in terms of the total club design with that choice, and whether or not it works.
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PING has never been big on forged thing, the Ansers were their first real attempt to jump into that market and appease those who seek that out and the price tag because of that was a hefty one. Its just not what PING does to be honest. As far as what is gained/lost from that performance wise, I think that's the key to why they aren't forged, there isn't anything lost from that, they have always been incredibly skilled at the design of their irons from a cavity/dampening/weighting standpoint to provide very nice feedback in their irons rather than just doing it through base material.

To answer the question I think the design stands on its own in any iron, regardless of the material and what we gain/lose and if it works or not comes back to the swing in the end, everything always comes back to the swing. A company can build great toes forgiveness into the iron, great weighting, an incredibly plush sound, and very nice launch just like PING has with the s55's, but in the end they will be great for some and not for other like anything else, we as golfers just have to get out there and try them to see how they fit our game. IMO these are INCREDIBLY well designed and they perform tremendously while looking like the best set PING has EVER released, but I know that they still won't be for everyone.
 
Hit the range today and played 9, these irons impress me more every time I use them.
I can tell a miss hit immediately and my usual toe misses do not get punished any worse than my DPC did.
Hit the 3 iron a few times today and had good results with it so far,
These irons are still going pretty hight (much higher than my DPC) but the carry is really good. I am wondering if the high ball flight is a by product of the shafts?


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I found these at the local Golf Galaxy today. They are much nicer in person than in pictures. An the photos I've seen here are nothing to sneeze at. After a couple waggles and light swings in front of the rack, the gentleman, asked me if I would like to give them a go. His knowledge of this product was very limited, and after a few corrections from my limited knowledge base I was ready to go. I played pings in the past so I had some preconceived notions of what to expect. I figured on an offset that would not fit my eye, I figured on a thicker top rail than I'm currently gaming, and a feel that was a little different then the Mizzy's that I play. And distance loss would be obvious. After a few swings, I had them give me a target at a good 6 iron distance for me. I was a little surprised that I was hitting the target distance consistently, the feel was very nice. Esthetically they were beautiful. The experience really broke all those preconceived notions I had going in. Great offering by Ping!
 
Hit the demo cart 7 iron with the KBS stiff this weekend on the range and got to take it out on the course for a few holes. Definitely a more piercing flight than my i10 7-iron with DGS300 and the feel is not even a competition. I need to wrap up some shop credit in the next couple of weeks and get some on order.
 
I am having a hard time putting together my follow up regarding these irons. My round today included some of the best iron play I have ever experienced. I am still having to adjust my play to accommodate their play. While they are forgiving, for pinpoint iron shots they are demanding. As jman said, they require work. Maybe a good nights sleep will help me to explain my experiences and what results I am seeing.
 
tequila4kapp said:
This is often how I generally hear people describe the DPCs. Would you say they are in the same class as the DPCs in terms of forgiveness? More/less forgiving?
Click to expand...
Jman said:
I gamed the DPC's for about a season, for me they're similar there, maybe a touch less from a distance off toe miss standpoint, but just as forgiving directionally.
Click to expand...

Profile wise, the S55's have to be a bit more compact heel to toe, yeah? I found the S55 to promote better straight line launch, but I didn't find them to be equitable in forgiveness overall. This is only after swinging them about 20 times, and frankly, I'd have a hard time saying I preferred one over the other. Sound and overall feedback on both are excellent.
 
Canadan said:
Profile wise, the S55's have to be a bit more compact heel to toe, yeah? I found the S55 to promote better straight line launch, but I didn't find them to be equitable in forgiveness overall. This is only after swinging them about 20 times, and frankly, I'd have a hard time saying I preferred one over the other. Sound and overall feedback on both are excellent.
Click to expand...

Yes they are bit more compact.


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Lots of great info from all of the testers. Thanks for the great work. I'm sure these are a bit out of my game range, but they are sure a beautiful set of clubs and I'd love to try and hit them sometime.
 
Played 9 holes with the S55's (CFS STIFF with Cushin Inserts) for the for the first time this afternoon. For reference, I am currently gaming the G25's and have bagged most of the Ping offerings that have come out in the last 10 years as well as a wide range of irons from other manufacturers. These are the best feeling irons Ping has ever made, and perhaps my favorite feeling iron ever! The feel is extremely quiet at impact which translates to a heavenly soft feel for me. My golf partner had the i20's with the same shaft and for me there was no comparison, the s55's were definitely softer!

I could not agree more with the reviews I've been reading about the trajectory of the long irons. I hit a 4 iron so high that I had to look down and make sure I had actually swung the 4 iron cause it resembled the trajectory I get from a 5 or maybe even 6. No kidding!

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the irons were the distances that I was getting. They were easily a club longer than the s56's and right on par with the i20's. I hit a couple out on the toe and found myself thanking the Ping engineers for that tungsten insert as I truly found the distance loss to be extremely forgiving for a club this small. Of course the G25's are more forgiving on toe shots, but not by much shockingly enough!

When I initially stood at address with these clubs, I must admit the nerves were hitting me as they look so much smaller than the G25's. By the end of the round I found myself embracing the look as these clubs required me to really concentrate and not over swing. I finished up the round with an s55 pitching wedge approach from 110 yards out that landed 6 feet from the hole. Thank you Ping!
 
Xavier said:
Played 9 holes with the S55's (CFS STIFF with Cushin Inserts) for the for the first time this afternoon. For reference, I am currently gaming the G25's and have bagged most of the Ping offerings that have come out in the last 10 years as well as a wide range of irons from other manufacturers. These are the best feeling irons Ping has ever made, and perhaps my favorite feeling iron ever! The feel is extremely quiet at impact which translates to a heavenly soft feel for me. My golf partner had the i20's with the same shaft and for me there was no comparison, the s55's were definitely softer!

I could not agree more with the reviews I've been reading about the trajectory of the long irons. I hit a 4 iron so high that I had to look down and make sure I had actually swung the 4 iron cause it resembled the trajectory I get from a 5 or maybe even 6. No kidding!

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the irons were the distances that I was getting. They were easily a club longer than the s56's and right on par with the i20's. I hit a couple out on the toe and found myself thanking the Ping engineers for that tungsten insert as I truly found the distance loss to be extremely forgiving for a club this small. Of course the G25's are more forgiving on toe shots, but not by much shockingly enough!

When I initially stood at address with these clubs, I must admit the nerves were hitting me as they look so much smaller than the G25's. By the end of the round I found myself embracing the look as these clubs required me to really concentrate and not over swing. I finished up the round with an s55 pitching wedge approach from 110 yards out that landed 6 feet from the hole. Thank you Ping!
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Thanks for posting and comparing to other Ping offerings. I love hearing about the forgiveness and distance packed into the s55.
 
So the weekend came and went and thankfully the weather treated us here in the Midwest pretty darn well....and by well I mean around 50 degrees with 10 mph winds and some party cloudy skies. It was good enough for me to get out and play with the S55's and boy did I learn a lot.

I first have to say that as I've swung, struck and played these overall....I've really started to wonder why I ever moved away from my forged Precept Tour premiums a long while back. It's wonderful to get the kind of feedback I seem to from these and I love it. With my I3+'s I could hit a shot that was so so, but because it ended up pretty decent I was okay with that. Thinking it over, that's really not going to benefit me nor will it help me get my game to the level I want it to go to.

These irons are not for everyone and they're not what I would call forgiving. But I have to also admit, I'm not the greatest ball striker that has ever lived. I'm probably not even the best ball striker in my house. My game is based on my short game (100 yards in) and that's where I excel and how I shoot pretty decent scores. I mention that because this weekend I hit some shots that were ugly. Some thin, some fat and some nowhere near the sweet spot. That being said, I do believe that the forgiveness factor was excellent. I like that, as I've said before, these don't seem to shoot anywhere near as far off line as my I3+'s do when I miss them. They seem to stick to the path and just die out. I like that.

I hit every club in the bag over the 2 rounds I played this weekend. My scores were 81, 82 which I was happy with considering I didn't hit a Wood or Hybrid throughout the rounds which put me at a disadvantage of course....especially in the chilly/windy weather. But I stuck with the 3 and 4 irons off the tee which allowed me to get in a lot more swings with it than I normally would. I'm happy with how the 3 iron launches and I'm happy with the way it feels as impact. I think the smaller head scares folks to think the sweet spot is going to be so small and tough to hit, but in my head I try to think of it as just giving me much less club face to miss the ball on.

The feel is just excellent with all the irons. Even the mishits, while giving a different feel, is still not awful. There's really not much in terms of sound at impact, but you can really feel that solid, compressed goodness. I wish I had a better word to describe it, but it's just not coming to me right now. When you hit the ball you just get the feeling of "Yes, that is going right where I want it to go and it's gonna be good". A sense of confidence really.

Rough Play

I wanted to highlight the irons out of the rough. I don't play at a fancy country club and with the rain we got last week, everything was a little wet and muddy. The fairways weren't cut and the rough was pretty gnarly. With that being said, I'm happy to report that none of the conditions really had a negative effect on the club. Every time I would come down on the ball the divot was nice. The club never got held up by grass. It went right through with a lot of ease.

On 18 I had a 7 iron in on a ball sitting in the fairway. Now I got a bit anxious and excited and really went down after the ball. I took a divot that was easily a foot long and the ball went no more than 100 yards or so....But it was right online and still in play. It didn't open/close the club face and send the ball shooting to some far off land which was great.

And the workability of the club seemed to be easier than I would have ever thought. One time I was way left about 190 yards out. My only path was to aim about 50 yards right of the green to keep me from catching more trees and pray the ball would stay low and hook. So I closed the club face a bit and took half a punch swing and to my surprise that ball shot out and hooked almost on demand. I thought it was luck so I tried it again with the same exact result. Balls ended up about 20 yards short of the green, less than 5 feet apart. I also purposely hit some draws and fades when it called for it and they seem to come with ease. Just really impressed how workable these clubs have been for me so far.

Overall Play

I wanna say it's the perfect club and I want to tell folks to run out and get them right away. But I can't say that. I can't say that they will improve anyone's game right off the bat. What I will say is that when I have the club in my hand, I'm feeling more confident. I feel like the smaller looking club profile at setup makes me feel like it should be easy to just swing nice and easy and put the ball where I want it to go. I let my dad hit it a few times and he was trying to trade me his new Mizunos. He hit them for about 15 shots and he kept saying the feel and flight was awesome. I never had a time where I thought of going back to my old irons. I never thought that they were too hard to hit. I had a ball flight that was out of this world and a feel that I loved every time. Again, the toe shots were dead and really didn't go anywhere, but that's something you have to live with on mistakes.

As I said in a previous post, I would suggest hitting these clubs just to get a feel for what this type of iron is providing. It's a club that's going to give you instant feedback on your shot, while giving you performance that is better than GI irons on decent to well struck shots. Can't say how excited these clubs make me to get back out there and get swinging again. 36 again next weekend!
 
Can't wait to see these bad boys Saturday!
 
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