PING s55 Iron - Review Thread

[sposey013168]

I was able to get out the course yesterday to play. This was good as it was the first chance I have to play in SW Missouri wind. Wind was blowing steady at 25 mph.
My fear was the high ball flight I have with these irons was going to kick my tail. But again I was very surprised. The wind did not effect me yesterday any more than it would have when I had my DPC's and they had lower ball flight. I really can not explain that, but these fought the wind very well even with the high flight.

I did more chipping with these again yesterday, I love chipping with them. The feel and the head size give me a ton of confidence chipping. It is nice to be able to leave the 60 in the bag and chip with an 8 iron. Unless I have to carry something the s55 8 iron is my new go to chipper. I can hit a bump and run or a couple hops and slow down real easy with these.

I hit the 4 iron 4 different times yesterday and each time with great results. Hit it once off the tee on a Par 4 in a cross wind, it held its line good and finished in the fairway 215 yards from the tee box. Hit it 3 times off the deck out of the fairway. All 3 shots came out good. One shot I did my typical toe miss and it was still in the fairway and traveled about 190 yards.

Without a doubt these are my new gamers. They give me a ton of confidence and I feel like I am going to make a good swing every time I pick them up. Between the looks and the feel they just fit me perfect.

The irony is, I have never been a ping guy before this. But man am I hooked now!!!!!! Ping has hit a homerun with these!!!!

 

[tequila4kapp]

Great report Shane. Glad to see you found a new gamer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

 

[ddec]

Nice Shane. I am working on some stuff from my latest journey with these.

 

[dcbrad]

Here's a question I have for testers. The little time I have spent with club tech I have heard people not liking certain GI irons because of the inconsistency with distances. Sometimes you may be able to hit your 6i 180 and other times it flies 195 with an especially pure shot. I've read where some players like more of a player's iron because of the consistency they have with distances. With companies beginning to blur the lines between players and game improvement irons, is that distance consistency seem to be the same or do you see that as a problem as companies add more forgiveness to player's irons?

My question, in a nutshell, is do you see the same consistency, distance-wise, as you have with other company's players irons?

Hopefully that thought line is clear.

 

[ddec]

Good question Brad. I think these show really good consistency when hit in the middle of the face. I haven't seen any of those real jumpers that you might see with some other irons out there. Consistency wise I think they stack up pretty well with the DPC's which is more a GE iron.

 

[IceyShanks]

Did I see these in Harris English's bag???

 

[ddec]

Did I see these in Harris English's bag???

I believe he switched during the FedEx Cup

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

Testers- can you speak to the long irons and ease of use? I know Jman commented on them a while back. I know for me this area is something I am looking into in the near future for my next sets.

 

[dhartmann34]

Testers- can you speak to the long irons and ease of use? I know Jman commented on them a while back. I know for me this area is something I am looking into in the near future for my next sets.

Wicked,

From my rounds with the long irons, I can tell you a few things. One, as we stated before, they are still a 'players like' club and they're not as easy as hitting a hybrid. That being said, when I hit them off the tee (which I did a lot because a few of the rounds I left my driver, 3W and hybrids in the trunk so I could hit my long irons a lot) they were crisp, flew high and long. Swinging them felt a lot easier than most long irons I've previously hit and if I missed it a bit either way, I didn't see the 'spray' I feel I normally get with a driver, 3W or hybrid. Really like that they stayed online.

Off the turf, I felt they were very much the same as off the tee. I found the club would sweep right through the grass and make fairly crisp contact. I LOVE that if I ended up hitting it fat, which I think normally would have resulted in an 80 yard shot, the club seemed to go right through and still put fairly good contact and distance on the ball. Not that fat shots don't still happen.....But in my rounds, it seemed like the iron (3-PW) would go right through the rough/fairway without much resistence.

My biggest surprise was again the height I get off the 3 & 4 irons. I honestly can't remember ever hitting anything as high with as much ease as I have these. If you're putting a halfway decent swing on the ball, I truly believe you'll get good results out of these....Which I think is great just for the plain fact that getting up over a ball with confidence and trust in a club will give you much better results than getting up over a ball and having no faith in what is about to happen.

In my opinion the long irons are easier to hit than those I've hit before. They launch the ball and stay on line. I couldn't ask for much more.

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

Wicked,

From my rounds with the long irons, I can tell you a few things. One, as we stated before, they are still a 'players like' club and they're not as easy as hitting a hybrid. That being said, when I hit them off the tee (which I did a lot because a few of the rounds I left my driver, 3W and hybrids in the trunk so I could hit my long irons a lot) they were crisp, flew high and long. Swinging them felt a lot easier than most long irons I've previously hit and if I missed it a bit either way, I didn't see the 'spray' I feel I normally get with a driver, 3W or hybrid. Really like that they stayed online.

Off the turf, I felt they were very much the same as off the tee. I found the club would sweep right through the grass and make fairly crisp contact. I LOVE that if I ended up hitting it fat, which I think normally would have resulted in an 80 yard shot, the club seemed to go right through and still put fairly good contact and distance on the ball. Not that fat shots don't still happen.....But in my rounds, it seemed like the iron (3-PW) would go right through the rough/fairway without much resistence.

My biggest surprise was again the height I get off the 3 & 4 irons. I honestly can't remember ever hitting anything as high with as much ease as I have these. If you're putting a halfway decent swing on the ball, I truly believe you'll get good results out of these....Which I think is great just for the plain fact that getting up over a ball with confidence and trust in a club will give you much better results than getting up over a ball and having no faith in what is about to happen.

In my opinion the long irons are easier to hit than those I've hit before. They launch the ball and stay on line. I couldn't ask for much more.

Do you think that your success with these long irons will change your bag set up or shot selection process in the future? Thanks so much for the info by the way.

 

[sposey013168]

I have had that same experience dhartman has had. Off tee they are fantastic. if you look at my early post you will see I really liked the 4 iron off the deck as well. I would these are a tad less forgiving than the long irons in my old DPC's, but not much plus I get a much better feedback. I like the 3 and 4 iron in these so much that I have shelved my mizuno MP-4h.
Now with all that being said, long irons have always been a strong part of my game.

Testers- can you speak to the long irons and ease of use? I know Jman commented on them a while back. I know for me this area is something I am looking into in the near future for my next sets.

 

[sposey013168]

The consistency is excellent with these, pure shots are spot on distance.

Here's a question I have for testers. The little time I have spent with club tech I have heard people not liking certain GI irons because of the inconsistency with distances. Sometimes you may be able to hit your 6i 180 and other times it flies 195 with an especially pure shot. I've read where some players like more of a player's iron because of the consistency they have with distances. With companies beginning to blur the lines between players and game improvement irons, is that distance consistency seem to be the same or do you see that as a problem as companies add more forgiveness to player's irons?

My question, in a nutshell, is do you see the same consistency, distance-wise, as you have with other company's players irons?

Hopefully that thought line is clear.

 

[dhartmann34]

Do you think that your success with these long irons will change your bag set up or shot selection process in the future? Thanks so much for the info by the way.

I think I'll be hitting the 3 and 4 much more often than I was before. The S55 head size and feel gives me more confidence. And if I can step on a tee box with a 3 iron and know that I have room to miss a bit and still have good direction, I'm going to go with that over a hybrid that doesn't stay as online when I miss it. From the fairway, I think the irons will always allow me to be more confident when I need to hit a precise shot (maybe water, hazard or something makes it tight) and anything that can get rid of indecisiveness from my game will make a huge difference.

And honestly no matter what we say, you know that you have to go hit the clubs and see how they feel to you. I will tell you that the feel and flight will make you smile.

 

[sposey013168]

Same here, on a short par 4 it will be the s55 3 or 4 iron every time. If I do have my toe miss they still get out far enough to have a chance on the hole. And they do not balloon like a hybrid or 3 wood can at times.

I think I'll be hitting the 3 and 4 much more often than I was before. The S55 head size and feel gives me more confidence. And if I can step on a tee box with a 3 iron and know that I have room to miss a bit and still have good direction, I'm going to go with that over a hybrid that doesn't stay as online when I miss it. From the fairway, I think the irons will always allow me to be more confident when I need to hit a precise shot (maybe water, hazard or something makes it tight) and anything that can get rid of indecisiveness from my game will make a huge difference.

And honestly no matter what we say, you know that you have to go hit the clubs and see how they feel to you. I will tell you that the feel and flight will make you smile.

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

Next question- have you found a "go to iron" or one that you are more comfortable with others? I know for me, usually it is my 7. I feel like I can hit any shot I need with that club. Thoughts on this?

 

[dhartmann34]

Next question- have you found a "go to iron" or one that you are more comfortable with others? I know for me, usually it is my 7. I feel like I can hit any shot I need with that club. Thoughts on this?

With this set, it's been my PW. The club has been money for me from 100-130 yards so far. I have to also remind you that it's pretty cold right now (30-45 degrees) so the ball isn't traveling as far as normal which is the reason for the big gap in distance. But the club has just been so spot on for me and I'm loving it. Those shots within 125 yards are what make and break me.

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

With this set, it's been my PW. The club has been money for me from 100-130 yards so far. I have to also remind you that it's pretty cold right now (30-45 degrees) so the ball isn't traveling as far as normal which is the reason for the big gap in distance. But the club has just been so spot on for me and I'm loving it. Those shots within 125 yards are what make and break me.

Really good point. I think they make or break most of us.

 

[dhartmann34]

Really good point. I think they make or break most of us.

This is true....I struggle with my driver/3w so much that I'm usually scrambling for pars quite a bit. drp3434 can tell you if I couldn't play from 125 yards in, I'd be shooting 100! ha.

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

This is true....I struggle with my driver/3w so much that I'm usually scrambling for pars quite a bit. drp3434 can tell you if I couldn't play from 125 yards in, I'd be shooting 100! ha.

I think this is true for many of us in the 6-10 range. It is huge however that your $ club is your PW in this set.

 

[sposey013168]

I love the short irons in these, but my go to club is the 6 iron, it has been money for me!

Next question- have you found a "go to iron" or one that you are more comfortable with others? I know for me, usually it is my 7. I feel like I can hit any shot I need with that club. Thoughts on this?

 

[sposey013168]

I think our games are pretty similar. If you get a chance to hit these do it, but trust me, you will buy them if you do.
Every round I get more and more impressed with these irons, kind of funny for a guy who never had been a ping fan i the past, but I am converted now!

I think this is true for many of us in the 6-10 range. It is huge however that your $ club is your PW in this set.

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

I think our games are pretty similar. If you get a chance to hit these do it, but trust me, you will buy them if you do.
Every round I get more and more impressed with these irons, kind of funny for a guy who never had been a ping fan i the past, but I am converted now!

Awesome news. I continue to be impressed with PING. These really seem to be following along the same lines as the S56's. But better .

 

[sposey013168]

I never hit the S56's but after researching I think you are correct. They took the good things of the s56 and added more technology and hit a home run with the s55. If we ever run into each other at a THP event you can hit mine

Awesome news. I continue to be impressed with PING. These really seen to be following along the same lines as the S56's. But better .

 

[Wicked Cool Bearded Man]

I never hit the S56's but after researching I think you are correct. They took the good things of the s56 and added more technology and hit a home run with the s55. If we ever run into each other at a THP event you can hit mine

Thanks for the offer bro. I'd love to tee it up with you and compare notes

 

[i-Guy]

DANG "The Hackers Paradise" testers and PING for the S55 irons...

I had recently put the XHP irons (see sig but not for long) back in the bag and was anticpating putting Apex Pro irons in the bag after the 1st of the year based on everything I read and the pictures I have seen...truth be known I have bounced around over the last couple of years with many different irons (even very recently) but have always been a "huge" PING fan (still own multiple PING shirts, visors, backpack, divot tool, etc...) And actually I drove by their facitility in Arizona once and could kill myself for not at least doing the tour...but had other vacation plans...oh well!

Anyway I have read through this thread over the first couple of days this week and based on the excellent "down to earth" reviews I just got more and more interested in these irons as I went along. SO last night I go by my local EW (yeah they are still in business) and what do they have on the wall...you guessed it...a set of S55 irons.

So I sit there and drool over them for a while...used a PING towel to wipe it up before I walked away...just thought it was the right thing to do and head over to the simulator but I dont see a S55 demo anywhere??? Dang...so I pick up a FG Tour V2 (KBST) 7 iron and start swinging...hitting it pretty good tonight and eventually warm up (54 yrs old) to my 7 iron distances (avg 155)...so then one of the store guys comes up and I ask "can I tape up the S55 7 iron and hit it?"...he kind of gives me that ESD (Eat Shxx and Die) look and shuffles around in the demo's and finds the S55 demo (Blue dot...CFS, stiff)...SWEET!!!

So I set up and immediately love the look at address...and believe me I have had every type of club in the bag from G15's to Titleist ZM blades (years ago) but I have always liked the look of a blade type iron but over the last few years have been buying into the whole GI idea that a GI club will make my game better or make the game more enjoyable??? Anyway I set up and put a good swing on the first one and look up and it went 171...I am like WTF...so I set up again and it goes 168...172...167...169...etc...I mean I had to catch one on the toe to get below 160...NO WAY...the only thing I can assume is that this shaft / head combo just "friggin" works for me...so then I go and pull the 3 iron off the rack and set it down and immediately I am thinking I can hit this...and also thinking what I just saw with the 7 iron is that I should not have a problem getting this in the air (plus I love hitting mid/long irons).

So needless to say thanks again to "The Hackers Paradise" testers and PING as I am putting a plan together to trade my current setup and game the S55 irons (3-PW)...going back to PING is not a bad thing...and one wierd thing that appeals to me about the PING company in general is that it was established in 1959...the year I was born...a match made in heaven as they say...LMAO!!!