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PING i25 Irons - Review Thread

SuperStroke
Golfbuddy;

You will not be sorry for making the change! I switched to them about a month ago and they have revitalized my game. I am back hitting the shots I hit 20 years ago. I play on courses in Texas that are usually hard and fast, so I also have a shallow divot and my typical miss is thin. You will find that the thin miss will cost you about 5-10 yards, but will have a decent trajectory and the accuracy will be dead on. I have played about 15 rounds with them and I am averaging 13 greens per round.
 
Played my 3rd round with the i25's today and still impressed. Been working on a few swing changes so not everything is dialed in perfectly, but when I made a good swing these things are outstanding. They feel better to me than my rocketbladez did when flushed, and distance is very similar. I'm learning on short par 4's I love the i25 4-iron, nice smooth swing and somewhere in the area of 200 every single time. Looking forward to when I get my swing grooved in, I know I'm going to love these more and more by the round. On top of performance, they look awesome staring down at them. Was always a TM homer, but I think I'm now singing a different tune
 
I'm still playing these irons and love them, The MC irons will kick them out of the bag, but until then these are my gamers once again now that I have the right shaft fit. I put the Nippon Modus 3 tour 120's in these and it is just the right fit for me. I was fit for this combo through Club Champion and I had never heard of these shafts until then.
 
WardF said:
I'm still playing these irons and love them, The MC irons will kick them out of the bag, but until then these are my gamers once again now that I have the right shaft fit. I put the Nippon Modus 3 tour 120's in these and it is just the right fit for me. I was fit for this combo through Club Champion and I had never heard of these shafts until then.
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How's the ball flight with the Modus 3?
 
Gaines W said:
Golfbuddy;

You will not be sorry for making the change! I switched to them about a month ago and they have revitalized my game. I am back hitting the shots I hit 20 years ago. I play on courses in Texas that are usually hard and fast, so I also have a shallow divot and my typical miss is thin. You will find that the thin miss will cost you about 5-10 yards, but will have a decent trajectory and the accuracy will be dead on. I have played about 15 rounds with them and I am averaging 13 greens per round.
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Gaines W,

13 greens would not disappoint at all! I'd take 10 actually. I'm fairly long off the tee, and hit a very consistent fade, and very seldom find myself in trouble, but have never been one to dial in with my approaches. I have to get up and down a lot to save a score, and really could benefit from a few more GIRs. I'll have my set in a week or so.
 
Golfbuddy;
Not a very good ball striking day yesterday , with the driver, but still managed 12 GIR's. The 4 iron I just put back in the bag after 10 year absence, is quickly becoming my favorite club in this set. It's about 5 yard shorter than my hybrid, but deadly accurate compared to the hybrid. I have also put the I25 U wedge in the bag replacing the SCOR 50* wedge and I am really starting to like this club around the greens. More initial check and then a nice roll out. Very consistent to chip with. I think the wider sole is the reason as it slides over the closely mown areas around the green a lot better.
 
I absolutely love these irons. The misses aren't too bad and when you hit it well, the all flight is awesome.
 
Gaines W said:
Golfbuddy;
Not a very good ball striking day yesterday , with the driver, but still managed 12 GIR's. The 4 iron I just put back in the bag after 10 year absence, is quickly becoming my favorite club in this set. It's about 5 yard shorter than my hybrid, but deadly accurate compared to the hybrid. I have also put the I25 U wedge in the bag replacing the SCOR 50* wedge and I am really starting to like this club around the greens. More initial check and then a nice roll out. Very consistent to chip with. I think the wider sole is the reason as it slides over the closely mown areas around the green a lot better.
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Gaines W,

Great at to hear.

I just played my last round with my RazrX Forged and cannot wait to get my i25s! My farewell to Callaway was ending my round with 5 pars in a row, and shooting my best round of this young season. Goodbye sweet Callaway...you have been a good friend. But fear not Callaway, my Razr Fit Xtreme and Odyssey Metal X Rossie aren't going anywhere! Lol

I have ordered 4-PW only. I have played Vokey Wedges for the last 10+ years and right now, could not imagine ANY club taking their place...but we'll see. I certainly wouldn't be against a U wedge for sure. I'm going to take it slow, keep my expectations as realistic as I can. As for the 4 iron, I too have been playing a 4 hybrid, and my son of all people, has been trying to get me to put the 4 iron back in the bag. I have read so many great things about the i25 mid and long irons, and I am hoping that my findings will be similar. The idea of being 190-225 out, and having a realistic chance to hit the green, is more than just a little exciting. I cannot wait!
 
I am looking forward to hear how you play with these clubs. I hope they play as well as mine have for me!!
 
ChristopherKee said:
How's the ball flight with the Modus 3?
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Very good dispersion for me--Medium flight for my swing, but I can hit a very high ball when I want. I think the design goal is for lower more controlled flight. I stepped on a couple of shots today--in-between clubs and went with the lower option and stepped on it--very pleased with this shaft and prefer to push it versus taking the longer club and hitting soft. Holds up nicely to an aggressive swing, where some shafts can balloon or get out of control for me.
 
Had a nice range session after work today. Started out on the chipping green and threw half my large bucket of balls down and went at two pins w/ the L wedge. Worked on a few different lies and shots, picked them up and did it again.

After chipping, headed to the range and worked on 90-125 for most of the time, using the S and U. Had the Swing Caddy out and tried to get distances dialed in.

Last dozen or so, took out the 5i and had some very nice shots. Still can't get over how nice it is to be able to hit these long irons.
 
WardF said:
Holds up nicely to an aggressive swing, where some shafts can balloon or get out of control for me.
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That's pretty much what you want out of a shaft :act-up:

I had the opportunity to play 9 with a guy over the weekend who was playing the PING i20's with KBS Tour shafts. We were shot for shot all day leaving the ball right next to each other. It was fun seeing how similar his ball flight with KBS was to mine with CFS shafts. Oddly enough we both were about 6'2 with same club specs.

It was a good opportunity to see the PING i20's in action vs the i25's. The i25's defiantly were superior in the 3 and 4 iron. My ball flight was much higher and softer. 6 down we were hitting shots very identical so I would say equal.

In the end, I doubled the par 3's, birdied a couple par 4's and ended up a stroke down. I did however get him a couple times with the driver, PING G25 was superior to his Callaway RAZR Fit Xtreme! GO PING!!!
 
ChristopherKee said:
That's pretty much what you want out of a shaft :act-up:

I had the opportunity to play 9 with a guy over the weekend who was playing the PING i20's with KBS Tour shafts. We were shot for shot all day leaving the ball right next to each other. It was fun seeing how similar his ball flight with KBS was to mine with CFS shafts. Oddly enough we both were about 6'2 with same club specs.

It was a good opportunity to see the PING i20's in action vs the i25's. The i25's defiantly were superior in the 3 and 4 iron. My ball flight was much higher and softer. 6 down we were hitting shots very identical so I would say equal.

In the end, I doubled the par 3's, birdied a couple par 4's and ended up a stroke down. I did however get him a couple times with the driver, PING G25 was superior to his Callaway RAZR Fit Xtreme! GO PING!!!
Click to expand...

I still have my i20's and may keep them as a backup set, but U-6 I had similar performance maybe slight different feel, but the I would not hesitate to recommend the i20 to someone on a budget for picking up a quality used set.
 
I had a playing lesson today, and two solid iron shots stuck out. Of course, with the I25's.

Playing a beat-up ProV1, fyi. So beaten, in fact, that one side of the ball has no more Titleist or number on it.

Spun a 7 iron back 4 feet on a 165 approach shot.
Dropped a 205 yd 4 iron onto a par three green, 15 ft of roll out.

Should have taken photos.
 
Spivey said:
I had a playing lesson today, and two solid iron shots stuck out. Of course, with the I25's.

Playing a beat-up ProV1, fyi. So beaten, in fact, that one side of the ball has no more Titleist or number on it.

Spun a 7 iron back 4 feet on a 165 approach shot.
Dropped a 205 yd 4 iron onto a par three green, 15 ft of roll out.

Should have taken photos.
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Solid numbers and results there man. Though not as long as you, have very similar results from my i25s too.. I doubt anything pulls them from the bag for quite some time.
 
Well, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news? I just received my i25 irons today. Nippon NS Pro 950 shafts, red dot, 4-PW...they are nicer in person, than in any pics. Yes, I went with a lighter weight steel...I have owned other clubs with Nippons in them, and love the flight and feel. The bad news? I can't go to the range until tomorrow:-( I can't wait!

Maybe I should call in sick...
 
Golfbuddy said:
Well, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news? I just received my i25 irons today. Nippon NS Pro 950 shafts, red dot, 4-PW...they are nicer in person, than in any pics. Yes, I went with a lighter weight steel...I have owned other clubs with Nippons in them, and love the flight and feel. The bad news? I can't go to the range until tomorrow:-( I can't wait!

Maybe I should call in sick...
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I consider calling in sick about once a week so I can get mine on the course as well.. :)
 
I struggled to find my swing yesterday but only one shot got me.in trouble with the irons. The forgiveness is very impressive.

Tap Tap Taparoo
 
Finally have the x forged irons close to being done after a lot of lead tape. Hoping to get some real tests done between the two over the weekend as well as comparing the shafts.

As far as the last few rounds with them these clubs really showed their forgiveness. I had to hit a few improvised shots and was never disappointed with the results ( best was hitting a punch cut 4 iron through two trees about 50 yards after calling the shot)

Tap Tap Taparoo
 
Well, I made it to the range today...my first session (120 balls) with my new i25 irons! I was really trying to keep down all expectations, but I have to admit that it was difficult to do, giving all the rave reviews here. So let me give my 2 cents, and maybe it will help a few people, like many here have been helpful to me. My first impressions:

After stretching a little, I started with my PW (W), as I always do when practicing. A few things struck me immediately.

1) It was very easy to know exactly where the club head was at all times through my swings. If my timing got off even slightly, I could feel it even before I hit the ball. Plus, since playing golf to a large extent, is adapting and adjusting, it is easier to make slight adjustments during a round or practice session, when you can feel the club head throughout the swing. As noted earlier, I have stiff Nippon NS Pro 950 shafts, and I'm sure that they played a big part of the feel that I'm describing.
...Oh, and as a side note, anyone who says Nippon play soft to flex, or compared to TT DG at least, doesn't jive with my experience at all. The Nippons feel a little more "cushioned" for sure, but certainly shouldn't be confused with being soft, mushy, or inconsistent. I could go at it as soft or hard as I wanted, and never felt that I lost my desired trajectory or intended distance. And I didn't leave the range needing to take 800 mg of Advil either.

2) Boy oh boy, these irons are forgiving. My misses are nearly always a little thin and/or towards the toe, and those misses carried to at least 90% of my best shots. That means to me, that if just a few shots per round, carry a hazard, or find the green, when not purely hit, we are talking about saving strokes and scoring better. All clubs today are going to perform when you are striking them perfectly, but how do the clubs perform when you aren't? These Pings are amazingly forgiving. almost feels like cheating - haha.

I worked my way through the entire set. The short irons are incredibly accurate. I hit 25-30 balls with the 8 iron, and you could have thrown a blanket over more than half of those shots...including the previously mentioned thin misses. I am not exaggerating. Of course being a progressive set, the longer the irons get, the more Ping has increased size and offset. This was probably my biggest concern before today, since I have played forged irons for many years, and have always loved the traditional blade size and shape. But the offset really disappears in playing them. Shots didn't balloon at all, and I wasn't fighting any hooks at all. Not one hook. In fact, if any shape at all, the ball was falling just a tad right, which is exactly what I prefer.

I found the i25s to be a little longer than my RazrX forged, on my best swings. But again, because of the forgiveness factor, on les than my best, these Pings are a different world. I can certainly see situations where after a pretty big miss, my playing partners would not have any clue of how badly I missed, because the flight and distance would be so close to pure shots. These i25s are easier to hit off the turf, than my RazR X are from off a tee. Almost feels like cheating again.

I have 1 more practice session tomorrow, and then I'll be on the course for 18 on Sunday afternoon. More to come...
 
Golfbuddy said:
Well, I made it to the range today...my first session (120 balls) with my new i25 irons! I was really trying to keep down all expectations, but I have to admit that it was difficult to do, giving all the rave reviews here. So let me give my 2 cents, and maybe it will help a few people, like many here have been helpful to me. My first impressions:

After stretching a little, I started with my PW (W), as I always do when practicing. A few things struck me immediately.

1) It was very easy to know exactly where the club head was at all times through my swings. If my timing got off even slightly, I could feel it even before I hit the ball. Plus, since playing golf to a large extent, is adapting and adjusting, it is easier to make slight adjustments during a round or practice session, when you can feel the club head throughout the swing. As noted earlier, I have stiff Nippon NS Pro 950 shafts, and I'm sure that they played a big part of the feel that I'm describing.
...Oh, and as a side note, anyone who says Nippon play soft to flex, or compared to TT DG at least, doesn't jive with my experience at all. The Nippons feel a little more "cushioned" for sure, but certainly shouldn't be confused with being soft, mushy, or inconsistent. I could go at it as soft or hard as I wanted, and never felt that I lost my desired trajectory or intended distance. And I didn't leave the range needing to take 800 mg of Advil either.

2) Boy oh boy, these irons are forgiving. My misses are nearly always a little thin and/or towards the toe, and those misses carried to at least 90% of my best shots. That means to me, that if just a few shots per round, carry a hazard, or find the green, when not purely hit, we are talking about saving strokes and scoring better. All clubs today are going to perform when you are striking them perfectly, but how do the clubs perform when you aren't? These Pings are amazingly forgiving. almost feels like cheating - haha.

I worked my way through the entire set. The short irons are incredibly accurate. I hit 25-30 balls with the 8 iron, and you could have thrown a blanket over more than half of those shots...including the previously mentioned thin misses. I am not exaggerating. Of course being a progressive set, the longer the irons get, the more Ping has increased size and offset. This was probably my biggest concern before today, since I have played forged irons for many years, and have always loved the traditional blade size and shape. But the offset really disappears in playing them. Shots didn't balloon at all, and I wasn't fighting any hooks at all. Not one hook. In fact, if any shape at all, the ball was falling just a tad right, which is exactly what I prefer.

I found the i25s to be a little longer than my RazrX forged, on my best swings. But again, because of the forgiveness factor, on les than my best, these Pings are a different world. I can certainly see situations where after a pretty big miss, my playing partners would not have any clue of how badly I missed, because the flight and distance would be so close to pure shots. These i25s are easier to hit off the turf, than my RazR X are from off a tee. Almost feels like cheating again.

I have 1 more practice session tomorrow, and then I'll be on the course for 18 on Sunday afternoon. More to come...
Click to expand...

I love reading how people are blown away from these when they first start hitting them. I remember my first range session with them and man the smiles kept coming! Look foward to the next review.
 
Yesterday, Sunday afternoon, I played my first 18 holes with my new i25 irons. After warming up on the range, aprx 60 balls, me and my 13 year old son headed out. It was time to lay asside all the talk, all the dreams, all the reviews, and just play.

I shot my best round of the season, an 81, from the back tees, at my local club, but it was mainly due to having a great day off the tee, and scrambling like a mad man. To be fair, my new irons had some, but not a lot to do with the score. Did I hit any terrific memorable shots? Yes, 1 off the top of my head...A double dog leg, 600 yard par 5, afte a good drive, and a poor 2nd, I found myself 194 out, with water to carry about 175. I innitially grabbed my 5, but my son reminded me 2 things: that there is a landing short - just across the water and that if I went long I was dead. So I went with the 6, a little thin and towards the toe (of course), but it got up quickly, and landed pretty softly on the fringe. NICE!

I'm finding the distance to be about normal, and much better than normal when not hitting them pure. It was pretty easy for me to dial in the 6-W, but it will take some time with the 4 and 5. The longer irons are so much lighter than what I am used to. If you are coming from game improvent/distance irons, I would say that the transition would not be much, but coming from heavier irons, you'll need to make slight adjustments. I'm not dissapointed in the least, Ijust know that how I hit them Sunday is not necessarily how I will hit next Sunday.

After warming up on the range, and then playing 18, I had absolutely no joint pain either. Which was a very important part of my reasoning to make a switch. I'll be practicing 2-3 times this week again, to see how I progress.
 
Golfbuddy:
In the coming weeks and months you will see a steady improvement as you become more confident with the I-25's. Where I see the most improvement is when I have one of those bad ball striking days. Pre-I25 irons on a bad ball striking day I would average around 9 greens per round and around 12 on a good day. Those averages have changed quite a bit now with 11 on a bad day and 14 to 15 gir's on a good day. I might(maybe) be about a half a club longer, but the accuracy is the main thing and also the way the ball checks up when it hits the green.
 
Gaines W said:
Golfbuddy:
In the coming weeks and months you will see a steady improvement as you become more confident with the I-25's. Where I see the most improvement is when I have one of those bad ball striking days. Pre-I25 irons on a bad ball striking day I would average around 9 greens per round and around 12 on a good day. Those averages have changed quite a bit now with 11 on a bad day and 14 to 15 gir's on a good day. I might(maybe) be about a half a club longer, but the accuracy is the main thing and also the way the ball checks up when it hits the green.
Click to expand...


My irons have never been my strong suit. Quite honestly, I'm tired of hitting great tee shot after great tee shot, and missing a green from 165 and in. There simply is no reason to only hit 3-7 GIRs per round. My first round with these Pings, I hit 8, which for me is pretty good. I'll be dodging bad weather the next few days, but I'll be out working getting used to them.
 
I need a little more fade and lower ball flight out of my 6-PW. I'm going to demo some Ping s55 irons to see if they can bring my ball flight down and give me more fade vs my i25's. Any thoughts?
 
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