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From one extreme to another...CG16's to S56's...

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Titleistforlife

Titleistforlife

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A little background...I've been playing Pings for the last 26 years. In fact, I have not owned another brand of irons since 1984. This year I decided to think outside the box and try the Cleveland CG 16's. I thought maybe I was ready for Game Improvement Irons. I played them for a couple weeks in Arizona and Florida and decided I couldn't get used to looking down at that fat line and chunky club, even though I played alright with them. Along with that, I just missed my Pings.

While in Florida I hit quite a few different sets of irons and when I came home I decided to order up Ping S56's. I was really torn between these and the forged Ping Ansers. Today, with snow flakes in the air and the wind blowing 30 mph I gave the S56's a test drive.

The first thing I noticed was that these irons are a solid club length shorter than anything I've owned before. Once I made that adjustment things went fairly well considering the conditions. The clubs do punish you a little when you miss, but appear to be more forgiving than the S58's were. I've never owned a more "workable" iron. Even with the shorter irons, I was able to easily fade or draw the ball. I wouldn't mind a little more beef on my longer irons, but will have to make due.

In summary, the jury is still out on the S56's. In the back of my mind I am thinking maybe I should've got the Ansers, but I will at least give these until the end of the summer, then, see what Ping comes up with for late 2011/2012. I just don't know if I am good enough to game these irons or not.

The highlight of the day came on No. 8, a 158 yard Par 3. I hit a 7 iron that disappeared on the fly into the hole and then a second later came flying back out like someone threw it out of the hole. The ball ended up on the fringe some 20 ft. away. Oh well, what fun is a hole-in-one with no witnesses. :golf3:
 
and before someone makes a comment about my handle being "titleistforlife" and gaming Pings....I am a huge Scotty Cameron Putter fan and Pro VIx guy. I only state this because everytime I post about being a Ping Fanboy someone comments on the handle... :)
 
Im in the minority I think in that I did not care much for the S series from Ping this last year. Nothing wrong with them really, just felt as though there were better options for my game. Im wondering if since you are partial to Ping irons, you are used to that sound that they give off and translate to feel. That would make a lot of sense in your findings.

So looking forward to THP Demo Day and getting feedback from everybody as they hit all of the irons side by side.

Looking forward to following your journey with these.
 
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JB said:
Im in the minority I think in that I did not care much for the S series from Ping this last year. Nothing wrong with them really, just felt as though there were better options for my game. Im wondering if since you are partial to Ping irons, you are used to that sound that they give off and translate to feel. That would make a lot of sense in your findings.

So looking forward to THP Demo Day and getting feedback from everybody as they hit all of the irons side by side.
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Me too, cant wait to hear what everybody thinks about all the clubs. I like the looks of the S56 but didnt really like the feel
 
Good luck with your Ping's. I hope they work out well for you. I shared some range space with a dude who had the anser forged irons and my gawd are they good looking outside in the sun.

tapatalk: even available for lefties!
 
Good purchase! I love my 58's but honestly cannot compare them to anything else because these are the only irons I've ever tried.
 
What you do with the clevelands?
 
That sure is a extreme change. Good luck with the the Pings. I love the look of them but love the feel and performance of the CG's too.
 
The change was not as extreme as it seems as I used i15's all of last year. The Cleveland's were a two week journey to Dove Mountain, then to all of the Sawgrass area courses and like I said...I hit them ok, but just hated the look. My club guy is an old college buddy, so he treated me very fair on trading back the Clevelands. He told me he'd never let me buy anything but Ping again though!

I'll be curious to see what everyone's opinions are of iron offerings this year at THP Demo Daze. There are some great choices this year.

JB...I've played Pings so long, nothing else ever feels quite right.

And by the way...That spitting snow from earlier today has turned into an all out Blizzard! Some areas have got 10 inches on the ground! So much for the 10:30 tee time tomorrow. As of today, we have officially had 9 months of snow here this year. Makes for a short golf season. Time to start looking at houses in AZ.
 
I went the other direction. Nike Blades to CG16 Tours. Good luck with your new sticks.
 
Before I bought the regular CG 16's, the CG 16 Tours and Taylor Made Burner 2.0's were in the running. Had I bought one of those two, I'd probably still own them. In fact the other three guys in my regular four some all bought the Burner 2.0's. It is very difficult up here...For one, when the new stuff comes out we are still up to our eye balls in snow, so you go to the pro shop and hit off the mat and watch the launch monitor. There are few if any demo days in this state, so the best option is to wait until spring hits and try to talk the pro shop into letting you hit the clubs you are interested in outside with tape on the faces. Then, you make your decision and about the time you are getting used to the new clubs, fall is here and snow is starting to fall again. Did I mention the Pro SHops are all two hours away?

My wife has been begging for a place in Arizona the past couple years...I am sooo close to making that happen...
 
Titleistforlife said:
The change was not as extreme as it seems as I used i15's all of last year. The Cleveland's were a two week journey to Dove Mountain, then to all of the Sawgrass area courses and like I said...I hit them ok, but just hated the look. My club guy is an old college buddy, so he treated me very fair on trading back the Clevelands. He told me he'd never let me buy anything but Ping again though!

I'll be curious to see what everyone's opinions are of iron offerings this year at THP Demo Daze. There are some great choices this year.

JB...I've played Pings so long, nothing else ever feels quite right.

And by the way...That spitting snow from earlier today has turned into an all out Blizzard! Some areas have got 10 inches on the ground! So much for the 10:30 tee time tomorrow. As of today, we have officially had 9 months of snow here this year. Makes for a short golf season. Time to start looking at houses in AZ.
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The S series was at last years demo day as well, so there is a ton of feedback on them in last years Ping demo day thread. Good luck with them.
 
Update: I've had a chance to play the S56's a couple full rounds. I am struggling with the long irons, but hitting 7-PW very well. I picked up a set of lightly used Ansers that I am going to also play before deciding which one's to game this year. Maybe even a "blended" set, time will tell. I want to like the S56's but I need to be able to hit 4-6 as good as I am hitting 7-PW.
 
Titleistforlife said:
cut

My wife has been begging for a place in Arizona the past couple years...I am sooo close to making that happen...
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I grew up in Arizona, if you go there I would recommend you look into some of the cooler areas like Prescott and Sedona, among others, Phoenix and to be honest anywhere down in the lower third of the state is just so hot for 8 months out of the year. I wanted to ask you a question if you don't mind about the Pings. Any ideas as to what it is about the S56 that makes the longer irons harder to hit? I usually hit long irons really well so I am curious wether that would matter or not, everybody has different strengths.
 
I usually love the mid-long irons as well...but, it just seems if I take a divot I hit them a little chunky and if I don't, I hit it thin. There's a lot less club here than what I've been used to, so it may just take some range time. Just feels like I really have to work hard with the longer irons on these s 56's to hit a good shot...

As far as AZ goes, we are looking at the Mesa area. We'd be spending time from January until March there, which should be your cooler months. Mesa is just real handy to get to from here unlike other warm weather destinations. With Allegiant Airlines we can be in Mesa in a couple hours direct from here.
 
Titleistforlife said:
I usually love the mid-long irons as well...but, it just seems if I take a divot I hit them a little chunky and if I don't, I hit it thin. There's a lot less club here than what I've been used to, so it may just take some range time. Just feels like I really have to work hard with the longer irons on these s 56's to hit a good shot...

As far as AZ goes, we are looking at the Mesa area. We'd be spending time from January until March there, which should be your cooler months. Mesa is just real handy to get to from here unlike other warm weather destinations. With Allegiant Airlines we can be in Mesa in a couple hours direct from here.
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Mesa is nice, Chandler and that area is near there and nice also. The Sonora desert is one of the most beautiful places on earth in the early spring when the cactus are blooming, really about the only thing I miss about Arizona living here in Texas is the desert. Sounds like you are going to be there at the right time.
 
Here's a little update for those that care...The S56's are getting better each time I play them, however, I don't like the fact that I am a whole club shorter with them vs. my i 15's. Also, they continue to punish me if I don't hit them just right especially the long irons. I picked up a set of Ansers on the "e" site last week and hit them today...I THINK I'M IN LOVE!!!! Haven't felt this good about a set of irons in a long time. Got my distance back, a bit more forgiving and they look fantasic in the sun! CAn't wait to put in a full round with them. Gonna hang on to the S56's until I am sure, but these are two pretty nice irons to be comparing. Now if I could just settle on a putter, I'd be set.
 
I'm currently using the Ping S56. I can't get enough of them to be honest, I've been really impressed so far.

I finally traded in an ancient, crappy set of of Hippos and bought the Taylormade Burner 2.0s sometime last year. I was never really happy with them though. I didn't like the amount of offset and a lot of my strikes had a 'slap-bang' kind of sound to them.

My coach suggested I try out some irons with less offset, so we had a lengthy trackman session. Tried out pretty much everything - Mizuno MP58, 53, 63, the new Taylormades (MB, CB), Bridgestone J38, Titleist AP2 etc. Of the lot I liked the Ping's the best. In terms of performance I can't really say that there were major differences across the different irons. The 53/63 and S56 had the best 'feel', although that's probably more down to the sound (I was also using a KBS shaft in these - a shaft that I'm a big fan of). Ultimately went S56 because of one thing that stood out - the speed the ball was coming off the face. The energy transfer seems pretty nice on these irons.

No these don't out-distance the Burner 2.0s (in fact I think the TC is right when he says they are about a club shorter). But I'd rather have a higher percentage of shots hit flush and more accuracy than the extra yardage.

The Ansers looked nice. I didn't bother hitting them though - no amount of performance justifies the $$$
 
Absolutely love the s56's - best irons I've ever hit by far.
 
I demoed both the S56 and the Anser Forged. Personally I liked the S56 better. I hit the Anser's really high, and I didn't like the larger sole. But at the same time I also struggled with the 4/5 irons in the s56 set.
 
The saga continues: For those following this flight (or plight)...I sent he Ansers away to have the lie adjusted to 2.0 upright, so the S56's are getting some time. The more I play them the more I like them. Last night I did a little test with a buddies Burner 2.0's. I hit my drive and from the drive, I hit one ball with the S56's and one ball with the Burner 2.0...The results: Shot a solid 38 with the S56's and a scrambling 38 with the Burner 2.0's! In fact I had to make a 20 footer on the last hole with the 2.0's to make it a tie.

The reason for this little test was that ALL of my golfing buddies have gone to the Taylor Made 2.0's and are raving about them, so I'd thought I'd give them a try. They were ok, but they weren't for me. I am going to do this same little test when the Ansers get back in my hands and make some kind of decision on whether to game the S56's or the Ansers for the summer. These S56's are growing on me.

THe ONLY thing that bothers me with the S56's right now is the fact that I am a full club to club and a half shorter than normal with these things! Also not sure about the shaft. My fitter put me into the AWT STiff. The Ansers have the 5.5 Project X and I think I prefer that shaft. Does anyone know how ping would treat me to adjusting the loft and changing out the shaft? Or would I be better off to trade them in for the specs I am looking for? I want to be done tinkering and just play, but I am really picky about my irons.
 
I meant to note also, the long irons are starting to come around with the S56's. They seem to like my wrists being in a higher position for some reason. Once I figured that out, the 4 and 5 iron have been flawless. In fact the distance has even come around with the 4 and 5 iron, maybe a half club shorter than normal. Still a club shorter with 6-pw though.
 
OK...Final Chapter here...I've been playing the S56's two to three times a week and I am starting to LOVE them. The Ansers will not see any action, any time soon. Everytime I play with the S56's they get better. Tonight I had a round that should have easily broke 70 but my poor putting from 6-8 feet left me with a +1 73. My iron shots were spot on. I had 12 birdie putts from 6-12 feet and made 3. Four bogies in the round with two of those being three putts. Had I putted even average tonight, I would've broke 70. 31 putts for a 73...YIKES. The S56's took some time, but they have won me over. Now, if only I could settle on a putter...
 
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