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Ping K15 Driver Review

SuperStroke
doctorjedi said:
Do you lead tape your xhot after you cut it?
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No. I personally haven't had many issues with swing weight. I have cut a number of drivers down without issue.

Full disclosure though, my XHot has a heavier shaft than the stock PXV. It is already different from a swing weight perspective.

I don't know if it is true, but I have read that the stock TFC in the K15 is counterbalanced. I'd like to get a solid answer on that as it could be the stuff of golf board urban legend. If true then cutting down the K15 should have less SW impact.
 
ryebread said:
No. I personally haven't had many issues with swing weight. I have cut a number of drivers down without issue.

Full disclosure though, my XHot has a heavier shaft than the stock PXV. It is already different from a swing weight perspective.

I don't know if it is true, but I have read that the stock TFC in the K15 is counterbalanced. I'd like to get a solid answer on that as it could be the stuff of golf board urban legend. If true then cutting down the K15 should have less SW impact.
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It is counterbalanced according to Ping - headweight of the K15 is 202 grams so you can get away with going heavier and non-counterbalanced without changing the SW much.
 
BMiles said:
It is counterbalanced according to Ping - headweight of the K15 is 202 grams so you can get away with going heavier and non-counterbalanced without changing the SW much.
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Thanks! Good info and verification.

Long story short, with a 202 gram head on a 60 gram shaft (which is what I think the TFC is) playing at 45.75, then you'd think you'd see about a D5 to D6 swing weight. The fact that it is D3 suggests that the counter balancing is real and that it is impacting the swing weight.

Butt trim it by an inch and you presumably cut off the counter balanced part. That means that you'd go to a D1 to D2 swing weight even if you didn't add any weight to the head. I don't think that many will be able to tell the difference between D1-D2 and D3.
 
Rich,
Before you lop anything off the K15 try it first just choking down a little. As you know I've owned 5 or 6 of them. Lol
Anywhere from 44" to stock length and various stock and aftermarket shafts.
Arguably my 2 best combos was a 44.75" 10.5 with 6g worth of tungsten stickers added on the rear sole. Also solid was the 12* with B Asha at 44.25. Just flew a little too high for me.

The rest of them I did not add any weight to the head and my results always seemed a bit inconsistent.

If I had to build one from scratch I'd buy a 10.5 and put a non counterbalanced (firm R flex / soft stiff) shaft in the 60g range at 45". I think it would be a beast.

Luckily my SF Tec is working, otherwise I'd be building one right now.
 
With mine cut down to 44.5", it felt a bit light but I didn't swing it before cutting it down to have a baseline comparison. It didn't feel uncontrollable or so light that I didn't know where the head was. I'm curious to see what adding a bit of lead tape might do.
 
I'm playing the current K at 45 1/4. It has a PL Red in it. I thought it felt just fine. But I prefer a slightly lower swing weight driver. I'm not sure where it is. I'll have it checked this Sunday when I pick up the K15 3 wood.

I got the Speed Coat version and I must say it is smooth and firm at the same time. I am very pleased with the feel. I have another K at 9 1/2 with the stock R flex in it. That one doesn't feel near as nice. I think I'll get an offset adapter and chuck an AXE Excaliber 6+ in the spare head. I'll have them lower the loft. I've always wanted to try an AXE shaft. Should work just fine.

Can't wait for the damn snow to disappear. I want to hit both K's on the range and see how well they are working. Launch monitors are nice. But not the same as the real thing.

Mark Shuman
 
THP: Do any single digit cappers use the k15?
 
Any lefties looking for a K15, I saw some at my local Golfsmith last night for $129.95.
 
doctorjedi said:
THP: Do any single digit cappers use the k15?
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I love mine. I did add about 12 grams of lead tape to the sole and kept the stock length however. This is better than the G30 I broke. I bought a head for my blueboard also.
 
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Wilson Staffer said:
I love mine. I did add about 12 grams of lead tape to the sole and kept the stock length however. This is better than the G30 I broke.
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Wilson was your g30 an sftec? How did you break it? You feel there is no upgrade in moving to the g30?
 
doctorjedi said:
Wilson was your g30 an sftec? How did you break it? You feel there is no upgrade in moving to the g30?
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Yeah it was the tec and I broke the adapter sleeve and damaged the tip. The sleeves are like 20 bucks so I ended up selling it as I was looking to go back to the K15 all winter. With the G30 I just wasn't getting consistent ball flight but a lot of it has to do with my swing. The K15 sets up with a nuetral face for me and I love the sound and feel....simple as that.
 
Wilson Staffer said:
Yeah it was the tec and I broke the adapter sleeve and damaged the tip. The sleeves are like 20 bucks so I ended up selling it as I was looking to go back to the K15 all winter. With the G30 I just wasn't getting consistent ball flight but a lot of it has to do with my swing. The K15 sets up with a nuetral face for me and I love the sound and feel....simple as that.
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Did the SF tec sit open then for you ?

Reason I ask is my SF tec 10* even in the ++ position sits a touch closed but nowhere near as closed as the 6 different K15's I owned. If I had to judge it. K15's were around 3-4* closed. SF tec 1-2* closed in ++ position.
 
erock9174 said:
Did the SF tec sit open then for you ?

Reason I ask is my SF tec 10* even in the ++ position sits a touch closed but nowhere near as closed as the 6 different K15's I owned. If I had to judge it. K15's were around 3-4* closed. SF tec 1-2* closed in ++ position.
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No it felt just the opposite but another guy on here had the same issue with it. If you actually ground the sole of your K15, which is where you get proper alignment it's actually a nuetral face IMO. Pkus I'm not overcooking shots left as much and I'm not losing any distance whatsoever.
 
I got about 60% return on my original investment, bought a brand new K15 and put a blueboard in it and still had enough for a couple of quality wedges. To me it was a no brainer considering what I originally paid for the G30.
 
Wilson Staffer said:
No it felt just the opposite but another guy on here had the same issue with it. If you actually ground the sole of your K15, which is where you get proper alignment it's actually a nuetral face IMO. Pkus I'm not overcooking shots left as much and I'm not losing any distance whatsoever.
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You have to sole the k15 in the middle of the sole to get it to lay neutral. I play my hands pretty low which causes the club to sole more on the heel side and on the SF tec weight part. This causes the head to roll shut a good margin. Another website tested the k15 and their results showed it was around 3.5* shut.
Not saying either is right or wrong. Just pointing it out that both situations can exist.

I wanted to love the k15 but no matter what I did it was a hook machine for me.

Really glad it's working for so many. At its current price it's a huge value club. Just wasn't for me. And darn it I tried for 2-3 yrs buying 3 10.5's and 3 12's with various stock and aftermarket shafts in both R and S flexes.
 
erock9174 said:
Did the SF tec sit open then for you ?

Reason I ask is my SF tec 10* even in the ++ position sits a touch closed but nowhere near as closed as the 6 different K15's I owned. If I had to judge it. K15's were around 3-4* closed. SF tec 1-2* closed in ++ position.
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I've tried to get my K15 to set up closed - doesn't happen. At all. Ping's on the record as saying it's a neutral face, and have been proven correct. If you rock it all the way onto the heel where the weight is added, yes it starts to rotate. But when you sole the club, it's completely neutral.
 
russtopher said:
I've tried to get my K15 to set up closed - doesn't happen. At all. Ping's on the record as saying it's a neutral face, and have been proven correct. If you rock it all the way onto the heel where the weight is added, yes it starts to rotate. But when you sole the club, it's completely neutral.
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Try one more thing. If you have a tile floor sole your k15 with the face aligned with the tile. Notice how far the shaft kicks to the left.
With other drivers the shaft is more neutral.
With the ones I had if I put the shaft in a more neutral position the toe of the head stayed on the tile line. The heel side of the face moved away. Offset, closed faced, call it what you will something is going on with it.
 
erock9174 said:
Try one more thing. If you have a tile floor sole your k15 with the face aligned with the tile. Notice how far the shaft kicks to the left.
With other drivers the shaft is more neutral.
With the ones I had if I put the shaft in a more neutral position the toe of the head stayed on the tile line. The heel side of the face moved away. Offset, closed faced, call it what you will something is going on with it.
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Here's my K15, with the handle where I'd hold it on my driver setup:

46ec910d3c61c403b1493d1ed4c47017.jpg


Here's the only other driver I had available, a Walter Hagen from my DSG set:

55136445fb2a7e150d1180a62c476abb.jpg


The K15 looks a lot more neutral when it comes to the shaft. There is a bit of lean, I'll definitely admit to that, but far less than the other driver.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
In my opinion I have my hands somewhat low and this rocks it closed. I still will miss right so it doesn't much bother me at the moment. If I start getting lefts I will sole it with high hands then bring my hands back down.
 
Interesting russtopher

I'm short at 5'4" and play my hands low which would mean that I sole it more on the heel side. Since I don't have a k15 anymore is there Any chance you could push the grip down maybe 10" or so and see if it rocks it shut any and snap another pic ?
 
Ping K15 Driver Review

erock9174 said:
Interesting russtopher

I'm short at 5'4" and play my hands low which would mean that I sole it more on the heel side. Since I don't have a k15 anymore is there Any chance you could push the grip down maybe 10" or so and see if it rocks it shut any and snap another pic ?
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Sure! Here you go:

36b82bb7de19ccfe9a1ae7dd62ad9acd.jpg


When I pushed the handle down, the SF Tec bulge (for lack of a better word) comes into play, and rocks the face closed. As soon as I put the handle up to where I'd have it at address (I'm 5' 11") it goes back to neutral.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Awesome thanks

Sucks being short lol
With my strong 10 finger grip and starting off with a closed face no wonder I hit it left.
 
erock9174 said:
Awesome thanks

Sucks being short lol
With my strong 10 finger grip and starting off with a closed face no wonder I hit it left.
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I'm 6-4" and it sucks being tall a lot in golf IMO. You should call Geek Golf and get a dot com this custom made bro if the G30 doesn't work out. A buddy of mine is your height and got one custom made over the phone and he absolutely kills it down the pipe every time.
 
Wilson Staffer said:
I'm 6-4" and it sucks being tall a lot in golf IMO. You should call Geek Golf and get a dot com this custom made bro if the G30 doesn't work out. A buddy of mine is your height and got one custom made over the phone and he absolutely kills it down the pipe every time.
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Talk about not on the same level of forgiveness though.

And yes, I gamed a DCT for about a half a season.
 
Ok so I had 4 drivers this winter and I have sold all except the k15. I wanted those other drivers to work because they had better bag appeal but the k15 worked best for my crap swing. Im still trying to get an r1 to play with but my x2hot 588 custom and bio cell are on their way to other members to test. I'm also still intrigued by the g30 sftec.
 
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