Ping Strengthens i-Series Line-up

This is an exciting week for Ping i-Series loyalists as the Phoenix, AZ-based, family-owned company is introducing not one, but two sleek new iron models...

ping i-series i500 cross

Two new Ping i-Series models fill several boxes for better players…

By Tony Dear


[easyazon_infoblock align=”right” identifier=”B0791M46NP” locale=”US” tag=”coloradoavidg-20″]This is an exciting week for Ping i-Series loyalists as the Phoenix, AZ-based, family-owned company is introducing not one, but two sleek new iron models that take us ever closer to the elusive goal of the perfect golf club – one providing power, control, feel, workability, and forgiveness in an attractive design.

Numerous manufacturers have been serving better golfers in recent years with an array of good-looking models engineered to launch the ball high and far while allowing the user to work the ball and achieve a gratifying shot dispersion thanks to near game-improvement-level MoIs (Moment of Inertia).

Ping’s two new irons are the i210 which, as you might expect, is the successor to the very popular i200 launched in January of last year, and the i500, a forged blade-like iron which resembles the company’s iBlade but probably has more in common with the G700.

ping i-series i500 iron

The i500, like the G700, is a hollow construction with a forged, C300 maraging-steel face and 17-4 stainless steel body resulting, says Ping, in “faster ball speeds and much longer, higher-trajectory shots with stopping power”. The i500 launches so high, in fact, its lofts are 2.5 degrees lower than those of the i210. On its web site, the company states the i500 launches so high and carries so far you will be taking one less club for your approach shot.

The challenge in creating the i500 says Paul Wood, Ping’s vice president of engineering, was building a forged iron as effective as the G700 but with a smaller head that would be more appealing to the really good golfer. Ping’s President John Solheim is not usually prone to overstatement or embellishment, but he positively gushes about the i500. “It delivers unbelievable distance with amazingly high ball flights,” he says. “In our testing, some golfers gained as much as 15 yards.”

ping i-series i210

The i210 is a multi-material, cavity-back design that puts less emphasis on distance and more on feel and precision with milled grooves that mirror those of the company’s Glide 2.0 wedges. “A sharper edge radius and tighter groove spacing in the pitching wedge and U-wedge provides greater precision and helps prevent fliers on shots where control matters most,” says Solheim.

The enhanced feel comes from an elastomer Custom Tuning Port (CTP) that is 30% larger and twice as soft as that of the i200. This also increases the club’s perimeter-weighting making it more forgiving.

But it’s the club’s feel John Solheim is most enthused about. “The soft feel of the i210 irons is unlike any we’ve ever offered,” he says.

i210 cross ping i-series

Both the i210 and i500 possess Ping’s HydroPearl Chrome finish which helps ensure consistent impact and distance control from the rough and in wet conditions. The i210 is also available in Powered Spec Lofts which Ping defines as “A fitting option for players looking to boost their iron distance or decrease spin to hit a desired trajectory window. The Power Spec is a custom-designed loft configuration that delivers a power boost in a calculated fashion without sacrificing the integrity of the club’s design.”

i210 – $138 per club, stock shaft is the True Temper Dynamic Gold 120
i500 – $175 per club, stock shaft is the Dynamic Gold 105.
(Several aftermarket shafts on both irons are available at no extra charge.)
ping.com


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