Ping ISI irons

I spotted a really nice set of ping isi irons at a really good price (in really good condition), just wondering if anybody used them back in the 90s and how they performed. I'm trying them out on Friday before I think of buying, but I've pretty much been a ping man so I'm looking forward to hitting them. Just wish I could go sooner than Friday (pesky kids!!!)

I played a set for a long time. I really liked them and very forgiving. I love the thinner top line versus say for instance the fat top lines on the original zings. The only problem with them is the heads are so big my swing got a little sloppy and started missing the center of the club. I guess however the forgiveness can be a good thing. I love the long irons. You can really hit them a long way. I prefer the ping eye 2 grooves, but all in all a very good club. I am hitting blades now. Just live that soft buttery feel.

IMHO! One of the worst clubs ever built by Ping....again, IMHO

Contrasting thus far.....one love one really hates ha ha I'll find out when I hit them, but on looks they are sweet!

Contrasting thus far.....one love one really hates ha ha I'll find out when I hit them, but on looks they are sweet!

Contrasting thus far.....one love one really hates ha ha I'll find out when I hit them, but on looks they are sweet!

There are two kinds of isi. One is regular stainless, one is ISI nickel alloy. Also there are ISI-K which are oversized, in my opinion too big, I think the ISI standard size are the best. the stainless ones are very strong metal and last forever, but I like the feel of the nickel ones better

They are the isi stainless standard....red dot, which is my fitting!

Just had a horrible vision of the future where this corner of the forum will be inhabited by the guys banging on about their Scotty Cameron putters or whatever over in the normal forum at the moment as they'll be "classic".

And if I was thirty years older and the internet had existed, I would have been one of those tools then when they were still making the classics I love now. Or maybe in the hickory days when we'd have had a forum by post. Or pidgeons or something.

Just say no kids. Honestly. My brains are scrambled eggs.

Just had a horrible vision of the future where this corner of the forum will be inhabited by the guys banging on about their Scotty Cameron putters or whatever over in the normal forum at the moment as they'll be "classic".

 

And if I was thirty years older and the internet had existed, I would have been one of those tools then when they were still making the classics I love now. Or maybe in the hickory days when we'd have had a forum by post. Or pidgeons or something.

 

Just say no kids. Honestly. My brains are scrambled eggs.

Your brains are scrambled....Just watch taken 2! What aload of pants that was!

I know what you mean. Time flies. It feels just like yesterday I was playing with my callaway s2h2 irons. Now they are considered classic. Can't believe just how small those old metalwoods were pre big bertha. Can't believe how old my isi,s are already?

Contrasting thus far.....one love one really hates ha ha I'll find out when I hit them, but on looks they are sweet!

There are two kinds of isi. One is regular stainless, one is ISI nickel alloy. Also there are ISI-K which are oversized, in my opinion too big, I think the ISI standard size are the best. the stainless ones are very strong metal and last forever, but I like the feel of the nickel ones better

Add one more...ISI BeCu, a really good iron...and gorgeous!

Contrasting thus far.....one love one really hates ha ha I'll find out when I hit them, but on looks they are sweet!

There are two kinds of isi. One is regular stainless, one is ISI nickel alloy. Also there are ISI-K which are oversized, in my opinion too big, I think the ISI standard size are the best. the stainless ones are very strong metal and last forever, but I like the feel of the nickel ones better

 

Add one more...ISI BeCu, a really good iron...and gorgeous!

Contrasting thus far.....one love one really hates ha ha I'll find out when I hit them, but on looks they are sweet!

There are two kinds of isi. One is regular stainless, one is ISI nickel alloy. Also there are ISI-K which are oversized, in my opinion too big, I think the ISI standard size are the best. the stainless ones are very strong metal and last forever, but I like the feel of the nickel ones better

 

Add one more...ISI BeCu, a really good iron...and gorgeous!

Yep! I had both the BeCu and BeNi when they first came out.

Simply put, they are some of the easiest to hit, forgiving irons ever made. That being said they aren't without a few Ping quirks. Square toe, thin top line, more offset than many like. Fortunately fir me, I like all of those things. Of course modern irons have less loft so you need to take that into account for your distances. Ping will bend them if they are stainless, but not the copper (BeCu) or the nickel (BeNi) irons anymore. I still game the ISI nickels today and although I have strayed (dumb a** move) to the i15, i20, and i25's, to be honest I think I like the ISI's the best, even with the weaker lofts. I also think that the Ping JZ stiff shafts are perfect for my swing. My only regret is selling a great set of Ping ISI Be Coppers a few years back. I'll find another set on eBay soon to replace them.

PS: Agree on the long irons being easy to hit, truth! Inspire confidence.

Scruffy, I played these irons for the better part of a decade starting in the late 90's. I got a 3-W used set of the BeCu ones at my local driving range cheap. At that time I was using DCI 962's and had ideas of selling them off at a profit, as the BeCu ones were somewhat in demand (eye2’s more so). To the point, after playing them I could never get rid of them. Feel sweet, soft, and are forgiving. Never had the lofts checked, but they didn't play short for me. I currently play a Callaway set with a 47 degree PW, 31 degree 6 iron and the isi's play about a half a club longer.

I live overseas so I no longer play them regularly, but they sit in my father's home and get played when I visit. They always feel nice.

If you like/tolerate their shape and get a good price, go for it.

I still use the stainless ISI. I like them more today than I did 19 years ago when purchased. They sat in the closet for many of those years, glad I regripped them and gave them another try!

Back several years, the ISI set was the answer you'd get from Ping engineers when they were asked which set of irons was the best Ping had produced.

The ISI are more forgiving than the Eye2+. IMHO the funky hosel is a better visual with regard to the offset than many other sets. They're also very forgiving of toe hits, even the low toe hit that the Eye2 isn't as good with.

They hit the ball very high, high trajectory players may not care for this so much. They're also not so great with heel misses, such as my experience has been.

Excellent club if they fit your game. :)

The K's are awful. The SS, BeCu and Nickel are great clubs.

Back several years, the ISI set was the answer you'd get from Ping engineers when they were asked which set of irons was the best Ping had produced.

 

The ISI are more forgiving than the Eye2+. IMHO the funky hosel is a better visual with regard to the offset than many other sets. They're also very forgiving of toe hits, even the low toe hit that the Eye2 isn't as good with.

 

They hit the ball very high, high trajectory players may not care for this so much. They're also not so great with heel misses, such as my experience has been.

 

Excellent club if they fit your game. :)

After reading some of the responses I'm really looking forward to hitting them. I'm going to try them tomorrow evening instead of Friday, (I finish at 10.45 on Friday's) as my plan of going to the practice ground on Friday (if I buy them) is looking bleak, the forecast is shocking as its been terrible all week! So try them, love them, buy them, go to range with them...then go again on Friday ready for Saturday's weekly hack!!

A friend of mine had a set of Anser forged, then went back to his ISI nickels. Unusual, but he liked the feel of the ISI's better than the forged Ansers.

Scruffy, I played these irons for the better part of a decade starting in the late 90's. I got a 3-W used set of the BeCu ones at my local driving range cheap. At that time I was using DCI 962's and had ideas of selling them off at a profit, as the BeCu ones were somewhat in demand (eye2’s more so). To the point, after playing them I could never get rid of them. Feel sweet, soft, and are forgiving. Never had the lofts checked, but they didn't play short for me. I currently play a Callaway set with a 47 degree PW, 31 degree 6 iron and the isi's play about a half a club longer.

I live overseas so I no longer play them regularly, but they sit in my father's home and get played when I visit. They always feel nice.

If you like/tolerate their shape and get a good price, go for it.

They are selling at £70 ($94) 3-sw and they are in great nic with jz red shafts. I'm picking them up in a few hours, I'm well looking forward to it!

One lovely little aspect to the ISI that was misunderstood in its time...

 

The lie angles on the ISI are roughly 1° more upright than the Eye2/Eye2+, and similar to the Zing/Zing2. This was due to a greater toe droop effect in the swing, due to the construction of the clubhead; the added weight near the toe caused the lie angle to flatten more in the swing than something like the Eye2. As such, Ping adjusted for this with a slightly more upright lie angle.

 

Some misread this to be an attempt by Ping to add more of a draw bias to counter the fade/slice seen by so many golfers in the general public.

 

Ping's next set of irons (i3) didn't have the weight at the toe, and they went back to the lie angles similar to those of the Eye2.

 

A cute sidelight in iron history. :)

One lovely little aspect to the ISI that was misunderstood in its time...

 

The lie angles on the ISI are roughly 1° more upright than the Eye2/Eye2+, and similar to the Zing/Zing2. This was due to a greater toe droop effect in the swing, due to the construction of the clubhead; the added weight near the toe caused the lie angle to flatten more in the swing than something like the Eye2. As such, Ping adjusted for this with a slightly more upright lie angle.

 

Some misread this to be an attempt by Ping to add more of a draw bias to counter the fade/slice seen by so many golfers in the general public.

 

Ping's next set of irons (i3) didn't have the weight at the toe, and they went back to the lie angles similar to those of the Eye2.

 

A cute sidelight in iron history. :)

I do remember when the rumor started that if you went back to the eye2 you'd have to go blue dot to get the same lie as the black dot. Never seemed to pan out on a lie board, and toe drop was the reason. I also remember when the Zings first came out, they had the shaft with the orange label, and lots of guys were crimping the shafts down near the hosel in the short irons from the extreme toe drop at impact. Ping was always great about it though, re-shafting the sets with the "new" JZ shaft if I'm not mistaken. To be honest, I think the ISI s were ahead of their time, they really play great with the modern ball. I just don't see anything on the new club racks that make me want to switch. Enjoy your new sticks!

It was the KT shaft that wasn't standing up to the Zings. The bent tips caued the birth of the KT-M shaft, which had a beefed up tip over the KT.

Well I got them, they are a fantastic set of irons. They are the ISI K version and boy they're easy to hit and just look great behind the ball - love the thinner top and larger head.

The store was closing so it was only me in the shop, so the pro put me on track man and checked everything over (he was bored). So I got so really good information back. Anyway, I'm well pleased as the shafts were just perfect....felt slightly firmer than regular the jz which according to the data was correct for my quick jerky short swing. But after on the range I was actually hitting 3 irons....Not done that in years.....add a big grin on my face. But for the price and condition of the irons I just couldn't go wrong!

Well I got them, they are a fantastic set of irons. They are the ISI K version and boy they're easy to hit and just look great behind the ball - love the thinner top and larger head.

The store was closing so it was only me in the shop, so the pro put me on track man and checked everything over (he was bored). So I got so really good information back. Anyway, I'm well pleased as the shafts were just perfect....felt slightly firmer than regular the jz which according to the data was correct for my quick jerky short swing. But after on the range I was actually hitting 3 irons....Not done that in years.....add a big grin on my face. But for the price and condition of the irons I just couldn't go wrong!

We told you!!!!!!

Well I got them, they are a fantastic set of irons. They are the ISI K version and boy they're easy to hit and just look great behind the ball - love the thinner top and larger head.

The store was closing so it was only me in the shop, so the pro put me on track man and checked everything over (he was bored). So I got so really good information back. Anyway, I'm well pleased as the shafts were just perfect....felt slightly firmer than regular the jz which according to the data was correct for my quick jerky short swing. But after on the range I was actually hitting 3 irons....Not done that in years.....add a big grin on my face. But for the price and condition of the irons I just couldn't go wrong!

Congrats! I've owned a set of the SS and a set of BECU's. I always wanted them to work for me but they never did. Glad you like them.

I just bought a set of these. They should be here tomorrow.

Clubs came in yesterday. Can't wait to take them to the course.