Put together a classic Ping Karsten Iron and Wood set- with specs

I got the itch about a year ago for a real set of classic Ping’s. I’ve had 4 sets of ISI’s over the years and a set of beryllium copper Eye 2’s but wanted to go all the way back to a set of Karsten 1’s. I picked up a set of green dot 2-9 irons for a pretty cheap price. Found a wedge on a classic club picking expedition and a few months ago scored a set of woods. I figure this will be my classic game improvement set. I’ve hit the irons and they are pretty easy to hit but very light swing weights. Haven’t hit the woods yet but I’m thinking tomorrow I’ll take the entire set out for a early evening 9.

Today I decided to pull the set out and check all the lofts. I thought I’d share the lofts for reference if anyone is looking at old Ping woods. Here are the lofts of the woods along with the model.

Karsten lll 1+ wood 12*

Karsten I 3-wood 15*

Karsten I 4-wood 19*

Karsten I 5-wood 22*

Ping Eye 7-wood 28*

As for irons, they are all Karsten 1’s with the flat soles. Here’s what I got loft wise.

2-iron 17*

3-iron 20*

4-iron 23*

5-iron 27*

6-iron 30.5*

7-iron 34*

8-iron 39*

9-iron 44.5*

PW 50.5*

Ill throw a Ping Anser in the bag as well, though I no longer have any Ping sand wedges so I’ll stick with my trusty Wilson Triple Duty. Should be a fun little round though the woods do look a bit strange at address compared to classic persimmon shapes. I have high hopes for the driver though. 1+ wood at 12* should really perform.

Nice. I have a set of Karsten I irons 4-PW that I'm about to put shafts in. Making up a new vintage bag, along with a Powerbilt Citation 3 wood that I'm refurbishing. Adding a Zing 2 SW and B60 putter.

Looking forward to a few rounds with a pencil bag and these classics once the lockdown is over.

Interesting on the iron lofts, they're pretty strong for the release date but then near te bottom of the bag they suddenly start jumping 5, 5.5 and 6 degrees to end up with a PW that is typical for the release date.

Do you know if the lofts are to spec or have they been adjusted?

No idea if the clubs have ever been adjusted but so think the lofts are pretty close to original. If you look at the Ping Eye 2 specs you’ll see the same pattern loft wise. Small gaps in the longer irons and larger gaps in the short irons into the wedges. Not sure why Karsten felt this was the way to go.

Here is a current thread were @Shallowface kindly listed the Ping Eye 2 specs which are quite similar to the Ping Karsten 1’s.

And even though I haven’t even given these a run yet I couldn’t pass up a Karsten lll 6-wood on eBay for $25 shipped last night. ?

Fine minds think alike. I have just started sorting out the gear I want to keep and what I want to get rid of. I just reshafted a set of KARSTEN II orange dot with TT xp95. 5 thru wedge soft stepped twice. Only got a chance to hit them twice. Not sure it was worth the bucks. I am currently taking the 3 and 4 irons out of all my sets and storing them. I have a set of KI the KII, KIII and original Ping eye. K I s are patent pending no dot from1969. Other are 53,54, 68 Spalding Top Flites, 69 X31, 68 HAIG Ultras , 59 Citations and a set of Spalding 79 elite plus. It’s hard to whittle down but the plan is to play , or own no clubs newer than 1979. Plan on playing KARSTEN woods up to eye and I hav a set of Spalding top flite woods and some random other woods . Except for the KII., don’t plan on any shaft changes. Just hit them the best I can. All this and my bag will be generally 8 clubs. Hope I haven’t bored you guys but it’s been fun putting this together while waiting to get back on the course. I have some stuff I’d like to give away just for postage and the box . Pm me if interested.

Hey @Richard 77 good to see you here on the forum again!

I just got back from a quick 10 holes with my 7 year old. Her second time on the course so we had a good time. She hit a few good shots.

As for me and the Ping’s, I shot 8 over for 10 holes. Parred number 1 then 5 straight bogeys before going par, par, double bogey and finally bogey on the last hole. I actually hit the driver pretty well but very high. In fact that was the story of the round. Everything was going high and short. The Ping’s are definitely game improvement and were very easy to hit. Having played many classic iron sets from the 1940’s through the 70’s I can only imagine what a struggling player in the 1970’s thought when he first hit the forgiving Ping’s. It surely must have been a revelation for many players.

Overall they are fun, easy to hit clubs but I play my Palmer’s or my ‘55 Mac TA Colokrom’s much better.

I have a set of Karsten IV's the wife uses. They are sweet. I have a Karsten II 3wood that I can hit a mile. It's a forgiving bomber.

Decided to make the woods a bit more playable with some softer flex shaft. These early Ping TTT stiff shafts measured higher than extra stiff on the deflection board. Pulled all the heads, bored out the hosels to .335 and stuck some Harrison stiff steel shafts in there.

Ill start stripping the finish tomorrow and give these a full refinish.

I've got a set of woods (1, 3 and 5) and a set of Eye-2 black dot irons (2-SW I believe) that I will be moving at some point. A classic Ping set is a terrific idea!!!

hi. What ball are you playing with the laminated woods?

Bridgestone E6

Was there a matching SW for these irons? I've saw a lot of these back in their day, but never a SW.

Yes, there is a matching sand wedge. I don’t have one and am holding out for an original green dot Karsten 1 to complete the set.

If you find one, pics please.

I just looked on eBay and there are 25 KARSTEN I Sand Wedges listed. Various dots.

None green though.

That may take a while. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a green dot K I Iron. My KI set is a pat pend no dot. Bought the sw later , non matching.

Yeah, I could always buy a black dot and bend it. I want it to be a Karsten 1 though with no number or letter on the sole, just the back.

I’m not sure you could bend the cast club all the way to green. Is green your fit number the first lie numbers were greater than the current lie colors . My KII, KIII, and original eye are all orange dot. My ISI set is black. Can’t tell the difference in any of them.

I have a set of KARSTEN I PAT PEND NO DOT.JUst like the set I bought used in 1961. I reshafted a set of KII with xp95.i feel it wasn’t worth the money for such an expensive shaft plus labor.

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Karstan Persimmion wood set with ping eye two irins, ping zing on woods Karstan on the sole of clubs opposed to Ping.  reCh out and tell me if i have anyting great condiition. [email protected]

My mum asked if I could help her clean her dear friends garage out as she's been widowed. Her husband was a beltin golfer off 3 but hadn't played for a while due to his poor health....anyway, after removing a shed load I came across his banged up red bag from Noah's ark I think....inside his Karsten 1s. Brilliant, still had some of my clubs turf on a few irons, they're the made in USA version with number in the sole. I'm well chuffed with these, can't wait to get them out on the course after a good clean.....new grips maybe required 🤣. 

Some of the memories I've got of him playing these.....I just smile 🙂

But thanks for the information on the lofts, always good to know 

Thought I'd share, should have taken a picture of the bag 🤣