Ping eye 2 vs new ping irons

[Christen_The_Sloop]

The Eye 2's were obviously revolutionary. I still have the set in the basement....... :)

 

But If I have one criticism of them it is this. The short irons hit the ball REALLY high, even for their actual loft. The long irons hit the ball fairly high for their era, but not high by todays standards. Therefore if you compared them to say 1200's or even Ping G I think you would find that the long irons don't go as high as modern clubs and the short irons go too high. With modern tech they have figured out how to do just the opposite.

 

This is just my experience, YMMV, but they are still worthy clubs and I respect anyone who still plays them.

 

Those short irons were great back when I was a junior though. Just towering 9 irons. I am going to take a look at my set of +no+ tomorrow now.

[endurancechiro]

I would have liked to see the best and worst of the iblade as well to see the forgiveness factor on miss hits compared to the eye 2.

Cool video though.

I wonder how many older irons like the 845's would also stand up very well in a test like this. I suspect that many would still perform well. A fact the current day manufacturers would not be keen to be widely known.

As long as your swing and impact position is reasonable you can probably hit many irons 20-30 years old and still get comparable performance to the new stuff while using the modern ball.

 

I actually have a full set of 845's 1-sw I just retired, When I purchased them every single guy at my club had a set of Eye 2's and I just wanted to be a little different. I played the 845's for years and years. After spending a bunch of time fishing I am back to golf again and starting playing with my old set ( 845's & 905R etc) this year. I upgraded equipment last month and I am very happy I did.

 

The main difference between my old 845's and my new Ping i200 is a miss on the Pings goes about as far a sweet spot hit, it may not look as pretty but it still goes a long way and in the general direction I was aimed.

 

On a good swing and loft for loft the 845'S and I200's perform about the same. For a very good ball striker newer irons really really don't help much, but if you struggle to find the center any newer tech irons will be very helpful.

 

Now driver tech....as good as a 905r is, the new stuff is amazing.

 

That being said my 845's will only be for sale at my estate sale, too many great shots and memories to even think about letting them go. Also they are only worth about $50

:)

I used to have almost the exact same bag, the 905R and my 845's. I was lucky enough to have a set with all 3 wedges so my back was 3-60* all 845's. Pair it off with a ping anser, and my bag was easily the most "vintage" of the guys I played with. I switched to a more modern driver and to the adams CB3 irons, but the 845's are still in the garage in case my adams decide they need a time out.

[BForrester]

Man...and I thought some of today's Ping GI irons were ugly! I don't know how you Ping Eye and Zing guys can look down at that much offset and that square topline...

[1puttAU]

Helps me feel better about not seeing much improvement from my i3 o-sizes

 

I played these for 13 years until I finally upgrade to the 714 AP2's in 2015. They were great clubs. I still have them in my old bag in the garage. I just sold the 714's though since the stock DG S300 shafts weren't right for me, and upgraded to the 716 AP2's with Project X LZ 6.0 shafts. They are awesome.

[doctordwaynewilliams]

Man...and I thought some of today's Ping GI irons were ugly! I don't know how you Ping Eye and Zing guys can look down at that much offset and that square topline...

 

I love them.

[duder13]

The eye 2 had hot spots. His test found that to be true as well. The difference between the best and worst shots on the G vs eye 2 was 5 vs 14. Yes the eye 2 holds up but the new clubs are still better. That being said, I love the eye 2.

 

FWIW, the front/back dispersion numbers of the Eye 2s compared to the iBlade and i200 were much closer...and the Eye 2s had the best left/right dispersion of the group!

[overparfornow]

Very interesting!! Should have kept rockin my old eye 2's LOL

[overparfornow]

Man...and I thought some of today's Ping GI irons were ugly! I don't know how you Ping Eye and Zing guys can look down at that much offset and that square topline...

I just look at the money it putts in my wallet;-)

[gallas2]

+1 for owning a set in storage.

 

I still remember a shot from my first round with them (over 30 years ago) at John's Island West Course in Vero Beach. Borrowed my grand father's green dot set. Par 3 over water and I hit it off the toe to 35 feet. My Mastercraft blades from Canadian Tire never stood a chance after that round. I saved my paper route money for a used set of black dots that I had for 10 years until an unscrupulous neighbour took them off my hands without my permission.

 

I'd like to see an i5 vs i200 test.

[reider69]

I wanted a set of eye 2s so bad back in the 90s but I didn't have the scratch since I was a teenager. By the time I got through all my education and I could afford a new set of clubs the eye 2s were past their prime. Such a cool set of clubs. Every set of Pings since has been a downgrade in looks imo.

[BunkerFinder]

Mature?- maybe. Distinguished? Definitely. But not “past their prime”. Yea the new stuff is more forgiving but loft for loft the eye 2 is right there. And my+ no + PW is still a money club.

[gallas2]

+1 for owning a set in storage.

 

I still remember a shot from my first round with them (over 30 years ago) at John's Island West Course in Vero Beach. Borrowed my grand father's green dot set. Par 3 over water and I hit it off the toe to 35 feet. My Mastercraft blades from Canadian Tire never stood a chance after that round. I saved my paper route money for a used set of black dots that I had for 10 years until an unscrupulous neighbour took them off my hands without my permission.

 

I'd like to see an i5 vs i200 test.

 

Took the i5's for a spin because of this thread.

 

Get ready for some tire pumping and self aggrandizement: I was two under after the first 7 holes. Hit 14 greens and shot 1 over. Toot toot. I average 8 greens and my index has ballooned to a 7 due to a MVA. Too proud and lazy to change my signature.

 

I've had every "i" set since the i5s and there is nothing that is worth $900 to upgrade. Just check your ego at the starter's hut and hit a 6 instead of a 7 as the lofts are nowhere near the modern lofts. TM is guilty for starting the "Oh wow I hit my 5 iron 235 with the new bubble burner aero blaster see through cavity undercut slingblade". If you put a good swing on a ten year old club you'll still get a good result. And maybe even have more fun because you aren't expecting to hit 14 greens after dumping $1k on new irons you don't need.

 

Now excuse me ....I need to go troll the BST for some i200's with power specs......

[doctordwaynewilliams]

I wanted a set of eye 2s so bad back in the 90s but I didn't have the scratch since I was a teenager. By the time I got through all my education and I could afford a new set of clubs the eye 2s were past their prime. Such a cool set of clubs. Every set of Pings since has been a downgrade in looks imo.

I don't know about subsequent Pings being a downgrade, but, I would say from my personal experience that the older Pings from the Solheim era are some of the best clubs ever made.

[Rob McHugh]

I have a set of Taylormade Rocketbladez and they fine for a 14 hacker like me. But when my game starts going to crap and the fades are slices - I actually take the BeCu Eye 2's out. Full set, a driver and irons from 1 through to lob wedge and it forces me to concentrate and improve my swing. Great clubs and it works for me every time. :-)

 

Rob

[Stonewalled]

I had to settle for Ping eye 2 copy's for many many years.

 

Fast forward 30 years i found a nice set of Eye 2's for $135.00 on a guys week long Arizona golf trip. Played them along with my regular set on our last golf day, i shot my lowest round of my life. I probably had 20 clubs in the bag but had a lot of fun. I can still remember the last par 3 hole from an elevated tee with water surrounding the green. Decided to use the Eye 2 9 iron, put it on and made my par. Was very surprised when we added up the score, kinda glad i didn't know until the end.

 

Ended up selling the eye 2's to a friend [owner of the course i play at] who was begging for a set, he still plays them and will till he is done golf.

 

I found some Japan V2's that have the same offset as the i5's but the forgiveness of the G15. Very happy with my older Pings. Also have some Gmax and i200's to round out the Ping love fest.

[doctordwaynewilliams]

I just bought another set of Ping Eye 2 irons 1-SW. These have microtaper shafts. I'm used to the ZZ Lites. I haven't hit them yet. These are fitted to my specs,. 5 inch longer and white dot. Very excited about using these going forward. I have never hit a 1 iron but I'm excited about that too. I have a blonde Ping Zing driver that I'm going to use next season. And the last club is the Ping B60 putter 36 inches.

[willie991]

Wrxer non-clubhos have 2 sets of clubs...their gamer set and a set of eye 2s that they wont sell.

Two sets! Eye 2's, 3 - SW and Eye 2+ BeCu 3- LW... neither for sale! The Eye 2's spent the past week or so in the bag. Just put my iBlades back in for this week's play.

[ALIF]

Still playing Eye 2’s here 3-LW. I think the G700 are better in the longer irons. I just ordered a G700 5 iron to replace my Eye 2 3 iron. If it goes well, I’ll also get the 6-8mto replace my Eye 2 4-6.

[sdandrea]

I love my Eye 2 irons. I have a nice matching set 3-W in green dot with ZZ LIte shafts. They have become a bit heavy for my geezerism, so I am seriously thinking of putting some graphite shafts in them. My G400 irons are the best but those Eye 2 heads are timeless.

[willie991]

I just bought another set of Ping Eye 2 irons 1-SW. These have microtaper shafts. I'm used to the ZZ Lites. I haven't hit them yet. These are fitted to my specs,. 5 inch longer and white dot. Very excited about using these going forward. I have never hit a 1 iron but I'm excited about that too. I have a blonde Ping Zing driver that I'm going to use next season. And the last club is the Ping B60 putter 36 inches.

I always thought the Brunswick Microtapers felt heavier and stiffer than the ZZ Lites. Karsten put most of the Eye 2 BeCu's out with the Microtaper shafts. Will be interesting to see what you think of them. My Eye 2's have the ZZ Lites. My Eye 2+ BeCu's have the JZ "S" flex.

[doctordwaynewilliams]

I just bought another set of Ping Eye 2 irons 1-SW. These have microtaper shafts. I'm used to the ZZ Lites. I haven't hit them yet. These are fitted to my specs,. 5 inch longer and white dot. Very excited about using these going forward. I have never hit a 1 iron but I'm excited about that too. I have a blonde Ping Zing driver that I'm going to use next season. And the last club is the Ping B60 putter 36 inches.

I always thought the Brunswick Microtapers felt heavier and stiffer than the ZZ Lites. Karsten put most of the Eye 2 BeCu's out with the Microtaper shafts. Will be interesting to see what you think of them. My Eye 2's have the ZZ Lites. My Eye 2+ BeCu's have the JZ "S" flex.

I just played with them yesterday. I can't really say if the Microtaper shafts are stiffer or heavier than ZZ Lites, but I will say I hit them really well. Probably the best iron performance I had this year. I didn't get a chance to use the 1 iron, but I'm really excited about using it.

[terrell75]

My becu Eye2’s came with Rifle 6.0 “Buffalo Stix”, ebay purchase when eBay was still a new thing. Never tried the ZZs or Micros.

[bladehunter]

Is this a Ping “ blades vs CB “ thread ?

 

 

 

Lol calm down. I kid I kid ....

[sdandrea]

Getting ready to hand taper some Grafalloy Pro Launch Blue Axis graphite's and install them in my Eye 2 heads. I'll have a set of ZZ LIte shafts for sale soon. (Late December).

[Lee Stoetzel]

I feel an important test would be to chart where the balls go by each iron (accuracy to the target) not just how far they went.   I have played the Eye 2s for 20plus years and have had two new Ping sets also in the 20 year period. The newer Pings went further and felt more forgiving at impact but in the end less balls went where I wanted them to go than with the Eye 2s. Recently I bought new Taylormades and can hit them quite a lot further but don’t feel I can control them into a green. So again I’m getting rid of them and going back to the Eye 2s. 

[Bogeyboy15]

I have a set of Ping eye 2's red dot  3-LW  dynamic gold regular shafts the LW has a different serial 

number I no longer want to keep around is Ebay the best place to get them sold?

[Pingeye Ralph]

Fun comparison. I’ve been playing the same set ping eye 2 irons (square grooves) for 30 years since I bought them new in 1989-90. When ever I was tempted by the new latest greatest technology that rendered everything else obsolete, I noticed the measurable differences  weren’t that big, and that pros won many tournaments with ping eye 2 irons. I now have G400 irons. I like them and I’m adjusting to them. None the less, it’s cool to see how right Ping got it way back when with the ping eye 2 irons. I’ll never sell mine.  

[hammergolf]

I think you could take an Eye2 6 iron and test it vs a g425 7 iron and they would be very similar. Lofts and lengths would be pretty close.

[14max]

My main bag has ie1s.  My backup has Eye2 pat. pending irons.  I can swap them and not miss a beat...

[Buzzkill]

On 1/26/2017 at 1:12 AM, 9woodfan said:

Next we need him to do an Eye2 comparison... regular cast, BeCu, and maybe an Eye2+ thrown in the mix.

Throw mine in there too!