Ping Blueprint forged irons- New photos added page 27

[Big Ben]

I’m sure we will see another iBlade iteration which has taken enough time I just wouldn’t hold your breath for these. Never say never I guess but the reality is we have NEVER seen a true MB from Ping at the retail level. I assume that’s not by accident.

[gjlang76]

It would be suicide for ping to not release it to market.

 

Lol! You heard it here first. PING will shrivel up and die a slow death if they don’t release the Blueprint iron.

 

Please.

 

 

[Big Ben]

Here’s the philosophical problem. Ping is all about proper fitting. What would they produce maybe a few hundred sets? Maybe. Now, for this to work it would need to be some kind of a custom Ping WRX offering, one set one spec. It goes against everything they are about. For them to fully release these Reps would need to visit accounts and the fitters would need demo equipment. It just doesn’t fit there business model and it most definitely would not be profitable.

[TheMoneyShot]

Simple fix here, charge a super high premium price and make them a “special order only” type of deal. I bet they would be surprised how many sets they would still sell. Producing these for the masses would just be silly.

[cz13X4]

I want to see them in my bag. Bottom line. You can do it ping. I will email you my address to make it even easier.

[TheMoneyShot]

I cannot wait to see what the first set that hits eBay sells for. I am saying 6k.

[gjlang76]

I might be the minority here but I LOVE the ”Blueprint” name. I mean come on!

 

I absolutely love the name too, but I hate 14 way bags and push carts so what do I know.

 

While I love the looks of these, It would be difficult for me to spend the kind of money PING would charge for these...especially with the current finish PING is using on their irons.

[chris975d]

Here's the philosophical problem. Ping is all about proper fitting. What would they produce maybe a few hundred sets? Maybe. Now, for this to work it would need to be some kind of a custom Ping WRX offering, one set one spec. It goes against everything they are about. For them to fully release these Reps would need to visit accounts and the fitters would need demo equipment. It just doesn't fit there business model and it most definitely would not be profitable.

 

The part I bolded is the only reason I say (my opinion) that it's somewhat unlikely to be done. PING rarely does things that aren't profitable. I could somewhat see them release them like they do the PLD putters, where reps are allocated X amount, and accounts like us have access to those (or not) based on our buying history and volume... aka, a very limited, controlled release. Several companies do this...TaylorMade with the black P790s last year, Scotty Camerion with the holiday and limited release putters, etc. But...then again, an entire set of irons is much more expensive to make than a putter, so the price of these released in this manner would have to be remarkably high compared to other PING offerings to be profitable, and I wonder if they are reluctant to do this.

 

I'd love to see them be available at reasonable prices to consumers for personal reasons, but if they were to be a wide, not-limited release, it won't be profitable for PING. S-series and iBlades are barely worth their effort to produce. And that's why I am very reluctant to think they will ever come out. Hope I'm wrong though, as I'd personally love to try them even though I know I'd never sell a set to a customer.

[Big Ben]

Chris and Money I agree with you. I just don’t think Ping would be so brazen to charge the amount necessary to make it even worth the salt. Now, if they are secretly just monitoring the overpriced PXG market, that might work. Test the waters Ping! I would like to think the Titleist Concept (Cncpt) market might garner attention but how many sets of the C16’s did Titleist sell I wonder?

[chris975d]

Chris and Money I agree with you. I just dont think Ping would be so brazen to charge the amount necessary to make it even worth the salt. Now, if they are secretly just monitoring the overpriced PXG market, that might work. Test the waters Ping! I would like to think the Titleist Concept (Cncpt) market might garner attention but how many sets of the C16s did Titleist sell I wonder?

 

That's my other thought as well. At the amount they would probably need to charge to make the release even remotely worthwhile, I don't think PING would want to. They seem to take pride in the fact that their clubs are (relatively) affordable compared to most manufacturers, and I'm afraid these would have to be much higher than PING normally prices irons at.

[matchavez]

I know there is a lot of conjecture here, but that's what forums are all about. Here's what I'm thinking...

 

These clubs are a catalyst. They are the first true foray into two things - the elimination of elastomer as part of a transition away (see i500, Glide Forged), and a mechanism to get pros to sign who would otherwise reject an iron deal without forged heads.

 

Say what you will about how many ways cast isn't any worse than forged, but this is proof that enough guys want what they want. I think the point about this might be that they won't put this on a standard fitting cart; it might be a WRX only. It might be limited. It might be restricted in some way. That in itself isn't bad; it just means that they are prepared to not put these on the Big Box rack.

 

For them to *not come out*… that's not going to happen. They just may not produce a "Blueprint", but as the name itself suggests, this might be a bridging release that eventually gets us to an iBlade 2. They may tweak the head shape, the feel, whatever. In a way, I'm quite happy for them to "bake" these a little longer. You have to get these right. They'll be a statement saying to everyone that *this model* is our top player model, and we are going to do a forged head for the "S range".

 

It's a bold departure, but so is the i500. So is the Glide Forged. So is finally releasing a proper adapter and doing it for hybrids finally as well. Let's allow them to get through a full cycle. Maybe these forged blades aren't performing well enough for mass production? Maybe it's a delay in doing them at quantity? Who knows. I think the horse is out of the barn; we'll see something forged from Ping, and probably in 2019. What form that may take is up to a private company, and sometimes, that's what makes this so intriguing. But as I and others have said, and I still stand by this... you don't get players to pimp a club head publicly if you have *no* plans to release it. That would actually work against you. Ping has *never* been a company that says pros can have one thing and plebs can have our junk. I can't believe they'll start now.

[chris975d]

I know there is a lot of conjecture here, but that's what forums are all about. Here's what I'm thinking...

 

These clubs are a catalyst. They are the first true foray into two things - the elimination of elastomer as part of a transition away (see i500, Glide Forged), and a mechanism to get pros to sign who would otherwise reject an iron deal without forged heads.

 

Say what you will about how many ways cast isn't any worse than forged, but this is proof that enough guys want what they want. I think the point about this might be that they won't put this on a standard fitting cart; it might be a WRX only. It might be limited. It might be restricted in some way. That in itself isn't bad; it just means that they are prepared to not put these on the Big Box rack.

 

For them to *not come out*… that's not going to happen. They just may not produce a "Blueprint", but as the name itself suggests, this might be a bridging release that eventually gets us to an iBlade 2. They may tweak the head shape, the feel, whatever. In a way, I'm quite happy for them to "bake" these a little longer. You have to get these right. They'll be a statement saying to everyone that *this model* is our top player model, and we are going to do a forged head for the "S range".

 

It's a bold departure, but so is the i500. So is the Glide Forged. So is finally releasing a proper adapter and doing it for hybrids finally as well. Let's allow them to get through a full cycle. Maybe these forged blades aren't performing well enough for mass production? Maybe it's a delay in doing them at quantity? Who knows. I think the horse is out of the barn; we'll see something forged from Ping, and probably in 2019. What form that may take is up to a private company, and sometimes, that's what makes this so intriguing. But as I and others have said, and I still stand by this... you don't get players to pimp a club head publicly if you have *no* plans to release it. That would actually work against you. Ping has *never* been a company that says pros can have one thing and plebs can have our junk. I can't believe they'll start now.

 

I understand most of your points, but the one I don't agree with, and has been said by others, is that by "pimping" this club as they have and then not releasing it would be "suicide" or "work against them". This is a club that 99% (my number, but can't be too much of an exaggeration if in fact the percentage told to me by PING people of 2% is remotely accurate) of PINGs demographic don't want. There are VERY few PING iron fans that are even seeing these, and even less that want them. This is not known to be in PING's wheelhouse. Blade iron models are a LAUGHABLY small segment of the irons sold each year. And the fans that see them and don't get them (if they never come to market) will just go elsewhere for this profile of club. And already weren't customers of PING irons, so what does PING actually "lose" if they don't bring these out? Nothing. They might just not gain...maybe an additional 1% of sales? Which they can do many times over by introducing new models of irons they are known for and have become famous for.

[TheMoneyShot]

I might be the minority here but I LOVE the ”Blueprint” name. I mean come on!

 

I absolutely love the name too, but I hate 14 way bags and push carts so what do I know.

 

While I love the looks of these, It would be difficult for me to spend the kind of money PING would charge for these...especially with the current finish PING is using on their irons.

 

Well, you could buy yourself some real nice iron covers once they are released. Those will help keep the integrity of the finish in tact:)

[ZAP]

Seems like they would have spent a fair amount on R&D already to not release them in some capacity. I have no idea about any of this. In today's world maybe most of the R&D is done digitally and they done have that much invested. Who knows?

[Big Ben]

You put all the sensible speculation together and we can’t be very far off. I say no deal won’t see’um.

[kcsf]

I know there is a lot of conjecture here, but that's what forums are all about. Here's what I'm thinking...

 

These clubs are a catalyst. They are the first true foray into two things - the elimination of elastomer as part of a transition away (see i500, Glide Forged), and a mechanism to get pros to sign who would otherwise reject an iron deal without forged heads.

 

Say what you will about how many ways cast isn't any worse than forged, but this is proof that enough guys want what they want. I think the point about this might be that they won't put this on a standard fitting cart; it might be a WRX only. It might be limited. It might be restricted in some way. That in itself isn't bad; it just means that they are prepared to not put these on the Big Box rack.

 

For them to *not come out*… that's not going to happen. They just may not produce a "Blueprint", but as the name itself suggests, this might be a bridging release that eventually gets us to an iBlade 2. They may tweak the head shape, the feel, whatever. In a way, I'm quite happy for them to "bake" these a little longer. You have to get these right. They'll be a statement saying to everyone that *this model* is our top player model, and we are going to do a forged head for the "S range".

 

It's a bold departure, but so is the i500. So is the Glide Forged. So is finally releasing a proper adapter and doing it for hybrids finally as well. Let's allow them to get through a full cycle. Maybe these forged blades aren't performing well enough for mass production? Maybe it's a delay in doing them at quantity? Who knows. I think the horse is out of the barn; we'll see something forged from Ping, and probably in 2019. What form that may take is up to a private company, and sometimes, that's what makes this so intriguing. But as I and others have said, and I still stand by this... you don't get players to pimp a club head publicly if you have *no* plans to release it. That would actually work against you. Ping has *never* been a company that says pros can have one thing and plebs can have our junk. I can't believe they'll start now.

 

I understand most of your points, but the one I don't agree with, and has been said by others, is that by "pimping" this club as they have and then not releasing it would be "suicide" or "work against them". This is a club that 99% (my number, but can't be too much of an exaggeration if in fact the percentage told to me by PING people of 2% is remotely accurate) of PINGs demographic don't want. There are VERY few PING iron fans that are even seeing these, and even less that want them. This is not known to be in PING's wheelhouse. Blade iron models are a LAUGHABLY small segment of the irons sold each year. And the fans that see them and don't get them (if they never come to market) will just go elsewhere for this profile of club. And already weren't customers of PING irons, so what does PING actually "lose" if they don't bring these out? Nothing. They might just not gain...maybe an additional 1% of sales? Which they can do many times over by introducing new models of irons they are known for and have become famous for.

 

For a company to not expand their product lines is economic suicide. I think you're vastly underestimating how many past PING players are bagging Mizuno/JDM/Callaway/TM/Titleist because PING has no forged offering. I was one of them.

 

I love that PING is going in a new direction and isn't pigeon holed into building the same design of irons (cast game improvement) for the same segment of players. With this iron they're tapping into a golfer pool that has been out of their reach for their entire history.

 

Innovation is good. Innovation is necessary. Innovation keeps companies alive.

[Holy Moses]

Seems like they would have spent a fair amount on R&D already to not release them in some capacity. I have no idea about any of this. In today's world maybe most of the R&D is done digitally and they done have that much invested. Who knows?

 

That R&D was most likely done for the pros to help them win and sell more retail Ping clubs

[CallawayLefty]

Anybody know a release date yet? Hoping to pick these and Slicefixer’s book up at the same time to start really grinding on my game.

[chris975d]

I know there is a lot of conjecture here, but that's what forums are all about. Here's what I'm thinking...

 

These clubs are a catalyst. They are the first true foray into two things - the elimination of elastomer as part of a transition away (see i500, Glide Forged), and a mechanism to get pros to sign who would otherwise reject an iron deal without forged heads.

 

Say what you will about how many ways cast isn't any worse than forged, but this is proof that enough guys want what they want. I think the point about this might be that they won't put this on a standard fitting cart; it might be a WRX only. It might be limited. It might be restricted in some way. That in itself isn't bad; it just means that they are prepared to not put these on the Big Box rack.

 

For them to *not come out*… that's not going to happen. They just may not produce a "Blueprint", but as the name itself suggests, this might be a bridging release that eventually gets us to an iBlade 2. They may tweak the head shape, the feel, whatever. In a way, I'm quite happy for them to "bake" these a little longer. You have to get these right. They'll be a statement saying to everyone that *this model* is our top player model, and we are going to do a forged head for the "S range".

 

It's a bold departure, but so is the i500. So is the Glide Forged. So is finally releasing a proper adapter and doing it for hybrids finally as well. Let's allow them to get through a full cycle. Maybe these forged blades aren't performing well enough for mass production? Maybe it's a delay in doing them at quantity? Who knows. I think the horse is out of the barn; we'll see something forged from Ping, and probably in 2019. What form that may take is up to a private company, and sometimes, that's what makes this so intriguing. But as I and others have said, and I still stand by this... you don't get players to pimp a club head publicly if you have *no* plans to release it. That would actually work against you. Ping has *never* been a company that says pros can have one thing and plebs can have our junk. I can't believe they'll start now.

 

I understand most of your points, but the one I don't agree with, and has been said by others, is that by "pimping" this club as they have and then not releasing it would be "suicide" or "work against them". This is a club that 99% (my number, but can't be too much of an exaggeration if in fact the percentage told to me by PING people of 2% is remotely accurate) of PINGs demographic don't want. There are VERY few PING iron fans that are even seeing these, and even less that want them. This is not known to be in PING's wheelhouse. Blade iron models are a LAUGHABLY small segment of the irons sold each year. And the fans that see them and don't get them (if they never come to market) will just go elsewhere for this profile of club. And already weren't customers of PING irons, so what does PING actually "lose" if they don't bring these out? Nothing. They might just not gain...maybe an additional 1% of sales? Which they can do many times over by introducing new models of irons they are known for and have become famous for.

 

For a company to not expand their product lines is economic suicide. I think you're vastly underestimating how many past PING players are bagging Mizuno/JDM/Callaway/TM/Titleist because PING has no forged offering. I was one of them.

 

I love that PING is going in a new direction and isn't pigeon holed into building the same design of irons (cast game improvement) for the same segment of players. With this iron they're tapping into a golfer pool that has been out of their reach for their entire history.

 

Innovation is good. Innovation is necessary. Innovation keeps companies alive.

 

I know how many forged irons vs. cast irons I've sold over the past 25 years...Titleist, PING, TaylorMade, Callaway, Mizuno, Srixon, Cleveland, Cobra, and maybe a few others in that time, and forged are still in the vast minority, even if I factor in the clubs called "forged" but really aren't in the traditional sense of the word. And forged blades, as it appears these Blueprints are...I can literally count the number of sets of those sold on 2 hands. Until one is in the industry talking to customers, fitting customers, selling to customers, it's hard to get true perspective on what is actually sold and sells. It's not this. It's very easy as equipment enthusiasts to fall into believing that because we want to or aspire to play a club like this, that the majority of golfers do as well. But to say not having this type of club is "financial suicide" for PING is...a BIT of a stretch. They are honestly probably the most financially well off golf equipment company out there, period. They don't HAVE to have a club model in a segment that accounts for single digit percentages of all clubs sold...speaking of forged blades here.

 

To reiterate, all of my thoughts are based on the fact that this is a fairly standard forged blade that we are talking about here. If this is in fact some type of hollow/partially hollow bodied club that adds a SIGNIFICANT amount of forgiveness, then that could be a little bit different. But again, as someone who's been around this block in equipment selling, I know first hand how hard it is to get the average golfer to even look at a blade style club, or even a players cavity back. Heck, there are still a majority of average golfers out there that I can't even get to swing a Mizuno game improvement iron during a fitting/demo day because all they know Mizuno as is "hard to hit blades", and assume all Mizunos are hard to hit. Absolutely will not even attempt to hit them...go straight for the Callaways, TaylorMades, and PINGs.

[kcsf]

Chris, your experience trumps anything I have to offer. I just want them to release these damn things!

[chris975d]

Chris, your experience trumps anything I have to offer. I just want them to release these damn things!

 

Oh I do too on a personal level! And I truly hope I'm wrong. Just saying PING is usually very logical about what they do, and it's why they are so successful. And this release wouldn't totally be logical. Wide release like normal irons would not go far in terms of sales, and a limited release would get too far away from PINGs decades old idea of every iron set needs to be fit. But I really don't know what will happen.

[Nessism]

Heck, there are still a majority of average golfers out there that I can't even get to swing a Mizuno game improvement iron during a fitting/demo day because all they know Mizuno as is "hard to hit blades", and assume all Mizunos are hard to hit. Absolutely will not even attempt to hit them...go straight for the Callaways, TaylorMades, and PINGs.

 

Mizuno's are low bounce, even their GI clubs, and one of the biggest failing of GI club types are hitting behind the ball and digging.

[matchavez]

I know there is a lot of conjecture here, but that's what forums are all about. Here's what I'm thinking...

 

These clubs are a catalyst. They are the first true foray into two things - the elimination of elastomer as part of a transition away (see i500, Glide Forged), and a mechanism to get pros to sign who would otherwise reject an iron deal without forged heads.

 

Say what you will about how many ways cast isn't any worse than forged, but this is proof that enough guys want what they want. I think the point about this might be that they won't put this on a standard fitting cart; it might be a WRX only. It might be limited. It might be restricted in some way. That in itself isn't bad; it just means that they are prepared to not put these on the Big Box rack.

 

For them to *not come out*… that's not going to happen. They just may not produce a "Blueprint", but as the name itself suggests, this might be a bridging release that eventually gets us to an iBlade 2. They may tweak the head shape, the feel, whatever. In a way, I'm quite happy for them to "bake" these a little longer. You have to get these right. They'll be a statement saying to everyone that *this model* is our top player model, and we are going to do a forged head for the "S range".

 

It's a bold departure, but so is the i500. So is the Glide Forged. So is finally releasing a proper adapter and doing it for hybrids finally as well. Let's allow them to get through a full cycle. Maybe these forged blades aren't performing well enough for mass production? Maybe it's a delay in doing them at quantity? Who knows. I think the horse is out of the barn; we'll see something forged from Ping, and probably in 2019. What form that may take is up to a private company, and sometimes, that's what makes this so intriguing. But as I and others have said, and I still stand by this... you don't get players to pimp a club head publicly if you have *no* plans to release it. That would actually work against you. Ping has *never* been a company that says pros can have one thing and plebs can have our junk. I can't believe they'll start now.

 

I understand most of your points, but the one I don't agree with, and has been said by others, is that by "pimping" this club as they have and then not releasing it would be "suicide" or "work against them". This is a club that 99% (my number, but can't be too much of an exaggeration if in fact the percentage told to me by PING people of 2% is remotely accurate) of PINGs demographic don't want. There are VERY few PING iron fans that are even seeing these, and even less that want them. This is not known to be in PING's wheelhouse. Blade iron models are a LAUGHABLY small segment of the irons sold each year. And the fans that see them and don't get them (if they never come to market) will just go elsewhere for this profile of club. And already weren't customers of PING irons, so what does PING actually "lose" if they don't bring these out? Nothing. They might just not gain...maybe an additional 1% of sales? Which they can do many times over by introducing new models of irons they are known for and have become famous for.

 

I certainly don't think it's suicide. I think that in this era of doing things differently, this might be that first time where their pros talk something up and then don't release that exact one to the public. Unusual for sure, but it's an unusual time. But I think that sometimes Ping gets passed on in general sales *because* they don't have a range. Others have already mentioned it. I think they are now focusing on more than just "mass customisation" (their saying), and adding more of a customer focus on either feel, or distance. It's not that the TM 17-more-yards thing is a huge influencer, but players who are passing the G-iron level are faced with neither "player distance" (now handled by i500), or "forged feel" (where these slot in, of course).

 

If you want the automotive analogy, there are limited run cars that aren't always the most profitable, but if you have a sexy-as model, you can often sell the model one-down because of it. Hell, that's not just cars, either. Fairly sure I wouldn't want beyond a 6-iron myself, anyhow. But feel is becoming more important to me because I'm finding that repeatability matters. The i210 focused on that. I expect that you're going to see this low-mid segment to split - all feel, or sexy distance. No more "solid, cast" ho-hum offerings will do, as they don't compete in either/or.

 

As always, thanks for the reply, Chris. :)

[TheMoneyShot]

I’m going power spec in this set once they are released:)

[bladehunter]

Here's the philosophical problem. Ping is all about proper fitting. What would they produce maybe a few hundred sets? Maybe. Now, for this to work it would need to be some kind of a custom Ping WRX offering, one set one spec. It goes against everything they are about. For them to fully release these Reps would need to visit accounts and the fitters would need demo equipment. It just doesn't fit there business model and it most definitely would not be profitable.

 

The part I bolded is the only reason I say (my opinion) that it's somewhat unlikely to be done. PING rarely does things that aren't profitable. I could somewhat see them release them like they do the PLD putters, where reps are allocated X amount, and accounts like us have access to those (or not) based on our buying history and volume... aka, a very limited, controlled release. Several companies do this...TaylorMade with the black P790s last year, Scotty Camerion with the holiday and limited release putters, etc. But...then again, an entire set of irons is much more expensive to make than a putter, so the price of these released in this manner would have to be remarkably high compared to other PING offerings to be profitable, and I wonder if they are reluctant to do this.

 

I'd love to see them be available at reasonable prices to consumers for personal reasons, but if they were to be a wide, not-limited release, it won't be profitable for PING. S-series and iBlades are barely worth their effort to produce. And that's why I am very reluctant to think they will ever come out. Hope I'm wrong though, as I'd personally love to try them even though I know I'd never sell a set to a customer.

 

What about the back end ? Wouldn’t a large number covert most clubs over to ping ?

[bladehunter]

I know there is a lot of conjecture here, but that's what forums are all about. Here's what I'm thinking...

 

These clubs are a catalyst. They are the first true foray into two things - the elimination of elastomer as part of a transition away (see i500, Glide Forged), and a mechanism to get pros to sign who would otherwise reject an iron deal without forged heads.

 

Say what you will about how many ways cast isn't any worse than forged, but this is proof that enough guys want what they want. I think the point about this might be that they won't put this on a standard fitting cart; it might be a WRX only. It might be limited. It might be restricted in some way. That in itself isn't bad; it just means that they are prepared to not put these on the Big Box rack.

 

For them to *not come out*… that's not going to happen. They just may not produce a "Blueprint", but as the name itself suggests, this might be a bridging release that eventually gets us to an iBlade 2. They may tweak the head shape, the feel, whatever. In a way, I'm quite happy for them to "bake" these a little longer. You have to get these right. They'll be a statement saying to everyone that *this model* is our top player model, and we are going to do a forged head for the "S range".

 

It's a bold departure, but so is the i500. So is the Glide Forged. So is finally releasing a proper adapter and doing it for hybrids finally as well. Let's allow them to get through a full cycle. Maybe these forged blades aren't performing well enough for mass production? Maybe it's a delay in doing them at quantity? Who knows. I think the horse is out of the barn; we'll see something forged from Ping, and probably in 2019. What form that may take is up to a private company, and sometimes, that's what makes this so intriguing. But as I and others have said, and I still stand by this... you don't get players to pimp a club head publicly if you have *no* plans to release it. That would actually work against you. Ping has *never* been a company that says pros can have one thing and plebs can have our junk. I can't believe they'll start now.

 

I understand most of your points, but the one I don't agree with, and has been said by others, is that by "pimping" this club as they have and then not releasing it would be "suicide" or "work against them". This is a club that 99% (my number, but can't be too much of an exaggeration if in fact the percentage told to me by PING people of 2% is remotely accurate) of PINGs demographic don't want. There are VERY few PING iron fans that are even seeing these, and even less that want them. This is not known to be in PING's wheelhouse. Blade iron models are a LAUGHABLY small segment of the irons sold each year. And the fans that see them and don't get them (if they never come to market) will just go elsewhere for this profile of club. And already weren't customers of PING irons, so what does PING actually "lose" if they don't bring these out? Nothing. They might just not gain...maybe an additional 1% of sales? Which they can do many times over by introducing new models of irons they are known for and have become famous for.

 

What about the angle of all the well known tour stars playing them and no way to buy them ? Doesn’t that hurt some of the every mans image ?

[gjlang76]

Interesting innovation talk. This is just my opinion, but when I think of golf innovation, to me, there’s not another company that comes even close to PING. How many companies sole engineering mission is to make the game easier for everyone? Maybe not sexy, but that’s pretty damn awesome if you ask me. Others promise more yards, but when I buy PING, I know (in my mind) there’s nothing that’s been engineered better to get the ball to the middle of the fairway and closer to the hole.

[chris975d]

I know there is a lot of conjecture here, but that's what forums are all about. Here's what I'm thinking...

 

These clubs are a catalyst. They are the first true foray into two things - the elimination of elastomer as part of a transition away (see i500, Glide Forged), and a mechanism to get pros to sign who would otherwise reject an iron deal without forged heads.

 

Say what you will about how many ways cast isn't any worse than forged, but this is proof that enough guys want what they want. I think the point about this might be that they won't put this on a standard fitting cart; it might be a WRX only. It might be limited. It might be restricted in some way. That in itself isn't bad; it just means that they are prepared to not put these on the Big Box rack.

 

For them to *not come out* that's not going to happen. They just may not produce a "Blueprint", but as the name itself suggests, this might be a bridging release that eventually gets us to an iBlade 2. They may tweak the head shape, the feel, whatever. In a way, I'm quite happy for them to "bake" these a little longer. You have to get these right. They'll be a statement saying to everyone that *this model* is our top player model, and we are going to do a forged head for the "S range".

 

It's a bold departure, but so is the i500. So is the Glide Forged. So is finally releasing a proper adapter and doing it for hybrids finally as well. Let's allow them to get through a full cycle. Maybe these forged blades aren't performing well enough for mass production? Maybe it's a delay in doing them at quantity? Who knows. I think the horse is out of the barn; we'll see something forged from Ping, and probably in 2019. What form that may take is up to a private company, and sometimes, that's what makes this so intriguing. But as I and others have said, and I still stand by this... you don't get players to pimp a club head publicly if you have *no* plans to release it. That would actually work against you. Ping has *never* been a company that says pros can have one thing and plebs can have our junk. I can't believe they'll start now.

 

I understand most of your points, but the one I don't agree with, and has been said by others, is that by "pimping" this club as they have and then not releasing it would be "suicide" or "work against them". This is a club that 99% (my number, but can't be too much of an exaggeration if in fact the percentage told to me by PING people of 2% is remotely accurate) of PINGs demographic don't want. There are VERY few PING iron fans that are even seeing these, and even less that want them. This is not known to be in PING's wheelhouse. Blade iron models are a LAUGHABLY small segment of the irons sold each year. And the fans that see them and don't get them (if they never come to market) will just go elsewhere for this profile of club. And already weren't customers of PING irons, so what does PING actually "lose" if they don't bring these out? Nothing. They might just not gain...maybe an additional 1% of sales? Which they can do many times over by introducing new models of irons they are known for and have become famous for.

 

What about the angle of all the well known tour stars playing them and no way to buy them ? Doesnt that hurt some of the every mans image ?

 

Does it? I don't think too many PING customers buy G-series (PINGs bread and butter for years) and I-series irons thinking Tour pros play those...for how many years now have the majority of PINGs Tour staffers played S-series irons, and those BARELY even sell at the retail level. So obviously the vast majority of customers have never given a darn about that. Again, we (forum dwellers and equipment geeks) play FAR more attention to the specific equipment that pros play. All the general golfing public knows is that those pros "play" PING. They rarely know what model PING those pros in the PING (or any other manufacturer for that matter) hats play.

[matchavez]

I know there is a lot of conjecture here, but that's what forums are all about. Here's what I'm thinking...

 

These clubs are a catalyst. They are the first true foray into two things - the elimination of elastomer as part of a transition away (see i500, Glide Forged), and a mechanism to get pros to sign who would otherwise reject an iron deal without forged heads.

 

Say what you will about how many ways cast isn't any worse than forged, but this is proof that enough guys want what they want. I think the point about this might be that they won't put this on a standard fitting cart; it might be a WRX only. It might be limited. It might be restricted in some way. That in itself isn't bad; it just means that they are prepared to not put these on the Big Box rack.

 

For them to *not come out*… that's not going to happen. They just may not produce a "Blueprint", but as the name itself suggests, this might be a bridging release that eventually gets us to an iBlade 2. They may tweak the head shape, the feel, whatever. In a way, I'm quite happy for them to "bake" these a little longer. You have to get these right. They'll be a statement saying to everyone that *this model* is our top player model, and we are going to do a forged head for the "S range".

 

It's a bold departure, but so is the i500. So is the Glide Forged. So is finally releasing a proper adapter and doing it for hybrids finally as well. Let's allow them to get through a full cycle. Maybe these forged blades aren't performing well enough for mass production? Maybe it's a delay in doing them at quantity? Who knows. I think the horse is out of the barn; we'll see something forged from Ping, and probably in 2019. What form that may take is up to a private company, and sometimes, that's what makes this so intriguing. But as I and others have said, and I still stand by this... you don't get players to pimp a club head publicly if you have *no* plans to release it. That would actually work against you. Ping has *never* been a company that says pros can have one thing and plebs can have our junk. I can't believe they'll start now.

 

I understand most of your points, but the one I don't agree with, and has been said by others, is that by "pimping" this club as they have and then not releasing it would be "suicide" or "work against them". This is a club that 99% (my number, but can't be too much of an exaggeration if in fact the percentage told to me by PING people of 2% is remotely accurate) of PINGs demographic don't want. There are VERY few PING iron fans that are even seeing these, and even less that want them. This is not known to be in PING's wheelhouse. Blade iron models are a LAUGHABLY small segment of the irons sold each year. And the fans that see them and don't get them (if they never come to market) will just go elsewhere for this profile of club. And already weren't customers of PING irons, so what does PING actually "lose" if they don't bring these out? Nothing. They might just not gain...maybe an additional 1% of sales? Which they can do many times over by introducing new models of irons they are known for and have become famous for.

 

What about the angle of all the well known tour stars playing them and no way to buy them ? Doesn't that hurt some of the every mans image ?

 

It has that potential. I know it's a snowflake's chance in hell, but imagine Bubba wins two in a row with them...

[chris975d]

I know there is a lot of conjecture here, but that's what forums are all about. Here's what I'm thinking...

 

These clubs are a catalyst. They are the first true foray into two things - the elimination of elastomer as part of a transition away (see i500, Glide Forged), and a mechanism to get pros to sign who would otherwise reject an iron deal without forged heads.

 

Say what you will about how many ways cast isn't any worse than forged, but this is proof that enough guys want what they want. I think the point about this might be that they won't put this on a standard fitting cart; it might be a WRX only. It might be limited. It might be restricted in some way. That in itself isn't bad; it just means that they are prepared to not put these on the Big Box rack.

 

For them to *not come out*… that's not going to happen. They just may not produce a "Blueprint", but as the name itself suggests, this might be a bridging release that eventually gets us to an iBlade 2. They may tweak the head shape, the feel, whatever. In a way, I'm quite happy for them to "bake" these a little longer. You have to get these right. They'll be a statement saying to everyone that *this model* is our top player model, and we are going to do a forged head for the "S range".

 

It's a bold departure, but so is the i500. So is the Glide Forged. So is finally releasing a proper adapter and doing it for hybrids finally as well. Let's allow them to get through a full cycle. Maybe these forged blades aren't performing well enough for mass production? Maybe it's a delay in doing them at quantity? Who knows. I think the horse is out of the barn; we'll see something forged from Ping, and probably in 2019. What form that may take is up to a private company, and sometimes, that's what makes this so intriguing. But as I and others have said, and I still stand by this... you don't get players to pimp a club head publicly if you have *no* plans to release it. That would actually work against you. Ping has *never* been a company that says pros can have one thing and plebs can have our junk. I can't believe they'll start now.

 

I understand most of your points, but the one I don't agree with, and has been said by others, is that by "pimping" this club as they have and then not releasing it would be "suicide" or "work against them". This is a club that 99% (my number, but can't be too much of an exaggeration if in fact the percentage told to me by PING people of 2% is remotely accurate) of PINGs demographic don't want. There are VERY few PING iron fans that are even seeing these, and even less that want them. This is not known to be in PING's wheelhouse. Blade iron models are a LAUGHABLY small segment of the irons sold each year. And the fans that see them and don't get them (if they never come to market) will just go elsewhere for this profile of club. And already weren't customers of PING irons, so what does PING actually "lose" if they don't bring these out? Nothing. They might just not gain...maybe an additional 1% of sales? Which they can do many times over by introducing new models of irons they are known for and have become famous for.

 

What about the angle of all the well known tour stars playing them and no way to buy them ? Doesn't that hurt some of the every mans image ?

 

It has that potential. I know it's a snowflake's chance in hell, but imagine Bubba wins two in a row with them...

 

In talking to golfers day in day out coming to the course, or selling equipment, 8 out of 10 of those golfers that know Bubba won only know he plays PING equipment, not that he plays Blueprint irons with XYZ shafts, etc (the stuff that we know here). The general golfing public just DOES NOT keep up with things to the level of detail that we do. I see it every day. The vast majority of them just know that Bubba has a PING hat/visor on and he won. The manufacturers know this as well, as I talk to the reps to a level of detail that sometimes annoys them. Just had this exact convo with 2 yesterday. So if PING makes a club (Blueprint) that helps Bubba win more, and the golfing public equate that with PING helps Bubba win more, that's usually as far as the thought goes. It often doesn't carry on to "what PING club(s) helped Bubba win".