Were the Ping i e1 a dud?

[Tree Levino]

So after a very unsuccessful venture into AP2 and some other models I'm thinking of going back to my comfort zone in Ping. I had the i200 last summer and played them really well. They covered up my swing flaws well as a newer golfer and helped me break into the 70s quite a few times. Since switching to different clubs I haven't been able to replicate that success. I shouldn't have gotten rid of them. Had them with the KBS tour stiff and they worked great. I'm selling my 718 AP2 for a cool profit and have found a set of i e1 with KBS tour in the for very very cheap. They're a little bit rough around the edges but for what is essentially just the price of shafts I can pick them up. Seems like they got replaced pretty quickly and they didn't get much love probably because of looks. How similar are they to i200/i210? If they're close to the same clubs I think I could be grabbing a very good deal. Thoughts on these clubs? Were they good and just lacking a bit of shelf appeal?

 

[Drudersh]

Better than i200. Lower spin, longer, better trajectory control. i200 felt a little softer but that’s about the only aspect where they better than i E1. In terms of sales, i200 were actually a dud for Ping. 

[Nessism]

ie1 was raw stainless unlike the other i irons that came before and after.  Some people like that and others don't.  They play just fine in my experience.  Hard to go wrong with Ping i's of any version.

[Troutfly]

Nope, had ie's for a year. True for about any of the i versions,  performers not lookers... 

[Titleist_PT23]

Didn't you just pickup the 718s like two weeks ago??. Ping irons are great, I will likely never stray away.

[MattMo]

Going on year 3 for me.  As an 8 hdcp with so-so iron play, the i-series fits me perfectly.  Coming from the G25’s, they offer a great blend of feel, forgiveness, playability and looks.  Cast from the same material as the i200 and i210, they have a similar feel, IMO.  People rag on their looks and I really don’t get it.  They may not look as nice as the newer i210s, but they look better than the i20’s and 125’s, IMO. 

[Tree Levino]

agolf1 said:

Didn't you just pickup the 718s like two weeks ago??. Ping irons are great, I will likely never stray away.

I did. To be honest, I've played 5 rounds with them now and played 20 rounds with the 716 same shaft and I'm realizing that either the shaft is an awful fit or it's just too much club for me. I'm overspinning them, dispersion is awful and I find I have to forward press a ton to get any distance. The 5 and 6 iron are both coming backwards after landing. Just not a good fit for me. I'm also buying a house so having $150 out for some semi beat up Ping i's vs $850 for a brand new set of ill fitting AP2 makes more sense to me. 

[Titleist_PT23]

balls_deep said:

agolf1 said:

Didn't you just pickup the 718s like two weeks ago??. Ping irons are great, I will likely never stray away.

I did. To be honest, I've played 5 rounds with them now and played 20 rounds with the 716 same shaft and I'm realizing that either the shaft is an awful fit or it's just too much club for me. I'm overspinning them, dispersion is awful and I find I have to forward press a ton to get any distance. The 5 and 6 iron are both coming backwards after landing. Just not a good fit for me. I'm also buying a house so having $150 out for some semi beat up Ping i's vs $850 for a brand new set of ill fitting AP2 makes more sense to me. 

Wow, really good deal on the Pings.  Tough to break the all Titleist bag though (rest of the setup looks great).

I've never hit the AMT White, but I feel like they are probably too heavy for me (better than DGS300 given the lighter long irons).  I am interested to hit some of these more player's irons (i200/210, AP2 or CB) with the DG 105 shafts.   I have a hunch that those clubheads with light shafts may work ok for me, but so far I haven't had a chance.  Anyways, good luck with the Pings and the house.

[Neverfaze]

I just got a set of I E1 brand new for $400 from a local shop. 4-pw/gw with PX in them. They aren't pretty, but they just flat out work. I wanted i210s but couldn't justify the price difference. Most people here tend to agree I series irons all play pretty similar, and that's really what swayed my decision. I haven't played a ping iron since the S57s , and these are a nice surprise. I typically play player cb forged irons, so going to a cast mid range iron was hard to do initially (I purchased them without hitting them). After two rounds, I don't even think about the progressive offset of anything, they just plain work.

[jecarnl]

They are really good irons, but as others have said they just don't look as good as they perform. 

[gentles]

As a few others have alluded to I think the finish and design of these irons were what makes them a dud. They changed the finish, font, color scheme, naming convention, from the i25, and then changed most of it again for the i200...meaning that they seem out of place.

[SilverBullets]

From a performance perspective, I thought the iE1 was one of the better irons Ping has produced. Yeah they look kind of ugly and the finish on them isn't sexy, but man do they perform. While the i200 and i210 look incredible, I didn't find them to be anywhere near as good as the iE1s.

Now my experience was solely through multiple fittings and hitting them on a sim (both indoor and outdoor) but I honestly shocked by how much better I thought the iE1 was than the i200.

[Drudersh]

I've owned two sets of i200's and have gone back to i E1 both times. i200 wasn't a bad iron, it just wasn't as good as i E1. I won't say I'm surprised but rather that I'm impressed by how many sets of i E1's I see in people's bags.

[cardoustie]

under rated iron, they are solid !

[stormbringer]

I guess I'm in the minority but I like the looks of the IE1 over the I200/210. I think feel if similar but I like the way the sole does not look like crap quickly like the next two versions (IMO). I also like the way the dark face frames the ball.

[uglande]

I really liked the IE1. Really hit the sweet spot in terms of forgiveness, sole wide, offset. I thought they felt nice, too. Honestly, I think the reason they didn't take off was because of the cosmetics. The design and color scheme was a bit dull and so they didn't have much shelf appeal. The iBlades also came out not long afterward, and they stole some of the IE1 thunder.

But they are definitely a very solid set of irons, IMO. (BTW, I actually used a paint stripped to remove the light blue color on the badging, which created an all grey/silver look that was pretty cool. Something to consider if they are already used clubs and you don't care for the coloring).

[Tree Levino]

Wow very cool! You just used a bit of paint thinner to take it off? Easy enough? They have a bit of rust spotting on the back but I'm just going to slap some lead tape on them and call it a day. Would be cool to remove the blue if it's scratched up. I think they'll work well. They're yellow dot and I prefer black, it's very cool that Ping will adjust lie for free. Such a good company.

[CDLgolf]

Not sure if they were a dud or not but I have played several G and i irons and my favorite has been the ie1.

Look, feel, and performance are perfect for me.

[eldog-in-the-hizouse]

They are a very solid club, and I think they are easier to hit than the AP2s. I'm not sure how different they perform than the i200s.

[Nessism]

> @balls_deep said:

> They're yellow dot and I prefer black, it's very cool that Ping will adjust lie for free. Such a good company.

 

Not sure about this part. They charge to adjust from what people here report unless you are a walk-in at their shop in AZ.

 

 

[lil'mike]

> @Nessism said:

> > @balls_deep said:

> > They're yellow dot and I prefer black, it's very cool that Ping will adjust lie for free. Such a good company.

>

> Not sure about this part. They charge to adjust from what people here report unless you are a walk-in at their shop in AZ.

>

>

I don't think they actually charge you for the color code change unless the set is an older set but you do have to pay shipping both ways!

 

 

[juggernaut0629]

I played the ie for a season. Then went to iblades for a short stint. The ease of hitting the ie is just too easy to pass up. So I sold the iblades & went back to the ie1. If ping came up with an iron that looks like the iblade but has the forgiveness & are super easy to hit like the ie1....sign me up!

[outnumbered]

Picked up a used set of E1s on the bay last month as a potential replacement to my 17 yr old Mizunos. One range session so far on trackman seems to prove it was a positive move, but glad to hear others high opinion of the clubs. They are a departure in terms of feel, but I like the changes I saw in terms of flight and forgiveness. Hopefully they will perform as well or better on turf. Shaft change from Rifle flighted 6.0 to Modus 105 could be significant part of flight profile difference, but it is nice to see the apex and spin numbers on slight mishits that only happened with perfect stikes with my Mizzys. Will update my experience after a few rounds on grass but I have no reason to believe that it won’t be just as positive as others before me.

[kess13]

I played them for a bit. I thought they felt great when you hit them in the center, just like most any iron. I actually ordered their look over the i200’s and much easier to look down at vs the g25’s I had. They were very forgiving as well. In the end, the sole didn’t work for me so I moved on. Great irons for the right person though.

[LaymanM]

Ei1 are my favorite I series from PING. Very playable and feel good. People complained about the finish. I just had the wrong shaft in my set and wanted something a little newer. Very nice iron

[gbartko]

I still have mine. I feel like they were like an improved version of the i5. The long irons are really easy to hit and the U wedge is awesome. Paired with a couple of Glide w/ the ES grind and it's a modern day version of the Ping Eye 2s with better feel. If you are hitting them out of the center they feel as good as anything else.

[dbleag]

I don't know what it is about the IE-1 irons, but I keep buying another set because I can't find anything newer that's better.

 

I tried i500's, i200's, i210's, g400's and g410's, and although some of these feel better, nothing performs better for me than the iE-1's.

 

Maybe it's the blue color in the cavity?

[leftylama]

I didn't think they looked as good as I20 to I210 models, but I thought they were one of the best performers in the series.

[the bishop]

On 3/22/2019 at 6:20 AM, TigerInTheWoods said:

 

agolf1 said:

 

Didn't you just pickup the 718s like two weeks ago??. Ping irons are great, I will likely never stray away.

 

I did. To be honest, I've played 5 rounds with them now and played 20 rounds with the 716 same shaft and I'm realizing that either the shaft is an awful fit or it's just too much club for me. I'm overspinning them, dispersion is awful and I find I have to forward press a ton to get any distance. The 5 and 6 iron are both coming backwards after landing. Just not a good fit for me. I'm also buying a house so having $150 out for some semi beat up Ping i's vs $850 for a brand new set of ill fitting AP2 makes more sense to me. 

Are the shafts the AMT's?  If so I hear you.  I had that shaft in two different sets of irons (716 AP2's and W/S V6) and couldn't stand it in either one.

[uglande]

I had a set and liked them pretty well. Aesthetically (in the bag) pretty dull. But nice behind the ball and very forgiving. Liked them much better than the G irons but not as much as the iBlade.