to keep and use, or get a new set? ping i3 set

[thisjustanother]

hopefully this is posted in the correct forum. i was gifted by my grandfather a brand new never used ping i3 oversized blue complete set. i know these are a near 20 year old set of clubs. but they are brand new. my previous set was the 1980s original ping eye (not 2). i may play at least 3-4 times a month. with the i3s i know they were rated pretty well back then. but being 20 years old, would it be better to just look at getting a new current year set instead like the g400/g410 set.

[kmay__]

I'd be surprised if the newer offerings perform all that much better than those older ones, and there free vs. hundreds of dollars. I'd play them as long as the shaft is close enough in weight and flex to what your used to or fit to, and wait to fork out the cash until you're ready for more of a "players" type iron as they say. My 2 cents, most people say the older ping GI type irons were as good as any new GI irons.

[J-Blade]

The i3s are keepers, in my opinion. Very solid irons. Just be sure the blue dots are set up right for you. Most people seem to be black dots.

 

[Nessism]

I say play them too. Regarding the dot color, Blue dot is the most popular. At one point Ping even denoted them "standard" for stocking purposes on the retail level but that caused a lot of confusion from people that always thought Black was standard so they dropped the practice.

[dlygrisse]

I have a set I played for 10 years. Very solid clubs. You will find that they play more similar to today’s players irons than say the G series, which I play now. For a young guy this shouldn’t be a problem. As I got older I found I liked the modern easy to elevate G’s, but the i3 was the best selling club in the early 2000’s and is still very playable.

[Davidv]

Keep them if they have sentimental value to you, but for on the course time to upgrade. Plenty of good technical improvements made in the past 20 years, shafts, heads, etc.

[jeff1727]

Guy I play golf with went from the i3's to the g400's last year. His scoring average stayed the same.

[BrianMcG]

I just recently bought a set of i3s to play with in the winter. They are great.

 

Newer doesn't mean better. There is only so much weight you can move around on an iron head to improve the moi. Id put up an i3 against anything new any day. If the lie angle is right for you, you will love them.

[MattMo]

If I’m not mistaken, the i3 was the best selling iron set when introduced in 2000. It marked a change in iron design for Ping with many innovations still used today: the custom tuning port, notch in the hosel for lie adjustments, to name a few. Also, by offering 2 models, the O-Size and the Blade, it allowed them to tailor to many golfer types. I’d definitely keep them, especially with the sentimental value.

[vibgyor1111]

Use them. Saved money can be used for wedges or top of the bag imo.

[Payton1020]

Play them. Your grandpa would be proud.

[Munich77]

> @Payton1020 said:

> Play them. Your grandpa would be proud.

 

Totally agree. Play them and enjoy them. If you want newer irons keep them as a backup.

 

[starrman77]

I'm still using mine.

[thisjustanother]

i went ahead and got fitted for the i3's. the guy said they are close to perfect for me. didnt need to get anything adjusted. played a round of golf with them and they felt pretty good. may need to get better grips though. and from what others said, the money saved went into getting a new g410 driver :smiley: thank you all for the input you guys had.

[JAMH03]

1. Your Grandpa gave you those. You need to understand what his intention was. 2. I would say go compare one of them head to head vs anything new. 3. Enjoy!

[JAMH03]

Glad they're gonna work for you! Definitely get new grips that you love. Good job!

[thisjustanother]

are there any recommendations for grips? for the driver, the fitter recommended i use midsize for the driver i got. are driver and iron sets suppose to be the same, or is standard for irons ok?

[J-Blade]

> @Nessism said:

> I say play them too. Regarding the dot color, Blue dot is the most popular. At one point Ping even denoted them "standard" for stocking purposes on the retail level but that caused a lot of confusion from people that always thought Black was standard so they dropped the practice.

 

I stand corrected. Thanks. I thought Ping still used black as the standard lie. When did that change?

 

[NRJyzr]

> @J-Blade said:

> > @Nessism said:

> > I say play them too. Regarding the dot color, Blue dot is the most popular. At one point Ping even denoted them "standard" for stocking purposes on the retail level but that caused a lot of confusion from people that always thought Black was standard so they dropped the practice.

>

> I stand corrected. Thanks. I thought Ping still used black as the standard lie. When did that change?

>

 

 

Black still is the standard lie. Nessism is referring to inventory stocking patterns.

[vibgyor1111]

> @thisjustanother said:

> are there any recommendations for grips? for the driver, the fitter recommended i use midsize for the driver i got. are driver and iron sets suppose to be the same, or is standard for irons ok?

 

I actually just regripped my 2 and 3 iron from my old i3 set to fill a huge hole between my driver and 5 iron. I got the lamkin sonar. Soft but firm, tacky. It's awesome and I prefer it to the golf pride tour 360 that are on my current irons.

[dlygrisse]

> @thisjustanother said:

> are there any recommendations for grips? for the driver, the fitter recommended i use midsize for the driver i got. are driver and iron sets suppose to be the same, or is standard for irons ok?

 

Personally, I like all my grips to match.

[nuttinbutapeanut]

On a good note the lofts are fairly traditional so you won't have to carry 5 wedges because your 5 iron is 18*....... lol

[thisjustanother]

i have been enjoying the 2-SW club selection the set comes with. im still trying to decide if i want or need to find fairway drivers/hybrids if i already have 2 and 3 irons. right now i just have a driver and 5 hybrid.

[scruffynick]

Play them, I still use the isi irons. The older ping models still perform brilliantly.... Great sticks that will save you a good buck or two

[rlouthain]

My golf addiction started in 2000 and I purchased my first set of fitted irons...Ping i3’s. Picked an exact spec set off eBay for nostalgic reasons and could not be happier. Other than thinking of the $$$ I could have saved the past 19 years. Anyone else do the same?

[Tall golfer]

keep them. I had a set used them for 6 years then I sold them I still miss them I had 3 iron to lob wedge

Tall Golfer