Ping G30 irons review

[Interpol]

Haven't seen many reviews for the Ping G30 irons around here, so I thought I'd contribute my own. My 4-PW set arrived from Ping last week and I had the chance to hit them on the range today.

 

First, my background: I'm a high handicapper, been playing hack golf for the last ~8 years now. Most of my younger days were spent on the long drive circuit but those days are now behind me. Only started taking lessons (and thus retooling my swing and entire golf game) on a regular basis this year at Golftec, so I would describe my ability as 'steadily improving'. My previous irons, in chronological order, were:

 

TM RAC OS, stock steel shafts, stiff

TM R7 XD, stock steel shafts, stiff

Ping Rapture V1, white dot, Z-Z65 steel shafts

Ping G20, silver dot, CFS stiff steel shafts

 

Since the G20s were my most recent irons until today (when I traded them in towards a new Cobra Bio Cell+ driver), I'll be comparing the G30s primarily with them.

 

G30 specs: blue dot (0.75* upright), ProjectX 5.5 shafts, +1/2" length, Ping OEM 5L orange (midsize) grips

 

Build/looks: standard Ping quality - in other words, excellent. IMO the G30s are the nicest looking irons in Ping's G series so far. Compared to the G20s, the G30 soles are definitely narrower and the topline are very slightly thinner. I've read that there's less of a difference when compared to G25 irons. For me, it was a nice step up in the looks department. The size and shape of the G30 head is almost identical to the G20/25.

 

Shafts: this time around I decided to treat myself to a set of ProjectX 5.5 shafts after receiving the recommendation from my fitter. I had stiff CFS shafts on my G20s and IMO I never really got used to them. I really liked the Z-Z65 shafts on my Raptures and I would say that the characteristics of the PX shafts are closer to the Z-Z65 than CFS.

 

Feel: this is where I noticed a significant difference between the G20s and the G30s. On mishits, the G20s felt really harsh. I get none of that with the G30s. Every ball strike felt solid, even gross mishits near the toe, heel, and even the hosel. It's a much more pleasant experience swinging G30 irons versus G20s.

 

Distance: the one word I would use to describe the G30s: consistent. Compared to the G20s, I would estimate that I get about 1/3 or 1/2 club more distance from the G30s. Example: I average about 140 yards with the G20 9 iron. With the G30 9 iron, I was consistently hitting 145-148 yards.

 

Overall, these are fantastic irons in all respects, and a definite upgrade from the G20, especially in the feel department. I have no regrets buying them, and will probably stay in my bag for quite a while (or maybe until the G40s come out).

[dusadus]

thanks for the review. Appreciate it as I'm looking to make a similar upgrade from G20s to G30s. Is the offset about the same between the 2 sets?

[Interpol]

[quote name='dusadus' timestamp='1409679144' post='10050519']thanks for the review. Appreciate it as I'm looking to make a similar upgrade from G20s to G30s. Is the offset about the same between the 2 sets?[/quote]

The G30s have very slightly less offset than the 20s, although it's hard to tell unless you've got the clubs right next to each other to compare.

[Mikey_Golds]

Thanks for the review. I'm in the market for some new irons as well from my beginner set which I had for over a year. Did you find the G30s ran shorter length wise hence why you got +1/2" or is that how you always had your irons? I'm shorter so I'm wondering cause I don't want to go custom on shafts yet.

[Interpol]

[quote name='Mikey_Golds' timestamp='1409680043' post='10050599']Thanks for the review. I'm in the market for some new irons as well from my beginner set which I had for over a year. Did you find the G30s ran shorter length wise hence why you got +1/2" or is that how you always had your irons? I'm shorter so I'm wondering cause I don't want to go custom on shafts yet.[/quote]

No, that was just how I was fit. All of my previous Ping irons were built with +1/2" shafts.

[Ripken08]

Throw in my 2 cents here...

I ordered a set of 4-LW with CFS R flex w/Cushin. Coming from MP32s...

First round out was UGLY. Couldn't get under the ball as a sweeper and too hard to adjust to the looks. Went out today and played 18 and specifically concentrated on my swing and lining up the white score line to my target. Hit them much better! I "overlooked" the looks of them by basically ignoring them. Shot a pretty easy 77 which is good for me.

Already put them up for sale after the first round, but now don't know what to do. Really want a set of MP64s though.

[hunter42]

Really like mine. I've played i25's, mp h4, and apex most recently. Feels like cheating. Only have 2 rounds so far but they seem like the perfect combination of length, height, and control.

[mikec3672]

[quote name='DeadlyShortGame' timestamp='1409790510' post='10060047']
Throw in my 2 cents here...

I ordered a set of 4-LW with CFS R flex w/Cushin. Coming from MP32s...

First round out was UGLY. Couldn't get under the ball as a sweeper and too hard to adjust to the looks. Went out today and played 18 and specifically concentrated on my swing and lining up the white score line to my target. Hit them much better! I "overlooked" the looks of them by basically ignoring them. Shot a pretty easy 77 which is good for me.

Already put them up for sale after the first round, but now don't know what to do. Really want a set of MP64s though.
[/quote]you like many of us here including myself have problems

[Little Ned]

[quote name='mikec3672' timestamp='1409792711' post='10060351']
[quote name='DeadlyShortGame' timestamp='1409790510' post='10060047']
Throw in my 2 cents here...

I ordered a set of 4-LW with CFS R flex w/Cushin. Coming from MP32s...

First round out was UGLY. Couldn't get under the ball as a sweeper and too hard to adjust to the looks. Went out today and played 18 and specifically concentrated on my swing and lining up the white score line to my target. Hit them much better! I "overlooked" the looks of them by basically ignoring them. Shot a pretty easy 77 which is good for me.

Already put them up for sale after the first round, but now don't know what to do. Really want a set of MP64s though.
[/quote]you like many of us here including myself have problems
[/quote]

I wish I had that problem. Instead, I've been saving up for almost a year to buy a new set. And I'll have this new set for several years.

[Stoffer]

I like my G30's but I'm really not that good of a golfer so it could have been the change of clubs, completely different shafts, or just better swings.
Comming from J40 DPC it seemed the wider sole of the G30 was the biggest difference.

[Leftymoose]

Anyone know the hosel size on the G30 irons? Thanks

[Lag]

Nice review! I dig the ease of use these irons have