In hand photos of the Ping i500 irons (MERGED)

[matchavez]

I had a Club Champion fitting Saturday. I was working through various heads, the fitter said our goal was 1.4 smash on 6i. My own irons (Adams cmb) were low, 1.30-1.33. The 790s 1.27-1.30, several others in the upper 1.2s to low 1.3s. Just really struggling to find consistent contact. He hands me the i500 (hadn't really read much about them). I hit the first and it was like HALLELUJAH! Whoa what was that? The ball exploded. 1.39. Three more 1.39-1.40. A mishit, still 1.37. Ball flying 25-30 yards longer than any other 6i (210 vs 180). Could not believe it. Switched it up a few times figuring it was just my swing getting better. But coming in and out and the i500 was just not only head and shoulders better it was an entire torso. Aside from the numbers, it just felt so explosive, yet I found it very soft. I could call out the smash based on contact feel alone.

 

Now I'm trying to decide what to do. Can't afford the $800+ premium to order through CC. But don't necessarily trust Ping since I'll be shortening, bumping up SW to D4, adjusting lie angle. Any advice? Last time I bought from Ping, they came at C8 and they wanted a small fortune to fix.

 

Sometimes you can buy them through a big-box that has a workshop (think PGASS), and have them ordered for pickup. Then have them tested to your spec order, and send them back if they aren't right. You should get the custom measurements right before you take possession of them, and that will help build confidence that they're built right. All CC is going to do is pull heads off a set, re-weight them with titanium powder, etc. They don't have the screw weights that Ping does. I'd actually *prefer* to get them to do it.

 

But whatever you do, when you order it, have the salesperson enter the order spelling out every single iron, check their work, and get the order printed out so you can validate everything. That's 80% of the battle -- they can only build what comes in on their sheets, and they do a really good job with that. I know, because when my i200 order went in, homeboy skipped my 7-iron. Sure enough, I received it a club short. It wasn't even unusual in that a lot of people order a 7-iron, and then decide to get the rest of the set.

 

If you do that, you'll be miles ahead on the custom order.

[philsRHman]

Thanks for this advice. When I ordered through my pro, I remember calling him after we set up the order to ask if they’ll know to adjust SW based on shortening them. “They’re f****** Ping, of course they’ll know what they’re doing, don’t worry about it.” FFWD to irons at C8 and no amount of lead tape to help. Ping told me to “play 20 rounds with them first” but wanted something like $50/club to make them right.

[Geaux Gators]

If you got fit and they aren’t the right specs they will make it right. When I got my iBlades I was fit to silver bit we didn’t do a shaft fitting. When I reshafted them and had them bent to blue they paid for the shipping because the fitting said silver and it was wrong. But the shaft was my decision. If the fitting was the shaft they said they would have swapped it for a MUCH lower price.

[Frid_the_kid]

Thanks for this advice. When I ordered through my pro, I remember calling him after we set up the order to ask if they’ll know to adjust SW based on shortening them. “They’re f****** Ping, of course they’ll know what they’re doing, don’t worry about it.” FFWD to irons at C8 and no amount of lead tape to help. Ping told me to “play 20 rounds with them first” but wanted something like $50/club to make them right.

 

That’s the problem. You always need to request a specific swingweight and Ping will 100% do it correctly. The more specific you are with your order, the better your order will come out. I’d trust Ping and not nessisarily trust the guy who ordered your last set.

[longbal30]

Thanks for this advice. When I ordered through my pro, I remember calling him after we set up the order to ask if they’ll know to adjust SW based on shortening them. “They’re f****** Ping, of course they’ll know what they’re doing, don’t worry about it.” FFWD to irons at C8 and no amount of lead tape to help. Ping told me to “play 20 rounds with them first” but wanted something like $50/club to make them right.

 

That’s the problem. You always need to request a specific swingweight and Ping will 100% do it correctly. The more specific you are with your order, the better your order will come out. I’d trust Ping and not nessisarily trust the guy who ordered your last set.

 

Not entirely true. Both a friend of mine and myself ordered the i500 last week, I asked for D6, he asked for D5, ping came back and told us D4 was the highest they could do. Kinda odd considering I was fit for D6 through club champion. So even after a custom order, I'll still have to have them swing weight adjusted

[Frid_the_kid]

The swingweight achieveable by the hosel & toe screw is dependent on length. However, Ping can add hotmelt aka Gee Lou inside of the head to bring the i500 to D6.

[longbal30]

Ping offered no such thing. They said they could get them to D4, end of story

[DivotDepth]

CC wouldn't know the exact swingweight range that ping can reach with the shaft, length, head and grip that you are ordering. there will be a limit to how heavy or light they can build to.

[SwooshLT]

I had a Club Champion fitting Saturday. I was working through various heads, the fitter said our goal was 1.4 smash on 6i. My own irons (Adams cmb) were low, 1.30-1.33. The 790s 1.27-1.30, several others in the upper 1.2s to low 1.3s. Just really struggling to find consistent contact. He hands me the i500 (hadn’t really read much about them). I hit the first and it was like HALLELUJAH! Whoa what was that? The ball exploded. 1.39. Three more 1.39-1.40. A mishit, still 1.37. Ball flying 25-30 yards longer than any other 6i (210 vs 180). Could not believe it. Switched it up a few times figuring it was just my swing getting better. But coming in and out and the i500 was just not only head and shoulders better it was an entire torso. Aside from the numbers, it just felt so explosive, yet I found it very soft. I could call out the smash based on contact feel alone.

 

Now I’m trying to decide what to do. Can’t afford the $800+ premium to order through CC. But don’t necessarily trust Ping since I’ll be shortening, bumping up SW to D4, adjusting lie angle. Any advice? Last time I bought from Ping, they came at C8 and they wanted a small fortune to fix.

 

That's cool you got to hit the 6i....did he have other heads in set?

[Kmac]

Was wondering that too. I've only seen 7 iron demo heads.

[awtryau89]

On the swingweight, my order was placed at D4 with midsize grips. Ping came back and stated they would get as close as possible but the grips would pose a challenge. I told them get them at what would be D4 with regular grips then just add the midsize as I was just looking for a bit more headweight. They ended up saying they would get as close as possible with midsize on. Not sure how they are going to do it but if they add some goo, I am fine with that too. It will probably deaden the sound a bit.

[FairwaysToHeaven]

I can't wrap my head around the thought of a company ( Ping or anybody else) releasing a set of irons that have massive gap differences throughout the set. With the amount of testing these things go through I find it much easier to believe that we as golfers don't strike the ball as consistent as we think we do.

 

i think the issue isn't that the hotspot comes into play for better players who hit the sweetspot, its that distance irons of the past had these hotspots high on the face which would come into play more for those who don't strike the ball consistent.

 

a good college player hitting shot after shot from the fairway may never experience the occasional hot spot flyer. a 10 handicap who takes a swing from a good lie in rough may catch it little high on the face and the distance iron kills spin high on face and leads to a shot over the green. i've seen it first hand with the distance irons of the past. and testing a 7 iron off the mat may not expose the hot spots until you actually get the set on the course and play from a few trickier lies.

 

i dont think past distance irons 'hotspots' came from the perfect strike, i think they came from strikes that weren't perfect a little high on the face.

[SwooshLT]

The Golf Shop: PING i500 Irons

[bama11]

The Golf Shop: PING i500 Irons

:cheesy:

[Kaexo]

I can't wrap my head around the thought of a company ( Ping or anybody else) releasing a set of irons that have massive gap differences throughout the set. With the amount of testing these things go through I find it much easier to believe that we as golfers don't strike the ball as consistent as we think we do.

 

i think the issue isn't that the hotspot comes into play for better players who hit the sweetspot, its that distance irons of the past had these hotspots high on the face which would come into play more for those who don't strike the ball consistent.

 

a good college player hitting shot after shot from the fairway may never experience the occasional hot spot flyer. a 10 handicap who takes a swing from a good lie in rough may catch it little high on the face and the distance iron kills spin high on face and leads to a shot over the green. i've seen it first hand with the distance irons of the past. and testing a 7 iron off the mat may not expose the hot spots until you actually get the set on the course and play from a few trickier lies.

 

i dont think past distance irons 'hotspots' came from the perfect strike, i think they came from strikes that weren't perfect a little high on the face.

 

Hot spots and flyers from rough or tricky lies happen with every club and every player to include tour pros. There isn't a way to fix that, period.

[adh2k1]

Pardon the repeat of earlier post - but anyone testing i500s for long irons blended with their i200/210s? Perhaps retro i500 lofts could blend ok?

 

I like i200s and don't want longer short/mid irons.

 

Marty Jertson blends the irons in his bag. i500s 3 - 5, iBlades 6 - PW. Wonder what lofts he uses.

 

I wondered this too. The iblade 5 iron is 27, and the i500 5 is 24. With all of this talk about the i500 being a club longer and the launch of one club less, maybe he had the iblade 6 iron strong 1 degree and the i500 5 iron weak 2 degrees. That is the only logical gap I could see. I am going to get the i500 4 iron at 22 to blend into my i200s and then use the i500 3 iron as my driving iron and with this hopefully newfound height, I am hoping it goes decent off the deck. I was currently hitting my 23 degree Srixon only about 5 yards further than my 26 degree i200. We will see. My Srixon was the wrong lie angle anyways, so I am hoping this results in a more consistent set. I have no complaints with my fli-hi other than it is really hard to hit off the deck. Either way, I'm excited and I tried to get an i200 4 iron built and it was only about $30 cheaper than going i500.

[Uberzz]

The Golf Shop: PING i500 Irons

 

This is awesome! hahaa

[rmgatl]

The i200 5i is 26*. I imagine an i500 retro at 25* would be fine but interested to hear anyone who does it.

Happy to stretch gaps a smidgeon with easier elevation on longer end vs rethinking wedges on short end. Distance control with i200s best I can remember.

[Frid_the_kid]

Ping offered no such thing. They said they could get them to D4, end of story

 

Again, “offered” and “personally request” are totally different conversations. If request hotmelt, Ping will do it (and D6 will be reachable).

[FairwaysToHeaven]

I can't wrap my head around the thought of a company ( Ping or anybody else) releasing a set of irons that have massive gap differences throughout the set. With the amount of testing these things go through I find it much easier to believe that we as golfers don't strike the ball as consistent as we think we do.

 

i think the issue isn't that the hotspot comes into play for better players who hit the sweetspot, its that distance irons of the past had these hotspots high on the face which would come into play more for those who don't strike the ball consistent.

 

a good college player hitting shot after shot from the fairway may never experience the occasional hot spot flyer. a 10 handicap who takes a swing from a good lie in rough may catch it little high on the face and the distance iron kills spin high on face and leads to a shot over the green. i've seen it first hand with the distance irons of the past. and testing a 7 iron off the mat may not expose the hot spots until you actually get the set on the course and play from a few trickier lies.

 

i dont think past distance irons 'hotspots' came from the perfect strike, i think they came from strikes that weren't perfect a little high on the face.

 

Hot spots and flyers from rough or tricky lies happen with every club and every player to include tour pros. There isn't a way to fix that period.

 

 

hot spots on top of a distance iron where it kills spin even further vs having the grass get trapped in between the iron face and the ball creating a 'flyer' are two different things.

[mjmurphy]

Has anyone ordered these with project x shafts? Do they carry an up charge?

[Geaux Gators]

That is pretty damn funny. Fried egg golf always has good stuff.

 

And the project x stuff is no uncharge I believe.

[AzSuperHack76]

The Golf Shop: PING i500 Irons

 

 

Hahaha, good stuff. The Fried Egg Guys are pretty funny.

[braincramp52]

The Golf Shop: PING i500 Irons

 

This is awesome! hahaa

That dude is the best!!!

[philsRHman]

I had a Club Champion fitting Saturday. I was working through various heads, the fitter said our goal was 1.4 smash on 6i. My own irons (Adams cmb) were low, 1.30-1.33. The 790s 1.27-1.30, several others in the upper 1.2s to low 1.3s. Just really struggling to find consistent contact. He hands me the i500 (hadn't really read much about them). I hit the first and it was like HALLELUJAH! Whoa what was that? The ball exploded. 1.39. Three more 1.39-1.40. A mishit, still 1.37. Ball flying 25-30 yards longer than any other 6i (210 vs 180). Could not believe it. Switched it up a few times figuring it was just my swing getting better. But coming in and out and the i500 was just not only head and shoulders better it was an entire torso. Aside from the numbers, it just felt so explosive, yet I found it very soft. I could call out the smash based on contact feel alone.

 

Now I'm trying to decide what to do. Can't afford the $800+ premium to order through CC. But don't necessarily trust Ping since I'll be shortening, bumping up SW to D4, adjusting lie angle. Any advice? Last time I bought from Ping, they came at C8 and they wanted a small fortune to fix.

 

That's cool you got to hit the 6i....did he have other heads in set?

No, only the 6i. I asked about how they fit for a blended set, since 6i seems pretty long, considering how many golfers now stop at 5i. He said the theory is if you can hit the 6, you can hit a little longer and no problem shorter. I do share some of the concerns in this thread, that I don't really want to nuke 9 irons and PW and wonder how I'd go about testing short irons from elsewhere in Ping's lineup.

[Rippin6Gears]

The Golf Shop: PING i500 Irons

 

I can’t stop laughing... I hope I feel that way once I’m actually out on the course as long as the cart girl doesn’t come by LOL

[SwooshLT]

I had a Club Champion fitting Saturday. I was working through various heads, the fitter said our goal was 1.4 smash on 6i. My own irons (Adams cmb) were low, 1.30-1.33. The 790s 1.27-1.30, several others in the upper 1.2s to low 1.3s. Just really struggling to find consistent contact. He hands me the i500 (hadn't really read much about them). I hit the first and it was like HALLELUJAH! Whoa what was that? The ball exploded. 1.39. Three more 1.39-1.40. A mishit, still 1.37. Ball flying 25-30 yards longer than any other 6i (210 vs 180). Could not believe it. Switched it up a few times figuring it was just my swing getting better. But coming in and out and the i500 was just not only head and shoulders better it was an entire torso. Aside from the numbers, it just felt so explosive, yet I found it very soft. I could call out the smash based on contact feel alone.

 

Now I'm trying to decide what to do. Can't afford the $800+ premium to order through CC. But don't necessarily trust Ping since I'll be shortening, bumping up SW to D4, adjusting lie angle. Any advice? Last time I bought from Ping, they came at C8 and they wanted a small fortune to fix.

 

That's cool you got to hit the 6i....did he have other heads in set?

No, only the 6i. I asked about how they fit for a blended set, since 6i seems pretty long, considering how many golfers now stop at 5i. He said the theory is if you can hit the 6, you can hit a little longer and no problem shorter. I do share some of the concerns in this thread, that I don't really want to nuke 9 irons and PW and wonder how I'd go about testing short irons from elsewhere in Ping's lineup.

 

 

Yeah I've seen 7i heads for demo.....surprised to see 6i heads

 

[tigerfan23]

That is pretty damn funny. Fried egg golf always has good stuff.

 

And the project x stuff is no uncharge I believe.

 

I hit them with PX 6.0 and they were amazing

[kylesilk]

You guys think somebody will add hotmelt to these heads? Sounds interesting

[Rippin6Gears]

You guys think somebody will add hotmelt to these heads? Sounds interesting

 

Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the spring flex of the face?