Ping Blueprint forged irons- New photos added page 27

[bladehunter]

So were saying ping buyers overall are less informed , or are they less intelligent than most other oems customers ? Or is a higher handicap grouping ? Has to be one of those doesn’t it ? ( I have ping irons and a ping driver happily in play now ).

 

I say that comparing it to Tm drivers everyone plays because they know which tour guys hit them. Or vokey wedges or Cameron putters. 009 isnt so expensive because of the shape. It’s the tour presence.

 

I’m just not so sure that ping customers aren’t just as aware what tour guys play. I think there just hasn’t been a choice before. Ping sold some S series irons to someone. Go look at 2nd swing. The mix is pretty solid split. Same for iblade. They sold plenty of those around me. The used racks are fulll of them.

[matchavez]

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".

 

That might be so, but my point is that when the media starts asking about the "unreleased" clubs he used to win, that would no longer be the case. I'm not suggesting this is likely, but if, say, Cam Champ switched and starts winning, it'll be a storm. None of it is likely, but it's possible.

[TheMoneyShot]

With every post we inch a step closely (possibly) to Ping reading this and pushing the “go” button on this release:)

[Holy Moses]

With every post we inch a step closely (possibly) to Ping reading this and pushing the “go” button on this release:)

 

Well we have two buyers already. We should start counting how many others want a set of Blueprints.

[bladehunter]

I’m in for at least 7-Pw. But knowing me I’d buy 3-Pw just to test the long irons vs i500

[chris975d]

So were saying ping buyers overall are less informed , or are they less intelligent than most other oems customers ? Or is a higher handicap grouping ? Has to be one of those doesn't it ? ( I have ping irons and a ping driver happily in play now ).

 

I say that comparing it to Tm drivers everyone plays because they know which tour guys hit them. Or vokey wedges or Cameron putters. 009 isnt so expensive because of the shape. It's the tour presence.

 

I'm just not so sure that ping customers aren't just as aware what tour guys play. I think there just hasn't been a choice before. Ping sold some S series irons to someone. Go look at 2nd swing. The mix is pretty solid split. Same for iblade. They sold plenty of those around me. The used racks are fulll of them.

 

No, I'm just talking PING because that's what this thread is about. I see the exact same thing across all manufacturers. Equipment is the side of the business I've always been interested in, even longer than the 25 years I've been in the business, so I talk A LOT to customers and industry people about it as much as I can. Average golfing public doesn't look at the specifics of what the pros play, just the "brand", if you will. If the public did care about that, then quite simply the most Tour oriented/Tour used iron model of each manufacturer would be the #1 seller for each brand. When in fact those are usually the least sold/bottom of the list. Callaway's blades aren't selling in any numbers to write home about, nor Titleists, or TaylorMades, etc. That alone shows that the golfing public doesn't care about the forged blade market...heck, the demographics in golf show us that the average golfer/average equipment buyer in the USA is a 54-55 year old male. That person just isn't looking for, nor do they think they can play the irons the pros play.

 

To your example of TM drivers....people buy them because they know the pros play them. Yes. But they don't know a thing about the specific models those players use. Just...Rahm,, DJ, Rory, etc hit TaylorMade. They know Speith/Tiger/et al use/used Cameron. They (average golfer) doesn't even know that the 009 model Speith uses isn't the same Newport that they just bought off the rack in the proshop. Do we enthusiasts know this, of course. You'd probably be totally shocked at how many customers I've had tell me their Cameron is the same model Speith uses, or that their old Pro Platinum is the same one Tiger used. But I think those on forums like this who haven't made a career of the golf industry at the daily fee level might be completely shocked at the lack of knowledge of equipment in the real world. GolfWRX and internet forums are most certainly not the real world.

 

And I use the numbers I do for PING S-series/iBlade irons (2% of all PING iron sales) because this is a number I've heard more than once from industry people with direct/indirect ties to PING. It's a privately held company, so without seeing actual internal data, I can't verify it. But it does align with my personal experience of selling PING equipment. As stated before, in 25 years, I've sold exactly 1 set of S-series/iBlades. The rest have all been G-series (or the equivalent pre G-series).

[Holy Moses]

And I use the numbers I do for PING S-series/iBlade irons (2% of all PING iron sales) because this is a number I've heard more than once from industry people with direct/indirect ties to PING.

 

Do you have any idea of how many total iron sets Ping makes in a year? 25,000? 50,000?

[chris975d]

And I use the numbers I do for PING S-series/iBlade irons (2% of all PING iron sales) because this is a number I've heard more than once from industry people with direct/indirect ties to PING.

 

Do you have any idea of how many total iron sets Ping makes in a year? 25,000? 50,000?

 

No idea. Wish I did, just for personal curiosity.

[chris975d]

With every post we inch a step closely (possibly) to Ping reading this and pushing the “go” button on this release:)

 

Hopefully so! I'd love to try them, even though I know realistically that I'm not the player for them.

[TheMoneyShot]

I’m in for at least 7-Pw. But knowing me I’d buy 3-Pw just to test the long irons vs i500

 

Well, there is you, Holy Moses, chris975D and myself who would all be in for a set. That’s a nice start...

[Holy Moses]

I’m in for at least 7-Pw. But knowing me I’d buy 3-Pw just to test the long irons vs i500

 

Well, there is you, Holy Moses, chris975D and myself who would all be in for a set. That’s a nice start...

 

I don't want a set. I just like Ping clubs. My i20s are plenty long, straight, and forgiving.

[chris975d]

I’m in for at least 7-Pw. But knowing me I’d buy 3-Pw just to test the long irons vs i500

 

Well, there is you, Holy Moses, chris975D and myself who would all be in for a set. That’s a nice start...

 

I honestly wouldn't see 1000 sets of them selling though. If they are in fact just PING's take on a forged blade, and there's no magic PING engineering in them making them substantially more forgiving than a similar design from a competitor. I'd just like the novelty of trying a set PING made. But I fully understand that I'm in no way shape or form similar to my average customer.

[TheMoneyShot]

I’m in for at least 7-Pw. But knowing me I’d buy 3-Pw just to test the long irons vs i500

 

Well, there is you, Holy Moses, chris975D and myself who would all be in for a set. That’s a nice start...

 

I honestly wouldn't see 1000 sets of them selling though. If they are in fact just PING's take on a forged blade, and there's no magic PING engineering in them making them substantially more forgiving than a similar design from a competitor. I'd just like the novelty of trying a set PING made. But I fully understand that I'm in no way shape or form similar to my average customer.

 

Ping collectors would gobble these things up. If they only released a 1000 sets that may force me to buy two.

[TheMoneyShot]

I’m in for at least 7-Pw. But knowing me I’d buy 3-Pw just to test the long irons vs i500

 

Well, there is you, Holy Moses, chris975D and myself who would all be in for a set. That’s a nice start...

 

I don't want a set. I just like Ping clubs. My i20s are plenty long, straight, and forgiving.

 

Sure you do, just buy a set anyways:)

[awtryau89]

To give you an idea on limited runs, Titleist has announced they will be doing a limited run of AP2/AP3 in all black. They will produce 1000 sets. They have experience in this realm with the concept stuff. Was told they will sell through those quickly. Ping could certainly do that with these irons and I am sure they could sell through that amount. Whether its worth it to them or not is the question. The Titileist are going to be $1500 plus. I am sure the Pings will be there or higher if they were to do it.

[chris975d]

To give you an idea on limited runs, Titleist has announced they will be doing a limited run of AP2/AP3 in all black. They will produce 1000 sets. They have experience in this realm with the concept stuff. Was told they will sell through those quickly. Ping could certainly do that with these irons and I am sure they could sell through that amount. Whether its worth it to them or not is the question. The Titileist are going to be $1500 plus. I am sure the Pings will be there or higher if they were to do it.

 

Yeah, just from what I've seen in the industry, I was thinking similarly IF PING did it. I would say 1000 sets, $2000 per set, minimum.

[bladehunter]

Didn’t they release ping putters in limited numbers for stupid money a couple years ago ? These could be done the same. I think each account got 1 of each anser and anser 2 plus special orders or something like that.

[Holy Moses]

Didn’t they release ping putters in limited numbers for stupid money a couple years ago ? These could be done the same. I think each account got 1 of each anser and anser 2 plus special orders or something like that.

 

The John Solheim custom made ones?

[chris975d]

Didn't they release ping putters in limited numbers for stupid money a couple years ago ? These could be done the same. I think each account got 1 of each anser and anser 2 plus special orders or something like that.

 

If you're talking about the Anser 50th Anniversary, yes, they did. Have one here in my office at the course. Those are intended for the collectible market and I think PING knows they weren't bought to be used. They could do the irons that way, yes. I just think it would somewhat go against what PING has always told us and sold to us (both customers and retailers) as their idea for irons...that each set should be custom fit for the player. I personally don't see PING making a set of irons they sell without allowing fittings, etc.

[bladehunter]

So were saying ping buyers overall are less informed , or are they less intelligent than most other oems customers ? Or is a higher handicap grouping ? Has to be one of those doesn't it ? ( I have ping irons and a ping driver happily in play now ).

 

I say that comparing it to Tm drivers everyone plays because they know which tour guys hit them. Or vokey wedges or Cameron putters. 009 isnt so expensive because of the shape. It's the tour presence.

 

I'm just not so sure that ping customers aren't just as aware what tour guys play. I think there just hasn't been a choice before. Ping sold some S series irons to someone. Go look at 2nd swing. The mix is pretty solid split. Same for iblade. They sold plenty of those around me. The used racks are fulll of them.

 

No, I'm just talking PING because that's what this thread is about. I see the exact same thing across all manufacturers. Equipment is the side of the business I've always been interested in, even longer than the 25 years I've been in the business, so I talk A LOT to customers and industry people about it as much as I can. Average golfing public doesn't look at the specifics of what the pros play, just the "brand", if you will. If the public did care about that, then quite simply the most Tour oriented/Tour used iron model of each manufacturer would be the #1 seller for each brand. When in fact those are usually the least sold/bottom of the list. Callaway's blades aren't selling in any numbers to write home about, nor Titleists, or TaylorMades, etc. That alone shows that the golfing public doesn't care about the forged blade market...heck, the demographics in golf show us that the average golfer/average equipment buyer in the USA is a 54-55 year old male. That person just isn't looking for, nor do they think they can play the irons the pros play.

 

To your example of TM drivers....people buy them because they know the pros play them. Yes. But they don't know a thing about the specific models those players use. Just...Rahm,, DJ, Rory, etc hit TaylorMade. They know Speith/Tiger/et al use/used Cameron. They (average golfer) doesn't even know that the 009 model Speith uses isn't the same Newport that they just bought off the rack in the proshop. Do we enthusiasts know this, of course. You'd probably be totally shocked at how many customers I've had tell me their Cameron is the same model Speith uses, or that their old Pro Platinum is the same one Tiger used. But I think those on forums like this who haven't made a career of the golf industry at the daily fee level might be completely shocked at the lack of knowledge of equipment in the real world. GolfWRX and internet forums are most certainly not the real world.

 

And I use the numbers I do for PING S-series/iBlade irons (2% of all PING iron sales) because this is a number I've heard more than once from industry people with direct/indirect ties to PING. It's a privately held company, so without seeing actual internal data, I can't verify it. But it does align with my personal experience of selling PING equipment. As stated before, in 25 years, I've sold exactly 1 set of S-series/iBlades. The rest have all been G-series (or the equivalent pre G-series).

 

Yea. I guess so. I’m underestimating the ignorance of all buyers I’m sure.

 

Having worked in retail years ago you’d think I’d recalll that . I do now. People generally are buying without knowing what they are buying.

 

That being said. I still bet this iron is as forgiving as the iblade in every way. Just with a different vertical cog and maybe a better sole/leading edge design ... it’s just not that big of a departure.

[bladehunter]

Didn't they release ping putters in limited numbers for stupid money a couple years ago ? These could be done the same. I think each account got 1 of each anser and anser 2 plus special orders or something like that.

 

If you're talking about the Anser 50th Anniversary, yes, they did. Have one here in my office at the course. Those are intended for the collectible market and I think PING knows they weren't bought to be used. They could do the irons that way, yes. I just think it would somewhat go against what PING has always told us and sold to us (both customers and retailers) as their idea for irons...that each set should be custom fit for the player. I personally don't see PING making a set of irons they sell without allowing fittings, etc.

 

To that point.

 

I didn’t realize that was pings mantra.

 

I have a green grass pro shop that’s been a ping account that’s been under same family ownership since 1977 or so.

Their fitting area includes outdoor trackman and now a indoor putting green also With trackman. And they couldn’t fit me into my i500 set. The fitting cart didn’t have modus 130x. I bought the set as a Store stock set off the rack. And over a month period fit myself into them with hotmelt , lead tape , and finally the modus 130x at 3/4 inch over stock length. And 3 degrees up in long irons and 4 degrees up in short irons. I’ve never hit soo many greens so often. I mean it’s really good. The shop pro and the ping rep worked with me. And I still finally had to trial and error it myself.

 

Not bashing , just saying. If fitting is a must. They owe me some cash back. Lol. I did all the work fitting myself. And now have a set of irons that I’ll have to put back to OTR for a warranty claim.

[chris975d]

So were saying ping buyers overall are less informed , or are they less intelligent than most other oems customers ? Or is a higher handicap grouping ? Has to be one of those doesn't it ? ( I have ping irons and a ping driver happily in play now ).

 

I say that comparing it to Tm drivers everyone plays because they know which tour guys hit them. Or vokey wedges or Cameron putters. 009 isnt so expensive because of the shape. It's the tour presence.

 

I'm just not so sure that ping customers aren't just as aware what tour guys play. I think there just hasn't been a choice before. Ping sold some S series irons to someone. Go look at 2nd swing. The mix is pretty solid split. Same for iblade. They sold plenty of those around me. The used racks are fulll of them.

 

No, I'm just talking PING because that's what this thread is about. I see the exact same thing across all manufacturers. Equipment is the side of the business I've always been interested in, even longer than the 25 years I've been in the business, so I talk A LOT to customers and industry people about it as much as I can. Average golfing public doesn't look at the specifics of what the pros play, just the "brand", if you will. If the public did care about that, then quite simply the most Tour oriented/Tour used iron model of each manufacturer would be the #1 seller for each brand. When in fact those are usually the least sold/bottom of the list. Callaway's blades aren't selling in any numbers to write home about, nor Titleists, or TaylorMades, etc. That alone shows that the golfing public doesn't care about the forged blade market...heck, the demographics in golf show us that the average golfer/average equipment buyer in the USA is a 54-55 year old male. That person just isn't looking for, nor do they think they can play the irons the pros play.

 

To your example of TM drivers....people buy them because they know the pros play them. Yes. But they don't know a thing about the specific models those players use. Just...Rahm,, DJ, Rory, etc hit TaylorMade. They know Speith/Tiger/et al use/used Cameron. They (average golfer) doesn't even know that the 009 model Speith uses isn't the same Newport that they just bought off the rack in the proshop. Do we enthusiasts know this, of course. You'd probably be totally shocked at how many customers I've had tell me their Cameron is the same model Speith uses, or that their old Pro Platinum is the same one Tiger used. But I think those on forums like this who haven't made a career of the golf industry at the daily fee level might be completely shocked at the lack of knowledge of equipment in the real world. GolfWRX and internet forums are most certainly not the real world.

 

And I use the numbers I do for PING S-series/iBlade irons (2% of all PING iron sales) because this is a number I've heard more than once from industry people with direct/indirect ties to PING. It's a privately held company, so without seeing actual internal data, I can't verify it. But it does align with my personal experience of selling PING equipment. As stated before, in 25 years, I've sold exactly 1 set of S-series/iBlades. The rest have all been G-series (or the equivalent pre G-series).

 

Yea. I guess so. I'm underestimating the ignorance of all buyers I'm sure.

 

Having worked in retail years ago you'd think I'd recalll that . I do now. People generally are buying without knowing what they are buying.

 

That being said. I still bet this iron is as forgiving as the iblade in every way. Just with a different vertical cog and maybe a better sole/leading edge design ... it's just not that big of a departure.

 

Hey, I do it (assume all golfers want to know as much about this stuff as i do) every day, even after this long in it. Something that STILL shocks me to this day, and it shouldn't as this point, is getting into an equipment convo with one of my golfers at the course who I know/witnessed can definitely play high level golf, and asking them "what (driver/irons/etc) do you play?" And getting back "I don't know, I'll have to go look in my bag." Mind you, I'm not asking what model or specs they are playing, but what MANUFACTURER they are playing. And they don't even know. Or they know the brand, but not the model. Again, this happens SO often with customers that I know can play well, we aren't talking high handicappers here.

[chris975d]

Didn't they release ping putters in limited numbers for stupid money a couple years ago ? These could be done the same. I think each account got 1 of each anser and anser 2 plus special orders or something like that.

 

If you're talking about the Anser 50th Anniversary, yes, they did. Have one here in my office at the course. Those are intended for the collectible market and I think PING knows they weren't bought to be used. They could do the irons that way, yes. I just think it would somewhat go against what PING has always told us and sold to us (both customers and retailers) as their idea for irons...that each set should be custom fit for the player. I personally don't see PING making a set of irons they sell without allowing fittings, etc.

 

To that point.

 

I didn't realize that was pings mantra.

 

I have a green grass pro shop that's been a ping account that's been under same family ownership since 1977 or so.

Their fitting area includes outdoor trackman and now a indoor putting green also With trackman. And they couldn't fit me into my i500 set. The fitting cart didn't have modus 130x. I bought the set as a Store stock set off the rack. And over a month period fit myself into them with hotmelt , lead tape , and finally the modus 130x at 3/4 inch over stock length. And 3 degrees up in long irons and 4 degrees up in short irons. I've never hit soo many greens so often. I mean it's really good. The shop pro and the ping rep worked with me. And I still finally had to trial and error it myself.

 

Not bashing , just saying. If fitting is a must. They owe me some cash back. Lol. I did all the work fitting myself. And now have a set of irons that I'll have to put back to OTR for a warranty claim.

 

What corporate wants/hopes happens and what actually happens can be different. As a PING account I don't have all the tools I really need to "fit" all players, either. Most all manufacturers' fitting systems supply only the basic components and things like shaft options that fit the biggest part of the Bell curve, if you will. Usually the outliers are left out. Then it becomes trial and error/use of knowledge by someone (customer, fitter, rep) to take care of those, as you've experienced. There aren't too many average golfers fitting into Moduxs 130Xs, and especially at more than 1/2" over standard unfortunately.

[Big Ben]

To give you an idea on limited runs, Titleist has announced they will be doing a limited run of AP2/AP3 in all black. They will produce 1000 sets. They have experience in this realm with the concept stuff. Was told they will sell through those quickly. Ping could certainly do that with these irons and I am sure they could sell through that amount. Whether its worth it to them or not is the question. The Titileist are going to be $1500 plus. I am sure the Pings will be there or higher if they were to do it.

 

Yeah, just from what I've seen in the industry, I was thinking similarly IF PING did it. I would say 1000 sets, $2000 per set, minimum.

I think the number would be less and the price higher. That’s just a guess obviously. That’s actually the exact reason I don’t see it happening. Will Ping sell a $2590 set of irons? Will Ping decide to toss the low cap ball striking aficionado’s a bone with a low tech novelty? Nope, can’t see it. This niche market isn’t more imprortant to anyone more than team WRX. I can dig it!

[TheMoneyShot]

I bet there is some high level Ping executive reading this thread now thinking “if these guys only knew”....

[lc1342]

I bet there is some high level Ping executive reading this thread now thinking “if these guys only knew”....

 

I still say they try the “concept” model at 2k a set.

 

Why would Bubba, Tony and Louis promote them at all if this wasn’t being considered?

[Holy Moses]

I bet there is some high level Ping executive reading this thread now thinking “if these guys only knew”....

 

I still say they try the “concept” model at 2k a set.

 

Why would Bubba, Tony and Louis promote them at all if this wasn’t being considered?

 

Promoting the Blueprint irons is promoting Ping

[Big Ben]

I bet there is some high level Ping executive reading this thread now thinking “if these guys only knew”....

 

I still say they try the “concept” model at 2k a set.

 

Why would Bubba, Tony and Louis promote them at all if this wasn’t being considered?

The new concept irons will be south of 3k I believe.

[DRRicks]

Other than spy shots, has Ping marketed this iron at all? I can’t remember anything...

[Holy Moses]

Other than spy shots, has Ping marketed this iron at all? I can’t remember anything...

 

Not officially, but the way Bubba and Louis talked about them on Instagram, you’d think that Ping encouraged them to.