G400 Irons for Better Players

[jonflesh]

I’m not a great player but I’m a 9 handicap with iron play being by far the strength of my game. I just ordered a set of g400s. I will update when they arrive. It is my first foray into gi clubs. Currently playing j15 cbs and have played ap2s and Adams forged xtd in the past.

[LeoLeo99]

Everyone is different. But for me it was a slippery slope. There is just so much meat down there, comparatively, between an MP18 and a G400. I decided "to make the game easier" and switched from clubs like Hogan blades and MP14s to Big Berthas and Ping G5s etc. I ended up ruining my iron game completely. They do not launch the ball in the same window as what I was used to and I ended up slowing down my rotation and swinging very sloppily. Those bigger clubs are too easy to elevate. I wouldn't necessarily recommend ever going from a G400 to an MP18 if you are comfortable with the G400 and you score well with them. There's no need to. But it was tough for me to hit the same windows with the rotational speed I used to have. I have been fighting trying to get it back ever since. I also am a firm believer that it is hard to find the exact sweet spot on the bigger iron heads, and when I did, they absolutely flew much further than what I wanted at times. I absolutely believe there are hot spots in irons. It doesn't matter to me if people disagree, we don't play the same game!

 

You can believe there are hotspots all you want. It's ok to be wrong. :)

Everyone is different. But for me it was a slippery slope. There is just so much meat down there, comparatively, between an MP18 and a G400. I decided "to make the game easier" and switched from clubs like Hogan blades and MP14s to Big Berthas and Ping G5s etc. I ended up ruining my iron game completely. They do not launch the ball in the same window as what I was used to and I ended up slowing down my rotation and swinging very sloppily. Those bigger clubs are too easy to elevate. I wouldn't necessarily recommend ever going from a G400 to an MP18 if you are comfortable with the G400 and you score well with them. There's no need to. But it was tough for me to hit the same windows with the rotational speed I used to have. I have been fighting trying to get it back ever since. I also am a firm believer that it is hard to find the exact sweet spot on the bigger iron heads, and when I did, they absolutely flew much further than what I wanted at times. I absolutely believe there are hot spots in irons. It doesn't matter to me if people disagree, we don't play the same game!

 

You can believe there are hotspots all you want. It's ok to be wrong. :)

 

You're right, it's probably just my hot balls.

 

The experts acknowledge hot spots.

 

“Because of how we were able to enhance Cor-Eye, this is a distance iron that does not have hot spots,” said Marty Jertson, Ping’s senior design engineer. “The Cor-Eye locally stiffens the face, because we don’t want the iron to bend like a driver. In a driver, you want a trampoline effect, but in an iron, you want the face to hinge at the bottom while the top rail relaxes. That adds distance while also adding launch angle. Cor-Eye forces the flexing to happen at the joints.”

[nsxguy]

Everyone is different. But for me it was a slippery slope. There is just so much meat down there, comparatively, between an MP18 and a G400. I decided "to make the game easier" and switched from clubs like Hogan blades and MP14s to Big Berthas and Ping G5s etc. I ended up ruining my iron game completely. They do not launch the ball in the same window as what I was used to and I ended up slowing down my rotation and swinging very sloppily. Those bigger clubs are too easy to elevate. I wouldn't necessarily recommend ever going from a G400 to an MP18 if you are comfortable with the G400 and you score well with them. There's no need to. But it was tough for me to hit the same windows with the rotational speed I used to have. I have been fighting trying to get it back ever since. I also am a firm believer that it is hard to find the exact sweet spot on the bigger iron heads, and when I did, they absolutely flew much further than what I wanted at times. I absolutely believe there are hot spots in irons. It doesn't matter to me if people disagree, we don't play the same game!

 

You can believe there are hotspots all you want. It's ok to be wrong. :)

 

You're right, it's probably just my hot balls.

 

The experts acknowledge hot spots.

 

"Because of how we were able to enhance Cor-Eye, this is a distance iron that does not have hot spots," said Marty Jertson, Ping's senior design engineer. "The Cor-Eye locally stiffens the face, because we don't want the iron to bend like a driver. In a driver, you want a trampoline effect, but in an iron, you want the face to hinge at the bottom while the top rail relaxes. That adds distance while also adding launch angle. Cor-Eye forces the flexing to happen at the joints."

 

Sometimes(?),,,,, companies market to their customers fears, concerns, doubts, etc, to offset issues/problems, real or imagined, especially with items no longer in production, even their own. Often very effective.

 

Heck, we've got a billion dollar industry based around events and characters that don't exist. Halloween !!!

 

 

(Christmas ? Not going there :rofl: )

[LeoLeo99]

Everyone is different. But for me it was a slippery slope. There is just so much meat down there, comparatively, between an MP18 and a G400. I decided "to make the game easier" and switched from clubs like Hogan blades and MP14s to Big Berthas and Ping G5s etc. I ended up ruining my iron game completely. They do not launch the ball in the same window as what I was used to and I ended up slowing down my rotation and swinging very sloppily. Those bigger clubs are too easy to elevate. I wouldn't necessarily recommend ever going from a G400 to an MP18 if you are comfortable with the G400 and you score well with them. There's no need to. But it was tough for me to hit the same windows with the rotational speed I used to have. I have been fighting trying to get it back ever since. I also am a firm believer that it is hard to find the exact sweet spot on the bigger iron heads, and when I did, they absolutely flew much further than what I wanted at times. I absolutely believe there are hot spots in irons. It doesn't matter to me if people disagree, we don't play the same game!

 

You can believe there are hotspots all you want. It's ok to be wrong. :)

 

You're right, it's probably just my hot balls.

 

The experts acknowledge hot spots.

 

"Because of how we were able to enhance Cor-Eye, this is a distance iron that does not have hot spots," said Marty Jertson, Ping's senior design engineer. "The Cor-Eye locally stiffens the face, because we don't want the iron to bend like a driver. In a driver, you want a trampoline effect, but in an iron, you want the face to hinge at the bottom while the top rail relaxes. That adds distance while also adding launch angle. Cor-Eye forces the flexing to happen at the joints."

 

Sometimes(?),,,,, companies market to their customers fears, concerns, doubts, etc, to offset issues/problems, real or imagined, especially with items no longer in production, even their own. Often very effective.

 

Heck, we've got a billion dollar industry based around events and characters that don't exist. Halloween !!!

 

 

(Christmas ? Not going there :rofl: )

 

Andy Rooney said it best.

 

People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe.

 

You just don't want to believe. You just chalk up experts' acknowledgement as marketing. I get it. I'm cynical.

 

You've never randomly juiced a driver 30 yards past your normal distance?

[nsxguy]

The experts acknowledge hot spots.

 

"Because of how we were able to enhance Cor-Eye, this is a distance iron that does not have hot spots," said Marty Jertson, Ping's senior design engineer. "The Cor-Eye locally stiffens the face, because we don't want the iron to bend like a driver. In a driver, you want a trampoline effect, but in an iron, you want the face to hinge at the bottom while the top rail relaxes. That adds distance while also adding launch angle. Cor-Eye forces the flexing to happen at the joints."

 

Sometimes(?),,,,, companies market to their customers fears, concerns, doubts, etc, to offset issues/problems, real or imagined, especially with items no longer in production, even their own. Often very effective.

 

Heck, we've got a billion dollar industry based around events and characters that don't exist. Halloween !!!

 

 

(Christmas ? Not going there :rofl: )

 

Andy Rooney said it best.

 

People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe.

 

You just don't want to believe. You just chalk up experts' acknowledgement as marketing. I get it. I'm cynical.

 

You've never randomly juiced a driver 30 yards past your normal distance?

 

Experts also say there is no such thing as hot spots. So who does one believe ? One believe who one chooses to believe.

 

30+ YARDS longer for no apparent reason ? Nope. Impossible I say simply because if such a "hot spot" DID exist I'd see that extra 30 yards FAR MORE OFTEN than once every St. Swiven's Day.

 

3 or 4+ yards ? Most likely "environmental". Or hit it just that tiny bit better than (almost) dead solid perfect. Or put a "perfect" swing on it that generated 1-2 mph more than usual. A puff of wind. A little grass between ball and face. Lotsa reasons. Every shot's unique. How ya gonna know ?

 

And you answer your question, no, not "randomly". i.e. not without a reasonable explanation, or at least conjecture, for it happening.

[BCULAW]

I had a set of AP2s years back that I got rid of because the short irons would go nuclear out of the blue. It seemed like I would airmail the green by 20 yards once or twice a round. I chalked it up to the hot spots so many reference in this post.

 

In actuality, I think technology is making irons so easy to launch high and far that many players are getting by using much stiffer shafts than they would ordinarily play. Add "high and far" due to technology to the low spin you get from " too stiff" shafts and the result is akin to a flier.

 

Just my perception, but I think a lot of the "hot spots" would disappear with proper shaft flex.

[Batman66]

I just played my Ping G400's today for the first time.  I normally shoot in the mid to low 80's. I am a 12 handicapper. I had purchased the irons off of ebay in great condition. After watching the Rick Shields review of the G400's he loved the sound and the feel compared to the G410 and that is why I chose them.  I was so excited to try them out but now, after today's 9 holes, I'm a little puzzled and disappointed to be honest. In fact I had planned on playing 18 but wasn't doing well at all with the irons so decided to call it a day early. First of all the sound kind of sounded like a thud to me a bit off the face. My old irons had a nice feel with a sweet spot. If I hit it in the sweet spot with my old irons then I felt it and it was amazing and effortless. I didn't feel that with the Ping G400's. When I hit a good shot it felt like and sounded like a THUD. Maybe I'm too early to criticize since I haven't given them a fair chance. Maybe it was an off day of golf.  Maybe I'm still used to my old irons and it will take awhile to get used to the G400. I'm not going to give up because it has always been my dream of playing Ping clubs. That is just my first reaction. Will update more next time.

[Bad9]

2 hours ago, Batman66 said:

I just played my Ping G400's today for the first time.  I normally shoot in the mid to low 80's. I am a 12 handicapper. I had purchased the irons off of ebay in great condition. After watching the Rick Shields review of the G400's he loved the sound and the feel compared to the G410 and that is why I chose them.  I was so excited to try them out but now, after today's 9 holes, I'm a little puzzled and disappointed to be honest. In fact I had planned on playing 18 but wasn't doing well at all with the irons so decided to call it a day early. First of all the sound kind of sounded like a thud to me a bit off the face. My old irons had a nice feel with a sweet spot. If I hit it in the sweet spot with my old irons then I felt it and it was amazing and effortless. I didn't feel that with the Ping G400's. When I hit a good shot it felt like and sounded like a THUD. Maybe I'm too early to criticize since I haven't given them a fair chance. Maybe it was an off day of golf.  Maybe I'm still used to my old irons and it will take awhile to get used to the G400. I'm not going to give up because it has always been my dream of playing Ping clubs. That is just my first reaction. Will update more next time.

 

I really wanted to ike the G400 but hated them, twice. Like you I found them to feel and sound terrible and they weren't any performance benefit over the G's I had which I loved.

[braincramp52]

I played the G400's and the G410's. I saw no difference between the two. The newer G series do not feel (sound) good with X type balls. You need a softer ball for them to feel any good at all.

[jeffrey r]

13 hours ago, Batman66 said:

I just played my Ping G400's today for the first time.  I normally shoot in the mid to low 80's. I am a 12 handicapper. I had purchased the irons off of ebay in great condition. After watching the Rick Shields review of the G400's he loved the sound and the feel compared to the G410 and that is why I chose them.  I was so excited to try them out but now, after today's 9 holes, I'm a little puzzled and disappointed to be honest. In fact I had planned on playing 18 but wasn't doing well at all with the irons so decided to call it a day early. First of all the sound kind of sounded like a thud to me a bit off the face. My old irons had a nice feel with a sweet spot. If I hit it in the sweet spot with my old irons then I felt it and it was amazing and effortless. I didn't feel that with the Ping G400's. When I hit a good shot it felt like and sounded like a THUD. Maybe I'm too early to criticize since I haven't given them a fair chance. Maybe it was an off day of golf.  Maybe I'm still used to my old irons and it will take awhile to get used to the G400. I'm not going to give up because it has always been my dream of playing Ping clubs. That is just my first reaction. Will update more next time.

 

Here's the thing with the Ping G series irons.  They really are incredibly forgiving.  But they are not really made for feel.  Though nowhere near as shovely as they used to be, they are not svelte.  I own G425 and G410 iron sets.  And I own i210 irons.  The i210 are no doubt less forgiving.  But I get better turf interaction with the i210 over the G's, and generally don't lose much in terms of scoring.  Thinner sole and such, with great feel. 

 

If you really don't like the G400, and you have the game for the i series, then that is what they are there for.  A smaller alternative, still very forgiving, with better feel.  YMMV.

[ChipNRun]

On 11/15/2018 at 3:59 AM, Noke said:

I think the notion of 'hot spots' is a confirmation bias by better players, at least in the modern iteration of variable thickness face design a la PING/Mizuno/TM.

 

I notice a correlation between hot spot shots and center impact on third groove or below.

[Jeff58]

@Batman66 Try Dr. Scholls foot spray. With a non-X type ball, a centered shot off a 400-series Ping has almost no feel at all compared to most irons. Thud wouldn’t be the expected response.
 

Pings G series are often significantly lighter in swing and overall weight, which can shift your impact point for a given setup and swing.

[dmeeksDC]

The G425 is sleeker and feels great to me, big step up in this series. Much more satisfying at impact vs the 410 or 400.