Ping i210 - Hovland Style

[karstens_ghost]

Hi everyone,

 

You've probably seen the Viktor Hovland story about shaving down his i210s. If you haven't, and you're reading this, check it out.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has ordered their 210s this way? If so, any pics? Any reviews?

 

I'm currently playing the 4-iron, and I'm considering adding it for the 5, but I'd like to know how they play. Would consider a whole set if it is advantageous.

 

Thanks!

 

Spoiler

 

[14max]

I wish PING would do all their irons like this.  Putting the number on the toe of the cavity would make it real easy to tweak lofts and grind bounces while keeping the sole nice and clean-looking...

[Superbrit]

1 hour ago, karstens_ghost said:

Hi everyone,

 

You've probably seen the Viktor Hovland story about shaving down his i210s. If you haven't, and you're reading this, check it out.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has ordered their 210s this way? If so, any pics? Any reviews?

 

I'm currently playing the 4-iron, and I'm considering adding it for the 5, but I'd like to know how they play. Would consider a whole set if it is advantageous.

 

Thanks!

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Correct me if im wrong but im pretty sure you cant just go and order the i210's like that, you will either need to be in touch with the Ping tour van or a specialist grinder

[NoFancyUsername.]

Unless you have his swing and his "issues" that the article was describing, you are wasting your time.

[SDG90]

Viktor was shaving his irons down because he had a very specific problem. Now some amateurs want to grind down the bounce because they want to feel like a tour pro. Let's be honest, 99% of the forum members don't even know their landing angle and/or angle of attack.

[drvrwdge]

1 hour ago, Superbrit said:

Correct me if im wrong but im pretty sure you cant just go and order the i210's like that, you will either need to be in touch with the Ping tour van or a specialist grinder

Ping's custom dept has a whole list of grinds they offer for wedges and i am pretty sure you can have irons grinded as well. I had a set of iBlades with a leading edge grind performed as part of a simple custom order. 

[Nixhex524]

No need to even attempt that IMO, the i210 are so good as is.  I have been gaming players CBs and some Hogan Icons so I was a little worried about making the transition to the wider soled Pings.  No issues, they feel so easy through the ground and friendly in every way honestly.  The soles seem a little more round than the i200 and much more so than the S series or iBlades and I think this is what makes them so good through the turf.  If you're contemplating a whole set, I would recommend pulling the trigger.  The scoring irons look great while the long irons look more GI.  I think these will go down as a cult classic around here.

[karstens_ghost]

Well, one thing I wasn't expecting was people here saying there was "no need to even attempt that".

 

Outside of the custom stamp, you can order a grind from Ping. I figured it would be well-known by now you could get this.

 

I wasn't asking about "Viktor's very specific problem". All I wanted to know was whether anyone had tried an i210 with a much lower bounce. I'm not a tour pro, but I am a sweeper. I hit my Blueprints fine, but they are obviously nowhere near as wide.

 

If no one's done it, that's fine. I just did not expect essentially the 'you're not good enough' responses. I'll keep to myself. 

 

 

[Birddog2]

It makes sense; the 210s have way more bounce than they need, IMHO.

They have more bounce than the G410s...

[tdelam]

Yuck...I personally prefer the original look. They look weird

[gticlay]

I guess one time you might want the sole grind is if you plan to order them at the retro spec, and don't want the PW to have more bounce than the highest bounce wedges Ping sells (as I am thinking to order a set).  The Glide 3.0 wedges range from 10.0 to 12.0 with only one wedge at 14* of bounce.  If you get retro spec, the i210 PW would be at 15* bounce and the 9i at 14* of bounce.  Basically at a wide sole sand wedge.  So it would make a lot of sense to get the bounce grind done to them - 3 or 4* shaved off.

 

So has anyone done this?  What is the cost and is that hydropearl finish a "chrome plating" kind of thing, or just some sort of spray they apply to bare stainless steel?  Seems like it would start to chip off if they don't plate them post grind, unless it's some kind of spray on application.

[gticlay]

On 10/1/2020 at 11:28 AM, karstens_ghost said:

Hi everyone,

 

You've probably seen the Viktor Hovland story about shaving down his i210s. If you haven't, and you're reading this, check it out.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has ordered their 210s this way? If so, any pics? Any reviews?

 

I'm currently playing the 4-iron, and I'm considering adding it for the 5, but I'd like to know how they play. Would consider a whole set if it is advantageous.

 

Thanks!

 

  Hide contents

 

So did you order irons like this?  I'm curious if it costs anything and how you like them?

[ZAS]

interesting...

[toc]

On 10/1/2020 at 10:19 PM, karstens_ghost said:

Well, one thing I wasn't expecting was people here saying there was "no need to even attempt that".

 

Outside of the custom stamp, you can order a grind from Ping. I figured it would be well-known by now you could get this.

 

I wasn't asking about "Viktor's very specific problem". All I wanted to know was whether anyone had tried an i210 with a much lower bounce. I'm not a tour pro, but I am a sweeper. I hit my Blueprints fine, but they are obviously nowhere near as wide.

 

If no one's done it, that's fine. I just did not expect essentially the 'you're not good enough' responses. I'll keep to myself. 

 

 

 

You weren't expecting the "you're not good enough" response?  You're new here aren't you?

 

In all seriousness:  Don't let those kind of people get you down, I wouldn't say this site is full of them but there are a few legends in their own minds that'll be prone to remind you of their status from time to time.  

[karstens_ghost]

4 hours ago, gticlay said:

So did you order irons like this?  I'm curious if it costs anything and how you like them?

 

I have not. Not willing to take a chance on an entire set… I like staying married. 🙂

 

I might have, but the lack of any real info is now a damper. 

Edited November 9, 2020 by karstens_ghost

[gticlay]

42 minutes ago, karstens_ghost said:

 

I have not. Not willing to take a chance on an entire set… I like staying married. 🙂

 

I might have, but the lack of any real info is now a damper. 

I have an email in with Ping to ask a few questions about all this, sent before I found this thread.  I'll let you know what they say.

[scooterhd2]

lowers the COG as well which was ridiculously high compared to the i200. 

[platgof]

Belt sander, 120 grit?? definitely looks custom.

[tdeutmeyer]

I think the grind looks great.  The whole iron in a brushed metal raw finish (no chrome/hydropearl crap) would be awesome looking.

I wonder how long it would take for these to rust with no plating?

Edited November 10, 2020 by tdeutmeyer
spelling

[bladehunter]

On 10/1/2020 at 10:30 PM, Birddog2 said:

It makes sense; the 210s have way more bounce than they need, IMHO.

They have more bounce than the G410s...

Exactly.  A Wrx grind to reduce the bounce and lower leading edge should be a retail option.  

[jblough99]

20 hours ago, tdeutmeyer said:

I think the grind looks great.  The whole iron in a brushed metal raw finish (no chrome/hydropearl crap) would be awesome looking.

I wonder how long it would take for these to rust with no plating?

They are stainless steel so..........

[gticlay]

So, Ping will absolutely NOT do the bounce grind on the i210s.  The WRX pdf from a couple of years ago says that they will do it on the i200s - page 22 here: http://pinggolf-blob.ping.com/pinggolf/uploadedfiles/clubs/customize/ping_custom_options.pdf

 

However, they said it will wreck the hydropearl finish, that cannot be applied post grind and they just refuse to do it. Maybe if you have a buddy with a Ping account and some pull with Ping... anyone know someone like that?  Their refusal to do it makes me want them more and I don't understand why they would do it on the i200s but not the i210s since they both have hydropearl finish, or if they have stopped grinding wedges as well because it removes the hydropearl (maybe they had problems on the clubs they did it on.  So much for WRX, sounds like the WRX of old is dead.  They would kind of be like those badass WRX i5s from way back when were they actually pressed the offset out of the irons.  I still want to hit those!

 

[jblough99]

Kind of a lame excuse for not doing the grind work.  The entire premise behind the hydropearl is to repel water between the ball and face during contact.  Has basically zero use on the sole other than to match the rest of the club cosmetically.

Odd because I’ve seen several Glide 3.0 wedges with various WRX grinds on them.  Same hydropearl finish and they don’t have issue with grinding them.

[gticlay]

11 hours ago, jblough99 said:

Kind of a lame excuse for not doing the grind work.  The entire premise behind the hydropearl is to repel water between the ball and face during contact.  Has basically zero use on the sole other than to match the rest of the club cosmetically.

Odd because I’ve seen several Glide 3.0 wedges with various WRX grinds on them.  Same hydropearl finish and they don’t have issue with grinding them.

I haven't really looked at the closely (I'm still playin i3 blade...) - is it a "chrome plating" kind of thing or more like the 3M water repellant kind of stuff?  Would you actually see a plating where the grind goes to the normal surface or ???

[jblough99]

Its definitely not like a chrome plating.  I think it's a chemical plating process but dont quote me on that.  

 

From the wedges I've seen, there isnt much of a difference between the raw stainless and the hydropearl as far as appearance.

 

[jblough99]

I think the real reason they will grind the wedges but not the irons is the fact that the loft is stamped out on the toe with the wedges, the grind wont remove it.  On the irons the number is on the sole and would be removed just like Hovlands irons.

Silly, I know, but I can understand where Ping is coming from at the consumer/retail level vs a tour player.

[bladehunter]

2 hours ago, gticlay said:

I haven't really looked at the closely (I'm still playin i3 blade...) - is it a "chrome plating" kind of thing or more like the 3M water repellant kind of stuff?  Would you actually see a plating where the grind goes to the normal surface or ???

Reason why they stopped is folks griping after the fact about the inconsistency in finishes after grinding.  Same reason why raw wedges are hard to buy off the rack. People actually gripe about the rust.  🤦‍♂️

[gticlay]

I'm going to contact a bigger Ping account - I haven't ordered a set of Ping irons since the S59 came out back in 2007 er, 2003 I guess?  But even back then some Ping accounts could get things done by WRX that others couldn't.  You guys know any "good" Ping retailers that I should ask?  

Edited November 13, 2020 by gticlay

[14max]

1 hour ago, gticlay said:

I'm going to contact a bigger Ping account - I haven't ordered a set of Ping irons since the S59 came out back in 2007 er, 2003 I guess?  But even back then some Ping accounts could get things done by WRX that others couldn't.  You guys know any "good" Ping retailers that I should ask?  

Morton's Golf https://www.mortongolfsales.com/

[gticlay]

4 hours ago, 14max said:

Morton's Golf https://www.mortongolfsales.com/

Ahhh, yes.  I only get an email every week from them!