Upgrading clubs; i15 driver and i10 irons

MarcA · September 12, 2021

Hi all,

Thanks for reading.

I recently stumbled across this forum and have spent a long time looking through various posts and am hoping for some help myself. I'm looking at upgrading my gear which is getting on but I'm very much on a budget so can't afford the latest tech.

I've included what I currently have in my bag below. I do have a bit of a thing for Ping as they suit my game and give me confidence.

Driver; Ping i15 (9.5 degree) stiff Flex Proforce 69 Series Shaft.
3 wood; Callaway Great Big Bertha. Rarely used as I prefer the longer irons.
Irons; 3 to SW Ping i10. I think these are also stiff shafts.
An old 60 degree lob wedge that I've had since I was a junior 20+ years.
Putter; Odyssey 2ball

With two young children, I don't get out as much as I used to but have joined a course closer to home so am starting to get back into it. My handicap over the years has always been 9 or 10. At the minute I'm playing a few over this but mainly due to a few bad holes caused by the odd wild drive (big slice which I've had a lesson to fix so working on that) and poor short game; the latter which needs nothing more than some time on the chipping green.

I don't have a lot of money so was thinking that since my gear is so old any upgrade would be of benefit. It's probably worth mentioning that I also hit quite a high ball so don't want a club where the ball balloons up into the air.

My thinking was to replace the driver and irons:

Newer driver; something like the Ping i25 (9.5 degree with stiff shaft)
Newer irons; i200 (4 to UW).
Some sort of 56 degree wedge.
A couple of Ping i25 hybrids. One to give me the 3 iron distance and the other to bridge the gap between the 3 wood.

What do people think about this? Appreciate I'm replacing old with old but am I missed anything obvious?

Thank you...

grochol17 · September 13, 2021

Regarding the driver, I played the i15 for a while and never really felt comfortable with it. I had the original PX Blue shaft it in and I'm not sure if it was the shaft or the head, but something didn't work. I really liked the i20 (my favorite PING driver), the Anser, and now the G400 LST (haven't hit anything newer than the 400). The i25 was ok, but like the i15 I couldn't get comfortable with it even though I tried a few different shafts in it. The G25 was hugely popular because of how forgiving it is. The launch and spin are a bit higher than the i25, but you could always drop back to the 8.5* loft on the G25.

You may already know this, but just in case not, PING has used three different shaft adapters for their drivers... the Anser, i25, G25 all use the same one, the G30, G, and G400 are on another, and the G410 and G425 are the newest. So if you have any interest in testing out shafts, just keep in mind they won't all mix and match.

If I were in your shoes I think I'd go for a G25 8.5* if I wanted to lean toward forgiveness or an Anser 9.5* if I was more worried about about keeping the spin down.

Tax77 · September 13, 2021

Get the driver right, you can find good deals on something better and way more up to date than i25. Scrounge up a bit of extra cash and get a G400 or G410 driver. Its worth it.

mantan · September 13, 2021

I love PING, but the i10 irons were some of the more demanding clubs they had, IMO. I think any driver post i10 is going to be great. I LOVED the i20s. Probably my favorite of the i-line. Wasn't a big of a fan of the subsequent models. Eventually that led me away from PING irons entirely.

But if you're set on PING, the i200s are a good replacement for the i10s.

From a driver perspective, I'd get the right G model. Everything after the G25 was REALLY good. It's just a matter of getting the right loft/shaft. I'd get a G400 Max and call it a day.

Edited September 13, 2021 by mantan

Fenrir · September 13, 2021

I played a ping Anser up until I got a new to me pxg and it was just as long out of the middle and only slightly less forgiving on miss hits, as far as irons I picked up ping IE1 irons which for some reason people seemed to not like but I have found them to be super nice and cheaper then a lot of models that are older. I think it all depends on what you are looking for most upgrading in stages is fine as long as you are willing to work with some gaps for short times.

p.s. PM me if you want a ping Anser driver I have 2 heads and a ping stock stiff shaft and would love to sell one of them to clean out my golf space lol

MarcA · September 13, 2021

Thanks for taking the time to reply - plenty to think about.

I have read reviews where people have commented on the forgiveness of my current clubs. I was brought up on blades but would like a more forgiving club as every little helps! The i10s do need working hard and I often wonder whether my poorer shots would have been better with a different set. The ping IE1 irons could be an interesting option but one concern is that they might balloon up as the reviews I've read suggest a high ball flight. The shaft could be a factor here I suppose. I've had a quick look and there are plenty of affordable sets available and, the advantage of my set being so old, is that practically anything is an upgrade. I would have a gap to fill if I can't get a 3 iron in the set but can work round this in the meantime. The price also allows me to budget a little more on the driver and the G series looks like a good shout with the lower loft.

Plenty to think about.

One thing that does puzzle me and my Googling skills let me down. Does anyone know if the ping IE1 irons follow the old or new colour chart? (after further looking it looks like the old chart).

Thanks again. Your help is very much appreciated as my knowledge of different clubs is not great.

Edited September 13, 2021 by MarcA
Updated following further reading

Fenrir · September 14, 2021

18 hours ago, MarcA said:

Thanks for taking the time to reply - plenty to think about.

I have read reviews where people have commented on the forgiveness of my current clubs. I was brought up on blades but would like a more forgiving club as every little helps! The i10s do need working hard and I often wonder whether my poorer shots would have been better with a different set. The ping IE1 irons could be an interesting option but one concern is that they might balloon up as the reviews I've read suggest a high ball flight. The shaft could be a factor here I suppose. I've had a quick look and there are plenty of affordable sets available and, the advantage of my set being so old, is that practically anything is an upgrade. I would have a gap to fill if I can't get a 3 iron in the set but can work round this in the meantime. The price also allows me to budget a little more on the driver and the G series looks like a good shout with the lower loft.

Plenty to think about.

One thing that does puzzle me and my Googling skills let me down. Does anyone know if the ping IE1 irons follow the old or new colour chart? (after further looking it looks like the old chart).

Thanks again. Your help is very much appreciated as my knowledge of different clubs is not great.

They do fly high but I’m also a high ball hitter so I can’t comment on if it’s heads or not, they are old color chart which I only know as mine are purple dot which I don’t believe they make anymore