Ping i230 pic

[Teebs]

Another round in with the i230s and still absolutely in love. The consistency is off the charts and I've hit some lovely shots with them.

 

Highlight yesterday was a flighted 7 iron into a fairly stiff breeze from 139 yards that landed 10ft behind the pin, just lovely!

 

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Teebs

[T_Golf_23]

8 hours ago, wobgon said:

I read a lot in this thread about these irons going straight....Is there actually a way to manufacture irons that go straight?

Yes…. Kind of…. 
 

They are very stable across the face. For example, I was catching these a bit towards the tie today. My result was a baby draw. And very consistent distance. 
 

with my wilson staff blades, catching them off the tie the same way would have resulted in a big distance differential vs middling it… but on some tie hits you would actually feel the face twist. It would have also resulted on a stronger draw with the blades. 
 

basically, stability across the face will produce standing tee shots on hits that are not centered. The iron construction… along with a proper shaft can reduce the gear affect on side spin. And also preserve distance via ball speed consistency. 

[Bunkersarebigcups]

I had several indoor sessions with mine so far and am really surprised at the level of consistency.

Dispersion is really tight, even on mishits.

I also had 2 rounds in heavy wind and with winter greens so hard to talk about distances and ball flight but what I can say is listed below:

 

- Looks: great flow through the set, especially the long irons do look WAY better in person than on pics. Just enough "bulk" to give a little confidence. The short irons are perfect

- the 4 iron is a joke, I hit it higher than I ever thought possible for me. Still went through the wind nicely though. I could not stop hitting the 4i, I just hit it of every tee because it was so nice

- the short irons still seem to pierce nicely, so once again the flow throughout the set is great

- feel: I was a little shocked on the range (very clicky compared to my previous Mizuno MPs), but with a premium ball (Z-Star) the feel is P.H.E.N.O.M.E.N.A.L. : dense, solid, not clicky at all, just feels like driving a hammer through a nail. I wouldnt go as far as saying they feel better than my MPs, but not worse either. Just different and right now, the more solid feel vs the softer feel of the forged MPs is something I really enjoy

- turf interaction is crazy good. I was hitting of all kinds of crappy winter lies from soggy to firmer spots with no grass: they just go in and out of the turf quickly. 4 iron was once again my favorite: For the first time in years I can confidently hit down on a 4i without the fear of a knee high wormburner and a pizza-sized divot.

 

I cant wait for the season to properly start.

Edited February 22, 2023 by Bunkersarebigcups

[oc_mike]

Had a 7 iron i230 loaner last night at home on my GC3 to compare to my existing jpx 921 tours in same shaft, Project X LZ 6.0.  Both felt good, but the tours definitely felt softer.  Pings on average about 3-4 yards longer (around 176 vs 180), thought they would be a little longer but not a factor in my decision.  Spin about same at 6000.   The tours were consistently left of target whereas the pings were consistently drawing less and starting/finishing a little right of target.  Pings were 2 flat thinking maybe I need to end up at 1 flat.  Launch angle about same at 19.0.  Height seemed high on the pings around 105 ft compared to the Tours at around 95.  Is this flying it too high?  Can anyone offer some other shaft suggestions to try that are stock options (I think the LZ is an upcharge) that might bring the ball flight down or do you think these numbers are fine?  

[Inglewood]

For anyone curious - I know these two irons don’t commonly compete in the same segment, but I hit a Miura MC-502 next to the i230 today during practice.  Both LZ 6.0 shafts…both 33 loft in 7 iron.  Miura was consistently longer 5-10 yards - I did tend to miss the green slightly left on occasion, which is my miss. The i230 was consistently straighter.  

Feel…no comparison.  None whatsoever.  Like I said, nobody is commonly putting these two up against each other, but the ping was clicky feeling and much lighter.  Miura…well, it was a miura…forged goodness with an unparalleled sound and feel when pured.  I’d be curious what the swing weight differences were between the two.

 

Few shots comparing soles and top lines:

 

 

[Jim53]

2 hours ago, Inglewood said:

For anyone curious - I know these two irons don’t commonly compete in the same segment, but I hit a Miura MC-502 next to the i230 today during practice.  Both LZ 6.0 shafts…both 33 loft in 7 iron.  Miura was consistently longer 5-10 yards - I did tend to miss the green slightly left on occasion, which is my miss. The i230 was consistently straighter.  

Feel…no comparison.  None whatsoever.  Like I said, nobody is commonly putting these two up against each other, but the ping was clicky feeling and much lighter.  Miura…well, it was a miura…forged goodness with an unparalleled sound and feel when pured.  I’d be curious what the swing weight differences were between the two.

 

Few shots comparing soles and top lines:

 

 

That is pretty crazy the 502 is longer, but with all the mass behind the sweet spot pured is really pured I guess.

I have been eyeing the 502 since release a d lately been curious about hitting the i230. Luckily there is no place local that has either, well maybe the 230 but I hate to go in the shop as they are small and I feel guilty not buying if I try.

[T_Golf_23]

37 minutes ago, Jim53 said:

That is pretty crazy the 502 is longer, but with all the mass behind the sweet spot pured is really pured I guess.

I have been eyeing the 502 since release a d lately been curious about hitting the i230. Luckily there is no place local that has either, well maybe the 230 but I hate to go in the shop as they are small and I feel guilty not buying if I try.

It makes sense sometimes the blades go longer… they sometimes have a lower flight with the higher CG. Creating more distance. it’s important to look at the apex of each. 
 

 

[T_Golf_23]

8 hours ago, oc_mike said:

Had a 7 iron i230 loaner last night at home on my GC3 to compare to my existing jpx 921 tours in same shaft, Project X LZ 6.0.  Both felt good, but the tours definitely felt softer.  Pings on average about 3-4 yards longer (around 176 vs 180), thought they would be a little longer but not a factor in my decision.  Spin about same at 6000.   The tours were consistently left of target whereas the pings were consistently drawing less and starting/finishing a little right of target.  Pings were 2 flat thinking maybe I need to end up at 1 flat.  Launch angle about same at 19.0.  Height seemed high on the pings around 105 ft compared to the Tours at around 95.  Is this flying it too high?  Can anyone offer some other shaft suggestions to try that are stock options (I think the LZ is an upcharge) that might bring the ball flight down or do you think these numbers are fine?  

About 100ft is ideal. 
 

you are in that window with each of them. That should give you a decent landing angle into greens….. which should be greater than 45*…… below this….. it can be hard to hold faster greens. 

[TheGolfingRealtor]

With spring only 5 weeks away pending any major snowfall I ordered my set today and will hopefully have them in time when the season starts.

 

5-U, 54*/SS & 58*/ES

Blue dot

Modus 105

Standard length

Stiff flex

MCC Plus4 light blue

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

very impressed with i230 at the range today. think the old S55 may finally have met their successor...

 

 

 

 

[karstens_ghost]

54 minutes ago, Kenny Lee Puckett said:

very impressed with i230 at the range today. think the old S55 may finally have met their successor...

 

 

 

 

 

About time those skinny things go. Love the subtle Top100 flex. 🙂

[Wayside]

How are people feeling about the offset now? 

[kooch1221]

7 hours ago, Kenny Lee Puckett said:

very impressed with i230 at the range today. think the old S55 may finally have met their successor...

 

 

 

 

 

 Man I really wish Ping would re-release that mascot line of bags. I bought one a few years ago on closeout and its still solid. Are those the Lamkin Genesis cord grips? If so how do you like them?

[coreyhr]

Is it safe to say that there’s enough bounce on these irons that going with the Power Spec option will result in no noticeable effect of lowering that bounce? I like to be able to flight my irons and thought I’d go Power Spec to keep flight down. But I’ve bent irons 1° strong in the past and I was shocked how much issue I had with turf interaction after doing so. But those were long iron blade-ish irons with low starting bounce. These appear to be higher bounce and could afford to lose a little bit of bounce. 

[JZ75]

9 hours ago, coreyhr said:

Is it safe to say that there’s enough bounce on these irons that going with the Power Spec option will result in no noticeable effect of lowering that bounce? I like to be able to flight my irons and thought I’d go Power Spec to keep flight down. But I’ve bent irons 1° strong in the past and I was shocked how much issue I had with turf interaction after doing so. But those were long iron blade-ish irons with low starting bounce. These appear to be higher bounce and could afford to lose a little bit of bounce. 

Short answer, yes it is safe to say there is enough bounce that power spec won’t cause issues.

 

Longer answer, The i230s launch high, particularly the long irons but I don’t have any issue flighting down the standard loft.  I know the “you should get fit” answer gets over used sometimes but I’d see a fitter and look at spin, apex and distance to make a final determination on power spec.

[OrangeGravy]

You held this opinion before the irons ever dropped 

[VanTheMan0519]

1 hour ago, OrangeGravy said:

You held this opinion before the irons ever dropped 

?

[Teebs]

3 rounds in and strokes gained against a 5 handicap in approach play is sitting at +3.64 currently (ShotScope).

 

Quick 9 holes today and again, some absolutely great approach shots including a wedge to 1ft, a 7 iron to 4ft and a 9 iron to 6 ft.

Tough conditions out there too, 10/15mph wind and 7c in the UK.

[ajtruck13]

Does anyone have Ping i230 Power Spec with Project X LS shafts? I deliver lots of dynamic loft at impact that can be very spinny.  My ballflight is plenty high.  I was fit into P790's with Project X LS bent two degrees strong so I was wondering what an i230 power spec w/ project x LS shafts would be like.  I have hit both, i230 certainly feel more consistent and forgiving compared to p790, so I am wondering if anyone here has experience with I230 w/ Project X LS shafts?  Wondering if this combo brings down the spin enough. thanks

Edited February 27, 2023 by ajtruck13

[DNice26]

27 minutes ago, ajtruck13 said:

Does anyone have Ping i230 Power Spec with Project X LS shafts? I am an inconsistent ball striker that delivers lots of dynamic loft at impact that can be very spinny.  My ballflight is plenty high.  I was fit into P790's with Project X LS bent two degrees strong so I was wondering what an i230 power spec w/ project x LS shafts would be like.  I have hit both, i230 certainly feel more consistent and forgiving compared to p790, so I am wondering if anyone here has experience with I230 w/ Project X LS shafts?  Wondering if this combo brings down the spin enough. thanks

Ever try different shaft profiles, like modus 120X?

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

On 2/25/2023 at 6:50 AM, kooch1221 said:

 Man I really wish Ping would re-release that mascot line of bags. I bought one a few years ago on closeout and its still solid. Are those the Lamkin Genesis cord grips? If so how do you like them?

 

On 2/25/2023 at 12:18 AM, karstens_ghost said:

About time those skinny things go. Love the subtle Top100 flex. 🙂

K_G, if they had a proper S55 "2.0" of some kind I'd play it. first experience ever with an iron like i230. now I finally understand how these thin face players irons work, cause they really do things differently. appearance is unusual for me too, but i230 is actually a pleasant feeling iron. I got a good idea how I gonna get them set-up and they're probably going in the bag.

 

kooch, good eye, that is an old Mascot bag! those are not cord grips. they're just the Lamkin Crossline. I'm always a GP TV 360 grip fan, they'll go on the final set-up.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Kenny Lee Puckett

[thesloth]

Put my order in a week ago for i230's, 5-UW. Lots of snow on the ground here, but will be hoping for a short turnaround time. It'd be nice to get them in hand, gap them on the simulator, and figure out what to do at the long-end of the bag before spring arrives.

[karstens_ghost]

3 hours ago, Kenny Lee Puckett said:

 

K_G, if they had a proper S55 "2.0" of some kind I'd play it. first experience ever with an iron like i230. now I finally understand how these thin face players irons work, cause they really do things differently. appearance is unusual for me too, but i230 is actually a pleasant feeling iron. I got a good idea how I gonna get them set-up and they're probably going in the bag.

 

kooch, good eye, that is an old Mascot bag! those are not cord grips. they're just the Lamkin Crossline. I'm always a GP TV 360 grip fan, they'll go on the final set-up.

 

They'll come out with the 159s, but I'm guessing you'll blend. We'll see. 😉

[Tree Levino]

10 hours ago, ajtruck13 said:

Does anyone have Ping i230 Power Spec with Project X LS shafts? I am an inconsistent ball striker that delivers lots of dynamic loft at impact that can be very spinny.  My ballflight is plenty high.  I was fit into P790's with Project X LS bent two degrees strong so I was wondering what an i230 power spec w/ project x LS shafts would be like.  I have hit both, i230 certainly feel more consistent and forgiving compared to p790, so I am wondering if anyone here has experience with I230 w/ Project X LS shafts?  Wondering if this combo brings down the spin enough. thanks

Fitting is important of course, but doing a bandaid to that extent seems slightly overkill. Why not just practice hard and get that flipping dealt with? Truly no iron is going to give you what you’re after. 790s are about as low spin as you can get. Pings generally spin a touch more due to the bounce. 

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

10 hours ago, karstens_ghost said:

 

They'll come out with the 159s, but I'm guessing you'll blend. We'll see. 😉

oh I took i59 out too and hit them, but in the first place they're not at all what I was/am looking for. if PING has just updated the S55 exactly how it was with maybe 431 steel and maybe a few tweaks to the head's angles it would have been fantastic. so, it's i230 time. and I'm totally on board with it. can't exactly comment to people on PING everyday if I'm still playing an iron from 2014. 😁

[karstens_ghost]

No, I mean the S159/S259 next year. 🙂

[Bunkersarebigcups]

On 2/27/2023 at 2:31 AM, ajtruck13 said:

Does anyone have Ping i230 Power Spec with Project X LS shafts? I deliver lots of dynamic loft at impact that can be very spinny.  My ballflight is plenty high.  I was fit into P790's with Project X LS bent two degrees strong so I was wondering what an i230 power spec w/ project x LS shafts would be like.  I have hit both, i230 certainly feel more consistent and forgiving compared to p790, so I am wondering if anyone here has experience with I230 w/ Project X LS shafts?  Wondering if this combo brings down the spin enough. thanks

I hit P790 (just for fun) in my fitting. For me, P790 was WAY lower in flight compared to i230 with the same shaft. Like 3 or 4* lower launch and ~1200-1500 rpms less spin (from memory, dont have the data for P790 written down).

 

i230 was one of the higher flying iron sets for me, which is why I went for them. While I scoop release my short irons (working on that with my pro), I have never had any height on long irons. So if you are a high ball hitter, make sure to hit them first. Power lofting does not affect long and short irons that much, so if you hit your short irons very high, too, you might have to bent everything strong or to look somewhere else.

Edited February 28, 2023 by Bunkersarebigcups

[Inglewood]

Anyone looking to 'nerd out' on the i230...this is pretty encompassing and may answer a lot of your questions:

 

 

[ilikegolf]

Noted that Ian Fraser has gone to blue dot in his i230, whereas he has always played several degree flat lie angles in his past iron sets.

 

Ive hit these in my normal 2 degree flat, orange dot, and found that they started right of target and I was hitting push cuts, which is rather abnormal for me. Eventually tried black dot in them and was able to see my normal draw.

 

Im very sensitive to lie angle and this was really quite surprising for me, anyone else notice the same?

 

 

[BirdieBob]