G425/I230 combo set? Am I nuts?

[Broken3wood]

Sitting here during the winter months has led me to debating with myself on the pro's and cons of building a combo set for this coming year. After playing the I210 for a large portion of last summer and fall I've decided that I'm going to stick with Ping. Here's where it gets weird. I am thinking of going G425 for the 4i & 5i, then I230 for 6i - PW.  Matching the lofts and gapping them properly is no problem. Offset and bounce wouldn't be the most consistent thru the set, have to take the good with the bad if I decide to go this route.  Here are my reasons for potentially doing so. Any insight would be appreciated. 

 

- Inconsistent play from 4 & 5 iron in the past. Let's say 65% good shots, 35% bad shots. That is with irons having minimal offset and smaller head shape. 

- I got a chance to demo the I230 last weekend. Liked the feel but felt that some additional help with the long irons prob wouldn't hurt. 

- I hate hybrids

- Not a fan at all of the I525, so those are out. 

[eric61]

I don't think it's crazy. I know there's somebody on here (sorry -- I forget who!) that's playing 5-8 G430 irons, then 8-PW or UW i230s. And yes, he has two 8 irons -- if you check out the lofts,  you'll see why. 

 

Another thing you could look at is replacing the 4 iron with an iCrossover. That's what I did, and I love the iCrossover. Then for the 5 iron, maybe you wait and grab an i530 if they're released soon? 

 

Check out this David Lingmerth WITB. It looks like he was testing a lot of stuff and I'm not sure what stuck, but you'll see he has both an i230 6 iron and a G430 6 iron in there, which presumably would replace his i230 5 iron. The G430 6 iron looks like it's 5 iron length. He also has an i230 5 iron, but you can guess what he was probably evaluating.

 

 

[Broken3wood]

Interesting.

[ALIF]

Since 2018 I’ve played a combo set of G700 5-7 and i210 7-GW. I’ve tried to switch four or five times since I started this but nothing is better than this combo set. I honestly don’t see myself ever switching irons unless upgrading to the more current models of the same Ping irons.

Edited January 5 by ALIF
Typo

[prouse25]

1 hour ago, eric61 said:

I don't think it's crazy. I know there's somebody on here (sorry -- I forget who!) that's playing 5-8 G430 irons, then 8-PW or UW i230s. And yes, he has two 8 irons -- if you check out the lofts,  you'll see why. 

 

Another thing you could look at is replacing the 4 iron with an iCrossover. That's what I did, and I love the iCrossover. Then for the 5 iron, maybe you wait and grab an i530 if they're released soon? 

 

Check out this David Lingmerth WITB. It looks like he was testing a lot of stuff and I'm not sure what stuck, but you'll see he has both an i230 6 iron and a G430 6 iron in there, which presumably would replace his i230 5 iron. The G430 6 iron looks like it's 5 iron length. He also has an i230 5 iron, but you can guess what he was probably evaluating.

 

 

 

I am that guy 😁.  The G430’s are just ridiculously easy to hit - i230’s (power spec) are perfect.  I went with an 8 iron from each set and pretend the number on the G’s are just one more - I treat the G 8 iron like it is really a 7 iron. 
 

while the degree difference in the 8 irons are rather close, the difference in spin and face construction result in an 8 to 9 yard gap.  
Feel free to ask me any questions. 

[PARETO]

Self made Ping combo sets are great! My latest “winter SIM tinker season” creation is G25 4 iron and 5-P S58. Skipped the I series all together 😂😂. 

[Broken3wood]

19 minutes ago, prouse25 said:

while the degree difference in the 8 irons are rather close, the difference in spin and face construction result in an 8 to 9 yard gap.  

 

I had to sit down and look at the specs on the ping website. Your absolutely correct about the I230 power spec matching up perfect. I'd be one club ahead and end up with 2 7 irons. I'm going to have to go back to the fitter and swing both while looking at some numbers. This looks more and more like a viable option. 

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

4 hours ago, Broken3wood said:

Sitting here during the winter months has led me to debating with myself on the pro's and cons of building a combo set for this coming year. After playing the I210 for a large portion of last summer and fall I've decided that I'm going to stick with Ping. Here's where it gets weird. I am thinking of going G425 for the 4i & 5i, then I230 for 6i - PW.  Matching the lofts and gapping them properly is no problem. Offset and bounce wouldn't be the most consistent thru the set, have to take the good with the bad if I decide to go this route.  Here are my reasons for potentially doing so. Any insight would be appreciated. 

 

- Inconsistent play from 4 & 5 iron in the past. Let's say 65% good shots, 35% bad shots. That is with irons having minimal offset and smaller head shape. 

- I got a chance to demo the I230 last weekend. Liked the feel but felt that some additional help with the long irons prob wouldn't hurt. 

- I hate hybrids

- Not a fan at all of the I525, so those are out. 

 

B3W, you're using PING clubs dude. the rule with PING is you mash any weird/geeky combination of them you want in your bag, and then go play. IMO with the i230 you are horribly mistaken not to consider an i525 for that 4 & 5 slot. Another issue I see is you can not just special order a 4 & 5 iron in G425 anymore, that window has closed.

[Broken3wood]

15 minutes ago, Kenny Lee Puckett said:

 

B3W, you're using PING clubs dude. the rule with PING is you mash any weird/geeky combination of them you want in your bag, and then go play. IMO with the i230 you are horribly mistaken not to consider an i525 for that 4 & 5 slot. Another issue I see is you can not just special order a 4 & 5 iron in G425 anymore, that window has closed.

 

I had a full set of the I525 when they first released. They made it thru 2 rounds then hit the B/S/T. I made the mistake of not hitting them before purchasing and hated how they felt once they arrived. Since the I210 was such a good fit for me, I felt like maybe I'd stick it out with the brand for another set.  Also fully aware that you can no longer special order the G425. That would require some patience and digging to find what I needed. Having a loft & lie machine in the garage makes that process quite a bit easier, Don't have to be so picky about finding an exact match. 

Edited January 5 by Broken3wood

[Arlin964]

I’m a fan of this idea. I considered it earlier this fall but I never pulled the trigger on it. Like you, for some reason I lean toward the G430 instead of the i525 long irons. I switch back and forth between my Artisans and the i230s. 6i is my longest iron in both of those sets, so honestly could do a G430 5i either way. But right now I do kind of do that already with a ZX4 mk II 6i acting as a 5. 

[ashortgame]

I'm +2 and 7 months ago I put in a 425 4 and 5 iron and love them. Recently I changed from i210's to the new T200's. I ordered 4-PW in the T200's and used the 4 and 5 iron for 2 rounds but went back to game the 425 4 and 5 irons and they are way more forgiving. It's quite an easy transition blending them. Mentally I think of the 425 as sort of a bridging club between my 6 iron and 2 hybrid.

I still practise with the T200 4 iron but I don't game it.

I had the T200 6 iron strengthened 1 degree to 26° as its a better transition between the 5 and 7 iron for me.

I have no hesitation recommending the set up you are considering however I do think a better blend would be 425 4 and 5 iron and then power spec in your 230"s.

I should also mention I actually went from i210's to Ping 525's which I used for 5 holes( hated them) before I got the T200's.

[Sean124]

Do whatever works. I’m currently building a T100/MP-32/MP-67 combo set haha

[Golfdoctor]

I'm looking in getting into the I230's and noticed that the lofts on the I230 and G430 are about the same just that the G430 is moved up a iron, that's why Ping threw in a extra wedge in the G430 line. I currently have the G425 and had gapping issue's with them.

[hook_or_slice]

1 hour ago, Golfdoctor said:

...... I currently have the G425 and had gapping issue's with them.

 

I just got a set of G425. Won't be able to play until the weather warms up.

Where are you seeing big gaps?

[prouse25]

1 hour ago, Golfdoctor said:

I'm looking in getting into the I230's and noticed that the lofts on the I230 and G430 are about the same just that the G430 is moved up a iron, that's why Ping threw in a extra wedge in the G430 line. I currently have the G425 and had gapping issue's with them.

 

 

Make sure you consider head construction / spin differences if you do a combo.  On paper, my two 8 irons are really close in specs.  However, they are a full club difference in performance.  The G has a slightly hotter face and spins less.  I am very happy with the standard G 8 iron and the power spec i 8 iron.  

[Golfdoctor]

 

There's a 5 degree gap between the 9 iron and PW and PW to UW. That's why Ping threw in the extra wedge in the G430's.

[Broken3wood]

On 1/5/2024 at 5:11 AM, ashortgame said:

I'm +2 and 7 months ago I put in a 425 4 and 5 iron and love them. Recently I changed from i210's to the new T200's. I ordered 4-PW in the T200's and used the 4 and 5 iron for 2 rounds but went back to game the 425 4 and 5 irons and they are way more forgiving. It's quite an easy transition blending them. Mentally I think of the 425 as sort of a bridging club between my 6 iron and 2 hybrid.

I still practise with the T200 4 iron but I don't game it.

I had the T200 6 iron strengthened 1 degree to 26° as its a better transition between the 5 and 7 iron for me.

I have no hesitation recommending the set up you are considering however I do think a better blend would be 425 4 and 5 iron and then power spec in your 230"s.

I should also mention I actually went from i210's to Ping 525's which I used for 5 holes( hated them) before I got the T200's.

 

Did you have to go retro spec loft in the 425 irons to gap properly with the 210's? 

[ashortgame]

On 1/7/2024 at 11:35 PM, Broken3wood said:

 

Did you have to go retro spec loft in the 425 irons to gap properly with the 210's? 

No, but I did strength the i210 6 iron 1° and if I  had an in between yardage, I played a hold off shot with the 5 iron. I'm quite comfortable with a hold off shot.

[Cellis]

On 1/4/2024 at 7:29 PM, Broken3wood said:

Sitting here during the winter months has led me to debating with myself on the pro's and cons of building a combo set for this coming year. After playing the I210 for a large portion of last summer and fall I've decided that I'm going to stick with Ping. Here's where it gets weird. I am thinking of going G425 for the 4i & 5i, then I230 for 6i - PW.  Matching the lofts and gapping them properly is no problem. Offset and bounce wouldn't be the most consistent thru the set, have to take the good with the bad if I decide to go this route.  Here are my reasons for potentially doing so. Any insight would be appreciated. 

 

- Inconsistent play from 4 & 5 iron in the past. Let's say 65% good shots, 35% bad shots. That is with irons having minimal offset and smaller head shape. 

- I got a chance to demo the I230 last weekend. Liked the feel but felt that some additional help with the long irons prob wouldn't hurt. 

- I hate hybrids

- Not a fan at all of the I525, so those are out. 

Just out of curiosity because I was looking to pick up a set of i210, any reason in particular you wanted to move on to the i230? Any voids the i230 look to fill that the i210 do not for you or just want a new set?

[Broken3wood]

16 minutes ago, Cellis said:

Just out of curiosity because I was looking to pick up a set of i210, any reason in particular you wanted to move on to the i230? Any voids the i230 look to fill that the i210 do not for you or just want a new set?

 

The i210 was a great set of irons for me. Absolutely no holes. I just enjoy building clubs and wanted to stick it out with ping since the last ones worked so well for my game.

[bluedot]

The answer to this is purely results driven, and the results will be pretty individualized, I think.  
 

Fwiw, I have tried this twice, in very different ways, and it was a no go FOR ME both times.  I did it years ago with a mixed set of i5’s and G5s, back in the day when we all still used long irons.  As it turned out, the G5 long irons were VERY hook prone, and beginning in the next generation G10s, Ping moved some weight out on the toe, plus the i5’s are one of the best irons ever made by anyone, so maybe not a fair fight for a blended set.

 

Fast forward to this fall and a Titleist fitting session after using T200s for a couple of years and loving them.  I wanted to see if a blended set of T350 long irons, T200 mid irons, and T150 short irons would be a good fit, and they just weren’t.  Neither the fitter nor I liked the way launched the T350s, and I couldn’t find any benefit at all to the T150 short irons, plus my yardages weren’t right.  I stayed with a full set of T200s.

 

So turf interaction and gapping were the two issues for me this time; years ago, it was ball flight.  In both cases, I thought it was a good theory; the reality not so much.

[Sean124]

On 1/5/2024 at 6:50 AM, Sean124 said:

Do whatever works. I’m currently building a T100/MP-32/MP-67 combo set haha

I actually really like this setup 🤣

 

[chollier986]

Checking in. 
 

Have been gaming I230 U-5.  Just added a G425 6-4.  The G425 6 iron (26.5 deg) replaces my i230 5 iron (26  deg.). Gapping is perfect for me.  Wish I had done this sooner.

[HGLucky13]

Just switched to the I230's from the G425's in December. With the loft difference I now have a gap between my 5i and my 3H(turned up to 20.5*). I have been looking into clubs to fill that spot. But after reading this thread instead of buying something new to fill that gap I am just going to add the G425 5i as it worked well before. Depending on gapping I might bend it a little stronger to fine tune. The lofts between the 2 5i's are only 2.5* apart so I likely will need some adjustment there, but we will see how it plays out. Or maybe swap out the 6 for the G 6i also, like @chollier986 did.

I don't really have any trouble hitting the I230 5i, but I am not wanting to buy another club to fill the gap just yet.

Edited January 23 by HGLucky13

[YAMS49]

You could just get another set of I210's... The reason I and I imagine others haven't switched to I230's is due to those longer I230 irons lacking the progression of the I210's. 

[eaglechip]

I'm thinking about doing the same. I don't hit my i210 5i consistently enough. On average just a little bit further thank my 6i (170 yards carry) only with more rollout.

I'm considering whether to buy a G425 5i (23.5°, bent weak) or a 6i and possibly bent strong 1°.

Or maybe try a G430 6i (24.5°).But that would make it a little more expensive and it's not the best looking iron.

Any suggestions?