Ping I530

[eric61]

24 minutes ago, Honman said:

What I really want though, is a club as hot as these and my PXG's but with a thinner sole. I've not found anything in a smaller head than these that gives me the distance I need. 

 

What about New Level 902-OS?

 

Maybe Mizuno Pro 245s? Not sure if that sole is thinner or not -- I know it's a smaller head overall.

 

Or you could also strengthen the lofts on some PXG Ps or Ts or power spec the i530s to get less bounce? But then you're dealing with more offset. 

[teedub21]

The Mizuno PRO 245’s sole looks half as thick as the Pings.  I returned my Pings yesterday otherwise I’d post a photo of them side by side with my Pro 245’s.  

[Honman]

8 hours ago, eric61 said:

 

What about New Level 902-OS?

 

Maybe Mizuno Pro 245s? Not sure if that sole is thinner or not -- I know it's a smaller head overall.

 

Or you could also strengthen the lofts on some PXG Ps or Ts or power spec the i530s to get less bounce? But then you're dealing with more offset. 

For me the 245s are much slower. I had better results out of the JPX 923 forged. No access to New Level in the UK.

I play the PXG Gen 6 P now. They are the best iron out there for me, and the PING's are the only clubs that have come close. But my ideal would be something smaller with the same power. 

[platgof]

I should be able to play these tomorrow. Hit them in the yard and the pw felt really good.

[Honeybadger]

Not sure what’s going on with the i525’s. For some reason on the front 9 I was leaving my approaches short- really short. For instance, I usually hit my 7 iron 165-170 and I felt like I hit it pure and it only traveled 142 (downhill!). It’s something I’ve experienced since switching to Ping i525’s this year from Callaway Apex 19 Combo’s. I have the Ping AWT shafts and used to play the Nippon 85 Neo’s in the Callaways. I hit the Pings much higher, but I don’t think they are ballooning. So last round I shot 41 mostly because I was leaving my shots short (in quite a few bunkers and sand has become my weakness). I adjusted on the back 9 and shot 38. I’m happy with the dispersion and my scoring lately, but I just can’t figure out the distances. Maybe I think I’m hitting them pure but because they are so forgiving, I’m missing the sweet spot and that’s why they land short? Those who are playing the 530’s- are you having any similar experiences? 

Edited May 23 by Honeybadger

[eric61]

Very positive review of the i530s from TXG:

 

[JohnnyO3478]

One of my regular playing buddies just took delivery on a set 5-U - plus some S159 wedges and a G430 4H.  These are to replace his Ping Eye 2 irons that he's been rocking since they were the hot thing.  I was there when he demo'd them - and it was quite impressive the flight characteristics that I witnessed.  I think he chose wisely.  I personally did not like the wedges when I hit them - but I DID just order myself a G430 5H.  We are playing a scramble tomorrow - weather permitting.  I think the first time he will hit the new stix will be on the warm up range ...

[TonyRo]

41 minutes ago, JohnnyO3478 said:

I think the first time he will hit the new stix will be on the warm up range ...

He's gonna have to double club down or something. 🤣

[JohnnyO3478]

2 minutes ago, TonyRo said:

He's gonna have to double club down or something. 🤣

Oh it's going to be wild ......

[pt73]

My club had a Ping fitting day so I figured why not.

 

I tried the i230, i530 and Blueprint S with the DG Mid 100 and Modus 105 both in R.

 

The i530 was first with the DG Mid and any concerns with the stronger lofts were erased, trajectory, spin and angle of descent were amazing.

 

Great looking and feeling heads plus forgiveness.

 

Neither the i230 or Blueprint S could get near the i530 numbers and for my eye the i530 looked better than the i230.

 

I have owned lots of Ping irons over many years and these were just amazing.

 

The results with the DG Mid 100 were better for me than the Modus 105 which I have used a lot.

 

I've ordered 5-PW with standard lofts, can't wait for them to arrive.

[DG Tiger]

Guys, I have been playing i525s (white dot) with Modus steel 105 Stiff for the past 2+ years & looking to move over to i530s but I'm looking to change the shaft & go with steel graphite option. Any recommendations greatly appreciated.

[m d g]

On 5/14/2024 at 8:10 AM, teedub21 said:

I went with the stock graphite shafts in stiff flex and one degree flat.

 

I'm a bit late to this party, but if 140 is a 'huge' 9-iron, maybe stiff is not the correct shaft?

 

With these stronger lofts I can't see myself (also a shorter hitter) hitting a 9 from 140. An 8 maybe.

 

These are on my list because I could use a bit of distance and they also look very forgiving.

 

Going from forged cavity backs to these seems almost like cheating : )

[teedub21]

6 hours ago, m d g said:

 

I'm a bit late to this party, but if 140 is a 'huge' 9-iron, maybe stiff is not the correct shaft?

 

With these stronger lofts I can't see myself (also a shorter hitter) hitting a 9 from 140. An 8 maybe.

 

These are on my list because I could use a bit of distance and they also look very forgiving.

 

Going from forged cavity backs to these seems almost like cheating : )

Went stiff flex because the "R" flex graphite is way too light.  I think the stiff flex graphite at 86 grams was way too light anyway.  I'm much more sensitive to weight than flex, as are most players.  Doesn't really matter though as my i530's are back to 2nd Swing and are probably up on their site for sale by now.  

[platgof]

It took me awhile to start getting the feel for the I530's. I am not the usual player to buy I530's. The talk about too low and not high enough never materialized. I am playing 7-PW with senior shafts 1/4" long, Black dot. When I first got them, I was too short, these clubs don't like bad swings, so I went to work and fixed my swing. I was trying to sweep the irons instead of compressing the ball, these clubs do talk to you. My game took a slump before buying these, and I was at a 16 hdcp. After fixing the shot issue I shot an 82 Thursday, and the irons are fantastic. Plenty long, good height with the standard model. Hit two really good shots with them. I hope this continues as these irons are a lot of fun. The hype about the strong lofts never materialized.

[Lefty87]

On 5/15/2024 at 5:06 PM, Honman said:

Played these today. Not to my spec, but hit some good shots that got some very good results. Feel more powerful and easier to hit that my PXG's. Maybe not as good feeling. 

 

I think with Steelfiber 95's these could be lethal. 

 

What I really want though, is a club as hot as these and my PXG's but with a thinner sole. I've not found anything in a smaller head than these that gives me the distance I need. 

Which model PXG’s are you playing? XP or P? 

[Honman]

8 hours ago, Lefty87 said:

Which model PXG’s are you playing? XP or P? 

P. PXG edge on feel. Ping win on looks, forgiveness and distance. They are noticeably smaller at address than the PXG. 

 

But these two for me are above and beyond every other manufacturer in this space. 

 

 

[Lefty87]

38 minutes ago, Honman said:

P. PXG edge on feel. Ping win on looks, forgiveness and distance. They are noticeably smaller at address than the PXG. 

 

But these two for me are above and beyond every other manufacturer in this space. 

 

 

I’m with you, there. Do you really find the i530 that much smaller than the P’s? 

[9ironiscash]

Has anyone directly compared these to the 2023 p790s? There are a few YouTube comparisons of these head to head but anyone else get a chance to compare? 

[Jeff58]

4 hours ago, 9ironiscash said:

Has anyone directly compared these to the 2023 p790s? There are a few YouTube comparisons of these head to head but anyone else get a chance to compare? 

I have a set of 2021 P790’s. I was able to demo the 2023 P790’s at a TM demo and the 530’s at a Ping demo on the same day. Only 7 irons…

 

The P790’s were not significantly different from my 2021’s. The P790 as a model tends to be very shaft tolerant. For every shaft (except 1), we needed the LM to determine the optimal pairing. The way that P790’s in general compensate for non-centered impact is also different- they strongly tend to maintain ball speed, and produce a lower flight with lower spin. Even though the shot may not look visually pleasing, they tend to arrive in the general area of the target anyway. P790’s are a mature and sophisticated product. They are forgiving of player, shaft, and ground condition variation. The i530, umm, not so much.

 

The i530 was very particular about the shaft selection, to the point of being the reverse of the P790. Most of the combinations produced low trajectory. Club head location feel was poor. The Ping fitter was skilled though. For me, the solution was a Modus 105 R. I generally don’t get along with Modus 105’s, though usually it’s the S. However, the results with the 105 R were absolutely exceptional. I would say one of the top 3 combinations I’ve ever hit.

 

If my experience is in any way normal, the likelihood of buying a set on line or at a big box store and producing an optimal result are not good. A full fitting, preferably by Ping, is the best bet.

[DG Tiger]

4 hours ago, Jeff58 said:

I have a set of 2021 P790’s. I was able to demo the 2023 P790’s at a TM demo and the 530’s at a Ping demo on the same day. Only 7 irons…

 

The P790’s were not significantly different from my 2021’s. The P790 as a model tends to be very shaft tolerant. For every shaft (except 1), we needed the LM to determine the optimal pairing. The way that P790’s in general compensate for non-centered impact is also different- they strongly tend to maintain ball speed, and produce a lower flight with lower spin. Even though the shot may not look visually pleasing, they tend to arrive in the general area of the target anyway. P790’s are a mature and sophisticated product. They are forgiving of player, shaft, and ground condition variation. The i530, umm, not so much.

 

The i530 was very particular about the shaft selection, to the point of being the reverse of the P790. Most of the combinations produced low trajectory. Club head location feel was poor. The Ping fitter was skilled though. For me, the solution was a Modus 105 R. I generally don’t get along with Modus 105’s, though usually it’s the S. However, the results with the 105 R were absolutely exceptional. I would say one of the top 3 combinations I’ve ever hit.

 

If my experience is in any way normal, the likelihood of buying a set on line or at a big box store and producing an optimal result are not good. A full fitting, preferably by Ping, is the best bet.

Did the ping or the TaylorMade folks have options for a graphite shaft such as Steelfiber, MMT or Axiom? Many fitters don't carry steel fibers.

[Jeff58]

7 hours ago, DG Tiger said:

Did the ping or the TaylorMade folks have options for a graphite shaft such as Steelfiber, MMT or Axiom? Many fitters don't carry steel fibers.

Both. My general preference is a lighter steel, usually in the 105-110 gram range. I told them that was my preference and they stuck with it. Lighter shafts in the 530 didn’t seem to work well, at least for me. Steelfiber’s, at least for me, have tended to be a Goldilocks shafts, except with the “just right” option removed.

[Lefty87]

17 hours ago, Jeff58 said:

I have a set of 2021 P790’s. I was able to demo the 2023 P790’s at a TM demo and the 530’s at a Ping demo on the same day. Only 7 irons…

 

The P790’s were not significantly different from my 2021’s. The P790 as a model tends to be very shaft tolerant. For every shaft (except 1), we needed the LM to determine the optimal pairing. The way that P790’s in general compensate for non-centered impact is also different- they strongly tend to maintain ball speed, and produce a lower flight with lower spin. Even though the shot may not look visually pleasing, they tend to arrive in the general area of the target anyway. P790’s are a mature and sophisticated product. They are forgiving of player, shaft, and ground condition variation. The i530, umm, not so much.

 

The i530 was very particular about the shaft selection, to the point of being the reverse of the P790. Most of the combinations produced low trajectory. Club head location feel was poor. The Ping fitter was skilled though. For me, the solution was a Modus 105 R. I generally don’t get along with Modus 105’s, though usually it’s the S. However, the results with the 105 R were absolutely exceptional. I would say one of the top 3 combinations I’ve ever hit.

 

If my experience is in any way normal, the likelihood of buying a set on line or at a big box store and producing an optimal result are not good. A full fitting, preferably by Ping, is the best bet.

To clarify, are you saying, in your experience, the i530 is in no way as forgiving as the P790? 

[Jeff58]

5 hours ago, Lefty87 said:

To clarify, are you saying, in your experience, the i530 is in no way as forgiving as the P790? 

When most players use the term “forgiveness “, they’re referring to the ability of the club head to produce acceptable results when the impact location is non-centered. In objective testing, I believe they will appear very similar.

 

what I think is the Ping’s gotcha characteristic is its VCOG. Several recent Ping models, the i210/230 being the best known ,have unusually high VCOG. The idea, from Ping’s standpoint, is to promote a lower, more “tour oriented” trajectory than a head with a high degree of perimeter weighting would normally produce.

 

When you combine this with the i530’s overly aggressive lofts, the result is that you have a small approach angle window. If you don’t get an adequate amount of mass under the ball at impact, it’s going to come off unusually low and not spin much.

 

Shafts - knowledgeable people will correctly say that shafts don’t in and of themselves create a gross amount of spin and launch variation. What they absolutely do is change how the head is delivered to the ball. In the i530’s case, it’s unusually important to have a shaft that combines with your swing mechanic to support the head’s requirements.

 

just imo.

[platgof]

1 hour ago, Jeff58 said:

When most players use the term “forgiveness “, they’re referring to the ability of the club head to produce acceptable results when the impact location is non-centered. In objective testing, I believe they will appear very similar.

 

what I think is the Ping’s gotcha characteristic is its VCOG. Several recent Ping models, the i210/230 being the best known ,have unusually high VCOG. The idea, from Ping’s standpoint, is to promote a lower, more “tour oriented” trajectory than a head with a high degree of perimeter weighting would normally produce.

 

When you combine this with the i530’s overly aggressive lofts, the result is that you have a small approach angle window. If you don’t get an adequate amount of mass under the ball at impact, it’s going to come off unusually low and not spin much.

 

Shafts - knowledgeable people will correctly say that shafts don’t in and of themselves create a gross amount of spin and launch variation. What they absolutely do is change how the head is delivered to the ball. In the i530’s case, it’s unusually important to have a shaft that combines with your swing mechanic to support the head’s requirements.

 

just imo.

This is why I am adding lead tape to the I530 to increase the swing weight, as they are too light. It didn't take a lot as I used high density lead tape.

[Lefty87]

2 hours ago, Jeff58 said:

When most players use the term “forgiveness “, they’re referring to the ability of the club head to produce acceptable results when the impact location is non-centered. In objective testing, I believe they will appear very similar.

 

what I think is the Ping’s gotcha characteristic is its VCOG. Several recent Ping models, the i210/230 being the best known ,have unusually high VCOG. The idea, from Ping’s standpoint, is to promote a lower, more “tour oriented” trajectory than a head with a high degree of perimeter weighting would normally produce.

 

When you combine this with the i530’s overly aggressive lofts, the result is that you have a small approach angle window. If you don’t get an adequate amount of mass under the ball at impact, it’s going to come off unusually low and not spin much.

 

Shafts - knowledgeable people will correctly say that shafts don’t in and of themselves create a gross amount of spin and launch variation. What they absolutely do is change how the head is delivered to the ball. In the i530’s case, it’s unusually important to have a shaft that combines with your swing mechanic to support the head’s requirements.

 

just imo.

That’s all good stuff. Wasn’t disagreeing with anything…just looking for context/clarification.
 

Ping has had a higher VCOG than most manufacturers for over a decade. Even their GI and SGI irons have very high VCOG’s compared to nearly everyone else. Despite this, in my experience, I’ve found Ping irons in the 2010’s-present very easy to hit/get airborn. In fact, some of my highest apex’s are with Ping irons. 
 

I know they have a high MOI, but I’ve always wondered how they are so easy to hit when they have such a high VCOG. 

Edited June 5 by Lefty87

[Jeff58]

11 hours ago, Lefty87 said:

That’s all good stuff. Wasn’t disagreeing with anything…just looking for context/clarification

Semi-rant -

 

Last year had a similar situation with TM and Titleist demo’s on the same day. Looking at a 3 hybrid and FW.

 

The TM clubs worked regardless of shaft, and the various choices worked as expected too stiff / too low, etc. They worked great with the stock non-Velo TR Red’s. The Titleist TSR’s initially had the stock Tensei Blue’s, and they were not competitive with the TM products. I stated to the Titleist rep as subtly as possible that their performance wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. He immediately put a Graphite Design UB in the fairway and an IZ Hybrid in the TSR3, and the clubs were completely transformed.

 

Several learnings here for me. First, in the case of both Ping and Titleist, the rep knew this was going to happen and also knew exactly what to do about it. They weren’t guessing. The TM clubs, in each case, were highly shaft-agnostic, and I believe that’s by design. No high bounces, no wide soles, minimize turf interaction, no odd dimensions producing odd Maltby scores… A key design principle appears to be to make them work over as wide a condition and player range as possible.

 

If this effect is real, and has a recognizable effect on the player, it would follow that “picky” club heads are not a good thing. While the i530/Modus combination produced exceptional results for the 7 iron, I have to guess whether that follows for the rest of the set, and whether if I order a set that they reproduce the same results.

[Jb1199]

Hi Everybody Body

having recently picked up my i530s in retro spec and had 525s before I’m finding these a very good upgrade, better launch even in standard spec, in retro spec for me they are as good as I can get, I was half a club longer with carry distance over standard, my fitter said I’m bit of a digger when hitting my irons and have always created plenty of spin, so the extra loft and bounce definitely a advantage for me..

with regards to forgiveness I find them a step up from i525s my mis tends to be towards the toe. Have no trouble stopping my ball on firm to medium greens.

[DG Tiger]

Glad to know you are enjoying the new i530s. What shaft did you get? With retro spec did you change launch angle, degree etc.