The i530 in Retro Spec --Anyone taken the Plunge?

[SeaIsland]

I've found a few posts that contemplate the purchase of the i530 in retro spec, but I have yet to see one from anyone who has actually pulled the trigger. A 29* 7 iron is hard to wrap my head around. A 31.5* 7 iron strikes me as more reasonable. I hit a standard 7 iron today and while the numbers were very good, I couldn't help wondering if 2.5* more loft might have produced all-timers. Any experience out there?

[wcbjr]

Retro spec?

 

Loft numbers are just numbers.  Get your gapping right, who cares what the numbers on the clubs say.

[karstens_ghost]

It matters a lot because of the additional bounce. It's not a no-brainer.

[Brobespierre]

My first instinct is that retro spec in the i530 would lead to really high ball flight.

 

That weight pad is already giving a lot of height for a 29 degree 7 iron. I think it could definitely work, but probably needs to be a swing that doesn't add a ton of dynamic loft.

[rsballer10]

9 hours ago, SeaIsland said:

I've found a few posts that contemplate the purchase of the i530 in retro spec, but I have yet to see one from anyone who has actually pulled the trigger. A 29* 7 iron is hard to wrap my head around. A 31.5* 7 iron strikes me as more reasonable. I hit a standard 7 iron today and while the numbers were very good, I couldn't help wondering if 2.5* more loft might have produced all-timers. Any experience out there?

 

What was the peak height you were getting with the 7 iron? If it goes high enough, with a steep enough landing angle the loft is fine.

 

With this set, you would want to order 5-UW, now 4-PW. You would then gap your wedges off the ~47 degree UW, so 52,56,60 would be the standard gapping.

[SeaIsland]

More loft = less offset, so that's a plus for me. To cut to the chase, however, my question is 100% about playability. I've got friends who are powerful ball strikers and love these clubs... but have difficulty controlling the roll out. I don't see the love affair lasting. My ball (T150) hits and sticks. That said, if I get 10 more yards in a more forgiving package and the same holding capability, then yes, a 7 iron from 170 makes sense --a no-brainer. Otherwise, not so much.

 

[SeaIsland]

2 minutes ago, rsballer10 said:

 

What was the peak height you were getting with the 7 iron? If it goes high enough, with a steep enough landing angle the loft is fine.

 

With this set, you would want to order 5-UW, now 4-PW. You would then gap your wedges off the ~47 degree UW, so 52,56,60 would be the standard gapping.

Agreed... I already play a 48, 52 58 set... As much as I like the 4 iron, I am a recent convert to the 4H/7W/3W combination, so it all works...

[platgof]

1 hour ago, SeaIsland said:

More loft = less offset, so that's a plus for me. To cut to the chase, however, my question is 100% about playability. I've got friends who are powerful ball strikers and love these clubs... but have difficulty controlling the roll out. I don't see the love affair lasting. My ball (T150) hits and sticks. That said, if I get 10 more yards in a more forgiving package and the same holding capability, then yes, a 7 iron from 170 makes sense --a no-brainer. Otherwise, not so much.

 

I thought the extra lines on the clubface were designed to help hold the greens?

[platgof]

I talked to a Ping rep, and he said if I decide to go retrospec, then Ping will do it for a minimal charge. Does retro add bounce?

[North Butte]

1 hour ago, platgof said:

I talked to a Ping rep, and he said if I decide to go retrospec, then Ping will do it for a minimal charge. Does retro add bounce?

yes, one degree of extra bounce for every degree of extra loft

Edited May 9 by North Butte

[North Butte]

2 hours ago, SeaIsland said:

That said, if I get 10 more yards in a more forgiving package and the same holding capability, then yes, a 7 iron from 170 makes sense --a no-brainer. Otherwise, not so much.

On the 7-iron it is two degrees weaker loft. A retro-spec 7-iron will have loft halfway between a normal-spec 7-iron and normal-spec 8-iron.

 

So if a "7 iron" won't hold the green, do you think a "7-and-half iron" will make a big difference? Because you're basically hoping to hit 7-iron shots that are coming in with a descent and spin halfway between normal 7-iron and 8-iron descent and spin. Sounds like much ado about nothing to me. If that is something you want, it'll do no harm. But don't think a hot-faced "players distance" iron cranked two degrees weak is going to act like a solid face blade iron. There's no magic to it, just a small loft tweak.

[jetro110]

1 hour ago, platgof said:

I talked to a Ping rep, and he said if I decide to go retrospec, then Ping will do it for a minimal charge. Does retro add bounce?

I thought retro & power spec weren’t just bent standard club heads. 

[North Butte]

Just now, jetro110 said:

I thought retro & power spec weren’t just bent standard club heads. 

Nope. They are in fact just bent standard club heads. Ping is pretty clear about that, they're not trying to deceive anyone. 

[TonyRo]

What you really need to ask is if you can hold greens at certain yardages. If the PING 7-iron goes as far as your current 6-iron, you need to be comparing those two clubs. Your golf ball and the golf course don't care what number PING decided to stamp on to that piece of angled steel at the end of a stick. You will have to work out wedge gapping and gapping at the top, or order a 5-G set instead of a 4-P or whatever if the lofts match up to your current set that way. 

 

If the numbers at roughly equivalent distances don't exactly look the way you want, you can always contemplate a change of ball as well if you really love the i530s except for small spin, launch or landing angle numbers. 

 

 

[Long_Left]

I've played "retro" (custom) spec i500 irons (34 degree 7i, 4 degree gaps, I think stock was 31.5?) for the last 4 seasons, I know the clubs have changed quite a bit since but I'll give you my take anyway. Primary ball is a Vice Pro Plus.

 

I hit the ball higher than nearly everyone I play with, my spin numbers are more than adequate. Stock 7i for me is 180 yards, ~120 ft apex, 6300 spin, I also play 3000+ feet above sea level, at sea level my apex and spin don't change much but I lose 8-10ish yards, 7i CHS averages 90 mph. I don't know descent angle off the top of my head but I know that I have zero issues holding greens, my shots will bounce on super firm greens, but I prefer a big bounce up to a big forward skip.

 

The short side of the bag was the problem for me, I flat out hated the PW from day 1. It was delivered at 47 degrees, I had it bent to 45.5 and it still felt dead. I'm guessing that the higher lofts make it much harder to get the benefit of a clubface that flexes, maybe the added bounce was just too much... I replaced it with a Glide 46 degree and have never looked back, the i500 pw sits on my back porch for chipping around in the yard.

 

I did recently replace the 4i (22 degrees) with a Srixon ZX Utility 4i @ 23 degrees, while it was great off a low tee, I had a hard time off thin lies getting any real elevation on the ball due to the increased bounce. The utility launches higher and spins less so the distance numbers are nearly identical but it's more versatile off the deck.

 

Edit: If your miss is slightly higher on the clubface, you can get some silly big numbers, they perform brilliantly for me with a toe side "normal" miss and are admirable on slightly thin shots.

Edited May 9 by Long_Left

[North Butte]

10 minutes ago, TonyRo said:

What you really need to ask is if you can hold greens at certain yardages. If the PING 7-iron goes as far as your current 6-iron, you need to be comparing those two clubs.

Great point. All I care about is how far my ball will bounce and roll when I hit an approach from a certain distance.

 

My 7-iron carries about 130 (absolute max) and rolls out to just over 140 yards under typical conditions. If I cranked the loft a couple degrees weaker it might roll out 8 yards instead of 12 yards but then it would also carry 125. So I'd have to hit 6-iron for that same shot. That doesn't buy me anything.

[blades_are_life]

Note that proper retro spec is 38° 7 iron.

[bogey777]

14 hours ago, SeaIsland said:

I've found a few posts that contemplate the purchase of the i530 in retro spec, but I have yet to see one from anyone who has actually pulled the trigger. A 29* 7 iron is hard to wrap my head around. A 31.5* 7 iron strikes me as more reasonable. I hit a standard 7 iron today and while the numbers were very good, I couldn't help wondering if 2.5* more loft might have produced all-timers. Any experience out there?

I ordered a set last week should be here tomorrow went with the nippons 105 Stiff soft stepped one time ....enough with the golf how good are the Steelers going to be this year hopefully Oline is fixed 

[eric61]

54 minutes ago, TonyRo said:

If the PING 7-iron goes as far as your current 6-iron, you need to be comparing those two clubs. Your golf ball and the golf course don't care what number PING decided to stamp on to that piece of angled steel at the end of a stick.

 

 

This is exactly right. 

 

For what it's worth, I have played i230s for the last year, and demoed the i530 recently while renting an hour on the Trackman at Golf Galaxy -- using my own Pro V1X RCT balls. I was comparing my i230 6 iron (29.5 degree stated loft) to the i530 7 iron (29 degree stated loft). I was trying to choke down about half an inch on my 6 iron to minimize speed/delivery differences, but I was just eyeballing it. Axiom 105X in my i230 6 iron, DG 115 S300 Mid in the i530. 

 

What I found was the i530 was spinning in the low 4000s, and my i230 was spinning in the mid 4000s. Carry was basically the same, in the low 170s -- maybe i230 was a couple yards farther, MAYBE, but basically the same. Peak height and landing angle were straight-up identical. 

 

I tend to be a low-spin player when testing indoors on mats, but on the golf course in real life, I never have problems holding greens. My 6 iron, on reasonably fast greens, only rolls out a few feet. 

 

I've been thinking of changing my set-up, and I would ideally like to go basically 26 degree iron up to a 47 degree set wedge, so that I can play the 5 hybrid I've been loving lately, as well as a 52/58 wedge set-up, which is just what always seems to work naturally for the way I see shots around the green. I could have my i230s retro spec'ed and go 5-PW, or I could order a set of i530s and go 6-UW. Ignoring what's stamped on the bottom of them; I think they'd work basically the same in terms of gapping. 

 

The most significant difference I noticed, though, was the i530 is super, super forgiving. The i230 is already a very forgiving iron -- arguably the most forgiving in its category, I'd say. But the i530 takes the forgiveness up a couple steps. I hit some really bad shots with it, and Trackman was showing impact location. I remember a couple specific ones. One, I hit fat, way high in the blade, and it only lost a couple yards. Another, I hit way in the heel, and it had practically no sidespin and only cost me about eight yards. These were really bad strikes, that on a golf course I would've totally gotten away with.

[SwooshLT]

24 minutes ago, eric61 said:

 

This is exactly right. 

 

For what it's worth, I have played i230s for the last year, and demoed the i530 recently while renting an hour on the Trackman at Golf Galaxy -- using my own Pro V1X RCT balls. I was comparing my i230 6 iron (29.5 degree stated loft) to the i530 7 iron (29 degree stated loft). I was trying to choke down about half an inch on my 6 iron to minimize speed/delivery differences, but I was just eyeballing it. Axiom 105X in my i230 6 iron, DG 115 S300 Mid in the i530. 

 

What I found was the i530 was spinning in the low 4000s, and my i230 was spinning in the mid 4000s. Carry was basically the same, in the low 170s -- maybe i230 was a couple yards farther, MAYBE, but basically the same. Peak height and landing angle were straight-up identical. 

 

I tend to be a low-spin player when testing indoors on mats, but on the golf course in real life, I never have problems holding greens. My 6 iron, on reasonably fast greens, only rolls out a few feet. 

 

I've been thinking of changing my set-up, and I would ideally like to go basically 26 degree iron up to a 47 degree set wedge, so that I can play the 5 hybrid I've been loving lately, as well as a 52/58 wedge set-up, which is just what always seems to work naturally for the way I see shots around the green. I could have my i230s retro spec'ed and go 5-PW, or I could order a set of i530s and go 6-UW. Ignoring what's stamped on the bottom of them; I think they'd work basically the same in terms of gapping. 

 

The most significant difference I noticed, though, was the i530 is super, super forgiving. The i230 is already a very forgiving iron -- arguably the most forgiving in its category, I'd say. But the i530 takes the forgiveness up a couple steps. I hit some really bad shots with it, and Trackman was showing impact location. I remember a couple specific ones. One, I hit fat, way high in the blade, and it only lost a couple yards. Another, I hit way in the heel, and it had practically no sidespin and only cost me about eight yards. These were really bad strikes, that on a golf course I would've totally gotten away with.

 

 

I'm also a LEFTY in i230s for nearly one year but much slower than you ....but no issues with 6i ; 4 and 5 iron are the problem children and after a demo session,  my findings concur with what you saw....i530 is Uber forgiving especially for size .....I'm considering one clubhead at the 26* number which would be an i530 6i I believe.....and put it on my current i230 5i shaft .....THOUGHTS? 

[eric61]

16 minutes ago, SwooshLT said:

 

 

I'm also a LEFTY in i230s for nearly one year but much slower than you ....but no issues with 6i ; 4 and 5 iron are the problem children and after a demo session,  my findings concur with what you saw....i530 is Uber forgiving especially for size .....I'm considering one clubhead at the 26* number which would be an i530 6i I believe.....and put it on my current i230 5i shaft .....THOUGHTS? 

I like that idea! Certainly seems worth a try, right? You might have to bend the head a touch flat because of the longer shaft, but on paper it definitely makes sense to me. I know there are some folks who have done blended G430/i230 sets where they just went like G430 5, 6, 7 iron, i230 7, 8, 9, and so on, and ignored the numbers on the G430s knowing that they're really one club up.

[SwooshLT]

16 minutes ago, eric61 said:

I like that idea! Certainly seems worth a try, right? You might have to bend the head a touch flat because of the longer shaft, but on paper it definitely makes sense to me. I know there are some folks who have done blended G430/i230 sets where they just went like G430 5, 6, 7 iron, i230 7, 8, 9, and so on, and ignored the numbers on the G430s knowing that they're really one club up.

 

Yeah , these are a much better blend for me visually but factually I haven't hit G430.....now you gone and messed me up!!! Ugh .....LOL

[jwb10]

I owned the I210s (awesome), after giving away the I500s, because I hated them. IS this new iteration only that, or is it a better feeling and playing club ? I'm thinking of I230, or P790, but if Ping has the secret sauce in this one, I'm your huckleberry....

 

 

 

 

[eric61]

8 minutes ago, SwooshLT said:

 

Yeah , these are a much better blend for me visually but factually I haven't hit G430.....now you gone and messed me up!!! Ugh .....LOL

The G430 launches higher for sure. But those combos were being put together before the i530 came out. Here's another wrinkle: One thing I noticed is if you power spec i230s and retro spec i530s, they blend perfectly in terms of lofts...

[eric61]

7 minutes ago, jwb10 said:

I owned the I210s (awesome), after giving away the I500s, because I hated them. IS this new iteration only that, or is it a better feeling and playing club ? I'm thinking of I230, or P790, but if Ping has the secret sauce in this one, I'm your huckleberry....

 

 

 

 

i530s replace i525s, which replaced i500s. Same category of players' distance irons as P790s. i230s definitely aren't players' distance irons -- much more traditionally lofted, launch higher, spin more, feel softer.

 

I never hit the i500s but will say I think the i530s are a bit more muted and softer than the i525s were. But the i525s kind of felt terrible, to be honest. The i230s are a lot softer. But none of these are forged irons -- for that, in the Ping lineup, you'd want to look at Blueprint S and T.

[SwooshLT]

49 minutes ago, eric61 said:

The G430 launches higher for sure. But those combos were being put together before the i530 came out. Here's another wrinkle: One thing I noticed is if you power spec i230s and retro spec i530s, they blend perfectly in terms of lofts...

 

Well I'm low launch and spin so higher launch in 4/5 irons isn't a bad thing .....and I'd rather not power spec the i230s as I've gotten them fairly dialed .....I've got accra TZI 85 shafts in them pure'd and they're in the right window.  

[SeaIsland]

Thanks for the feedback. It's kind of remarkable how many ways the baby gets split. I hit the i530s, ZX5, 245 --and just to stay honest, the Blueprint S and the ZX7. It was a good test, because I was letting it go (my swing) with all of them. Notwithstanding all that was said about ignoring the number on the club, my numbers indoors and on the monitor, with the i530, just won't work. Maybe it's just me, but 5300 in spin, a peak height of 85-90 feet and descent angles around 41-44 are great if you're hitting into a backstop, but not into a green that runs away from you. Yes, I suppose I could hit the 8, but from 165? Even Ping admits to 13 yard gaps on the i530, and I suspect I'll see larger ones. I know the PW drops off... Anyway, I get a very powerful ball flight. I do not see soft landings with my 7 (shaft = Modus 105 X --88-90 MPH SS).

 

FTR, I hit the Blueprint S's 165 carry (max) , plenty of height and stopping power. I hit the i530s 175+ carry... some rolled out to 190.

 

I'm going to go hit them outdoors and see if it's different. I was frustrated when I left the place and went out and hit my T150s off grass. I hit them great. Geez. Being a club ho can be challenging.