MEMBER REVIEWS: Ping i530 Irons Testing | See What Members Are Saying!

[Outlawx88]

1 hour ago, lazyjc4 said:

A few initial pics, range review coming tonight.  It's going to be hot as blazes all week here in the Mid-Atlantic, so should my club shouldn't be too busy for me to do an on course testing at some point. 

 

The build:

 

 

Blueprint S 8 iron compared to i530 9 iron (same loft):

 

 

i530 6 iron (24 degrees) compared to Blueprint S 5 iron (26 degrees): 

 

 

I was surprised how similar to the two models are blade-length wise.  View from address really isn't too different.  The Blueprint is much skinnier overall, and, especially in the longer irons, I like that there's some meat to the i530's without being chunky or having a lot of offset.  There are some differences in feel, but I'll get more into that tonight.  

That’s a really great comparison. How does the difference of offset look to you?

[DLeightonReid]

Congratulations to the testers!  I look forward to your reviews on these sweet looking Pings.

[lazyjc4]

8 hours ago, Outlawx88 said:

That’s a really great comparison. How does the difference of offset look to you?

To the naked eye, very little, and the specs confirm.  Only 0.01-0.02 different from club to club.

[ChrisATL]

Thanks for sharing those comps @lazyjc4 - very curious on feel between the two!

[fixyurdivot]

Great reviews testers!  PING has a special place in my OEM-mance having played PE2's for over 30 years, then G410's before switching to ZX5's only because I needed to get into composite shafts.  It was down to the G425's or the ZX5's and it was close.  Still play G410P driver and G400 3w and 5w... so still technically a PINGster.

 

Anyway, I really liked the look of the i500's when they came out and these look even better... and with more tech.  We have multiple demo days every winter season and I'm looking forward to testing these.

[mogc60]

On 6/18/2024 at 7:35 AM, lazyjc4 said:

A few initial pics, range review coming tonight.  It's going to be hot as blazes all week here in the Mid-Atlantic, so should my club shouldn't be too busy for me to do an on course testing at some point. 

 

The build:

 

 

Blueprint S 8 iron compared to i530 9 iron (same loft):

 

 

i530 6 iron (24 degrees) compared to Blueprint S 5 iron (26 degrees): 

 

 

I was surprised how similar to the two models are blade-length wise.  View from address really isn't too different.  The Blueprint is much skinnier overall, and, especially in the longer irons, I like that there's some meat to the i530's without being chunky or having a lot of offset.  There are some differences in feel, but I'll get more into that tonight.  

Is the hosel longer on the i530 vs the blueprint?

[lazyjc4]

RANGE REVIEW:

Two range sessions, actually.  Got to hit these beauties at both my local shotlink compatible range, and again today at my club's range, off both mats and grass.  Here's what I've found so far:

First off, I selected a set composition of 6-U wedge with PowerSpec lofts due to the similarities to the lofts of my previous gamers, PXG Gen2 0311P's.  Though each iron was a number off (the i530 six iron is the exact same loft of the PXG five iron, etc.), the lofts were nearly identical, with only one degree of difference in the case of the biggest differences.  The Ping's are, on average, a quarter of inch shorter than the PXG's, again due to the standard lengths of the numbered irons.  I suppose I could have ordered them to try to be identical, but I kind of wanted to see how they compared at standard.  The PXG's had MMT 80 S shafts in them, the i530's have the Alta CB Black S shafts (slightly heavier, but the most similar shaft available). 

LOOKS/FEEL: 

I mentioned in my initial impressions post that the i530's look great.  They aren't too small, and they aren't too big.  They are a bit shorter than I thought they might be, but they frame the ball nicely.  They topline isn't thin, but it certainly isn't thick, either.  There's enough meat on the mid irons to inspire some confidence.  

What I noticed at first contact, I started with a few chips with the U wedge, is that the i530's are a bit "clicky" compared to other forged irons. This feeling continued with full shots.  I know that's a sound descriptor, but I think most players know what I mean.  There's a solid "hit" feel to them, rather than a buttery soft thud.  I personally don't mind that at all, it translates to pretty good feedback.  I have long been a toe-strike miss player, and I knew right away when I didn't center the ball.  The all black Alta shafts look really good and felt a little bit stouter than the MMT's. 

PERFORMANCE:

I had to hit a lot of balls to test the forgiveness of these clubs, because I found myself making a lot of solid contact with them.  My toe-miss was almost non-existent.  My most common mishit was a bit towards the heel and a few thin shots, but I found the middle with these way more often than I'm used to.  

Using the shot-link data provided at my first range session, and eye test results at my club's range, I found that the i530's are hot, but also very consistent.  With my old set of irons, I was used to the following carry distances:

5 iron: 195, 6 iron: 180, 7 iron: 165, 8 iron: 155, 9 iron: 142, PW: 128.  The average distances observed with the i530's were as follows:
UW: 125 (1/4 inch shorter and 1 degree weaker than old PW)

PW: 139 (1/2 shorter and 1 degree weaker than old 9 iron)

9: 155 (1/2 shorter and 0.5 degrees weaker than old 8 iron)

8: 168 (1/2 shorter and 0.5 degrees weaker than old 7 iron)

7: 180 (5/8 inch shorter than old 6 iron)

6: 195 (1/2 inch shorter than old 5 iron)

Despite being shorter than my old irons, and in most cases a bit weaker lofted, the distances I was seeing was right in my accustomed window.  Some might see this as nothing to get excited about, but I think the shorter shaft lengths are a big reason I was hitting these clubs so solid.  In addition, the range of distances I saw with each club were very tight.  They were:

UW: 122-127

PW: 134-144

9: 153-156

8: 164-172

7: 177-183

6: 193-197

I'll be honest, I was pretty blown away by these numbers, that a "players distance" iron would yield such consistent results.  There were no crazy hot shots, and I could count pretty much every shot because there were so few "hack" strikes (I'll be honest, I shanked one or two, and threw those out).  But out of 85 balls that I hit and collected data on, I counted 83 towards those numbers.  For me, that's insane consistency.  

 

Off the turf at my second range session, I only recorded my own feedback.  I hope to be able to get to my local Dick's soon and get on their launch monitor for dispersion, spin, and speed data, but as far as the eye test went hitting off of grass, albeit with less than premium range balls, I was again impressed with the i530's.  I found them very easy to hit solid, and I was seeing consistent results.  I typically draw my irons, and found that I could hit everything from a sweeping hook to a tight draw with each and every club.  I'm kinda like Tom Lehman when it comes to hitting a cut, it's more like a straight push, but was able to pull that shot off, too.  Some heel strikes resulted in a high push, but even those were flying similar distances as my right to left shots. 

 

I can't wait to get these on the golf course and collect some real shot feedback.  I would conclude so far that these babies are a nice fit for my game and I have to think they can help me hit more greens and hopefully shoot some better scores.  I'll be sure to update once I have a round or two under my belt with them.  

 

 

[lazyjc4]

1 hour ago, mogc60 said:

Is the hosel longer on the i530 vs the blueprint?

Yes, ever so slightly longer on the i530’s.

[ChrisATL]

6 hours ago, lazyjc4 said:

RANGE REVIEW:

Two range sessions, actually.  Got to hit these beauties at both my local shotlink compatible range, and again today at my club's range, off both mats and grass.  Here's what I've found so far:

First off, I selected a set composition of 6-U wedge with PowerSpec lofts due to the similarities to the lofts of my previous gamers, PXG Gen2 0311P's.  Though each iron was a number off (the i530 six iron is the exact same loft of the PXG five iron, etc.), the lofts were nearly identical, with only one degree of difference in the case of the biggest differences.  The Ping's are, on average, a quarter of inch shorter than the PXG's, again due to the standard lengths of the numbered irons.  I suppose I could have ordered them to try to be identical, but I kind of wanted to see how they compared at standard.  The PXG's had MMT 80 S shafts in them, the i530's have the Alta CB Black S shafts (slightly heavier, but the most similar shaft available). 

LOOKS/FEEL: 

I mentioned in my initial impressions post that the i530's look great.  They aren't too small, and they aren't too big.  They are a bit shorter than I thought they might be, but they frame the ball nicely.  They topline isn't thin, but it certainly isn't thick, either.  There's enough meat on the mid irons to inspire some confidence.  

What I noticed at first contact, I started with a few chips with the U wedge, is that the i530's are a bit "clicky" compared to other forged irons. This feeling continued with full shots.  I know that's a sound descriptor, but I think most players know what I mean.  There's a solid "hit" feel to them, rather than a buttery soft thud.  I personally don't mind that at all, it translates to pretty good feedback.  I have long been a toe-strike miss player, and I knew right away when I didn't center the ball.  The all black Alta shafts look really good and felt a little bit stouter than the MMT's. 

PERFORMANCE:

I had to hit a lot of balls to test the forgiveness of these clubs, because I found myself making a lot of solid contact with them.  My toe-miss was almost non-existent.  My most common mishit was a bit towards the heel and a few thin shots, but I found the middle with these way more often than I'm used to.  

Using the shot-link data provided at my first range session, and eye test results at my club's range, I found that the i530's are hot, but also very consistent.  With my old set of irons, I was used to the following carry distances:

5 iron: 195, 6 iron: 180, 7 iron: 165, 8 iron: 155, 9 iron: 142, PW: 128.  The average distances observed with the i530's were as follows:
UW: 125 (1/4 inch shorter and 1 degree weaker than old PW)

PW: 139 (1/2 shorter and 1 degree weaker than old 9 iron)

9: 155 (1/2 shorter and 0.5 degrees weaker than old 8 iron)

8: 168 (1/2 shorter and 0.5 degrees weaker than old 7 iron)

7: 180 (5/8 inch shorter than old 6 iron)

6: 195 (1/2 inch shorter than old 5 iron)

Despite being shorter than my old irons, and in most cases a bit weaker lofted, the distances I was seeing was right in my accustomed window.  Some might see this as nothing to get excited about, but I think the shorter shaft lengths are a big reason I was hitting these clubs so solid.  In addition, the range of distances I saw with each club were very tight.  They were:

UW: 122-127

PW: 134-144

9: 153-156

8: 164-172

7: 177-183

6: 193-197

I'll be honest, I was pretty blown away by these numbers, that a "players distance" iron would yield such consistent results.  There were no crazy hot shots, and I could count pretty much every shot because there were so few "hack" strikes (I'll be honest, I shanked one or two, and threw those out).  But out of 85 balls that I hit and collected data on, I counted 83 towards those numbers.  For me, that's insane consistency.  

 

Off the turf at my second range session, I only recorded my own feedback.  I hope to be able to get to my local Dick's soon and get on their launch monitor for dispersion, spin, and speed data, but as far as the eye test went hitting off of grass, albeit with less than premium range balls, I was again impressed with the i530's.  I found them very easy to hit solid, and I was seeing consistent results.  I typically draw my irons, and found that I could hit everything from a sweeping hook to a tight draw with each and every club.  I'm kinda like Tom Lehman when it comes to hitting a cut, it's more like a straight push, but was able to pull that shot off, too.  Some heel strikes resulted in a high push, but even those were flying similar distances as my right to left shots. 

 

I can't wait to get these on the golf course and collect some real shot feedback.  I would conclude so far that these babies are a nice fit for my game and I have to think they can help me hit more greens and hopefully shoot some better scores.  I'll be sure to update once I have a round or two under my belt with them.  

 

 

Great update @lazyjc4 - I agree that your initial numbers are pretty exciting given the shorter overall club length. Can’t wait to see how these perform on a course for you!

[C_rad]

I am intrigued by these. Specially the forgiveness compare to the I230.

but i cant help and wonder how to have proper gap at the bottom part of the bag. I mean my GW at the moment is 49 and still sometimes, feels like it is too strong to have a range of variety in the shorts clubs

[AllDunn]

Deleted. 

Edited June 20 by AllDunn

[lazyjc4]

Don’t know how clearly you can see the strike pattern on these clubs (7, PW, & UW), but this is really good for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20 by lazyjc4

[bladehunter]

13 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

Great reviews testers!  PING has a special place in my OEM-mance having played PE2's for over 30 years, then G410's before switching to ZX5's only because I needed to get into composite shafts.  It was down to the G425's or the ZX5's and it was close.  Still play G410P driver and G400 3w and 5w... so still technically a PINGster.

 

Anyway, I really liked the look of the i500's when they came out and these look even better... and with more tech.  We have multiple demo days every winter season and I'm looking forward to testing these.

I can tell you as someone who’s owned both. The i530 is like going from square wheels to round.  The feel difference is that good. 

[jwo]

7 hours ago, lazyjc4 said:

Don’t know how clearly you can see the strike pattern on these clubs (7, PW, & UW), but this is really good for me.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m experiencing the same. Some kind of magic dust in there!

[BlkNGld]

If that were to happen to me, it would mean the "magic dust" is a very durable finish at the perimeter and less so in the middle!

[jrg75]

Well, got my first 18 in today with my regular group and results were less than spectacular.  Not the club's fault, 100% user error, but I only hit 5 greens in regulation which I combined with some poor chipping and really poor putting.  We played a skins format and I didn't finish a few holes I was clearly out of so I didn't have a total score but guessing if I played everything out, it was low to mid 80s.  I had a few takeaways from today's "adventure" (I'll try not to be too negative given my poor play).

 

First, the i530 are fantastic out of the rough.  I had several wayward drives that stayed in play but left me in thick grass.  I hit a 5 iron, 7 iron, 8 iron and PW out of some pretty gnarly lies and was easily able to advance the ball to the green complex.  I think the thickish sole and hot/forgiving face makes for a pretty easy club to escape from the rough.

 

My distance control sucked today.  I had several shots go long but also a few go short on what felt like decent strikes.  Made a ton of bogeys with shots that started on line but just didn't finish in the right position.  I wonder if it's a matter of me learning distances for the new irons or a performance issue (either me or the clubs).  Much more testing needed on my stock yardages for i530s.  Good news, this showed up today so I should have some data soon.

 

 

Lastly, my biggest worry with i530s is the turf interaction.  I had 3 holes today where I had good lies and I felt like the sole skipped off the ground and I ended up a little low on the club face, missing the green long.  I'm also wondering if the extra length on the Pings is causing me issues.  More to come on that but something I'm watching closely.

 

All this said, I hit 4-5 really spectacular iron shots that had my playing partners go, oh wow.  I'm hopeful that today's issues were just growing pains as I really love the look and feel of these irons.  Will post more after some practice time this weekend.

Edited Saturday at 12:58 AM by jrg75

[jrg75]

Took the i530s and my new Mevo to the range this morning to try and get some better baseline numbers.  I struggled a little with good numbers with the 9/PW/UW, I think perhaps because of range balls and my monitor setup, will have to do some playing around. 

 

Was happy to see some pretty consistent numbers with the other clubs.  Here are some representative samples:

 

5 iron:

 

6 iron:

 

7 iron:

 

8 iron:

 

9 iron:

 

PW:

[jrg75]

I'm a little worried about the gapping on the 8-9 and 9-W but it may just be a data anomaly.  The longer irons seemed to have very consistent numbers (distance, ball speed, spin).  The shorter irons have me scratching my head (especially club head speed???). I plan to play around with the Mevo setup and also use some quality balls on the course.

[jrg75]

Found a cool Mevo feature, a table with averages for a particular practice session.  Here's my data from earlier today.  Actually thinking the gapping is pretty decent with a few bunched up numbers that I need to work on.  Excited to keep testing but I think Ping has a winner with the i530s.

 

Edited Saturday at 09:21 PM by jrg75

[bladehunter]

3rd round in this morning.     Was by far my tiredest one.  Hard day Friday.   Still impressed with the i530.  I had a bad day off the tee with driver.  Common for me when I’m tired.  Nothing  out of play.  Just visiting the trees.  Or deep rough.   I’d have been smart to just play the 4 iron off most tees.  But I’m hard headed.  
 

11 GIR 3 birdies , but bogied 16-18. Shot 74.    I’m still highly impressed because I know how many rough shots I hit greens with , one on #7 was with the U wedge to 2 feet. That’s quickly becoming my favorite club !  
 

time to work on driver. Or stop hitting it. 
 

 

only complaint I can come up with is that I didn’t have them sooner.  I was NOT playing this well prior to these last 3 rounds.  But it is a familiar place , I just had lost the feel for getting back there.  Like Coming home.  

[Jeff58]

It would be useful (to me anyway) if the testers would all enter their bag makeup, including the i530’s, in their signature. Dealing with the set’s loft configuration is a big part of potential ownership IMO.

[bladehunter]

3 hours ago, Jeff58 said:

It would be useful (to me anyway) if the testers would all enter their bag makeup, including the i530’s, in their signature. Dealing with the set’s loft configuration is a big part of potential ownership IMO.

For me it’s driver , 16.5 degree 3 wood then 4-UW plus 53 59 vokey wedges. Which once you add putter is 13 clubs. In thinking of adding a 17-18 degree hybrid or high launch 7 wood between the 4 iron and 3 wood. 
 

I find the U wedge great for a gap that’s around 22 yards from full swing draw to low flighted fade.  

[JL529]

My set is very unique and weird...

 

taylormade brnr 11.5

tsr1 tpt16hi 7 wood

tsr1 tpt 16hi 9 wood

or 4 iron(depending on course or windy)

5-aw ping i530

ping 54 glide 3.0 eye2

ping 60 s159 eye2

pxg operator 

 

 

Edited Monday at 04:13 AM by JL529

[AllDunn]

Just received my set of i530’s on Saturday. Couldn’t take them out all weekend due to a packed family schedule, but look forward to a little range time and 18 holes this week. ordered them with dg mid x100, black dot and standard length. Only ordered 4-pw, but after reading some reviews I regret not getting the uw 😂. 

Disclaimer: I am not part of the member testing 
 

Tsr3 10° 

g430 max 15°

i530 4-pw

sm10 50°

sm10 54°

sm10 58°

jailbird cruiser

 

i have a spot for the uw if i need to go back for it 😁

[bladehunter]

2 hours ago, AllDunn said:

Just received my set of i530’s on Saturday. Couldn’t take them out all weekend due to a packed family schedule, but look forward to a little range time and 18 holes this week. ordered them with dg mid x100, black dot and standard length. Only ordered 4-pw, but after reading some reviews I regret not getting the uw 😂. 

Disclaimer: I am not part of the member testing 
 

Tsr3 10° 

g430 max 15°

i530 4-pw

sm10 50°

sm10 54°

sm10 58°

jailbird cruiser

 

i have a spot for the uw if i need to go back for it 😁

More the merrier.  All info is good. I think these irons are under the radar personally.  Once a broader range of players try them , that will change. 

[jrg75]

23 hours ago, Jeff58 said:

It would be useful (to me anyway) if the testers would all enter their bag makeup, including the i530’s, in their signature. Dealing with the set’s loft configuration is a big part of potential ownership IMO.

Driver - Titleist TSR2 10*

Fairways - Titleist 906F4 18*

Hybrid - Titleist 818H1 21*

Irons: 5-UW - Ping i530

Wedges: Vokey 50.08 F, 54.10.S, 58.08 M

Putter: TaylorMade Spider X Hydroblast Slant Neck

 

Everything above was original bag except irons.  The gapping of the wedges with a 47 degree UW is probably going to drive a change as the 50* is somewhat redundant to the UW.  Thinking maybe 52/58 setup and the add something to the top end of the bag.

[lazyjc4]

Got about 50 holes in over the last few days in dry, fast, windy conditions. 

I'll say this right off the bat, these irons are fun to hit.  They aren't magic wands that can cure all of my swing ills, but they feel really good are are very forgiving from heel to toe.  Getting the PowerSpec lofts have forced me to take some time thinking through every shot.  On top of the yardages I hit each club being very different, the i530's are proving to go an even longer way out of the rough and/or downwind.  I hit some unbelievable shots with clubs I'd never imaged possible from where the shot was played from. 

On the flip side, shots into the wind tend to come up short even when I club up.  I found in that case, I really need to try to flight it down to counter the headwind.  Thin shots seem to be punished the most with these irons, not directionally, but they will lose significant distance, whereas toe or heel strikes fly almost as far as centered shots. 

The clubs are easy to launch, even the 24 degree six iron gets up in the air.  I regret not asking for a five iron, as the six goes only a few yards shorter than my 22 degree four iron. 

There's not a ton of rough on our courses right now, as Summer has set in and it's been hot and dry here in the Mid-Atlantic.  I didn't have any lies where I couldn't hit the club that I wanted.  The soles dealt with the firm fairways pretty well.  I did hit some thin shots off of some tight lies, and they were punished, but even slightly heavy shots yielded good results.  Stopping power on the firm-ish greens wasn't an issue.  All clubs stopped as expected.  I play the Titleist AVX on most occasions, and while I rarely spin shots back, I've never had a issue stopping iron shots and haven't had any with the i530's. We're supposed to get rain in the next few days, hopefully I can test them in softer conditions in the near future.

I still plan to get on a launch monitor that can show me spin rates and launch angles, hopefully by the end of the week.  Will report back with that data once I have it.  

Edited yesterday at 12:56 AM by lazyjc4

[jrg75]

@lazyjc4, nice summary of what you are seeing so far.  My experience is similar, i530s are ultra forgiving heel to toe but not as much vertically on the face.  Thin miss is one of my typical shots and while the ball flies straight, missing low on the face probably results in the most severe distance loss.  I'm struggling a little with distance control on the course but I think it's more me and adjusting to a new set of irons. 

 

I will say, the i530s are probably one of the best feeling and straightest irons I've ever hit, just need to get distances dialed in.  Range time tomorrow, will report back on what I see.

 

[jwo]

Driver: Callaway AI Smoke Max 10.5

Fwy: Callaway Rogue ST Max 16.5

i530 4-uw

Ping glide 2.0 wedges

52ss

56ss

60es

O works 2ball plumbers neck 

 

Ive played the 2.0’s for a couple years now and so far like them better than the newer versions but I have yet to try the s159’s. On my second set of 2.0’s. For the last two years I’ve played the same grinds in a 50-55-60 but with the 47* i530 uw I’m going with the set up I posted above. First round with the 52-56-60 coming up on Friday. I’ll report back with the results. 
 

My first review I shared that I wasn’t too sure about the shafts I chose. But my second round showed some real promise. I hit balls every day in my backyard station and even though that’s not the best way to test since I can’t see the ball flight I can only say these irons feel really nice and feels like the ball is being crushed.