Ping s58 Review

[TigerFrank]

Thumbs up - 27 holes and lots of range time

Last monday I recieved my new Ping s58 irons. My last set were Ping s59 Tours and i loved them - had them in the bag for nearly 2 years.

A little about my game first. I'm a .5 index - improved from a 4 over the last 12 months. Good ball striker in general. Not great with the long irons and always struggled with them in the s59s. I'm not super long but not short either and i generally keep the ball in play. I hit my 5i 180-185. Good mid-short iron player. I hit the ball pretty low across the board so one of my main desires in a new iron was a higher launch.

Specs
Ping s58 4-PW
Silver Dot 4* Upright
Standard Length
Dynamic Gold s400

Appearance
They look pretty much exactly like the s59's from address. I do like the blasted finish - gives a brighter and cleaner look in my opinion. Same offset, same lofts. I like the look a lot better than the s59s. Also the back of the clubs just look cool in the bag.

Trajectory/Distance
Huge difference between these and the s59s. The s58s have a higher launch across the set. They take off immediately higher and stay in the air for what seems like forever. My playing partner noticed the improved trajectory immediately. Ball mark and ball were much closer then with the s59's due to the higher flight and softer landing.

After playing 27 holes with them I think i can say these are around 1/2 club LONGER then the s59's across the set. Not sure if everyone would see that but the higher launch and improved trajectory has given me that improvement.

Feel
The jury is still out on feel but they are different than the s59s. When pured they feel really soft. No clicks. You get great feedback on mis-hits. you can tell exactly where you hit it. I think the mishits feel more harsh but i need a little more time with them to be sure. Pured hits feel better than pured hits with the s59s. I consider workability as part of feel - these things are very workable - as much as any blade. I was able to hit draws and cuts without a problem. These irons listen to your swing.

Forgiveness
Here is the huge improvement. These things are ridiculously forgiving. I put some blah swings on a few shots and we were shocked at how far these things went and how straight. I hit a mad chunker on one hole with a 4i from 200 yards out and i was only 10 yards shot of teh green. I took up half of Seattle with that swing. That has been consistent since getting them and through testing. Distance loss on mishits is really minimal. Another key aspect of the forgiveness to me was in the sole and bounce. These have more bounce and a more forgiving sole than the s59s and they are wonderful. I'm a digger - i got after the ball big time. My divots are considerably more shallow with these and contact is more solid.

Summary
Ping has a real winner here. As a long time user of the s59s i can safely say these are a definite upgrade and worth it - at least for me. If someone had asked me what i would do to make the s59s better i would have said 2 things - higher trajectory and more forgiving sole. Ping has delivered BOTH. With the forgiveness you don't lose the ability to work the ball. At this point these irons are exactly what i'm looking for to help me improve my game and still give me the options i need to hit shots.

These are firmly in the bag and not going anywhere.

Feel free to ask me any questions on these.

[easyyy]

I am hearing great things by most that tried them so far.

 

[Springbok]

TigerFrank...

 

Nice review. Do have 1 question though. How tall are you? 4* up? Holy smokes.

 

As for the irons. I have seen an instant 3-4 shot lower score improvement with these irons. You can shake your head in disbelief, but I swear it is true. They have made a HUGE change to my ballstriking. The long irons are stupid easy to hit. I have played I5's, G5's, and I3+'s over the past couple of years. The S58's BLOW them away.

 

A little self promotion here (and admins feel free to delete this part if it is not allowed).

 

I have a set of Brand New, never hit, S58's with Flighted Rifles 6.0 in the classifieds. Blue dot (1* up). This was a duplicate set sent to me by PING by mistake. The i-Wedges have been sold BTW.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?sh...4508&hl=s58

 

[kmrev]

TF...thanks for taking the time and effort to review these. Great review. I'm near a purchase of these after two demo sessions so this really helped.

[kmrev]

springbok;

I wish Ping would ship me a set of S58's by mistake!

[Springbok]

springbok;

I wish Ping would ship me a set of S58's by mistake!

 

I still have to pay for them.

[JGalls]

Just wish these had a tad less offset.

[easyyy]

Just wish these had a tad less offset.

 

 

I tell ya I could let these grow on me. The offset isnt as bad as it looks. Long irons are the ones that have it most and bet after a few rounds it blends right in.

 

I was talking to the tour reps for Taylor Made. They thought it was funny about us on the site not liking the offset. They commented that you need a little offset and that we were so fixed on not having any. I know I am stereotyping, but it is true around here. I am the first to admit, I am anti offset. I dont think the pros are as picky.

 

At least the TM tech lead me to believe that. Either way I think the s58 look great and feel good to. Lost the ping look however.

[TheBUNKY]

Just wish these had a tad less offset.

 

I was talking to the tour reps for Taylor Made. They thought it was funny about us on the site not liking the offset. They commented that you need a little offset and that we were so fixed on not having any. I know I am stereotyping, but it is true around here. I am the first to admit, I am anti offset. I dont think the pros are as picky.

 

 

100% agree.

 

I think there is a lot of stuff on here that gets overblown like the zero offset stuff. The more we grow here, the worse it gets as others buy into that thought process.

 

I love this place, but I too fall into those "ruts" sometimes.

 

Thanks for the review though TigerFrank. Those irons are money.