Gear Review: Ping i10 Irons
Retail Price: $899
Outside of the car business, the golf industry must be next in line for the Most Relentless R&D award. There is a constant and never ending pursuit to improve and discover the next great innovation “ an attempt to capture the hearts and wallets of golfers everywhere. While many golf companies have attempted to brand everything in your bag, a few like PING have made their name “ and built their business “ on the performance of their irons. Back in 1982 PING created what was to become the best selling iron of all time “ the PING Eye2. Twenty-five years later Ping is hoping to do it again with their latest and greatest i10 and G10 irons.
After 10 rounds with my new i10s I can honestly say that their performance is virtually identical to that of my two year old set of PING i5s. No great miracle shots courtesy of these irons. Is that necessarily a slam on PINGs newest installment? Absolutely not. I can honestly say that my i5s were the best cast cavity back irons I have ever played. In reality any marginal game improvement over these irons would have been a spectacular achievement. Note that I said were the greatest.
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As a 7 handicapper who thinks hes a 2, Ive always preferred the look and feel of a traditional forged blade. But after years of bone shattering off-centre hits I recently started dabbling with some game improvement irons from the likes of Callaway and Taylor Made. While irons like Callaways VFTs and X-Series are as forgiving as promised, I hate the look and simply cant get use to them. Lets be honest, how many of us buy golf equipment based on performance alone? Our desire, ego, and credit limit seem to be far more relevant. And you better believe golf companies understand this better than most.
Before I bought my set of i10s, I asked a PING staffer if they could tell me why their new i10s would be an improvement over my beloved i5s. He said that many better players loved the performance of their i5s but wanted it in a smaller package. In order to do this, PING put extra weighting on the toe of the club and extended the custom tuning port a little further up the back to help increase stability for better feel and distance control. No wonder my new i10s perform very much the same as my i5s. To his credit he recommended demoing the new clubs before my purchase so I could decide for myself. But of course that would have required waiting for a demo set to try and frankly I hate waiting so I went ahead in spite of this good advice.
And Im here to tell you that Im glad I did. Not only do my new PING i10s perform as good as my previous set of PING i5s but they do it looking that much sharper. Out is the conservative blue colour scheme and in is a trendy burnt orange look. So with a slight tummy tuck and a new dye job PING just might have recreated some of that Karsten Solheim magic from 25 years ago. Check them out for yourself.
Our Gear Head Rating: ****
Gear Head Rating System:
* Dont bother
** If you really need this, go ahead but we warned you
*** You will neither be disappointed or thrilled
**** Money well wasted. This should be one of your final choices
***** Buy this now!
[…] Asylum of a Dying Soul wrote an interesting post today on Permanent Link to Gear Review: Ping i10 IronsHere’s a quick excerptGear Review: Ping i10 Irons By gearhead Gear Review: Ping i10 Irons Retail Price: $899 Outside of the car business, the golf industry must be next in line for the “Most Relentless … to do it again with their latest and greatest i10 and G10 irons.  After 10 rounds with my new i10’ […]
When first playing the game of golf one needs to understand what golf equipment should be purchased. The clubs are divided into three groups. There are woods, irons and putters. Each one of these clubs has a different purpose and to play the game well a golfer needs to know which pieces should be used to make which types of shots.
Have used these (ping i10s) for 12 rounds now and have spent hours on the range. I’m a 7 handicapper but have been struggling of late with my mid irons, changing clubs a couple of times. My previous set was Wilson Di7 and i also used MD muscle backs. When my game is on the MDs were fantastic irons but not very forgiving on those off days. The Di7s are super forgiving, straight and very long. Unfortunately i just didn’t like the Di7 and the feel was poor.
The i10s have been fantastic, i have the 3-pw and through the set they are consistant, forgiving and very long. Feel is great for cast clubs and they are easily workable.
They have brought the fun back and i am playing again with a smile on my face.
I’m a 10 handicapper and play 2-3 times a week, 9 months out of the year. So far, I’ve probably played a good 12 rounds or more with the i10’s. I think they’re fabulous in every respect. While I wouldn’t recommend them for a high handicapper, I do think low to mid handicappers would really appreciate the feel of these clubs. Compared to the Raptures, G5’s or G10’s, they just feel sharper, crisper and more playable. I love the way they sit at address, and I love the feel when they strike a ball cleanly. In my opinion, this is about as close to hitting a forged club as you’re going to get, while having “some” forgiveness built in. These clubs throw darts at the flag. They stop the ball on a dime. The trajectory is lower than the G5, G10 or Rapture, and you can hit draws or fades relatively easy. Personally, I have played Titleist forged irons. I’ve played Callaways X18’s . And I’ve played the G5’s. I wouldn’t go back to any of those sets after playing the i10’s. It’s just hard for me to imagine a sweeter set of irons. And by the way, I was tremendously impressed with the standard graphite shafts. They’re well balanced, absolutely wonderful in their feel and distance consistency. I never thought I could be happy with graphites before now. But boy, was I ever wrong. Overall, I can’t think of a single reason not to buy these clubs. I would do it again in a nanosecond.
Just got my i10’s today and only tried them on the range and on mat-so far soo good-good feel,good flight of the ball and more accomodating even on the bad shots!
Cannot wait till next week to play my first round with them!
I’m looking forward to the summer even more now with these boys. Bring on the good weather and the long nights.
I have had my i10’s for about a month now and I have to say I could not be happier. I was a very careful shopper before deciding to take the plunge and drop some $$$ on a new set of irons. I am a mid handicap player with aspirations of single digits. In my youth when I played more often I scored much better than my current game. I realize I need to get out and play more to have any hope of truly improving my game. That all being said I took great time in picking out a new set to be in my bag. I have always cringed every time I have picked up a PING or other so called “Game Improvement Club” I hate that term anyway who doesn’t want to Improve their game. My previous set was a set of Tommy Armour 855’s . I really liked the thin topline of the club and that was a priority in any replacement. However, I need to have the extra forgiveness of a Cavity Back Club. The Pro directed me to look at the new PING i10’s. I was immediately surprised by the thin topline of the club. Playing from the other side of the ball (Lefty) I am cursed with not being able to always hit demo clubs in every brand. Once again I was thrilled to use the PING fitting system to help me get the exact club to best utilize my swing. I ended up getting the Blue dot i10’s and patiently waited for my order. Within 7 days my irons had arrived ready for me to try out where it counts on a real course. In the month that I have had them I have improved my handicap by 8 strokes and hope that trend continues as I get used to them. I have been very happy with my choice to drop the 3 & 4 iron in favor of the 21 & 24 degree Hybrids. In addition to the i10 irons I took the plunge and traded in my Sasquatch driver and Burner 3 wood for matching G10 Driver and 3 wood. I am a new PING fan for life. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking at purchasing a new set of clubs this season.
I just purchased a new set of the i10’s and would have to rate them as fantastic, 10 out of 10. and wow!!!! The feel, workability and look are exceptional.
Currently, I play to a 4 handicap and prior to my purchase I was using the Mizuno mp32’s. Very nice club also, but with off center hits you will pay. I would have to say that I’ve purchased quite a few brands in my lifetime so far. This is the second time I’ve purchased a Ping product. Previously had the Ping Zings and didn’t particularly care for them. I really like the smaller, traditional looking irons and honestly was very hesitate to buying another Ping product. But after visiting our local golf shop who had the Ping fitting system (outdoor) and hitting several different irons. I definitely decided to go with the i10’s. Ping hit a homerun with these irons. The compact smaller look and forgiveness of these irons are magnificant and it was exactly what I was looking for. Though I haven’t been out and played a full round with these yet. I have been out on the course playing a couple of holes at a time to get my yardages dialed in because I’m hitting these 1 to 1 1/2 clubs longer than my mp32’s and talk about accurate. What would Chris Farley say “Holy Sniiiiiiiiiickes”..
Folks one piece of advice before going out an spending alot of money on new equipment. Get fitted, get fitted, get fitted. This will help your game tremendously if you have this done and Ping has an awesome one. Just make sure you do it with one that has an outdoor fitting setup where you can get a true customization of clubs to your swing. Without this it’s honestly not worth it because then you’re just getting a static fitting. It will get you close, but not exact. I would like to thank and congratulate Ping for designing and offering such an awesome iron. I look forward to having some really good rounds and hopefully get to scratch with these babies. Good luck in your search for that perfect iron. You can’t go wrong with the i10’s.
I totally agree with Wheeler. If your spending a good few quid, get fitted. If not, you’re still playing with someone else’s clubs all the time.