OFFICIAL FORUM MEMBER REVIEW - PING i200 IRONS

JBones · June 21, 2017

OFFICIAL PING i200 IRON REVIEW

Shankster - Stage 1 - Stage 2 - Stage 3

Dang3rtown - Stage 1 - Stage 2 - Stage 3

Mdumble21 - Stage 1 - Stage 2 - Stage 3

Opsimpson - Stage 1 - Stage 2 - Stage 3

Golfspy Bones - Stage 1 - Stage 2 - Stage 3

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Shankster · June 21, 2017

Shanksters Stage 1

Hey guys and gals!!

(First I would like to thank MyGolfSpy and PING for the opportunity to test these clubs, it is truly a honor!)

Welcome to Shanky's Bar and Grill we have 3 specials lined up for you, so pull up a chair, stool, pontoon, whatever your comfortable onâ€¦ grab a beverage of choice and let's get this conversation going!

We will be running Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3 specials all with a different theme. All will be packed full of information, specs, likes, dislikes, huh's, what's and how's.

THIS WEEKS SPECIAL STAGE 1:

For your first course we have here some cast 431 Stainless steel i200 with a side of elastomer , Black color code (because I like my equipment well done), skewered with a Nippon Modus 105 S, wrapped in Ping Standard White gripâ€¦ Enjoy!

ABOUT THE CHEF:

What kind of golfer am I? Average score? What's my story?

I would consider myself a traditionalist. I enjoy playing golf no matter what the course looks like, I have played some pretty crappy courses over the years and enjoyed them all. I stray away from bright bold attire, and I prefer to play with clubs that are probably a little out of my skill level.

As with a lot of golfers I grew up in the Tiger boom. So naturally I was a Nike fan, Titleist fan, and a Tiger fan. (Baseball too) I usually play solo, but we are only 3 hours from â€œhomeâ€ right now, so I get a few rounds in with my Dad, and father in law in; which is pretty entertaining. I am currently serving active duty and I move around A LOT!! So, I don't have the time to meet people to get a group going.

My average score is the mid to high 70's with the occasional anywhere in the 80's round and the OH Crap 90 round sneaks in once and a great while... More so since I moved back to Winterfell.

I am Mechanic by trade.

I'm starting my degree in Turf Grass Management this August, couldn't be more excited! I have 5 kids ranging from 11-3. Been married for 10 years this summer. I took about a 10 year break from golf. Yup, 2 years while we were dating and 8 while moving around every 2 years!!

My typical ball flight?

I hit moon balls with my irons and wedges. No loss of distance through the bag though. I am sure it's a flaw in my swing, but landing on greens is a cinch. The ball stops when I want it to. I like to play the small fade/cut so I'm set up a little open, it feels natural to me and, something about that ball flight just makes me smile (:

Why do I LOVE Golf??

I've always been an independent person. All of the games, sports, interests have been about me. Yeah, I am a little selfish when it comes to my â€œmeâ€ time. I played a lot of horseshoes as a kid, and actually won a world tournament in Kitchener, Ontario at age 14. We moved â€œup northâ€ when I was in 7th grade, there was a golf course right down the street, actually over the hill I could sneak on #10 fairway and practice.

I started working there as a cart boy that summer. I fell in love with golf from the first minute I watched the owner hit a smooth 7 iron into #1â€¦ I felt like I was on Caddy Shack. He loved PING, his entire bag was PING and the Pro Shop was full of all their offerings. He passed away last summer, so to be able to do this review is kind of cool for me. Get to play the i200's on his course this summer.

Golf is me against the golf course and; me against me. I think challenging oneself is really a true test of your strength and mind; Golf tests everything. It's much like a solo chess game. What's your move?

Strength of my game?

My iron and wedge play are my strengths. Remember, I am a self proclaimed short game genius. My iron striking is just as good. I can hit draws, fades, high, low when I need to. But my stock shot is a very high 1-2 yard fade with my irons. Putting has gotten a lot better this year too!

It has been extremely windy here early this season, so I've had to keep everything a lot lower than I am used to. So these PING's will get the knockdown test in your second course.

My typical miss??!!

I block the heck out shots when I miss. They all start right and stay right or go righter. I've worked that out of my swing over the last few summers. I tend to leave the clubface open at address sometimes leading to all sorts of fun stuff, usually a large Pine tree to hit from under. I am fairly accurate with my 2 iron - 57Â° wedge. My usual problem with irons is getting the distance right, maybe I need a range finder.

My region of play?

As most of you already know I live in the â€œUPâ€ or Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Marquette. We literally have 5 months of golf-able weather. The courses are very - very wet and soggy for the spring play, dry out to a nice desert in summer, and fall is really when the golf here starts. I've played several courses in the Hampton Roads area over the past few years.

PING's website direct to i200:

http://ping.com/clubs/ironsdetail.aspx?id=22550

MyGolfSpy official Blog regarding PING i200:

https://www.mygolfspy.com/ping-i200/

Things I am expecting to see from the PING i200...

1. I will be looking for a mid to high ball flight. (Match Current)

2. They should be forgiving but give feedback.

3. Good Turf interaction with the higher bounce or not?

4. Shotmaking ability. Can I hit draws/fades/high/low when I need to?

*(Ball Disclaimer)*

I will be using the Bridgestone B330S for all of my testing. If you would like to see another ball tested my address isâ€¦ just kidding. Let me know if you would like to see another type of ball tried out with them.

Place your take out orders below!!

Now I would like to open it up to the community here for anything they'd like me to evaluate. I usually play twice a week and hit the range and practice area the other days. Post up your questions, comments, ideas below! Looking forward to providing you with a Stage 2 that will be unforgettable. And please stop by the other testers posts and check out what they have to say!

Thanks for stopping by!!

- Alan

Shankster · June 21, 2017

Shanksters Stage 2

Welcome back to Shanky's Place! I see you didn't get enough on your first course! This weeks special we have a ton in store for you.

Grilled Zucchini anyone??

https://youtu.be/W79EMOd0FE0

*No i200's were harmed in the making of this video.

Ok now onto the more serious/fun stuff!!

I waited till your second course to tell you a few things, so bear with me.

My first impressions of these clubs out of the box were wow! Then I started looking more at them...

Liked:

1. The finish initially was my number one reason for the wow. It is matte like with little specs of glitter or something shiny.

2. The chrome numbers are pretty cool looking, if you like chrome.

3. The construction was pristine, no over glue, all of the shafts point the logo down, just a clean looking stick from stem to stern.

4. You could see the milling on the face, and it was like sand paper

5. Like the alignment white groove. I am a wedge fanatic, if I wanted to replace the 45Â° PW with a â€œspecialtyâ€ wedge; I'd have a 5 wedge set (45Â°, 49Â°, 53Â°, 57Â°, 61Â°). Actually, that doesn't sound too bad.

Did not like:

1. Grips... Wow, each grip felt different to me, felt like the tape didn't run all the way down to the end of the grip. The PW grip felt like a triangle.

2. The loft specs, I was a little leery of the super lofts and how they'd fit in my bag.

3. Took a practice swing on the carpet with the 8 iron and put a permanent scratch in the sole, on carpet!!

4. Progressive offset? The 7, 8, 9, and PW look like and are scoring machines! The 6 iron has almost double the offset that the 7 iron does, and it continues all the way up to the 3 iron. I wasn't expecting that.

My bag consists of Rocket Bladez Tour 3-PW as a comparison. I've played these clubs since 2015, so two good seasons of getting to know them. I would say that my iron play is second to my wedges, I am very accurate with my irons, so to test these i200's against my gamer was kind of scary as I didn't want to mess that up.

First i200 swing... flushed a 5 iron.

Frustration Phase:

(These were my first notes from the range, they change so you can skip to the end of this if you want)

The story continues...

The next 10 shots were Miss hits.

I barely missed the middle and they fell out of the sky (I picked the non-range balls in the bucket). They felt like the sweet spot, so I began to repeat, the next 10 were in the middle? They were going around 3/4 distance of my gamers, and there is no feel! Centered shots felt like miss struck. I haven't hit a worm burner in years, about 15 to be exact. I hit a ton. I'll leave this to being different clubs for now.

I was getting frustrated, because I hit these like a dream at the demo day. I tried my old gamers and centered most of them, and online.

Fast forward...

I took them out on the course for 18. Open mind, left the range behind me. On course performance matched my range experience. They make an almost honking sound out of the middle. Think a goose, a very loud impact. The soles looked fairly scratched up for just one round.

End Frustration Phase

( Now forget all the above, it was my first time jitters )

*Lesson here is, no matter the brand you might have a little bout of hard times at first, keep on trucking.

Back to the Future!!

Been playing the i200's exclusively since my initial frustration phase, I am playing some of the best golf I have in a very long time with these. This just could be because I am playing more...

I have been eyeing up the iBlades for a while, so I had done the online PING fitting app about 300 times before being selected to make sure I got the specs right. I will give them props for their ability to do that. The app told me I should get X flex shafts, I didn't listen and so far that is my only regret, the other specs are spot on! Operator stubbornness there.

My Questions from Stage 1

Ball flight?

I am getting a nice mid high ball flight with the i200, it is more predictable than my old gamers with my stock shot.

Forgiving yet give feedback?

I would say they are not very forgiving, and they give feedback, miss hits are punished more with the i200 than my old gamer. The long irons are tiny compared to my TM's. Very small clubheads. And again the progressive offset kind of drives me crazy, I don't see the need for it.

Turf Interaction?

The bounce sort of was a mystery to me at first. I prefer (or thought I did) a low bounce iron to slice through the turf. The bounce on the i200 definitely had an effect on that, they play well from tight lies, rough, deep rough, and the few shots from the sand were very good.

I will say I equate the worm burners I hit to this extra bounce. They show up way more often then I'd like with these. I have a steep angle of attack, and I do tend to hit some heavy sometimes with my old gamers, but with these they bound off the ground and I catch them really thin instead of fat. Is it the extra bounce?? I'd rather hit a fat shot then a uncontrollable thin one any day.

Shot making capabilities?

This is where the smile came to my face!! I thought I could work the ball well with my TM's... the i200's showed me a whole new world. I can get a bunch of different trajectories in 3 directions with ease. These clubs are shot makers.

Bonus:

I was wondering how the cavity back would perform overall. I tended to get a lot of inconsistent distances with my old clubs which are also a CB, the i200's didn't get any of those jumpers. If I needed the ball to go 158 yards, it went 158 yards. No jumpers with these clubs from a hot face.

I don't have access to a trackman, and the college simulator has been hit or miss working or not. So I can't give you a portion of my testing I was hoping to.... but I do have one heck of a set of eyes with my glasses on.

RANGE PERFORMANCE

*You'll see repeat questions from my Stage 1 questions/answers above*

Was I accurately able to hit my target?

Yes and no. It took some getting used to, but I managed to get these things working. The distances were pretty spot on with my Taylormade's, my 8 iron is the 150-160 club, same is true for the 8 iron i200.

The first range session and round did not go so well, I actually almost asked Bones to find another tester because I was so frustrated. Shelved them for a day or 2, but they were calling to me, saying give me another chance!! And so I did. They haven't left my bag only once since, and they shouldn't have.

I don't think the "jacked" lofts make a huge difference. The PING R&D did their homework. I haven't seen any drastic differences in distance.

Forgiveness: I find these lacking in this department. Miss hits were harsh and way offline, with no distance. The thin shots, I can't remember ever hitting shots thin with my Taylormades, and if I did they still managed to get airborne.

Control: When I learned how to hit these things, my imagination was the only thing holding me back. I can and do hit all sorts of shot shapes with these, this is the best part of these clubs for me. This is the stand out point. I didn't think I would be able to work them as well as I can, but they are shot shaping machines!!!

Here check this out!! Hang on tight!!!!

https://youtu.be/EupG2-67M6k

RANGE SCORE

Initial: 3 out of 10

After some practice: 8.5 out of 10

ON COURSE PERFORMANCE

I have mentioned that it has been super windy and wet here in Da Yoop a few times around here. Well, I've had to hit low shots up till July, when the wind finally stoped and it got warmer than 57Â°... These clubs paired along with the B330S, Pro V1/X stay low and under the wind when needed. Another stand out point with these clubs, it transferred from the range to the course. I am sure (insert ball manufacturer here) will work just fine with these.

Like I mentioned in my Stage one I hit moon balls... but not anymore, I prefer to hit a nice low/mid shot thanks to these. I think if I would have went with the X flex this would be even better.

While I was hitting thin shots on the dryer turf, the added bounce made the soggy conditions playable where I would have been catching some mud, these things took the challenge and stood out here for me again.

Wet conditions + i200 = very playable

Accuracy:

I can count on these to go where I tell them to. Shot dispersion is fairy tight with the scoring clubs. I lost a few of the long irons left. I've been working on my partial shots, been using Sergio's method. So a choked down 5 iron goes the same carry distance as my 7 iron, but with 5 iron trajectory. Pairs 3/5, 4/6, 5/7, 6/8, 7/9, 8/PW, 9/53Â°, PW/56Â°... you get the point. And with about a half choke down on the 4 iron for example is like a 5.5 iron. These clubs have inspired me to learn more shots.

Chipping:

I normally use my 57Â° for this, but like I said I've been inspired. So I started to try different shots, working the low bump and run with the 7, 8, 9, and PW. They are fairly hot, but I learned some new shots with them.

Shot Shaping:

Again, this is my favorite or second favorite part of these irons, at least the 7, 8, 9, and PW. I was able to flight them down and hold the green well. I can turn them left and right, way better than my gamers. Definitely out perform in this department by a large margin!

*The below video is not 100% accurate. I did my best with finding the ball landing spot, but they may be off slightly. Distance was measured by GPS. Shot tracer is the "Shot Tracer" app on iTunes/App Store. 4 iron from 210, the high shots were pin high, the low shots were about 5 yards short of the green. Just as I expected.

https://youtu.be/fpOYIp8HD9o

*As you can see I over cooked the fade, or didn't start it left enough. But these things are fun when you figure them out. Being able to bend these things ables me to get to those tucked pins. It also allows me to bend them into trouble too. But the good ones are worth the bad ones.

Here are some knock down PW's, I could get home in 2 with all of these.... in theory.

Distance:

Again, not seeing any huge gain/loss in distances, the lofts are fairly close to my gamers. *I think I might be seeing a loss of distance on these, need to get on the monitor and see the spin rate.

ON COURSE PERFORMANCE SCORE

Initial: 15 out of 40

After some practice: 33 out of 40

Note: PING wrx offers a ton of upgrades for shafts, grips, etc. but a cool thing they do for $14.99 a club is offer you the choice of changing the grind. Check out this link!

http://pinggolf-blob.ping.com/pinggolf/uploadedfiles/clubs/customize/ping_custom_options.pdf

I'm not sure how well known it is, but dang cool and definitely made me look more PING's direction for my next set.

If that wedge doesn't scream muscle car....

LOOKS???

The finish is perfect... at first. It definitely showed signs of wear after only a few shots. The whole set is very compact, more so than my gamers. Which is another stand out point for me, I do not like big bulky clubs. These fit the bill very well. The top line is cambered a bit to make it look thinner than it is. Good job there!

The Whole Package

If I put my blinders on and didn't look at the offset, these clubs are beautiful. The hosel flows very well in the 7, 8, 9, and PW. The elastomer insert is pretty cool looking actually, like an old time hood ornament. The Satin finish... is anti glare city!

Offset...

This is the BIG miss on these clubs for me, the offset from the 7 iron to the 6 iron is almost double and it is hideous. I know PING makes their money with GI clubs, and I always remember the older clubs having a gross amount of offset.

If I only saw the 7-PW I would be impressed. But the 6 iron is on an island by itself and the 3, 4, and 5 iron have way too much offset for my liking. Take this away and these fly to the top of my list of must haves.

Graphics:

Are perfect... simple enough, but let's you know what they are. Ping nailed this part of the clubs! These and the iBlades are the most beautiful clubs on the market right now to me, oh yeah and the Glide wedges. I don't care who did the grind, just show me the club, don't fill it up with junk. Nailed it, just wanted to get that point across.

Overall Looks:

If given the choice between all of the big brands clubs on looks alone in this market I would pick these all day. The lack of unnecessary garbage and excessive branding on them makes them standout to me. Very hot rodded, no frills just a badge, brand, and number. No overboard stuff!

Bonus:

The hydropearl finish is greasy like when you wash them or they are wet from the grass. They do repel water like Rain - X! I didn't see any loss of distance really in the soggy stuff.

Bonus 2:

The long irons where the hosel and the face meet is vary narrow. There isn't much room for error, the faces are just so small. *just noticed this, it might have something to do with the high on the face clunkers. For size comparison my TM 3 iron is the same size at the i200 6 iron....

I'm just going to go ahead and say I do not like the long irons much at all, this is normally a strong part of my game and these don't work for me. *The mid irons are growing on me (5,6)The 7-PW I really like.

LOOKS SCORE:

Initial: 13 ( this would be a 15 if the offset wasn't so funky ) even 13 might be high, that offset...

After some rounds: 13 out of 15 ( still like them )

Showing some scuffing, but they are almost patinaing a little and it is really growing on me, even with the scratches. The 7 iron has gotten a cloudy look to it and it scuffed up the most. This is the club I hit out of the fairway bunker.

If offset doesn't bother you, all you will notice are some scuffs on the sole, the chrome holds up well. The Gray finish on the faces started to wear off after the first shot with these. I play in really sandy soil, so this might not be the case for you.

The face being so "grippy" needs a brush to get them clean. I don't mind this at all, I would rather take the 30 seconds to brush them off than not have the milling.

SOUND AND FEEL

Feel:

When struck properly these to me feel almost as good as a Forged iron, and the miss hits feel just as bad as a MB type iron, maybe even worse. Hits high on the face with the long irons are severely punished... had a nice fluffy lie and caught one just north of the center, I thought I hit a rock. Just a loud clack, and no distance, very frightening and unnerving. I think here might also be the extra bounce that I am not used to.

Sound:

Hard to explain. They almost make a ping sound on absolutely centered shots, not sure if this is by design. I found that the "X" Version of Titleist, B-Stone, and Taylormade made them sound better than the softer counterpart. Very crisp and authoritative otherwise. Make a Honking sound on miss hits.

*After my initial testing I found and hit several different kinds of balls with these... DT Solo's, B330RX, Chrome Soft, MG, DUO Zip... they are all great with these clubs, and I could work all of them. FG Tours ended up being my favorite match up with them.

Have a listen!

https://youtu.be/Pi2p6Vryl_E

*I've actually contacted PING regarding the 3 iron, something just seems odd with it, I hit the center of this club and it is like a dead duck, and makes a terrible sound. I am sending it back to them for inspection. Customer service got back with me in 5 hours! Top Notch!*

**Will update with results when I get the club back from PING**

SOUND & FEEL SCORE: 10 out of 15

LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASE

So as much as I like the 7, 8, 9, and PW these would not be my first choice. For a "players" iron I feel there is too much offset, they look like GI irons, at least the long irons. The extra offset is the killer, and the 3, 4, and 5 iron Feel way too short from topline to sole.... even smaller than the iBlade, and definitely smaller than what I am used to. I don't know where/how this would fit in on a higher handicap player. This might be another miss here. The long irons might just be too compact.

I hit the iBlade and the i200 side by side at the demo day, with the same results, actually I thought the iBlade was more forgiving and I just prefer the look of the iBlade, which the 3 iron has the same offset of the 6 iron i200.

I think I would go backwards on the "progressive" set if I were to do one. i200 7-PW and iBlade 3-6 iron, but that doesn't really make sense.

*They still have a chance to win me over... they are still in the bag over the TM's.

LIKELIHOOD OF PURCHASE SCORE: 9 out of 20

RANDOM NOTES

I took them to the range for one last ride before I wrote this up. There were a few gentlemen there that were judging by the shots they were hitting unhandicappable like a 50-100, just bad golfers. I gave them the 7 iron to hit, the older gentleman hated them, as did the younger guy. They hit them as crappy as there in the clubs in their bags.

So, I would say they offer game improvement features... but wouldn't improve a hack.... No Magic in these sticks. They both said they were too light, and too big?? Not sure what the heck they saw big in, these things are tiny.

Even my miss hits couldn't be helped, here take a gander!!

https://youtu.be/fxo1i_Twp9o

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think PING is doing a fine job, and I am very particular when it comes to my clubs. These are extremely well put together, the craftsmanship, technology, the lack of extra graphics/over-branding is awesome (again probably my favorite or second favorite thing about these!) With all that said, these clubs have some convincing to do if they are going to stay in the bag.

I guess we will have to see what happens between now and my Stage 3. I have some up coming scrambles, and a single event I will be using them in. Don't get me wrong, these are great clubs, and I think a vast range of players could use these, with practice. They just aren't for me, they don't give me the warm and fuzzy's while I'm standing over them... at least not yet.

Go give them a try. You might like them!!

TOTAL SCORE

Initial: 50 out of 100

Total: 73.5 out of 100

If you take out my pickiness about the offset and my preference, and look at just the performance... these things rock.

Take out the LOP and you're looking at 64.5 out of 80. that's roughly 80%[/i], I don't think I've hit a 80% performance club... ever.

Here you can read what the claims are. I agree with all of it besides the feel and forgiveness part, and sort of with the long irons. The rest as you read is spot on. To the Tee... they advertise exactly what I said one of my favorite things about them were... control. Plain and simple, there are no gimmicks, just proven results.

*You might have noticed that some of my findings change or contradict some stuff I said. I wrote this review in phases. It was the only way I feel I could give an honest assessment. So you got my highs, lows and everything in between.

Q & A

@squirrels - I can stop the 8, 9, and PW on a dime if needed. If I were to keep these in the bag, I personally would replace the PW with the Glide 2.0 45Â°

@TSauer - The soles held up well! The initial first shots obviously I was like but they hold up well, like a fine wine they aged well. My last round with them it started raining, I didn't notice any change in the performance. Sound and feel is addressed up there.

@Danbrook - About this I iron vs the i200, I can't really say as I don't have any i's to hit. But from what I've read about them... if you are hitting them well why upgrade? Also, with the soggy conditions and wind. They hold their line well in the wind, and the extra bounce is perfect for soft ground!

@jlukes - distance gapping is about 10-15 yards. Spot on with my old TM's... These were GPS verified, and paced off from the on course markers. Very consistent distances throughout the bag. No access to a trackman and the sim has been hit and miss.

@phillygolfguy - I already answered but they perform extremely well from the rough, moreso the short irons, long/mid irons don't agree with me at all. Better than the TM's. The soles are a little wide for my eye, but helps in the rough I suppose. 3 iron is not good on fluffy lies, or at least anything not dead center.

@jiro - I also did the online fitting, a few times... there was also a demo day in town right after I was selected, the guy didn't have an X flex in the shaft I was "fit" into on the online fitting. I was hitting the S well, so I went with it. I should have gone with the X like the Ping website said. Also, if you do the online fitting make sure you have your golf shoes on to get the correct results!

@MD... videos up. These things SUCK on thin hits. Worm burner city.

@CG2 - As I said there... I did not like these one bit the first time or two out with them. They were very difficult for me to get used to. Not sure if it was mental or what, but when I got the hang of them I can play really great golf with them. They are about a point lighter in the swing-weight department and I am not sure if I like that or not. Still more rounds to be played!

Thanks for Stopping by, please check out the other 4 testers Stage 2's!!

- Shanky

Shankster · June 21, 2017

Shankster's Stage 3 -

My golf season was cut shorter than normal with my shoulder injury, and I haven't played since the first weekend in August, so I missed the best golf weather. Right now I feel like I may never play again, I have no drive or want to even hit chips (my favorite).

Which might not be bad since the golf course will likely close next week...

I did however thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to test these clubs, and get to know you all.

To be able to give a fair final evaluation I am going back to my old notes.

1. Die hard PING fans of the past will most likely love these clubs. From my research they have progressed from the old eye's to the i.

2. Anyone that is looking for an excellent brand that allows near customization that tour pros get, PING is your brand.

These aren't going in my bag. They just don't appeal to me. I am a very â€œmental gameâ€ approach person, and these mess me up. Too much offset, too chunky.

If I return to golf next spring it will be with a set of blades, On the hunt.

Thanks for stopping by. I've met some great MGS members over the past 7 months... but now it's time to sharpen the snow shoveling skills. I'll be around.

Take care!

- Alan

dang3rtown · June 21, 2017

Dang3rtown's i200 - Stage 1 Review

Hello there fellow spies and lay readers from around the globe! This is dang3rtown aka Jesse, presenting stage one of three, Ping i200 iron review. I would like everyone to know how incredibly grateful I am not only to be chosen but to be a part of such a wonderful online community. I have been a member of many online forums over the years and top to bottom, this is the friendliest, most welcoming and well informed forum on teh interwebs! Because of the high standard you have set, I'm feeling a lot of pressure to deliver a great review that will be both entertaining and informative. Wish me luck, here goes!

*Editor's Note: The answers to the following questions have been deemed, â€œtoo boring for human consumptionâ€ and may cause drowsiness, slurred speech and if read by expectant mothers, may lead to birth defects in children. For your own safety, we must recommend skipping directly to the part with pictures.

The Questions

Handicap/average score?

According to he NCGA, my current handicap index is a 6.2 and trending downward. I played around a â€œ0â€ from 1998 until 2001 but took a lot of time off, working on getting back there!

Strengths of your game?

I'm a good ball striker. Tee to green I can hang with just about anyone. I put a lot of compression on the ball and am under the impression that I can, â€œworkâ€ it. This is not always apparent to observers or my playing partners.

Weakness of your game?

Play out of bunkers and hitting the driver. This is painfully apparent to observers, my playing partners and windows bordering the fairways of my home course.

Typical ball flight?

Medium high, lots of spin, baby fade.

Typical miss?

My main miss is a push right. Combine this with my fade and things can get ugly, fast! Starts right and then fades right is not a great combination!

Current comparable equipment?

I'm gaming the Hogan Ft Worth 15 irons right now. The Hogan irons are available in every loft from 20* to 64*. When assembling a set, you pick lofts that suit your game and space them out in 4* increments. Because I have no issues getting the ball in the air, I went with the low trajectory lofts, 24* for my 5i through 44* for my pitching wedge. I have KBS Tour 105, stiff flex shafts and stock Hogan, firm grips. I LOVE these irons. They are a soft, forged steel and sit right between a true blade and a cavity back (technically, they are a cavity back). They have a v-sole which makes for great turf interaction and there is an appreciable bounce even on the lower lofts.

Swing tempo?

I have a slow, smooth takeaway, almost a pause at the top and an aggressive downswing. Very similar to Hideki Matsuyama.

Driver swing speed?

I had a trackman session a few weeks ago and was swinging the big dog at 105-110mph all day. I have made a few tweaks since then and may be swinging slightly faster now.

What makes you love the game?

I love to compete, I love to walk, I love everything about the game. I fulfills my competitive and meditative sides at the same time. It just checks so many boxes for me. It's a walk in the park, a mental and physical challenge, it's competition and relaxation. I think we can all relate to why golf is so special, it's a really, really good walk!

How long have you been golfing?

I don't recall my first time golfing. My first memories are of going to the range with my father. He had borrowed a clunky VHS camera from the university (he was/is a professor) and had me take video of his swing for analysis back at home. I remember he would hit the shot, then turn to the camera and describe the ball flight for future reference. I began hitting balls at the range somewhat regularly when I was seven or eight years old and imagine I played my first â€œroundâ€ of golf around the age of nine or ten? I played often from then until a few years after high school followed by a long stretch where golf was on the back burner. Finally, after a nearly fifteen years, the golf bug came back with a vengeance.

What kind of golfer are you?

I'm serious about golf. I practice all aspects of my game regularly. It is in my nature to work towards being good at things. I walk the course and carry my bag, I don't drink while playing and I typically play as a single. That being said, I have a very positive attitude on the course, I don't get mad at poorly struck shots but I get excited by good ones! I am happy to play with scratch golfers or thirty handicap hacks as long as they also have a good attitude. As long as I'm golfing, I'm happy!

What's your story?

I grew up the son of a university professor. As a youngster, we moved around a lot until he found a tenure track position and we settled in Davis, California. I'm going to give you the TLDR version of everything since then; played semi pro rugby in New Zealand, got injured a bunch. Fell in love with strength training. Got a degree in kinesiology/Parks and Rec, trained athletes, opened a gym, had a baby, started playing a ton of golf again.

What region do you play out of?

I live in Sacramento, California and play all over the central valley!

*Actual Review Stuff*

Enough of the boring stuff, let's talk about the goods! A whole box full of the goods aka Ping i200 irons!!! On the morning of May 1st, I had a notification from beloved, forum treasure, â€œShanksterâ€ indicating the we had, â€œwon the worldâ€. Believing this to be some sort of reference to the movie, â€œTitanicâ€, I was confused but happy for Shanks. I may not have seen the movie but I tell you what, that James Cameron is one fine director. Now, because I am not a smart person (just ask my wife!), it took me approximately one hour to realize I had been selected as a tester. I would like to think that I contained my enthusiasm rather well. This video evidence indicates otherwise.

The next day, I went through Ping's online fitting process. I tried to look at it just now and I can't seem to locate it on the site so I don't know if it has been removed or is just very difficult to locate. In either case, the online fitting process was fairly straightforward. All you need it a measuring tape and knowledge of your current play. Measurements include wrist to floor length, hand size and height. Based on this, Ping is able to determine your shaft length, lie angle and grip size. If you know much about Ping, you know this isn't anything new. They have been producing clubs to fit every body geometry since way before it was cool. The other questions they ask (typical ball flight, swing speed, handicap, etc.) determine what type of shaft you should pair with your heads. I was a bit surprised to find that an X-Stiff shaft was recommended. I have always played stiff shafts and the thought of going to an X-stiff, without demoing them was a bit scary! I considered asking for the shafts I normally play but decided that in the spirit of testing integrity, I should go with whatever the computer said was best. (note, in addition to x-stiff, it also matched me with Nippon Pro Modus 3 from a pretty solid selection of third party shaft options, both steel and graphite)

Trust the process.

The other option I went with was the, â€œPower Loftâ€ specs. Power Loft is an alternative loft sequence. It's very interesting how Ping does this. Instead of just strengthening the lofts by a degree or so all the way through, sort of, â€œscoop the midsâ€ to use an audio reference. For the 3i and the wedges, there is only a .5* difference. For the 4i, 5i & 9i there is a 1* difference but for the middle of the pack, the 6i, 7i & 8i we get a full 1.5* stronger loft. From what i hear, typically, the power spec is geared toward the game improvement player who wants a bit more distance. I also heard that some good ball strikers go with these loft specs to keep ball flight down. Truthfully, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me but what the heck! I'm testing, let's go for it! Power Spec lofts please!!!

Pretty neat.

My first impression of the clubs was just how clean they were. They were just flawless. The finish is satin like. Not glossy chrome but not matte either. They are smooth to the touch, smoother than gloss would be, where your hand sticks a bit. It had just enough texture to where your hand just slides across the sole. The club face felt downright tacky to the touch. The milled grooves are sticky. I compared it to the grooves on my Hogans and found them to be similar so perhaps all these new milled faces are comparable. Going back to the finish, at this point I'm not sure how I feel about it. The brushed, satin like coating has just enough texture that I can hear it brushing when it touches another object. When these clubs heads rattle against one another, I can kind of hear the friction as opposed to my forged Hogans which clack together with a satisfying thud (disclaimer, the sound of clubs hitting golf balls is well researched and engineered, the sound of club rattle is probably going way overboard). I noticed this as I held the heads to gather for a photo and it was a bit off putting, like a mild version of nails on a chalk board.

Look at these beauties!

Feel aside, these are very aesthetically pleasing clubs. The evoke mid century, streamline moderne styling, think Airstream trailer. I love the minimalism, the lack of graphics, just the subtle black paint fills on an otherwise unvarnished steel head. The large, for Ping, black hosel is a beautiful contrast and gives the club a much sleeker silhouette than the clunky look of may earlier Pings.

The stock ping grips are very nice. I received the Ping 5L grips. Ping currently offers two, OEM grips, the 5L and the 5L Cord which is your standard, cord grip. Both feature a firm upper and soft lower, similar to the new line of Golf Pride grips. If you have a grip preference, go for it but I have to say, these are nice and if you wore a blindfold, you wouldn't know the difference between these and your 3rd party grip of choice.

View as seen by Bubba Watson

In the bag

Group address

Thanks for reading stage one, for stage two, I have some great insights to share, track man data, video and other goodies! Please, ask me lots of questions! I love talking about my experience with these clubs and I hope I can better inform you if this is a club you're interested in!

Thanks again,

Jesse

dang3rtown · June 21, 2017

Ping i200 â€“ Official MGS Forum Review by dang3rtown

Player Biography

The Author poses for a golf type picture. (Note, lack of glove and weird grip)

Bio
WITB - My current gamers are Hogan Ft Worth 15s and TK15 Wedges. I have them in 4* gaps from 24* through 52*. These are forged clubs with little offset but they do feature perimeter weighting and a V-sole which provides great turf interaction. Shafts are KBS Tour 90 Stiff flex and grips are stock Hogan branded Lamkin Ace 3Gens.

So, what do these clubs say about me as a golfer? Well, there are two reasons I picked them up and they reflect the two sides of my golfing coin (or is that ball marker?). The number one reason I game the Hogans is performance. They fit my game and swing well. I demoed these clubs on a pros recommendation, having never heard of them and immediately fell in love. I hit them incredibly well right off the bat and they inspired confidence. I was confident that they were forgiving enough to not be perfect with but also confident that if I need to hit a fade, draw, high low, etc. I can do it well if I hit the shot right.
The other reason I picked up the Hogans was the look. They have the classic look of a blade from the 60's. They're just pretty and the aesthetic, romantic golfer in me fell for that like a ton of bricks. Yes, I am a sucker for pretty clubs. Would I play beautiful clubs that don't work for me? No but I would think really hard about it!
I think I'm similar to a lot of golfers in that I'm always chasing a better game. I tinker with my swing, my equipment and my strategy. With the Hogans, they were the right combination of serious club yet, forgiving, that I felt I could quit tinkering with the clubs for a bit and just focus on the swing.
Now I should mention that irons are the strongest part of my game. I've always hit them, high, long and with a lot of spin. Possibly because I hit irons well, I've never been a big fan of cast clubs. I tend to hit them too high and they just feel clunky to me. I'm sure a part of it is ego, thinking of cast irons as a staple of a lesser player's equipment. Looks also factor into my traditional disregard for cast irons, they're so big and bulky! They always seem to have plastic stickers of some sort with neon colors and faux graphite. In my mind, cast is correlated with an inferior product.

Performance at the Range

Accuracy â€“ I have noticed that these are very accurate clubs. Your shot will go where you are aimed and it will consistently go the same distance. Shots are highly replicable.

Distance â€“ My distance was down noticeably with the i200s compared to my Hogans. Comparing Trackman sessions, it was a significant decrease although there may be some mitigating factors to consider. Overall, these were 1/2 to 1 club shorter than comparable lofts in my Hogans.

Trajectory Characteristics â€“ The i200s had very similar launch characteristics to my current clubs. No issues at all with getting the ball in the air.
Forgiveness â€“ The i200s were clearly superior to my Hogans on mishits. I noticed significantly less distance loss on off center hits, particularly toe strikes, they would feel off and â€œhollowâ€ but still achieved very good distance.
Control â€“ Yes, to a point. The i200s don't generate as much spin as my Hogans which impacts my ability to control flight. That being said, you can absolutely shape a shot with these. Draw and fade control are excellent, height was more difficult to control, these things don't want to fly low.

Range Score: (Out of 10 points) 8/10

The inverted triangle is the elastomer insert. Color matching to the metal is very good.

Performance on the Course
Accuracy â€“ As noted in the range section, these are very accurate irons. If I have a straight line to the cup, there's no one to blame but myself if my shot is off.

How well did you hit your target? - Again, these are very consistent irons both for direction and distance. Once you have a feel for yardages, you can expect extremely consistent results. As for partial shots, I rarely make partial shots with PW-3i (I use my 52* gap wedge for almost every partial swing chip shot). The exceptions to this are bump and runs from just off the green where I use my 8i or if I'm punching a shot under a tree with my 3i. In both those instances, I've really liked the bounce on the sole. It's forgiving and I trust it not â€œgrabâ€ and chunk the shot.

How is the spin? My main issue with these clubs is the lack of spin. I tend to put a ton of spin on balls but the i200s just don't quite get there. Looking at Trackman data, I had an additional 1,000RPM on my Hogan PW compared to the i200 and on average I backed the Hogans up by 1.5m compared to .2m with the i200.

Consistency â€“ Are you able to control the distance consistently with your wedges? Yes, if the i200s are anything, they are consistent.

Are you able to hit a variety of shots with these irons? Yes, I may not have the absolute control of a blade but the i200s are capable of producing any shot you have the skill to make.

How is turf interaction in a variety of conditions? - I found the sole to be generally very good! In most conditions you find on the course, it performs well. I was particularly impressed with how well it played out of both long and wet grass. Turf conditions that tend to â€œgrabâ€ the club head are managed very well by the i200.
How is the sand performance? I only hit a few, fairway bunker shots with the i200. I am not good at fairway bunker shots. Judging the i200 on my fairway bunker performance would be akin to using Ray Charles to judge the performance of sun glasses.

Course Score: (Out of 40 points) 31/40

Detail shot of neck, notice the small dot, this is the performance tuning insert.
Performance Notes
How did it perform? In general, the i200 is an excellent set of irons. They are extremely consistent, forgiving, have good turf interaction and workable.
Were you pleased with how the clubs performed? Yes, surprisingly so!
Please compare and contrast it to what you are currently playing?
Compared to my Hogans it comes down to Consistency vs Absolute performance. I can hit the Hogans farther, I can work a ball better with them. I can hit the i200s more consistently. Which is better for my game, for the future, for a tournament?
What factors were you pleased with? The consistency and the forgiveness.
How did it compare to your current gamers? With the i200s, I know what I'm going to get on every shot. Their performance ceiling is perhaps lower but the performance basement is a lot higher if you catch my drift. Right now, if I were in a tournament, I would probably game the i200s.

Did you notice better production on the range or on the course more? These definitely showed their worth more on the course than the range. They aren't the longest, they can't pull off the most tricks but if you want to score, consistency is key.
Could you use it in both settings? Yes, absolutely!
What factors did you find lacking? Spin, ball control.
What improvements would you like to see? This is tough, I think the i200 is an excellent example of a bridge between a players and a game improvement iron. It is what it is and it does a great job. This is a set that has optimized the balance between forgiveness and performance and I think they nailed it.
What would you do away with? Nothing

Detail of milling on face. This milling pattern is only present on the 8i and up. 7i-3i have much less texture on face.
Subjective - Looks
General shape. In general, the heads are a bit bigger than I like. Other than that, they are good looking sticks. The aesthetic is simple, streamlined, serious. One of the biggest issues I have had with Pings and other â€œGIâ€ irons is an overabundance of flair. I hate clubs that look like they belong on the toy aisle at Target. These irons are not toys. These are big boy irons and I like it.
Offset. Offset has never been aesthetically unappealing to me but the cut away on the neck looks a little goofy. Maybe it saves weight? I know this is traditional on Ping's irons but unless it really drives performance, I would axe it, give me a clean, rounded neck!
Graphics. I really appreciated Ping not going overboard on the graphics! This is a clean, streamlined look. These look like a good player's iron, not something with a sticked slapped on.
Other unique details.
How does it come together visually? This looks like a player's iron. It's just metal and black logo, the way God and Tom Morris intended. Now, it doesn't look plain, it looks sleek, like an airstream trailer or brand new Benz. It radiates performance.
How does it compare to other products in its category? Looks wise? It beats the crap out of them. On looks alone, I would game these over the neon green Epic Irons even if cost me two strokes a round! I can't think of another cast iron that comes close to the i200s. Comparing them to similar forged, cavity back irons such as Srixon's Z765 et al, they hold their own.
Looks Score: (Out of 15 points) 13/15

Standard Ping grips with "Power Loft" spec stamp on shaft.

Sound and Feel
Describe how the product sounds and feels
When I hit a ball perfectly with the i200s, they are nearly silent, like the swish of a basketball hitting only net. It feels like a perfect practice swing, no impact, no real sound, just smooth, straight through, no friction. A pure shot with the i200 boarders on too easy, I want some feed back, I want to feel the violence I have inflicted upon that ball. Mishits are a different story. I get a clack and a jolt in my hands. Not the sting of a blade but a dull, thud, reminding you that you're better off with these than the mirror polished blades you think you can game. Overall, every sound these clubs make is somewhat muted. Maybe it's the plastic bits in there (elastomer?), maybe it's just the construction. These felt quiet to me. The sound I love, a thick crack of a pure blade shot followed by the hiss of ball spin was not found here. The i200 is not that club, at least, not in my hands.

Sound and Feel Score: (Out of 15 points) 8/15

Pings in a Ping bag. This is what these clubs will look like after approximately 700+ holes of golf, being cleaned when necessary. They hold up rather well.

Likelihood of Purchase
How likely would you be to purchase this product?
If I were smart? Pretty likely. The i200 ended up being a good fit for my game. They're a good looking set of clubs, I score better with them but I don't love them. Something about the feel, the sound isn't what I wantâ€¦ but I should. These are objectively, a much better fit for me.

LOP Score: (Out of 20 points) 15/20

Another look in the bag from the player's perspective.

Subjective Notes
So, overall the Ping i200 irons are what I would design if A) I knew anything about design and B ) was tasked with making an awesome looking cast club. They are a handsome bunch of sticks! From near or far, the are the belles of the ball. I wish the sound and feel equaled or even neared their looks. These are the ninja spies of golf clubs. If your primary motivation in club buying are irons that can be hit late at night without waking the neighbors, these are your match! Now, there's nothing really, â€œwrongâ€ with that, I just like a bit more feedback.

7i at address with a new Taylor Made TP5X as accessory

Questions & Answers.
The majority of the forum questions seem to be either comparing these clubs to other iron sets that are out now or have been answered by the other reviewers. I can add a couple insights however. First, the fitting process on Ping's website worked very well. The grip size, lie angle, length of shaft; all spot on. These clubs fit as well as anything sized up for me in person. The build on the clubs is next level as well. This is factory perfection. Ping assembles everything in the USA and you can tell, their quality control is as good as anything I have ever seen. Finally, in addition to my Hogans, I also compared these to my very first set of clubsâ€¦ Ping Eye 2's from the actual 1980's, complete with grandfathered in grooves and leather wrapped grips. I'll give you the tl;dr version first: Ping i200s > Ping Eye 2s. The longer version is, this was not a close contest. This wasn't even really a contest. This was The Harlem Globetrotters vs The Washington Generals. Compared to the i200s, the Eye 2s felt clunky and heavy, the turf interaction was terrible and the distance was significantly shorter. The only thing the Eye2 Excelled at was hitting dead straight moon shots one to two club lengths shorter than the i200s. If you have a choice, pick the i200s. If you don't have a choice, pick the i200s anyway.
Conclusion
Oh boy! Still with me? Great, let me walk you through my Ping i200 testing experience. The day a long box showed up at my door, I took these to the range. It was in the middle of a heat wave and at 4pm when I showed up, the temp was heading north of 105*. I purchased a bottle of water, a tall boy of Sierra Nevada and a jumbo bucket of 250 balls. I brought out the new sticks, my Hogans and my old Ping Eye 2s. I had grand ambitions. I made it through approximately 50 balls before quitting. I hit the clubs ok, not great but it was too hot to breathe, the club was slipping in my hand from sweat. My passion for testing was thwarted by the sun.
Take 2.
The next evening I made it out for a session in more reasonable climes. I hit hundreds of balls and started, I thought, to get a feel for the clubs. I wasn't crushing the ball but bad shots were few and far between. I had booked a Trackman session for later in the week and looked forward to seeing the data.
Day of the Trackman: The nice folks at the Haggin Oaks Super Store have all kinds of fun toys, including a few Trackman bays. I put the i200s through their paces and was shocked at the resultsâ€¦ I had lost a ton of distance. I lost 5-8 yards on my scoring irons, and up to 27 yards less distance on my long irons! Less spin, less hight, less club speed. I could hardly believe the results. To say I was disappointed would be the understatement of the century.
Over the next two months, I played approximately 40 rounds of golf, had at least a dozen range sessions and other practice sessions. I believe I went maybe three or four days without hitting a club between receiving the clubs and the writing of this review. Over that time, I really got to know the clubs and realized a few things about my Trackman fiasco. The number one thing, the i200s have a very different sweet spot compared to my Hogans. With the Hogans, I make my best contact in, towards the heel of the club. With the i200s, you really need to hit them square in the center of the face. Just changing my setup slightly made a world of difference. Another key for me was adapting to the difference in shaft flex. My old clubs were S, the i200s, XS. It made a difference! I had been tinkering a bit with my swing prior to the test and I think all in all, I had a bad day at the range. I'm going to go ahead and share the data but take it with a grain of salt. My current yardages, which I have been logging with GPS I have a lot of confidence in.
9i - 150-160yds
8i - 165-175
7i - 175-185
6i - 185-200
5i - 200-220
4i - 220-235
3i - 235-250

This is still down slightly from my other set but plenty of distance and what I'm really blown away with is how good and easy to hit the long irons are. If there is one absolute, standout highlight of the i200s, it's the 5, 4 & 3 irons! With my Hogans, hitting that 24* club was a bit of a gamble. With the i200s, I find myself deferring to long irons over my 3w or 5w if I have any doubts. If you're thinking about a mixed set, I would absolutely recommend putting the i200 long sticks in your bag.

All in all, my attitude has completely changed on the i200s. I cannot deny how much better of a golfer they make me. These are practical, performance clubs. I'm sold, these are in the bag. In fact, I went out and picked up an actual Ping bag (the Hoofer, based on MGS bag test. Holy crap, they were right! This bag is awesome! Never doubt MGS product testing!) and I may have picked up a Ping G driver on saleâ€¦
Ping has converted me. I'm scoring better than I have in years and remember how I was worried about the, â€œfeelâ€ of the club? Well, the best feeling is winning.

Total Score: 75/100

i200s, in the bag.

P.S. Almost forgot an important detail. I opted to have my i200s made in the "Power Spec" lofts. Essentially, Power Spec means there is more variation in loft from club to club than you might otherwise see. Instead of standard increments, The long and short irons follow fairly consistent lofts increments while the middle irons, 7i-5i have extremely strong lofts. It was my hope that I would keep ball flight down and gain a bit of distance. In practice, I completely forgot I even had it and did not notice any difference in ball flight.

Chart detailing Power Spec lofts in comparison to my standard, 4* gapped Hogan lofts

Trackman data comparing i200 to Hogans. Again, please take this with a grain of salt, there were multiple factors which contributed to what I believe are a poor data set for the i200s. Later sessions showed a marked improvement in distance for the i200s. Also, I am clearly not good at making spread sheets.

What does my swing look like? Here you go!

dang3rtown · June 21, 2017

Stage 3: The Final Chapter...

Hi again gang! Thanks for sticking with the review process, I have now spent an entire summer of golf with the Ping i200 irons and I feel confident in delivering a summary/final judgement.

They're in the bag.

In the end, the i200s were just incredibly consistent. I may have lost a little bit of distance but the number of bad shots I hit went down and the number of good shots I hit absolutely went up. I love the look of the clubs and my experience playing Ping products and learning about the company actually inspired me to pick up a Ping G driver, a putter and their Hoofer bag as well. I guess in the end, my philosophy is one of pragmatism; performance matters more than looks or loyalty and Ping embodies that as a golf equipment manufacturer. Previously, I had been playing Hogan Ft Worth 15s and I felt that as a single digit handicapper and good ball striker I could make the best use of those clubs. I was absolutely wrong. When I looked at the data, I just hit so many bad shots because, surprise, forged, quasi-blade irons are much less forgiving. My handicap has dropped 1.1 strokes and I just have so much more confidence hitting iron shots, particularly my longer irons, 5i, 4i & 3i.

So in summation, need some clubs?

I would also like to thank the My Golf Spy staff for giving me the opportunity to test and my fellow testers; Shankster, Bones, Mdumble21 and opsimpson, you all did a great job and it was a blast working with you! Hope we get to do this again soon and if you need me, look for the guy on the course with the full Ping bag!

mdumble21 · June 21, 2017

G'day to all fellow Spies! This is my first proper review on this forum, so my apologies for any grammar/spelling mistakes, and any other errors. I'm welcome to any suggestions for my next review.

When I first looked on the MyGolfSpy forum page to see who had won the opportunity to test out the new PING i200 irons, I was shocked to see my name on the list of testers! It took a solid hour for the information to sink in, and you couldn't take the smile off my face. Hell, my parents thought that the whole testing thing was a scam until the irons arrived on the doorstep. I was beaming from ear to ear when I first took the wrapping off them, and almost immediately got changed and headed to the range to test them out for the first time.

Handicap/average score?

My handicap is 9.5 (Australian), so my average score is about 80-82 for a par 72 golf course. My best score is 75 on a par 71 course.

Strengths of your game?

My strength is my iron play, particularly my mid-longer irons which I typically hit good distances and with good control. My driving and fairway wood play is generally long and sound also, and my putting's not too shabby either.

Weakness of your game?

The main weakness of my game, like many other golfers, is with my shorter game.

Whilst I can hit my wedge and gap wedge well and with good spin, I tend to struggle when I'm less than 70-80yd from the green when I have to hit less than full shots. This extends to my pitching, chipping and bunker play which all need to improve. This is the area where I tend to leak the most shots or alternatively don't have the recovery capability needed when I miss a green.

Typical ball flight & typical miss?

My typical ball flight/shot shape is a high draw. That being the case, if I am to miss with an iron shot it is likely to be left (I am a RH golfer). Occasionally I over-hit with shorter irons, releasing early and hitting some short irons thin and long.

Recently, I've overcome a reverse pivot in my swing and it's been something that I've been concentrating on improving for a while now. As a result, I do hit a shot which starts out weak and ends up about 15-20yd short and right of its intended target. Thanks to some insight from my dad, as well as some Youtube videos (particularly MeandMyGolf & Scratch Golf Academy), the reverse pivot is not much of an issue these days unless I am getting tired.

What makes you love the game?

I love the game of golf because not only do I enjoy hitting the ball miles (and watching the stunned look on the spectators faces), but I also enjoy the challenge of improving my game (particularly short game).

Unlike other sports including contact sports (e.g. NFL, rugby), in golf you compete largely against yourself and the course. That allows you to play â€˜hard' whilst enjoying the company of other people, without them or you feeling as though the competition is between you. I love the chance that golf has provided me to meet a lot of different people of all ages and walks of life, as golf is a game with a fairly even playing field (e.g., the handicap system, men's tees vs women's tees).

How long have you been golfing?

Like many other people on this forum, I was introduced to the game of golf by my dad. He first taught me the basic form of the game when I was a kid, and gave me more insightful lessons when I was 12 at the local par 3 course. I didn't actually start playing regularly until I was 22, when some friends of mine asked me to play with them - normally the losing player would pay for the round of post-game drinks.

Prior to this review, my bag consisted of:

Titleist 915 D3 Driver

Callaway Epic Sub Zero fairway wood

Callaway Apex 3 hybrid

Callaway X2 Hot Pro (4-PW) irons

Callaway MD2 wedges 52, 56 & 60 degree

Taylormade Daytona Rosca I

I chose most of the clubs in my bag (except for the putter, which I got as a present) by testing them before actually buying them, particularly with the driver, fairway and irons.

mdumble21 · June 21, 2017

Stage Two

Player Biography

As you can see from my WITB signature, I'm currently swinging a set of Callaway X2 Hot Pro irons (4-PW) that I had custom fitted for me in 2014.

I remember that I first put the Callaways into play in a competition at Lake Karrinyup GC where they held the European Tour's Super 6's event earlier this year. I literally hit the irons once on the range once before the competitive round but the results were great and they've been in my bag ever since.

Since then my handicap has halved (18 down to 9.7) and with that my ability to work my iron shots. I now realise that the Callaways don't give me the feel and performance I am now looking for. That's why I was very excited to have the opportunity to test the Ping i200s. I was already looking for some irons that could give me a softer forged feel and increased feel that I could work the ball with my irons better.

I normally can tell if I am going to enjoy a club by testing it a few times on the range. This has been the case for my other clubs. With the opportunity to test the i200s, I now had the opportunity for a more extended range and course test to see if these were the irons that I would keep in my bag.

Performance

Performance at the Range

I have rarely tested other irons on the range so I will be comparing the i200s with my current Callaway X2 Hot Pro irons.

Accuracy

Whenever I go to my local range, I have a few targets for my lower irons and I aim between two trees at the end of the range for my longer irons. For my PW, 8 and 9 irons, I was striking the balls sweeter and more accurately than with my Callaway irons. I found my mid irons (5-7 irons) to be just as accurate, and I could easily find the sweet spot on each of the clubs, and whenever I found the toe (heel strikes are rare for me), there was around a 10yd distance loss and the shot produced tended to be a low shot with a 5-10yd draw.

Distance

I have found that the i200s tend to go about 5yds longer than my current irons, as whilst the lofts are little weaker (see table below), the shafts are about 1/2 inch longer. This made it very easy for me to adjust to the i200s. I also found it a lot easier to actually attack the ball with the i200s as the overall shape of the iron makes me feel more confident over the ball (see Looks for more information). I sense that this has also assisted with increased club speed with the longer irons.

Possibly the biggest surprise in the i200s has been the 3 iron. My home city, Perth, is fairly windy, particularly during the winter, so having a 3 iron in the bag is better than a hybrid, just purely because the 3 iron's ball flight is more penetrating and it's easier to roll out on the fairways. When I initially tried out the 3 iron, I was impressed by the ball flight it offered, and it got better when I took it out on the course (see the Course Review section below).

Trajectory Characteristics

I found it extremely easy to launch the ball high with the i200s, with the ball flight on the normal full shots being higher than with my current clubs. The ball flight looked to be up to about 8yd higher with the shorter irons. The trajectories of the i200s weren't only higher, but generally had a baby draw which is my preferred shot shape.

Forgiveness

As discussed above, whilst I was on the range I did hit a few shots out of the toe and I found that the resulting shot was a lower draw that only lost about 10-15yds on average. The off centre hits also â€˜feel' better than with my current clubs. So I have found that the i200s both feel and are a lot more forgiving than my current irons, with there being minimal distance loss when shots are struck well off-centre.

With my current X2Hot irons, whenever I would mis-strike, not only would the ball just drop out of the sky and lose about 15-20yd of distance, the club would create a much more jarring feel, almost like I'd struck a brick.

Control

My standard full shot tends to have a slight draw which I can produce these shots on the range and the course.

I have the ability with my irons to hit high balls that land soft when I need to or alternatively a lower knock down shot. The Ping i200s have accentuated this ability and give me increased confidence each time I am over the ball and contemplating one of these shots.

Once I saw what the i200s could do out on the course (see below), I was increasingly able to hit small cuts/fades, punch cuts (some from difficult lies and positions). Some of the low darters would just hop and stop.

Range Score: 9 out of 10

Performance on the Course

Let me paint a picture for you on how I received and subsequently used the i200s for the first time.

The PING distributor in Sydney rang on Thursday May 24 to say that they had a set of irons to deliver and to double-check my postal address. Once that was sorted, they said that the irons would be there within a few days. Well, imagine my surprise when I heard the courier van with the i200s the very next day. The following 1/2 hour was very exciting as I unpacked these new irons and began to get excited about the prospect of testing them.

Another 1 hour later, I got a call from a mate asking if I was up for 18 holes at a nearby course. My mind was split between taking my Callaways or the new PINGs. Thankfully, I chose the latter.

Fast-forward another 2 hours, and I was giving the new toys a smash on the range. I was already starting to feel their playability and potential. I had hit maybe 40 balls with them before actually teeing off on the first hole - talk about throwing them in at the deep end.

My round started with a par and after about about 7 holes I was starting to really love the PINGs. I was feeling confident in the distance they provlded and loving the feel and playability that these new toys were exhibiting. Club selection was fun as I without any range calibration, I was making club selection based on yardages with my old clubs and then getting an immediate comparison with the performance of the new clubs. I wasn't disappointed.

On the 9th hole (par 5 with about 75 degree dogleg right at the 230yd mark), after a well-struck 3 wood I was left under a tree with 210m (approx. 230yds) and enough room for a full swing. I pulled out the 3 iron (which I'd hit only 5 balls with, and had toed on the 2nd hole) to try and hit the ball to just short of the green from where I planned to get up and down. You can imagine my surprise when after striking the 3 iron solidly, I watched the ball fly up the left side of the hole and finish about 15m (17yd) past the pin! After two putting for a birdie, I then decided to play the same 3 iron off the tee on the 10^th. Again I was able to hit a solid shot 235yd down the middle of the fairway leaving me with 145yd to the pin.

Accuracy

I'm a golfer who enjoys the challenge of iron play as much as smashing a driver. The i200s have added to that excitement. I now feel like if I am in the right position on or off the fairway, I can hit every green in regulation. I had one situation where I had hooked my drive onto the adjacent fairway. I had a clear shot into the green, as long as I could get the ball over a tree. I selected a 7 iron for the distance, but I had no idea what the lie would do (ball slightly above feet, but stance angling to the right). I actually struck the ball flush, and apart from it drawing slightly, the ball acted as if I'd hit it off a flat lie. Somehow, the ball had ended up about 20ft left of the flag, and checked very quickly avoiding a tough chip had it rolled off the back of the green.

Consistency

As mentioned above, the distances I'm hitting the PINGs are roughly the same as my old set of irons. I believe that the i200's slightly higher lofts are offset by their slightly longer shafts and club head speed. This has meant that I am able to swing the clubs in the confidence that a good strike will get me to the target. The higher ball flight is also giving me increased stopping ability.

The look, the feel, the playability and the confidence that all of these features give me in the i200 irons means that I score them very high for consistency.

Course Score: 37 out of 40 points

Performance Notes

I came into the i200 test with nothing but online reviews to go off, as well as comments made by my fellow Spys - most of which were positive.

That said, I have been a Callaway fan for a long time and never a great admirer of the look and feel of PING products so to some extent this offset the online enthusiasm which I had read for these clubs. That fairly neutral mindset was a good starting point for my review.

However, after pulling the fabric packaging covers off the irons for the first time (see below), and hitting them for the first time, I immediately appreciated the quality and looks of these clubs. As soon as I hit them, I was very pleased with the way they performed.

If I could change one thing about the look of the clubs it would be that whilst they have a relatively thin top line, the soles of the clubs are quite wide and flat. This is particularly pronounced on the shorter irons (see below).

The i200s make my current gamers (Callaway X2 Hot Pro irons, which are only 3 years old!) look dated (in both feel and looks) by at least 5-6 years! Ignoring distance (which is irrelevant to me in this test), the i200s have outperformed my current gamers and have effectively kicked them out of my bag (I'll update my WITB signature soon).

The three iron is a great addition to the set so much so that it has displaced my old favourite Callaway Apex 3 hybrid from my bag.

Looks

When I first pulled the PINGs out of the fabric sleeves, I thought to myself â€œthese are some bloody good-looking ironsâ€. They have a brushed steel and simple appearance to them with the only badging being the â€œPINGâ€ & â€œi200â€ badges on the neck & the back of the club head. I've never been a fan of clubs with lots of graphics on them (e.g. 2017 Taylormade M2 driver & irons), so PING's styling approach to the i200s was a huge plus for me.

There isn't much offset on these irons, being that they are in the â€œbetter playersâ€ category. However, I can see the sole on some of the clubs at address, which makes the club look bigger than it actually is. I would prefer not to be able to see the back of the sole at address however this is a personal preference only and doesn't affect the playability of the club.

The little slot on the back of the club head filled with soft elastomer (http://ping.com/clubs/ironsdetail.aspx?id=22550) is an interesting feature and it's nice to able to feel how soft the insert actually is. Another little feature I liked were the little chrome inserts that designated the numbers of the clubs (complete with plastic covers), which gave the impression that PING themselves were proud of their product and really wanted you to enjoy them. Most of the other golf companies tend to just carve the numbers into the top of their irons & wedges, so the chrome was a really nice touch. In comparison with its rivals, the i200s are as good-looking as any of its rivals, with only the Mizuno JPX900s and Srixon Z765 irons being the only ones that are prettier in my mind.

The i200 irons look fantastic overall, and they certainly made an impression on me the first time I saw them in the metal. Good-looking clubs like the PING i200s give me a lot of confidence. That confidence as I have mentioned is enhanced by their consistency and playability. I'm not sure what else I would consider having in my bag now.

In the Looks category, I give the PING i200s a score of 13 out of 15.

Sound and Feel

Sound and feel are important factors for me when choosing clubs. These were important criteria for me choosing the X2 Hot Pro irons over other options at the time as the Callaways out-performed the Taylormade Speedblades and Cobra Bio Cell irons that I tested at the same time. In comparison, the PING i200s are simply on another level in terms of feel. They feel very soft for a cast iron with a very inviting feel as the ball comes off the face.

Sound is another aspect that the PINGs excel in. Any decent strike on the club face sounds clean and crisp and not hard and clanging. In this regard the i200s are also a significant improvement over the Callaways I've been playing. Importantly, even my off centre strikes don't significantly detract from the feel and sound of my better strikes. .

Out of a possible 15 points, I'll have to give the PINGs 12 points. Considering that they aren't forged, the i200s do a fantastic job in the categories of both sound and feel. However, the only reason that I didn't award the i200s a full 15 is the fact that when you directly compare them to a forged iron (e.g. Titleist, Mizuno), I sense that they are just off that mark for feel (even though not by much).

Likelihood of Purchase

For the past 6 months, I'd been wanting to upgrade my irons as I had bought them when my handicap was almost double what it is now. I have tried a few sets of irons - including the Mizuno JPX900 Forged, Srixon 765s, Titleist 714 CBs. I have also played a couple of games with my father's Adams CMBs which are really nice forged irons. Before the i200s came along I hadn't considered PING because I was looking for a forged product and in all honesty, I was never a fan of the PING look.

However the i200s have changed all of that. After putting the i200s into play and almost instantly falling in love with them (see the Course review above), I have suggested that a few of my Facebook golfing buddies give them a try at their next demo day.

As stated in the sections above, the combination of forgiveness, control, sound, feel and looks make them a compelling choice in a market where there's more competition than ever, particularly with the introduction of the Mizuno JPX series and Wilson FG Tour V6 irons in the last year or so. The i200s are very worthy competitors and a set of irons that most players would be proud to have in the bag.

As a result, my Likelihood of Purchase score is 18 out of 20.

Questions & Answers

I remember someone from an Australian Facebook forum asked me how long it took for the i200s to get to me after I had been selected for the testing. It took about 2 weeks for the irons to get to Sydney (where the local PING distributor is located), and then another 24 hours for a set to be sent to my doorstep.

Conclusion

I came into this review with a neutral mindset but came away with a new admiration for PING clubs in general. I'm now aching for a chance to try out the new G400 driver since it was unveiled. As mentioned above, the PING i200s arrived and from that first afternoon they have performed brilliantly for me. You can tell that I am now a fan.

The performance of the i200s out on the course has been fabulous in comparison to my old Callaway gamers. Whilst I have been unable to get any Trackman numbers for the review, I can tell just from the number of times that these irons have held greens for me from positions where my old gamers would struggle that they are a significant improvement for my game. The biggest revelation would be the 3 iron that has basically replaced my Callaway Apex hybrid in the bag - there's nothing wrong with the Apex, it's just that I feel I have more consistency and maneuverability with the 3 iron.

I'm not much of a shaper of the ball, but with the new i200s I have been able to produce shots like punch cuts that I wasn't able to hit with the old gamers. Furthermore, any mis-strikes on the irons aren't punished as much as they were with the Callaways - it's always nice to know that if you don't quite strike the ball perfectly, it's still going to get 95% of the way there!

In terms of looks, the i200s look amazing but they do look a little chunky with the wide soles. Apart from those little niggles, the only sets of irons I think are better looking are the Mizuno JPX900 series, the current Srixon Z-irons and Titleist CBs and MBs.

Overall, I firmly believe that the i200s are a set of irons that most golfers would love to have in the bag, and I've been recommending them to my friends ever since I got my hands on them. The only thing I'd have to say is to get yourselves properly fitted for a set of these irons with a PGA club fitter rather than just relying on PING's fitting software.

All up, I give the i200s a total score of 89 out of a possible 100 points. Here's the breakdown of this score:

Range: 9/10

Course: 37/40

Looks & Feel: 13/15

Sound: 12/15

Likelihood of Purchase: 18/20

mdumble21 · June 21, 2017

Stage 3 - Follow-Up

Will this product stay in my bag? Why or why not?

â€‹As described above in my Stage 2, the i200s easily out-performed my old set of Callaway irons since I received them in late May, and it certainly doesn't look like they're going to be leaving my bag any time soon.

For me, having a decent set of irons in the bag plays an important role in my golf game for not only do I get better performance out of them but they also look great when sitting behind the ball at address. These two factors give me great confidence

when I'm hitting my shots, and makes me think "you're going to get this close!!".

Would I recommend this product to anyone? Why?

Of course I would recommend the i200s to my friends, just purely on performance alone. A few of my Facebook friends have actually tried them out both on the range and on the course, with a handful later buying a full set of them. My best friend almost went for them as well, if he hadn't found a set of Wilson V6s for a much cheaper price.

How has this product changed your overall impression of PING?

If you had asked me a year ago "what do you think of PING?", I would've said they're a company that's trying too hard to make loud, fast drivers. After testing and using the i200s, I've started to get more interested in the latest PING products. For example, the PING G400 is certainly a contender for my next driver, as I'm starting to fall out of love with my 915 driver.

What feature would you change/eliminate from the next generation of this model?

Whilst I enjoy the overall looks of the i200s, I always found that the sole of the club tended to be a little too big and it would be visible at address in the mid irons. Personally, I found this to be a little off-putting as the i200s are supposed to be the better-players iron for PING, and I know a few low handicappers that wouldn't enjoy this feature.

What feature would you keep for the next generation of this model?

In terms of looks, I enjoyed the chrome badging on the irons, as well as the little ridges on the back of the cavity. They just seem to give the clubs a bit of character and (particularly the badging) the impression that PING were very confident in this product.

Anyway, that's my Stage 3 review of the PING i200s done. If you have any further queries, please comment below in this thread. My Vice Pro Stage 3 Review should be coming in the next month or so.

opsimpson · June 21, 2017

Good Morning one and all!!! To say I was excited to be part of this review would be the understatement of the century. I just hope that I am able to keep pace with my fellow reviewers and the fantastic jobs they have done in their reviews.

***Disclaimer*** I am not as good with all the picture taking and formatting as they are but I will give it my best shot.

Â· Handicap- As it stands right now I am a 9 but trending downward and hope to continue doing so but I am sure once I get it going the way I want our wonderful upstate NY winter will arrive and I will once again but left frustrated and wanting of the spring once again, but hey the wife loves the winter here and we all know how that works.

Â· Strengths of my game- Though I am not the longest hitter at my club or the straightest, you ever get a driver you absolutely love and then the head cracks on it and you are left on this endless endeavor to find one to replace it. Sorry back to our regularly scheduled programming, I am never really out of a hole and my short game allows me to write a lot more pars than my long game allows for

Â· Weakness of my game- As I mentioned before the long game keeps me inhibited somewhat and I am working on that diligently and trying to work it out as my PGA Pro will elude to but it is a work in progress.

Â· Typical ball flight/miss- As I endeavor to find the one swing thought that will turn me into a scratch player I usually end up with a high pull hook when I get a little out of sequence and we all know that end result of that sad story. Normally I play a fairly straight ball with little to no movement but the dispersion can be 2-3 yards left or right.

Â· In my bag- I believe that the replacement for the aforementioned and beloved SLDR is in the way of a BB Epic (standard) with 9* and a Fujikara stiff shaft is going to stay in for a while as long as it continues to behave. 3 and 5 woods are Cobra King F6 with stock stiff shafts, 50* and 54* Vokeys and a 58* Scratch wedge, that I will use until the grooves wear out. Cleveland Putter (can never remember the name but I absolutely love it!!) and of course the crown jewel the Ping i200 irons 4-PW. Prior to be selected for this review I gamed Mizuno JPX 850 (non forged) with S300 shafts.

Now on to the stuff you have been waiting for with the upmost anticipation and angst the i200 stage 1 review:

As previously mentioned I was shocked to say the least about being selected for participation in this review. I did not at first know how to process the idea of this opportunity but I was in time able to make my peace with it. It was a tough a rocky time for our house hold but through the support of my wife and children I was able to be at ease with the opportunity that was presented to me.

As per the directions given I went to the PING website to the online fitting and send my specs in. The overall process was one that I often wondered how accurate it could be. Fairly simple to do just a tape measure and a little knowledge of how my game is played and I was done. I was recommended for color code Yellow (1.5* upright), with Nippon Pro Modus 3 in stiff flex, which I never thought would fit me in the least as I have always been an S300 guy but then again I am also not a certified club fitter and to say I would know any differences between the two would be a slap in the face of those who actually do know. The most curious one to me was the grip code of aqua which is 1/16â€ below standard, I was very cautious about but thought in the spirit of the test I will use these specs. However, that will come in to play later. Specs are sent in and now we play the waiting to game.

On 17 May, I get a call from the wife notifying me of the arrival of a long brown box which she knew contained golf clubs but for some reason she did not seem as excited about this as I was. Weird right??? I got home and immediately had to slow my preverbal roll as I knew there needed to be unboxing pictures etc. as I take part in the review so off to the man cave I went.

My first impressions were WOW!!! When I set them in address they looked exactly like what I was looking for. The profile and length seemed to fit the mold of what I think an iron should be. I had always had a desire to give the S55 a try but never thought my game was good enough for them but loved the way they look at address and this were right in line with what I wanted. I could not wait to get these out on the course and give them a hit even if I felt a little guilty about hitting them and getting them dirty, even our puppy was so enamored with them and felt it was appropriate to give them a courtesy lick.

I hope you enjoyed my Stage1 review and I look forward to keeping you appraised in Stage 2 of my results. I will do all I can to provide the best feedback possible about them and what I think moving forward. Let me know what questions you have and I look forward to hearing your comments and what you would like to know about the i200s moving forward.

opsimpson · June 21, 2017

PING i200 â€“ Official MGS Forum Review by opsimpson

Player Biography

Current irons in my bag are the Mizuno JPX 850 with xp105 S300 which I was custom fit for about 2 years ago. They are standard loft and 1 degree upright along with standard Golf pride Multi-Compound grips. For the majority of the test I used the Pro V1X and TP5X which are in a dual for a permanent spot in my bag but as is everything else I own so no surprise there.

Of all the products we have had the chance on MGS to review this was by far the most exciting to me. I am currently a 9 hdcp and have been trending downward as the year progresses but as I stated in my Stage 1 review once I get to where I want to be the upstate NY winter will hit and we will start all over again. I normally play a straight to 3 yard fade with my irons. I can reach back and get more but my accuracy with a draw suffers immensely. As I was custom fit for my previous irons I was skeptical of the PING online fitting but I said to trust the process and on the whole it has been very good, except for the grips. I went with the recommended color code of Aqua (1/16â€ smaller) and have regretted that from day 1. I will get more into that later.

Performance at the Range

I had to split most of my range time between a range close to my work and the range at my home club to be able to get the amount of time I thought was necessary to give the club and honest review from the range perspective. This to me was the most difficult portion of the review. On the range I always want to work on a certain part of my swing and try to get better so that would creep in from time to time but on the whole I just practiced normally, trying to hit a certain target or get a certain flight etc.

Accuracy â€“ The irons are very accurate with little movement left or right. The less amount of offset on these irons compared to my Mizunos allowed for not to worry about the left side of the course (see big hook). I was able to hit a target with multiple irons.
Distance â€“ This is where it got a little dicey compared to the Mizunos. On full shots they tended to be about half a club shorter for me. I think this can be attributed in some part to the shaft differences and getting used to the flight in general. Once I had that dialed in they are impressive. I was starting to slightly turn the ball over a little better with these without fear of a hook. Is this attributed to a shaft and grip combo? I feel the Modus were A LOT smoother than the S300 and produced a much better ball flight.
Trajectory Characteristics â€“ This is where the i200s really shined for me. The ability to change trajectory was amazing!!! I was hitting the ball on more manageable trajectory than I was used to. My trajectory with the Mizunos was a much higher no spin flight than the i200s which has a more medium, and boring trajectory that cut through the wind.
Forgiveness â€“ I did not see a discernable difference between these and any other iron I have hit. Hit it almost off the grooves on the toe and it is going to stink. I would say the Pings are not the most forgiving I have hit and that takes away from them a little bit.
Control â€“ With the Mizunos I hit the ball much higher and never could flight it down without dropping 2 clubs and going from 9 to 3 on my swing. With the i200s I could just grip down an inch to two inches and make the same swing and get exactly what I wanted, a lower more boring flight and not worry about the balloon ball that was eat up by the wind. The ability to work the ball was a lot easier especially hitting a draw with the Pings vs. Mizuno. I felt more comfortable trying to hit a draw and not worry about a hook or the dreaded pull hook.

Range Score: 9 out of 10 points

Performance on the Course

Accuracy â€“ One of the more accurate irons I have played for sure. Full shots at the target were normally not a worry but shots that I tried to take a little off of or add a little too were not as accurate as I would like to the be but of course a lot of that could be me more than the club. On shots that I executed the way I wanted to they performed better than my favorite irons of all time the 710 AP2s.
Around the greens and inside 120 yards is where I find these clubs really shined and would make them a permanent place in my bag. I normally would chip with a 54 or 58 degree wedge. I always struggled with getting the ball to the hole on my chips and pitches and since testing the i200s I have almost gone exclusively to the PW and 9 irons around the greens and it paid off immensely.

Course Score: 30 out of 40 points

Performance Notes

Overall performance of the irons was on to above par with all others I have played.
To say I was pleased with the performance of the iron would be a fair statement to make.
In comparison to my current Mizuno irons I would have to say that they were better. The look, sound and feel, which to me are more of a selling point than about anything, were better in every way.
The ability to make a â€œplayersâ€ iron into something that a mid handicap player like myself can game confidently is huge and the most endearing aspect of these irons.
When I put the i200s side by side vs. my Mizunos the scores were better with the i200s. That to me is the bottom line all other things aside. Not matter what the range works shows the on course performance, what you write on the score card is what matters. Granted it took me a little bit of range work to get comfortable with the changes in look, feel etc. but once I did the results were better period.
As I stated before the on course performance to me is where the i200s really performed. On the range or at a demo day I think just about any iron is going to perform well since well, the end result doesn't reflect on the score card. You can get a good idea of what you like but it does not really show until you have a 185 shot to an uphill green into the wind.

Subjective

Looks

The shape and looks of the club coupled with the smaller amount of offset makes the club look amazing. It sits by the ball and frames it in a way that would not scare off a 15 hdcp and appeal to a 2 hdcp in my opinion.
The little no offset will appeal to all handicaps. The look of the long irons (3-5) give a visual appeal of being easier to hit without looking like a hybrid which will appeal to better players but give the appearance of playability to mid handicap players.
These babies are gorgeous!!! The looks and simple badging of the irons give them a curb appeal that is hard to overlook. From looks alone on the rack I would give these a hit.
The look of the iron with the extra weighting appearance behind the head is what I think will really appeal to the mid handicap player. It gives the appearance (and really shows when you hit them) that you can get the ball in the air. The extra weighting that extends on both sides of the sweet spot gives the idea of help on off center hits. Which as a 9 HDCP player, I look for in an iron. The technology is right there for you to see without having to think COG, cup face etc. at first glance.
The overall package as I have stated in the previous couple of bullets is what gives this iron such a â€œrack appealâ€ for the average person who wants to try the iron but is unsure if it fits their game or HDCP.
There is no comparison to other irons is this better player category when it comes to looks and curb appeal.

Looks Score: (14 of 15 points)

Sound and Feel

This to me is the â€œred lineâ€ that's gets a club into my bag. I enjoyed the sounds and feel of the Mizunos but never loved them and ended up with them based on numbers alone. To say that I regretted that ever since would be an understatement. The feel (see sound) is what is most important to me unless it just performs ungodly then I can learn to deal with it, which is why the 850s ended up in my bag. The crisp soft feel of these irons are terrific. When struck in the middle of the face it is a â€œforgedâ€ feel for sure. This again will appeal to the lower and mid hdcp player alike.
There are a few caveats to this though. Mishit on the toe is noticeable right away. Although the distance that you suffer (10-12 yards from my estimation) is not as bad as some other irons in the category that I have tried in the past it is noticeable. Heel strikes on the other hand are not a noticeable to me as I could not really tell if I heeled it vs. catching it on the sweet spot.
To compare this from worst to first in the feel and sound category if you will, they fall more towards the first category. The best feeling iron I have ever hit (Yonex blades) vs the worst feeling I ever hit (714 AP1s).

Sound and Feel Score: (12 of 15 points)

Likelihood of Purchase

This to me is a tough decision. Price as we know is king for a husband and father of 2. It is hard to say without factoring the performance of other clubs in the same category in a fitting and playing environment. However, based on the performance and how in my opinion these irons have changed my iron play and my ability to execute shots on the course I would purchase these clubs. I realize that can be a very strong statement to make without hitting them against other clubs but the performance, looks, sound, and feel have me sold. It may have been sheer luck or Ping's algorithm in their web based fitting program (save the grips which I am changing after this stage, I would have changed sooner but I wanted to maintain the integrity of the review) but the i200's coupled with the modus shafts have given me the iron game I have wanted for a good while.

LOP Score: (17 of 20 points)

Subjective Notes

The overall looks and course based performance is where I judge a club. I have seen too many times where a friend gets fit for a set of irons and says that they are 2 clubs longer and playing so much better then they get out on the course and are 5 strokes worse. The on course performance is where the rubber meets the road to me. At my home course here in upstate NY, McGregor Links Country Club you can get some squirrely lies for sure but extracting the ball and get it stop never seemed to be a problem for the i200s. They will get the ball out nicely (be it on a lower trajectory than the Mizunos) and give you a chance to write a par or birdie on the card and not have to worry about a flier.

Conclusion

The overall experience of being a tester for MGS was much different than I ever thought it would be. As they say the most important 6 inches in golf is the 6 inches between your ears and that would absolutely pertain to this test for me. After being fitted and playing the same irons over the past 2+ years to change to from a SGI to better players iron definitely took its toll but led in the end to better scores and that is what we are all after. Trust is a big thing (if not the biggest) in golf (see Henrik Stenson's 3 wood) and once I was able to trust them I did not need to find Will Hunting to add up my score card for me at the end of the round. From the time of being notified of selection for the irons and until posting this review I have seen more ups and downs in a golf game than I can remember save for a fateful day at McGregor Links but that is another story for another time. For those of you who get selected in the future (especially with irons) enjoy the ride. I was very confident in my game and then started the full testing process for the i200s and my game went downhill what seemed like almost overnight or 9 holes. A trial of emotion would pester me throughout the round almost to the point where I just wanted it to be over so I could go play my Mizunos again. Stay the course I would say to myself, except for the grips they can go to hell!!!! Once I got more comfortable with them and trusting them my scores started to go down and that my friend is what is it all about.

Total Score: 82 of 100 points

opsimpson · June 21, 2017

Will this product go in your bag?

In short..yes they will. As I stated in my Stage 2 review I was not impressed at first and was looking forward to getting back to my Mizunos. After I adjusted to the irons and changed the grips I am a full club longer and much more accurate than I ever was with the JPX irons. The ability to draw and fade the ball (as well as I can) has dramatically improved my game but the biggest factor is my ball flight is almost completely straight with little curvature to either side. On the norm it is a 3-5 yard draw.

To whom would I recommend this product?

I would recommend the i200s to anyone under a 14 HDCP or lower looking to get into a more playable set. Granted they are not going to take 5 strokes off your game but with a good custom fitting they can help for sure. I would absolutely recommend anyone within the above HDCP range to take a hard look at them when you are looking to get into a new set of irons.

How at all did this product change your impression of Ping?

I never really considered Ping as an option for me when I was looking at irons. When I was getting fit for my JPX 850s they were neck and neck with a set of Cobra CBs. As I stated in my Stage 2 review I went with numbers instead of looks and feel and regretted it ever since. The look and feel of a golf club to me are the most important factor in a club from driver all the way to putter. The i200s absolutely changed what I thought of Ping irons and products as a whole and encourage everyone looking at new clubs to give them a good once or twice over before moving on to another OEM.

What feature would you change or eliminate from the next generation of the model?

Considering they have already changed it is a nonstarter but the grips were terrible, have I mentioned that? Other than that I would like to see a little more â€œhelpâ€ in the longer irons. I realize this can be accomplished by getting a mixed set but it is a tough transition to go from G400 to i200s in the iron set. The 3 and 4 iron performed admirably but a little more help in getting those clubs in the air would be a nice improvement.

What feature did you like, and would most like to see continued or evolved in future models?

Being as it is a cast club I would like more of a forged feel to the iron. The irons do feel soft but not forged buttery soft. If this could be improved via gel back technology or something of the like it would be the icing on top for these irons.

JBones · June 21, 2017

Bones Stage 1

Hello MGS'ers, welcome to my Ping i200 stage 1 review. Lets kick this thing off with a couple pics of these beauties.

A bit about me

Handicap/Average Score? - My current handicap is a 7, with a typical score between 75-80. My swing is still recovering from a partially separated shoulder that happened in August of 2015. Before the injury I was a 1.8, with a typical score between 70-74. I'm hoping the added forgiveness and playability of these irons will get me back on track.

Strength/Weakness of my game? - Up until about 2 months ago, I'd have said my driving was my strength; I was hitting about 70% of fairways at a little over a 300 avg. At that same time, I'd have said my putting was my biggest weakness. Now those have flip flopped; I'm spraying my driver all over the course, sometimes not cracking 270 and my putting is the best it's ever been.

How long have you been playing? - I have been playing for 31 years now. I started playing when I was 6 years old, with a cut down set of Spalding blades. It didn't take long to develop a love for the game I would say my first two years were spend on the range and practice green, not playing a par 3 course until I was 8. By the time I was 10, I was beating my father and grandfather. By the time I was a teenager, I was playing to about an 8 handicap with a set of Spalding blades and persimmon woods, that I bought at a yard sale and played with until my senior year of high school. I got a set of Ping Zing irons for my graduation present and then bought myself some Callaway Big Bertha woods with my graduation money.....thats when my game really took off.

What makes you love the game? - My wife asks me why I'm so obsessed with golf and my answer is simple....it's a new adventure every time (hell, sometimes from one hole to the next). I use golf as an escape from the grind of life. There is just something about being out there in nature, with your feet in the grass, that is relaxing. I love that it is a sport for EVERYONE, no matter how good or bad you are at it. I love that my father-in-law and I bonded while playing, right up until cancer made it impossible for him to play; I still hit a ball into the lake (a frequent spot for his balls to land) in his memory, on his birthday. I love that my young daughters love to play golf, just because I love playing it so much. It's not just a hobby for me, it's a passion.

Stay tuned for the full stage 2 reviews that will be coming from everyone very soon.

JBones · June 21, 2017

Golfspy Bones Ping i200 Iron Review

Performance

I will start off my by saying that I do not like the range. I do not like range ballsâ€¦.I do not like pounding balls with no purposeâ€¦.I do not like my swing on the rangeâ€¦.I do not like wasting my time on the range, when I could be playing. Therefore my review is going to be about where it countsâ€¦â€¦on the course.

Accuracy (8/10)

In my opinion this doesn't have much to do with the club, it's the golfer. I could easily square the face to get the ball on target. My GIR has gone up, but that has more to do with distance, which we will get to right now.

Distance 10/10

Stupid filthy long is how I would describe the distance of the i200s. My very first swing on the course was with the 7i from 195 and the ball flew right at the pin and waved hi to it, as it flew 15yds over the green and into the water. With the Power Spec lofts, I'm 2 clubs longer than my old clubs. My GIR has gone up, because I'm hitting higher lofted clubs into the greens from ridiculous distances; the last two par 5s I've played, I have put it on with 8i from 185 and 182. Longest irons I've ever owned and because I'm hitting shorter (in iron length) higher lofted clubs my accuracy has went up.

Forgiveness (8/10)

This goes hand in hand with the distance, to create good accuracy. I'm not a pro, I don't hit the center of the face every time I swing the club, so I need accuracy, but I also need workability, which usually takes away from forgiveness. I'll get into the flight characteristics next, but I will say, these are â€œplayersâ€ irons with the forgiveness of GI irons. My typical miss is towards the toe and these irons hold their line and distance as good as any iron I have ever played. The one place I have struggled a bit is out of the rough; I seem to catch more flyers than I ever have, I also seem to hit more snap hooks out of the rough, which ssems to have something to do with the design of the sole.

Flight Characteristics (7/10)

As I stated before, I expect a level of workability and forgiveness in my irons. With the i200s, I am able to work the ball left and right, with ease. If I was scoring the irons off workability alone, I would give them a solid 9/10, but alas I am not. I love the high penetrating launch of the 7i-GW, however I am disappointed with the launch of the 4i-6i. I struggle getting height on the long irons, heck I would be happy with mid launch, but these are low launching long irons. I play into a lot of elevated greens and not having a higher launching long iron is causing me to have to lay up on some par 5s, that are in my range, but I don't have the height to clear an obstruction in front of the green (bunker, grass bunker, mounds, etc). At the same time, the irons are so long that I'm not having to hit the long irons all that much.

Performance Score â€“ 33/40

Subjective

Looks (8/10)

The i200s have a sleek classic look to them, that usually only comes in a players iron. I have always been a fan of the minimalist look that Ping irons have hadâ€¦..nothing flashy, just pure simple beauty.

Sound and Feel (8/10)

To be 100% honest, I don't notice any difference in the feel or sound of any higher end club. All higher end clubs feel like â€œbutterâ€ when you flush them and feel like you're hitting a brick when you don't. As far as sound, I also don't notice a difference between the i200s and my previous gamers.

Likelihood of Purchase (9/10)

This is actually the only set of clubs was looking to put in the bag. I haven't had a set of Ping irons since I got rid of my Ping Zings back in 2001 and I had already decided that this was the year I went back. The i200s had (on paper) everything that I was looking for, classic looks, forgiveness, length, and workability. Had I not been part of testing, these would have ended up in my bag anyway.

Subjective Score â€“ 25/30

Overall Score â€“ 58/70

Conclusion

These clubs will be in my bag for a long time; I love everything about them. Ping has always made excellent products and that continues with the new i200s. If you are low, mid, or high handicap, that is looking for the perfect blend of looks, forgiveness, distance, and workability, then these irons are for you.

JBones · June 21, 2017

Stage 3 Placeholder

Shankster · June 21, 2017

Stage 1 up!! Enjoy!!

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

null · June 21, 2017

Way to get the review started, Shankster. Really nice work on the pictures.

What types of irons have you gamed in the past? Did you get to select your shaft, and if so, why did you choose the shaft you went with? What other clubs round out your bag?

Looking forward to following along with the rest of your thoughts!

Shankster · June 21, 2017

Jlukes: I Game the TM RBZ Tours and have been working in the PING's since day 1, right now they are full time tools.

I played various old blades, Titleist DCI's, took my 10 year hiatus and got the Taylormades during their Marketing boom.

I did get to select the shaft, with all of your wisdom I went to the demo day and hit these clubs with every shaft combo he had in the 7 iron and 4 iron. I picked the Nippons because they gave me a wonderful "repeatable" flight/feel.

I use 3-PW stock, and 53Â°/57Â° wedge set up with a 17Â° Jetspeed Hybrid, SLDR TS 14Â° 3 wood and a R1 Driver currently set to 10.5Â° weighted for draw. And my amazing Cobra 002 blade putter.

Recently sold my 2 iron. In search for another one. Around 13.5Â°....

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Shankster · June 21, 2017

And I hope everyone sees the story I am trying to tell with the pictures. Thanks for the kind words jlukes!

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Shankster · June 21, 2017

I would have put up a picture of the box, but I unboxed them, set them on the table, went to a kids thing, came back and my dog ate the box... good thing I took the clubs out, or I wouldn't have a dog anymore.

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

MDGolfHacker · June 21, 2017

Shankster -

Great initial writeup! Interested in your thoughts on the ping's turf interaction from a variety of lies, ie thick rough, thin lies, dinner plates and grilling surfaces. Great job on the photos!

MDGolfHacker

Shankster · June 21, 2017

Shankster -

Great initial writeup! Interested in your thoughts on the ping's turf interaction from a variety of lies, ie thick rough, thin lies, dinner plates and grilling surfaces. Great job on the photos!

MDGolfHacker

Some hot sticks right off the grill.

The fairways I play are cut pretty low, the rough is deep, so your wish will come true in Stage 2.

- Alan

Golfspy_CG2 · June 21, 2017

I would have put up a picture of the box, but I unboxed them, set them on the table, went to a kids thing, came back and my dog ate the box... good thing I took the clubs out, or I wouldn't have a dog anymore.

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

The ole...Dog at the homework...routine...LOL

Great Start, really enjoyed the write up and yes i got the theme, at least I think I did. I'm hungry now if that is any indication.

I have only hit the 1200's once on the range here. A buddy has them and I didn't hit them very well, and he has the same modus 105 shaft, as I also have in my 565/765's so I was a bit surprised. I found them to be not very forgiving, but maybe it was just that day.

Interested in your thoughts on forgiveness on less than perfect strikes compared to other irons you have played.

edit: Also forgot to add, phenomenal photos!! The more I see of some of the forum testing photos, the more I think I need to step up my photo game!!

Jiro · June 21, 2017

Shankster-nice start! Like the camera work as well. Looking forward to stage 2 thoughts.

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Shankster · June 21, 2017

Updates some pics. Had a double and forgot one.

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Shankster · June 21, 2017

The ole...Dog at the homework...routine...LOL

Great Start, really enjoyed the write up and yes i got the theme, at least I think I did. I'm hungry now if that is any indication.

I have only hit the 1200's once on the range here. A buddy has them and I didn't hit them very well, and he has the same modus 105 shaft, as I also have in my 565/765's so I was a bit surprised. I found them to be not very forgiving, but maybe it was just that day.

Interested in your thoughts on forgiveness on less than perfect strikes compared to other irons you have played.

edit: Also forgot to add, phenomenal photos!! The more I see of some of the forum testing photos, the more I think I need to step up my photo game!!

Your exact questions will be addressed in my Stage 2.

And yes, I'm glad you're hungry.

- Alan

Shankster · June 21, 2017

Shankster -

Great initial writeup! Interested in your thoughts on the ping's turf interaction from a variety of lies, ie thick rough, thin lies, dinner plates and grilling surfaces. Great job on the photos!

MDGolfHacker

I might just try them off a dinner plate tonight. They are supposed to be "shatterproof" plates.

Grill? I suppose if I was really off one day I could have that lie. Shots off the grill coming right up.

- Alan

TSauer · June 21, 2017

Great start, Shankster! Looking forward to following along with these reviews.

Shankster · June 21, 2017

Great start, Shankster! Looking forward to following along with these reviews.

Thanks! It should be a good time in this thread.

- Alan

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OFFICIAL FORUM MEMBER REVIEW - PING i200 IRONS

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