2018 Official Forum Member Review - Ping G700 Irons

[Golfspy_CG2]

Without giving away anything from Stage 2.

 

What's one good thing about these irons that honestly surprised you?

 

What's one thing you don't like about them.

 

 

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[GolfSpy MPR]

Without giving away anything from Stage 2.

 

What's one good thing about these irons that honestly surprised you?

 

What's one thing you don't like about them.

 

 

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It's tough to surprise a Spy, right? I suspect I'm not alone in that, after I was chosen, I read/watched a whole bunch about these clubs before mine came.

 

But I think I can honestly say I was still surprised by just how high they launch on a stock swing. Like, hit-the-ball-and-literally-laugh-out-loud at the window you find your ball in. My first shots with these did catch me off guard in that way. I take this as a positive because (and more on this later) the high flight means they do stop very quickly.

 

Negatively, I've been surprised at the greater difficulty getting the bigger head through the rough. It makes sense, but I wouldn't have guessed the magnitude of the difference.

[JAGolfore]

Without giving away anything from Stage 2.

 

What's one good thing about these irons that honestly surprised you?

 

What's one thing you don't like about them.

 

 

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One surprise is how high I hit these long irons, yet I can keep them low when I need to. Being a golfer who struggles with hitting the ball high with longer irons, these are unreal. I'll get a photo tomorrow of the difference.

 

My only complaint so far is that I have a hard time moving the ball left to right (cut). It's something I am working on and I'm sure I'll figure out.

 

More to come.

 

 

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[Golfspy_CG2]

One surprise is how high I hit these long irons, yet I can keep them low when I need to. Being a golfer who struggles with hitting the ball high with longer irons, these are unreal. I'll get a photo tomorrow of the difference.

 

My only complaint so far is that I have a hard time moving the ball left to right (cut). It's something I am working on and I'm sure I'll figure out.

 

More to come.

 

 

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Watch me swing those once, and I'll teach them how to go left to right...ha   problem is they may never go right to left again...ha

 

Good stuff!!  Can't wait for your guys stage 2's!!

[GolfJunkie302]

Without giving away anything from Stage 2.

 

What's one good thing about these irons that honestly surprised you?

 

What's one thing you don't like about them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

One thing that surprised me was how easy they are to hit out of fairway bunkers. I can hit even the long irons without any isssues. One thing I'm having a problem with is hitting them out of the rough. They just don't cut through the grass very well, due to the size of the clubhead.

 

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[hckymeyer]

Good thing that surprised me was the distance.  I'm already playing Cleveland CBX so wasn't expecting much distance gain coming from that, but they are longer.

 

Biggest dislike surprise was how long they are heel to toe.  Just looking at them alone and PING does a great job of hiding the GI aspect of the clubs, but set them next to something else and it's like Andre the Giant standing next to Gene Okerlund.  I've been playing solid GI irons for years now and this is the first time in my career I've thought an iron could stand to be a little more compact.

[dpgolf36]

I've have the distinct pleasure of having jacustomgolf as my league partner the past 2 years. His game and my game are apples to oranges as I have only started golfing 3 years ago and I've listened, watched, and learned a lot from Josh in those 2 years.

 

Let me start by saying the day Josh told me he was picked to demo the G700s I said he was crazy. Josh was lights out with his Srixon 765/965 combo. I had the pleasure of being with him last year when he shot a 61 with the Srixons. Unfortunately I was not with him this year when he shot the 60 with the G700s but I heard all about it.

 

We had our twin city classic a few weeks ago and I drove back just in time to follow Josh on his last 18 holes of the tournament. When I saw what he had in his bag my thoughts were what in the hell are you doing?! You're seriously playing a new set of clubs and not the lights out Srixon irons that you are money with?! (I kept this to myself until about a week ago when I told him that finally).

 

Fast forward to league last week. Him and I have totally opposite problems. He's had problems hitting over trees at times and I have no problem with height what so ever. We both were roughly 253 to the green with some older mature trees to go over. I took my Srixon 765 5 iron and went over the trees no problem and was about 40 yards short. Josh took out his G700 4 iron and flew it over the trees and on the fringe. I mean flew it! We both looked at each other and laughed. His ball flight has been much higher and longer with the G700 irons and it's been amazing to see his game develop more and what he can do with these G700 irons.

 

Sorry for taking up a lot of everyone's time but I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents being an outsider and having the pleasure to see these things in action first hand with a my golf spy tester. Oh and Josh try not to kill me for boasting about you!

 

 

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[Golfspy_CG2]

I've have the distinct pleasure of having jacustomgolf as my league partner the past 2 years. His game and my game are apples to oranges as I have only started golfing 3 years ago and I've listened, watched, and learned a lot from Josh in those 2 years.

 

Let me start by saying the day Josh told me he was picked to demo the G700s I said he was crazy. Josh was lights out with his Srixon 765/965 combo. I had the pleasure of being with him last year when he shot a 61 with the Srixons. Unfortunately I was not with him this year when he shot the 60 with the G700s but I heard all about it.

 

We had our twin city classic a few weeks ago and I drove back just in time to follow Josh on his last 18 holes of the tournament. When I saw what he had in his bag my thoughts were what in the hell are you doing?! You're seriously playing a new set of clubs and not the lights out Srixon irons that you are money with?! (I kept this to myself until about a week ago when I told him that finally).

 

Fast forward to league last week. Him and I have totally opposite problems. He's had problems hitting over trees at times and I have no problem with height what so ever. We both were roughly 253 to the green with some older mature trees to go over. I took my Srixon 765 5 iron and went over the trees no problem and was about 40 yards short. Josh took out his G700 4 iron and flew it over the trees and on the fringe. I mean flew it! We both looked at each other and laughed. His ball flight has been much higher and longer with the G700 irons and it's been amazing to see his game develop more and what he can do with these G700 irons.

 

Sorry for taking up a lot of everyone's time but I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents being an outsider and having the pleasure to see these things in action first hand with a my golf spy tester. Oh and Josh try not to kill me for boasting about you!

 

 

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Ha. Great stuff. Welcome to the forum.

 

 

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[Jon Brittan]

@jacustomgolf What's your take on playing these out of the rough? Several other people saying they're a little difficult to get out of the rough. As someone used to playing small profile irons usually, I'd be interested in your take (if you want to admit to having been in the rough )

[hckymeyer]

I've been back and forth between the G700 and Cleveland CBX irons for the past few weeks.  Been playing great with the Clevelands so I was afraid to make the full switch for a big event.  Shot terrible yesterday in the first day of club champ so figured I'd just go all in and put the G700's in for Sunday club champ round.  Shot lights out (for me) iron wise.  No issues with the bigger head size out of the rough, no issue with flighting them up or down.  Just long, straight and landing softly.

 

I hit a lot of greens today and the few I missed were dead at the stick, just misjudged the wind and came up short.

[GeekingGolf]

I've been back and forth between the G700 and Cleveland CBX irons for the past few weeks. Been playing great with the Clevelands so I was afraid to make the full switch for a big event. Shot terrible yesterday in the first day of club champ so figured I'd just go all in and put the G700's in for Sunday club champ round. Shot lights out (for me) iron wise. No issues with the bigger head size out of the rough, no issue with flighting them up or down. Just long, straight and landing softly.

 

I hit a lot of greens today and the few I missed were dead at the stick, just misjudged the wind and came up short.

This is amazing stuff. Ping is making some great iron sets all around. Who doesn't want to simply play better golf? Ping seems to have developed a catalog of great sticks. This review of the G700 has made me want to try putting this type of club in play. Other companies GI irons have scared me but it seems from everyone's take here Pings GI irons can be played by anyone and these irons will improve their games. Cant wait for more info

 

 

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[PMookie]

I've been back and forth between the G700 and Cleveland CBX irons for the past few weeks. Been playing great with the Clevelands so I was afraid to make the full switch for a big event. Shot terrible yesterday in the first day of club champ so figured I'd just go all in and put the G700's in for Sunday club champ round. Shot lights out (for me) iron wise. No issues with the bigger head size out of the rough, no issue with flighting them up or down. Just long, straight and landing softly.

 

I hit a lot of greens today and the few I missed were dead at the stick, just misjudged the wind and came up short.

Reading these posts really has me thinking...

 

 

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[PMookie]

This is amazing stuff. Ping is making some great iron sets all around. Who doesn't want to simply play better golf? Ping seems to have developed a catalog of great sticks. This review of the G700 has made me want to try putting this type of club in play. Other companies GI irons have scared me but it seems from everyone's take here Pings GI irons can be played by anyone and these irons will improve their games. Cant wait for more info

 

 

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Good! No more need for my MP-18 SCs!!!

 

 

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[JAGolfore]

@jacustomgolf What's your take on playing these out of the rough? Several other people saying they're a little difficult to get out of the rough. As someone used to playing small profile irons usually, I'd be interested in your take (if you want to admit to having been in the rough )

 

 

From the rough I have not had any issues. Now keep in mind the deepest rough I have seen with these is 2”. I have found that these do tend to fly when hit out of the rough. I have had no issues though getting the ball out. There will be more to come as I have 4 more rounds to play before my 2nd stage is posted.

 

 

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[Tom Keyser]

Great reviews so far (by all!). I'm continually impressed that MGS lets us test equipment and use honest feedback to review golf clubs and equipment. Keep up the good work!

[GeekingGolf]

Good! No more need for my MP-18 SCs!!!

 

 

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Always a need!!!! I am ready for Mizuno!!!!

 

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[Jbmullin]

looking forward to the stage 2's .. I have 25 rounds in with my g700's and have never enjoyed golfing more.

[GolfSpy MPR]

I have posted my Stage 2. Spoiler alert: these aren't leaving my bag: https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/24863-official-forum-member-review-ping-g700-irons/?p=445767

[PING Apologist #9]

PING G700 irons – Official MGS Forum Review by Michael Riley

 

Introduction

 

My dad has recently gotten into woodworking. In particular, he's become fascinated with the YouTube channel of a guy who does all his work without power tools.

 

Is this the right or the wrong way to build furniture? The answer is that this is a dumb question. If woodworking is a hobby, different folks will derive their enjoyment from it for different reasons and in different ways.

 

There are also different ways to enjoy golf. Are the guys building and playing persimmon and hickory doing it wrong? How about the 20-handicap who loves his Titleist MBs? They are no more wrong than the guy making a dresser without power tools. They simply have different goals than shooting their lowest possible score.

 

Being chosen to test the PING G700 irons has made me think about where I exist on the spectrum of golf tools. I certainly am not among those who don't care about score. On the other hand, I can't honestly say I'd play anything regardless of how it looks, if my scores drop. Some of this is ego. Some is just the enjoyment of good aesthetics: a Mizuno blade is a thing of beauty in the way that a Square Strike Wedge (sorry, ole gray!) isn't.

 

And some of it is confidence and comfort. While MGS putter testing has pushed back strongly against the assumption that a person's appreciation for a given putter has any correlation with it's performance, I suspect that there may be exceptional cases. For instance, a massively offset club is sure to cause some to fear a big left miss, and might force a corresponding swing adjustment.

 

The G700 isn't the club I'd grab to test first if I were in the market new irons. It doesn't have the look I'm most drawn to. And it's marketed to golfers even worse than I am. (PING's own online fitting tool suggests the G400s for a 15 handicapper like me.)

 

But I signed up to test them—and I'm glad I did. Here are my thoughts after two months with the PING G700 irons.

 

Looks: 8/10

 

In other reviews, this category might be of little consequence. But the G700s are marketed in part on their aesthetics: game improvement in a pretty package. Most of the pros and cons here are obvious. On the plus side, the G700s are clean, almost to the point of being plain. Nothing busy, just classic, smooth design.

 

The chief negative is equally obvious: they're enormous. The 4 iron is bigger than the hybrid it replaced in my bag. While they're not exactly shovels (Peaksy68's Stage 1 proved that), they are really big. That said, for my part, I was able to get past their size relatively quickly. On the course, when you're not setting them next to another club for contrast, it was easy to just focus on playing golf. Also, as I mentioned in my Stage 1, PING really did a nice job with the rounding and polishing of the top line. If these had a thick, boxy top line, I suspect I would have had a harder time with their size. I'm also not crazy about the look of the offset, especially on the longer irons.

 

There is a remaining negative: the G700s show wear in a way that I've not experienced with other cast irons. It appears that the hydropearl finish scars very quickly. Consider these pictures of the 9 iron:

 

IMG_20180903_172948.jpg

 

IMG_20180903_173230.jpg

 

IMG_20180903_173320.jpg

 

I choose the 9 iron for this picture because it looked the worst of any of the clubs in my set (and this is without the wear of regular range sessions). When taking the pictures, I also noticed that the blue dot was missing. The blue dot was fine on all the other irons. I'm not sure what happened there.

 

A score of 8/10 feels maybe a bit low for these clubs, but I think it's fair to ding them a point for being enormous and another for the wear issue.

 

Sound & Feel: 9/10

 

If your ideal iron sound is soft and muted, these are not ideal. That said, as one who has always played cast irons, I didn't find anything about the sound of the G700s to be particularly offensive. The typical sound is a notable crack, even with a softer ball (I play the Project [a]). I'm no fan of high-pitched pings or clangs, and there is none of that here.

 

There's enough feel here to know when you've mishit a shot. But it often results in this sequence: swing—bad feel—“Oh no!”—“Hmm, OK, that's not as bad as that deserved.” So there's enough feel in the clubs to let you know if you've hit it poorly, even if the result isn't as bad as the feel.

 

And when you flush one, you know it too.

 

Range Performance (19 out of 20 points)

 

After getting the necessary Stage 1 pictures with the irons unblemished, I took my new and old 7 irons into my garage for a first test. I have a decidedly low-end launch monitor: the Ernest Sports ES12. In essence, it's a radar gun that measures ball speed; you tell it what club you're hitting, it assumes a launch angle, and calculates your carry distance.

 

I alternated shots between my Adams XTD Tour and the PING G700. The results were jaw-dropping. On average, the Adams 7 iron resulted in 107.5mph of ball speed, with a carry distance of 148.6. The PING: 113.3mph of ball speed, with a carry distance of 157.7. Given the distance claims PING was making, you'd expect to hit each iron a club further. That's exactly what I was seeing.

 

I was able to get to an actual range just once during the review period. It was just before the Stage 2s were due, so I can't say that I learned much that I didn't already know from my rounds with the G700s. So let me move to that, where I'll discuss their performance in greater detail.

 

On-Course Performance: 36/40

 

My first round with the G700s was my regular Thursday league match. My partner and I were able to bang out a few holes before the match started, which confirmed my first range findings: I should expect one club more out of these irons.

 

Even still, these irons were shocking. The first revelation was the 4 iron. Two shots especially stood out. The first was an awful-feeling mishit off the tee on a tight par 5—a shot which still found the fairway, about 175 yards out. Not the best distance, but a far better result than that strike deserved, and it saved me at least a stroke by staying in play.

 

The second was the tee shot on another tight par 4. Put a nice swing on this one and ended up with a perfect 225-yard drive (without a crazy wind or bounce). My drives with a driver average less than that.

 

The experience of that first round was not misleading. In all, I played 14 rounds with the G700s (a combination of 9s and 18s). I figured the best comparison would be to take my July/August rounds of last year up against the same time period this year. Last year, my strokes lost to scratch in my approach game was 5.71. This year, in the same period, it was 4.47—almost a stroke and half better. And that includes my most recent rounds, where some squishy course conditions made every approach shot require the precision of a fairway bunker.

 

Included in this run was my new personal best and first time breaking 80. I posted about it a bit more here, but for the sake of review, note the strokes gained approach: 1.22 better than scratch. As a 15 handicap golfer, I certainly couldn't ask for better results.

Breaking-80.jpg

 

Breaking-80-card.jpg

 

That's the big picture on performance. More specifically, these clubs launch high, almost comically so. I don't have any spin rate data, but because they launch so high, I had no problem at all getting them to stop on the greens.

 

The distance gains are real, though on the course, a bit more muted than the range sessions indicated. Last July/August, Game Golf reports the following distances with my Adams irons:

4i: 183

5i: 169

6: 156

7i: 161

8i: 139

9i: 128

PW: 132

GW: 117

 

With the G700s, I have:

4i: 184

5i: 157

6i: 169

7i: 162

8i: 150

9i: 134

PW: 124

GW: 108

 

As for workability: my game doesn't feature carving balls right and left to tucked pins. When I'm trying to hit a curved shot, it's generally to get around a tree I stuck myself behind. And I found no extra difficulty hitting those shots with the G700s. I'm not saying I was always successful; I'm merely saying it wasn't any harder than it was with my Adams XTD Tours.

 

In my Stage 1, I expressed some fear that the offset of these clubs combined with the PING-suggested upright lie angle would result in terrible left misses. To my surprise, that was never an issue. If anything, my miss these past two months has been a push. The more I ignored any fear of a left miss and just swung freely, the more these clubs rewarded me with a very straight ball flight on my intended line.

 

As several of us have noted, the biggest playability problem with these clubs is trying to hit them out of thicker rough. Because they are quite long from heel to toe, there's a lot of face to rip through longer grass. Especially with the longer irons, I had a hard time generating enough speed to get to the ball out of the rough with any height.

 

This ended up affecting my bag setup. In my Stage 1, I questioned how the promised distance gains might change my gapping. After my first couple of rounds, I made my first adjustment. I removed my hybrid from the bag (the 4 iron was at least its equal in distance), and added a 50° Ping Glide wedge. My concern was that the added oomph of the G700 was going to create a gap between the G700 GW (49°) and my 54° SW. Adding a 50° wedge without the distance-enhancing features of the G700 was my trial answer.

 

It turns out that, at least for me, the distance gains at the top of the bag level off coming down toward the wedges. Because this smoothed the transition to my SW and LW, I removed the additional GW from my bag. I put the hybrid back in, now not chiefly to fill a distance gap, but as a utility club to hit from lies that the G700s struggle in. To date, that's working well for me.

 

Play it or Trade it?: 19/20

 

This review category has been reworked from previous years; it used to be “likelihood of purchase.” The reason for making the change was good; it tended to focus too much on the finances of the individual reviewer.

 

But in the case of the G700s, the price simply can't be ignored. This set, with 8 irons in steel shafts, lists for $1,200. The same setup with G400s is roughly $400 cheaper. I don't live in a world in which $400 doesn't matter. I didn't test the G700s against the G400s. Perhaps they are a full third better, factoring in performance and looks. I don't know.

 

I do know this: the G700 is exactly the iron I didn't know I needed in my bag. I'd cringe to put a set of GMax irons in play, because I want to believe I'm a better golfer than that. But the G700 takes all that help and hides in an iron that looks really good. Why would I ever give that up?

 

Therefore, the PING G700 irons earn an unreserved “Play It!” from this reviewer.

 

Conclusion

I didn't just learn something about the G700s in this review: I learned something about my entire approach to choosing golf equipment. For as much as I like reading about and discussing clubs, deep down, I'm a bit of an equipment skeptic. But while I still think that the player is ultimately the most important factor determining the result of a golf swing, I've gained new regard for just how much the right club can help.

 

And I've come to realize that for my enjoyment of the game, I want to play the most forgiving clubs I can stand to look at. For me, right now, that means that the PING G700 irons have earned their slots in my bag.

 

Final Score: 91/100

Great review Bud! Very well written and extremely informative-Good job and thanks for all your hard work! Glad you're enjoying these!

[Jbmullin]

Great review, great read.

 

When I was watching reviews on the g700's the finish and its wearing off was a big issue the testers had with the club, especially for the price.

 

When I decided to go with them I ordered a set of head covers immediately, I have seen some of the same face wear and marking but not much else.

 

Great work on the review.

 

 

 

I have posted my Stage 2. Spoiler alert: these aren't leaving my bag: https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/24863-official-forum-member-review-ping-g700-irons/?p=445767

 

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[russtopherb]

I have posted my Stage 2. Spoiler alert: these aren't leaving my bag: https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/24863-official-forum-member-review-ping-g700-irons/?p=445767

 

Excellent Stage 2, and these irons sound like real winners in your hands!

 

You mentioned how high you've been hitting the G700s, have you run into any situations where you needed to flight the ball lower and had issues? Or was that easily taken care of?

[MattF]

Nice stage 2 pastor!

[JAGolfore]

Stage 2 is now up!

 

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/24863-official-forum-member-review-ping-g700-irons/?p=445765

 

 

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[GolfSpy MPR]

Excellent Stage 2, and these irons sound like real winners in your hands!

 

You mentioned how high you've been hitting the G700s, have you run into any situations where you needed to flight the ball lower and had issues? Or was that easily taken care of?

 

I take the ball up or down really only for the same reasons I carve it left or right: if there's a physical obstacle I have to avoid. I'm not typically the guy looking to flight a shot down in the wind, for instance. Josh is probably your guy for that question.

 

For my purposes, I can definitely punch a 6 iron under a tree. I've confirmed that through repeated testing

[Jbmullin]

Great Stage 2 jacustomgolf .   thanks for the great work and review.

[Jon Brittan]

When I was watching reviews on the g700's the finish and its wearing off was a big issue the testers had with the club, especially for the price.

 

Just wandered to the American Golf that is near the office I am in today for a look at these.

 

It's strange, at distance they look quite pretty, in hand looking at the heads they suddenly look huge and a bit shovel-like, at address you suddenly don't really notice their size again.

I could probably play them quite happily, but they wouldn't ultimately become wall hangers like some of my other old clubs.

 

Anyway, on to the point I've quoted. The heads on display in AG were showing wear to the finish just from the way people will have knocked them together while pulling irons out of the display. That's not ideal...

I love pretty clubs and always use head covers, so I'd probably be okay mostly, but even so it looks like they mark up from relatively little contact.

[oaks]

Stage 2 is now up!

 

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/24863-official-forum-member-review-ping-g700-irons/?p=445765

 

 

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Great Stage 2 - That is some amazing golf you are playing.  

 

What shafts are in your G700's

[Jon Brittan]

Stage 2 is now up!

 

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/24863-official-forum-member-review-ping-g700-irons/?p=445765

 

 

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Great stuff.

Sorely tempted to test these once I'm done with the Ft Worth testing coming up.

 

I'd echo Oaks' question, what shaft did you go for?

[PING Apologist #9]

Stage 2 is now up!

 

https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/24863-official-forum-member-review-ping-g700-irons/?p=445765

 

 

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Great stage-2! What an amazing improvement to your game! WOW! A 60! Game-changing indeed!

[GolfSpy MPR]

Great stage-2! What an amazing improvement to your game! WOW! A 60! Game-changing indeed!

 

PING Apologist, I have to say that it is very gracious of you not to respond to our reviews by repeatedly posting, "See, guys, I told you that PINGs are awesome!"