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2018 Official Forum Member Review - Ping G700 Irons


hckymeyer

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Great intri GolfJunkie.. fantastic pictures as well.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

:ping-small: G430 Max 10K 

:titelist-small: TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g

:titelist-small: TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og

:titelist-small: TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R

:titelist-small: T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 

:titelist-small: SM10 48F/54M and58K

:ping-small: S159 48S/52S/56W/60B

:scotty-cameron-1: Select 5.5 Flowback 35" 

:titelist-small: ProV1  Play number 12

 

 

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...For most of my “career,” I've been with a great youth program called The First Tee. I know there are several members on here who are quite familiar with it. I'm a participant but I've also been doing lots of volunteer work the last five years. Through The First Tee, I was actually selected to play in the PURE Insurance Championship this September, which is an official Champions Tour event at Pebble Beach. I am really excited about that...

GJ - Great opening post. And did I miss where you told us you qualified for the PURE? That is quite an accomplishment my friend. A few Richmonders have made it in past years, and they've all said it's the experience of a lifetime. Good luck!

What's in the bag:
Driver - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Wood (13.5*) - :titleist-small: 980F 
4 Wood (18*) - :cobra-small: F8 - Aldila NV Blue 60 ( S )
3 Hybrid (19*) - :taylormade-small: RBZ
4i - PW - :wilson_staff_small: D7 Forged - Recoil 760 ( S )
52* - :cleveland-small: CBX
58* - :cleveland-small: CBX Full Face 2
Putter - :ping-small: Craz-e
Bag - :1590477705_SunMountain: 2.5 (Blue)
Ball -  :titleist-small: AVX
Instagram - @hardcorelooper
Twitter - @meovino
Facebook - mike.eovino

 

 

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GJ - Great opening post. And did I miss where you told us you qualified for the PURE? That is quite an accomplishment my friend. A few Richmonders have made it in past years, and they've all said it's the experience of a lifetime. Good luck!

Thanks Looper! Yeah, it should be a really great time — I'm super excited. I am planning on doing a little write-up on here afterwards, so stay tuned!

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

2017  :taylormade-small: M1 460, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0

:mizuno-small: JPX EZ 3 wood
:cobra-small: Fly-Z 4H
:mizuno-small: MP-60, 3i-PW, True Temper Dynamic Gold
:mizuno-small: S5 54° & 58°, True Temper Dynamic Gold
:cameron-small: California Monterey
:titelist-small: Pro V1x

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We just went live!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Driver: Callaway Rogue 9*

FW: Sub 70 Pro 4 wood

Hybrid: Sub 70 949 Hybrid 19*

Irons:  Sub 70 

659 CB 4 - 6 Black

639 MB 7 - PW

Wedges: Sub 70

JB - 50* 54* & 60*

Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2
Ball: Titleist Pro-V1x
Handicap index:  +3.9

Instagram: joshandersongolf

Twitter: @jacustomgolf

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Great starts guys. I think all the testers agree these irons are big!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Big in multiple ways. Long and big in size

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Driver: Callaway Rogue 9*

FW: Sub 70 Pro 4 wood

Hybrid: Sub 70 949 Hybrid 19*

Irons:  Sub 70 

659 CB 4 - 6 Black

639 MB 7 - PW

Wedges: Sub 70

JB - 50* 54* & 60*

Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2
Ball: Titleist Pro-V1x
Handicap index:  +3.9

Instagram: joshandersongolf

Twitter: @jacustomgolf

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The look reminds me of the Ping Crossover ... tho that one has an even wider sole (of course) and I'm guessing is also wider across the face from heel to toe ... if any tester happens to have one, it might be interesting to see them side by side.

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

Forum Member tester for the Paradym X driver (2023)
Forum Member tester for the ExPutt Putting Simulator (2020)

followthrough.jpg

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Peaksy68:

Great review! What I want to know is if that shovel has a stiff shaft or regular shaft in it and what kind of distances do you get from it ?? 😁😂🤣

 

MDGolfHacker

TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag?

Driver: :titleist-small: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex

Fairway Woods: :cobra-small: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft

Fairway Woods: 

Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSR2  18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft

Irons: :titelist-small: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex

Wedge: :cleveland-small: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot

Putter: :nevercompromise-small: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75"

Bag: :1590477705_SunMountain: Three 5

Ball:  :titelist-small:  PRO V1 / :srixon-small: Z*Star

RangeFinder:918457628_PrecisionPro: In search of new range finder

Social Media:

Facebook:   MD Golfhacker
Twitter:        @mdgolfhacker
Instagram:   mdgolfhacker

 

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Great job all on the stage ones. Nicely done!

 

MDGolfHacker

TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag?

Driver: :titleist-small: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex

Fairway Woods: :cobra-small: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft

Fairway Woods: 

Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSR2  18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft

Irons: :titelist-small: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex

Wedge: :cleveland-small: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot

Putter: :nevercompromise-small: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75"

Bag: :1590477705_SunMountain: Three 5

Ball:  :titelist-small:  PRO V1 / :srixon-small: Z*Star

RangeFinder:918457628_PrecisionPro: In search of new range finder

Social Media:

Facebook:   MD Golfhacker
Twitter:        @mdgolfhacker
Instagram:   mdgolfhacker

 

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Anybody have issues switching over to the pings swing wise ? Changes in ball position, etc? Or was it change and go?!

 

MDGolfHacker

TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag?

Driver: :titleist-small: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex

Fairway Woods: :cobra-small: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft

Fairway Woods: 

Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSR2  18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft

Irons: :titelist-small: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex

Wedge: :cleveland-small: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot

Putter: :nevercompromise-small: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75"

Bag: :1590477705_SunMountain: Three 5

Ball:  :titelist-small:  PRO V1 / :srixon-small: Z*Star

RangeFinder:918457628_PrecisionPro: In search of new range finder

Social Media:

Facebook:   MD Golfhacker
Twitter:        @mdgolfhacker
Instagram:   mdgolfhacker

 

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Anybody have issues switching over to the pings swing wise ? Changes in ball position, etc? Or was it change and go?!

 

MDGolfHacker

Yes on this end. They are just so big. I still don't know what I'm doing really. The long irons are hard to hit out of the rough — hard to "navigate" the clubhead.

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

2017  :taylormade-small: M1 460, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0

:mizuno-small: JPX EZ 3 wood
:cobra-small: Fly-Z 4H
:mizuno-small: MP-60, 3i-PW, True Temper Dynamic Gold
:mizuno-small: S5 54° & 58°, True Temper Dynamic Gold
:cameron-small: California Monterey
:titelist-small: Pro V1x

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Yes on this end. They are just so big. I still don't know what I'm doing really. The long irons are hard to hit out of the rough — hard to "navigate" the clubhead.

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

Is it the size of the head or the different feel ie swing weight that's throwing you off ?

 

MDGolfHacker

TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag?

Driver: :titleist-small: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex

Fairway Woods: :cobra-small: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft

Fairway Woods: 

Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSR2  18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft

Irons: :titelist-small: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex

Wedge: :cleveland-small: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot

Putter: :nevercompromise-small: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75"

Bag: :1590477705_SunMountain: Three 5

Ball:  :titelist-small:  PRO V1 / :srixon-small: Z*Star

RangeFinder:918457628_PrecisionPro: In search of new range finder

Social Media:

Facebook:   MD Golfhacker
Twitter:        @mdgolfhacker
Instagram:   mdgolfhacker

 

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Is it the size of the head or the different feel ie swing weight that's throwing you off ?

 

MDGolfHacker

 

My suspicion is that it's the size of the clubhead. Given the heel-to-toe measurement on these things, it is not a trivial extra number of square centimeters making contact with the tall grass. I would venture to guess that the resistance added by each extra square centimeter of face area is also not a trivial number.

:titleist-small: TS3 9.5°, Tensei Blue
:755178188_TourEdge: CBX T3 15°, Project X HZRDUS Black
:callaway-small: Epic Super Hybrid 18°, Aerotech Steel Fiber FC HYB S
:755178188_TourEdge: C722 21°, Ventus Blue 8S
:touredgeexotics: CBX Iron-Wood 25°, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0
:Sub70: 639 CB, Aldila NV 95 Graphite, 6–PW
:cleveland-small: CBX 48°
:mizuno-small: T22 54° and 60°
:edel-golf-1: EAS 4.0, Garsen G-Pro grip
:taylormade-small: TP5x and Tour Response

Full WITB with pictures

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Great start everyone! All you guys posted some great pictures.

Driver:  :callaway-small:Epic Speed 9* (set -1) MMT 70X
3W:bridgestone-small: Tour B JGR Recoil 760ES
3H, 4H: :bridgestone-small: Tour B JGR 19*, 23* Recoil 780ES
4-AW:bridgestone-small: Tour B JGR HF2 Modus3 Tour 105
SW: :cleveland-small: RTX Zipcore Black Satin 54*
LW:Sub70: TAIII Black 58*
Putter:ping-small: Scottsdale TR Senita
Bag: BigMax Dri Active Lite
Ball:taylormade-small: TP5x or :titleist-small: AVX (yellow)
Pushcart: BigMax iQ+

Testing Complete, Final Review PostedSub70 TAIII Forged Wedges

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First I would like to say thank you to MyGolfSpy for the opportunity to test the PING G700 irons. These are a big change from what I currently play, and I am very excited to see how they play. I am a very avid golfer and golf is a part of my family. I started golfing at the age of 3 with my father at our little public course in Pennsylvania. From there I took to the game and decided I wanted to play golf over baseball and basketball, this was not a bad decision being 5'10”, slow and right handed. As I got into high school I played more competitive golf and was able to play well enough to earn a scholarship to play golf at St. Bonaventure University. I played all 4 years in the starting 5 and I still have some records on the books at SBU (Most wins 5 & lowest stroke average for a season 73.0)

 

For a flash from the past. http://gobonnies.sbu.edu/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/042406aaa.html

 

attachicon.gifIMG_7798.PNG

 

attachicon.gifIMG_7830.JPG

 

I am now living in the Champaign, IL area with my wife and 2 children. We belong to a local club and all of us golf. I have been fortunate enough to 1, have a family that likes to golf and 2, have a job that lets me get out and practice. What that I have been able to keep my handicap down where I like it and I am currently at a +2.7. I had a big July as I played in the Illinois State Amateur and our city tournament (more below). I love the competition and there is nothing like standing over a shot knowing you have to hit it well. The feeling of getting your body and mind to work together is always fun.

Now onto my bag. This has not changed too much in the last year. I'll start with my driver. I went and got fit for my driver back in February. This club has been great so far this summer. I went with the Taylormade M4 with the Accra Z465 M5 shaft. Like I said so far so good. My 4 wood has been in the bag for about a year and is the Callaway Steelhead XR 16*. This is one of my favorite clubs in the bag. I know off the tee I can hit it 270, and from the fairway I can get about 255 out of it. Makes it very nice on the par 5's. I recently got a Srixon U65 20* (3 iron). This weekend will be its first tournament rounds and so far so good with this club. I like it right at 235 yards. My irons are also Srixon, I carry the 565 in a 4 iron (225 yards), my 5 through 8 irons are the Srixon 765's (5 – 210, 6 – 195, 7 – 180, 8 – 165) and my 9 and wedge are the Srixon 965's. (9 – 150, PW – 140). I carry 3 more wedges all Cleveland RTX 2.0 CB (50* - 130, 54* - 115, 60* - 95). And finally my putter back to the Taylormade Spider Tour Black. I love my irons and this testing of the PING G700's will be a lot of fun as there is a lot of difference in these clubs.

My typical ball flight is a high draw with my miss being left. I love the day when it's not turning a lot and I am missing just to the right as I know I can swing just a little harder and still be ok. Right now my game is on from 100 yards and in. I feel I can get these shots up and down and last weekend in holed out from 60 yards and 75 yards. It's a great feeling when you know you will have a good look a birdie or a chance to save par. My weakness is in my long irons. This especially shows up when I play in bigger events (US Open Qualifying or the State Am) as these courses tend to play longer and force you to hit the 5 and 6 irons into greens. This is a part of my game I have been focusing on and trying to get better. I am excited to see if the PING G700 irons do help out in this area as they are even more forgiving (we will test this out) than my Srixon 765's.

My first impression of these irons is that they are very large and in charge. When you look at the sole of the club and compare especially the lower irons to my Srixon 965's the size difference is a lot. But the PING G700's still looks very playable. The demo irons I hit I had no problem adjusting to. The thing I do like, and I believe this is across the entire PING line up is the white line on the bottom of the club. I think this helps line the face up and could be helpful when trying to move the ball. Again we will test these out to see if we can work the ball as much as the current Srixon line up I have.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_7922.JPG

 

attachicon.gifIMG_7925.JPG

 

So we have a lot going on. The Srixon irons were in the bag through July 19th as that is the last day of the Illinois State Amateur (74-78 missed cut). We started testing the PING G700's the next day and I put them in play for our city tournament last weekend. For not playing these irons much I do have to say it is a change for me. Especially in the lower irons, the size difference is noticeable. Here are my stats for the 3 rounds of tournament play. I shot rounds of 73, 70, 75 – 218 (+3). The 70 was bogey free. For the weekend I was 30/42 fairways (71%), 33/54 greens (61%) and had 89 putts (1.6 putts per green). So what I see here is that I need to get use to these irons. My par 3 scoring for the weekend was +4. I was +3 for the event. Should I have jumped in with these irons right away, I feel maybe not looking back on it, but there is only one way to get a good test and that is to play these irons. I have 3 weeks until my US Mid Am qualifier Aug 21 and I hope to get a lot more work in with these irons by then. I can say the long irons are awesome. I hit the ball a lot higher and that is something in need. I am sure that this testing will be very interesting and there will be a lot more to come.

 

attachicon.gifIMG_7937.JPG

 

attachicon.gifIMG_7943.JPG

 

attachicon.gifIMG_7927.JPG

 

attachicon.gifIMG_7942.JPG

Nice Stage 1. Last pic G700 4i looks huge, is that the angle or is it really that much bigger than the Srixon?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Rick

 

 

Left Hand, 

Driver; PXG 0311XF Cypher 50 gr Senior  
5 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr       
7 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr      
5 hybrid; Cally Steelhead, Hazardous R2     
Irons; Mizuno JPX 923HM 7-GW Recoil 460 F2
Wedges; Titleist S9 54*, Mizuno SW 56*

Putter; Waaay too many to list

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Tester: Michael Riley

 

attachicon.gif01 soles.JPG

 

It is no mere formality to express my gratitude to MyGolfSpy, our moderators, and PING for the opportunity to review the G700 irons. Whether measured in dollar value or number of review applications, some of these opportunities are especially coveted. Being chosen for this review is a privilege, and I hope to do right by this great community.

 

Getting into golf and why I play

 

attachicon.gif02 Dad, Son, Me.jpg

My dad, me, and my son

 

I began playing golf in my teens, when my dad and I would play a few times a summer. I always enjoyed it, but never pursued the game seriously. My non-committal relationship with golf continued through my twenties.

 

This changed about six years ago when I moved to the far west end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula to become the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Wakefield. There was a young man in the church who I needed to talk with—and he was an avid golfer. For the sake of conversation, I started playing.

 

And I got hooked.

 

Golf is almost perfectly designed to be an addiction for me. First, there's the obvious social element, which is valuable to me as a pastor. Second, I'm an analytic problem solver. Golf is just physics, right? It always seems like I should be able to figure it out, and solving that puzzle is deeply compelling to me. Third, I love gadgets and technology, and the training aids and launch monitors and the tech of the clubs themselves all feed that interest. Fourth, despite the frustrations of the game, being outdoors at the course is a wonderful release from the pressures of ministry.

 

attachicon.gif03 family.jpg

Family trip to Erin Hills for last year's U.S. Open

 

Finally, and increasingly importantly, I golf to spend time with my family, especially my son Kirke, who is five. He began swinging toy clubs at one. By the time he was three, he was playing nine-hole rounds. He genuinely loves the game. He'll practice for hours on his own, and we watch the Tour for a few hours each Sunday after services have ended. He can now walk nine holes with me, or we can cart 18. From his tees (about 1,100 yards for nine holes) he beats me about half the time.

 

attachicon.gif04 kirke.jpg

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFcnl2qVO2Q

An ordinary hole for Kirke: great drive, a couple meh approaches, slick pitch, confident putt

 

My younger son Christopher also shows some promise. He's currently three and he's already bigger than his older brother. He doesn't take it nearly as seriously as Kirke does, but he hits the ball hard. My hope is that I have my golf partners for years to come.

 

 

How I play

 

As for my own golf ability: I'm solidly OK.

 

attachicon.gif05 okay.jpg

 

Game Golf has me right around a 15 handicap. My score almost magnetically reverts to bogey golf: good rounds fall apart, bad rounds turn around, and (voila!) I shoot another 90.

 

Game Golf generally likes my approach game and my putting (relative to handicap), but scolds me for my driving and short game.

 

attachicon.gif06 strokes.jpg

 

So a typical hole for me begins with a poor drive, followed by a solidly respectable second shot in the vicinity of the green (very rarely on it), a mediocre short shot that ends up too far from the hole, and then two putts for my bogey. If the putter heats up and a few of the first putts drop, I'll shoot in the mid-80s. I've never broken 80; that remains my biggest golf goal.

 

The G700s may be forgiving; video ain't. Here's the swing that'll be testing these irons (captured in my first garage session with the G700 7 iron):

 

 

My current irons are the Adams XTD Tours, with the KBS Tour 120 stiff shafts and Iomic grips. I picked these up when Adams clubs were being clearanced and I like them a lot. Little offset, a fairly compact head: I'm a sucker for the look at address. I know everyone hits their 7 iron 150 yards; so do I.

 

attachicon.gif07 7-iron.jpg

 

My short iron game is in solid shape (again, relative to handicap), but the stats tell me that my long iron play could use a significant upgrade.

 

attachicon.gif08 approach.jpg

 

Why I applied

 

PING's marketing for the G700 highlights distance and forgiveness with an emphasis on aesthetics. So here are the questions I want to answer in this review:

 

  • Do the G700 irons deliver usable distance gains across the set? This will first require me to find out if they increase distance at all. If they do, do the distance gains (and hiked lofts) create problematic gapping issues in the bag? Does the distance come at the expense of control, either in terms of left/right dispersion or loss of stopping power?

  • Do the G700 deliver on the promise of forgiveness? Most likely, my answer here is going to be found on the course. Is my less-than-consistent swing getting better-than-it-deserves consistent distances?

  • Does PING deliver on its goal of packaging these improvements in an aesthetically pleasing package? Some readers here are entirely results driven: if the ball goes in the hole, you couldn't care less what the club looks like. For me, part of the enjoyment of the game is appreciating the art of the tools. I don't want to play a club that reminds me how bad I am every time I look at it. Will the offset and all-around chunkiness of the G700s be tolerable or even (gasp!) appealing?

I'm a long way from a scratch approach player. If an iron will allow me to hit the ball further and (here's the important thing) to a repeatable number, scoring should improve. That's ultimately what I'm in this test to find out.

 

Fitting

 

My main clubfitter has been “buy cheap stuff on eBay and see what works.” But for this test, I hoped to get a real fitting. And to my surprise, I even found that there is a PING authorized fitter about an hour away from me. Unfortunately, he and I simply couldn't get our schedules to sync before we had to get our orders placed.

 

So I'll be the tester representing the majority of golfers who don't get fitted for clubs.

 

My first step was to visit PING's online fitting tool. As one who sits in the middle of the bell curve for adult male size, I expected to be stock everything. But depending on my wrist-to-floor measurement (which seems to vary every time I try it), PING kept recommending clubs built upright, and once even suggested an extra half-inch of length.

 

Because my most dreaded iron miss is a big pull draw/hook, and given the significant offset of the G700s, I was leery of going too much upright. In the end, I went with stock lengths, the Nippon Modus3 105 shafts (stiff), and a single degree upright.

 

attachicon.gif09 shafts.JPG

 

PING deserves kudos for permitting us to request 8 irons, going 4–GW. In my current setup, I play an Adams dHy 4 and then 5–GW in the XTD Tours. Given the expected launch properties of the G700s, I really wanted to put the G700 4 iron up against the Adams dHy. As for the wedges, my PW and GW function almost entirely as a 10 and 11 iron; I don't use them for pitching and chipping. For that reason, I wanted to keep the G700 wedges as part of the set. PING generously accommodated this request.

 

First impressions

 

PING shipped our irons fast. We got our specs submitted to Rob on July 2. By July 10, my new irons arrived. That's impressive, and so PING earns another star. The box came packed well, with each iron in a temporary neoprene sleeve.

 

As for looks: these irons are clean and big.

 

attachicon.gif10 badge.JPG

 

I love the overall shape of the club. While I enjoy playing my XTD Tours, their cavities have more crevices and corners than most irons (they're a pain to clean). By contrast, the G700s look like a blade—but one that has had too many trips to a cheap all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.

 

By itself, a G700 looks gorgeous. Its girth only becomes glaringly obvious when you set it next to a more svelte iron. The 4 iron is noticeably larger than my Adams dHy:

 

attachicon.gif11 4 iron comp.JPG

 

The 5 iron's backside shows up at address, which is not ideal. That said, given the dull reflective finish of the iron, it almost camouflages itself. You can see the effect here:

 

attachicon.gif12 5 iron address.JPG

 

The size difference is readily apparent in the 7 iron. The XTD Tours are a fairly compact player's cavity/GI iron. The G700s are—ahem—not compact.

 

attachicon.gif13 7 iron face.JPG

 

attachicon.gif14 7 iron soles.JPG

 

I will give PING credit on this, however: the topline of the G700s is actually relatively trim. I suspect some adept shaping and polishing enhances this effect:

 

attachicon.gif15 7 iron address.JPG

 

What this adds up to, at least in a first impression, is a big club that doesn't totally look so big, especially where it counts, at address. They're in my bag and will see their first action in my league match tomorrow (as I'm writing). With Game Golf, I'll be tracking everything, and I'm eager to see the results.

 

attachicon.gif16 In the bag.JPG

Nice Stage 1!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Rick

 

 

Left Hand, 

Driver; PXG 0311XF Cypher 50 gr Senior  
5 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr       
7 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr      
5 hybrid; Cally Steelhead, Hazardous R2     
Irons; Mizuno JPX 923HM 7-GW Recoil 460 F2
Wedges; Titleist S9 54*, Mizuno SW 56*

Putter; Waaay too many to list

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PING G700 REVIEW – STAGE 1

 

About Me

 

I'm an almost 50 year old father of 2 wonderful (most of the time) teenage girls (16 & 18) My wife has been very supportive, if not necessarily encouraging of my golfing habits over the years.

I live and play golf on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, about an hours drive southwest of Melbourne.

 

attachicon.gifmap.png

 

The Bellarine is blessed with some great golf courses, including 4 rated in Australia's top 100. My club is Curlewis Golf Club, where I play the majority of my golf. I live a few minutes from the course, and drive past every day on my way to work. https://curlewisgolf.com.au/pages/about-the-course

 

I've been playing for nearly 30 years, 20 of those seriously. The vast majority of my golf is in formal competitions, which is normal for golf in Australia. Only competition rounds are allowed for handicapping, and every competition round is entered into the Golf Australia handicap site.

On course, (and off) I love a bit of banter, and try to enjoy myself, while still trying to score the best I can. I spent the first half of my golf “career” just turning up and playing, never practicing at all.

My oldest daughter started playing when she was about 6, and started attending weekly junior clinics with the club pro when she was about 10. While these were on, I filled in time with some practice, and my handicap dropped from 10-12 down to 6 in 4 months. Amazing to see what a bit of practice can do.

I love the constant challenge that golf offers, and both the competitive and social aspect of the game. While I enjoy the occasional scramble or 4BBB, I love the fact that what I score on the course is usually entirely up to me, be it good or bad.

 

My Game

My handicap is currently 6.0,, based mainly around a solid game off the tee, solid fairway woods and a competent chipping and putting game. The obvious hole in that statement is irons!

My driver, fairways and hybrid have been in my bag for about 10 years. I've tried to upgrade, but haven't come across anything that I hit significantly better.

Wedges get changed when they wear out, or when I got my current Scor wedges cheap and fell in love with them almost instantly.

My MLA putter came about when I reviewed it for MyGolfSpy, https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/15892-official-forum-member-review-mla-putters/ and it won't be going anywhere soon.

 

Now to the irons.

I currently play TaylorMade RSi2 irons. I've had them for 3 years, and have never been overly happy with them. I was fitted (in store) for them at a time when I had totally lost my iron swing after playing shafts that were too heavy and stiff for me. I was fitted in regular shafts for the first time, and 2 degrees upright.

After having my 5 iron head replaced due to a damaged face slot, I was hitting it better than ever. It seemed less upright, and after checking my lie angles, they were all more upright than what I was fitted for, (which was probably too upright anyway). After some careful (and scary) adjustment back to standard lie angles I've been hitting my irons better.

 

attachicon.gifSwing Video.MOV

 

My swing is reasonably short, with limited hand/wrist action after a series of injuries to my left wrist. I can incorporate more wrist cock, but it becomes too painful so I just avoid looking at my abbreviated swing as much as possible. I rely on a full shoulder turn and staying attached to get club head speed.

My ball flight with driver and fairways is straight or a slight draw, irons it's a slight fade that can morph into an ugly slice. My typical iron miss is right and short.

The biggest strength of my game is attitude. I never quit, and I'm more interested in the score I write down than how I did it. I hit around 2/3 of fairways, with most misses slight and on the good side. I was surprised to see my GIR stats are running at about 80%, but a lot of this is due to good fairway woods or hybrids, or because I've put myself within wedge range. I feel like I'm more likely to hit a green from 200 yards than 160.

I've lost distance and confidence with irons over the last few years, and now take a 7 iron from 150 yards and hope I put a good swing on it, which is about 1 ½ clubs more than a few years ago.

I've never played Ping clubs before, and have hit only a few. The online fitting tool wanted to put me in 3 degrees upright, but I know this isn't ideal for me, so I organised a fitting. Unless I pushed my handicap up, the tool put me into other irons, probably working on the assumption that players with a handicap of 5-6 hit their irons consistently well. We will see how accurate that assumption is..

 

 

Some Comparisons

 

G700 v TM RSi2 v Titleist 710MB 8 irons

 

attachicon.gifIMG_1757.JPG

 

 

G700 4 iron v TM Burner 4 hybrid

 

attachicon.gifFullSizeRender (1).jpg

 

 

G700 U Wedge v Scor 49 degree

 

attachicon.gifFullSizeRender (3).jpg

 

G700 4 Iron at address

 

attachicon.gifFullSizeRender (2).jpg

 

G700 v Shovel

 

attachicon.gifFullSizeRender.jpg

 

 

 

Definitely not as large as a shovel, and certainly a lot sleeker.

 

These G700 irons are significantly larger than my current irons, and by far the largest head I will have played. My current irons are the most “Game Improvement” design I've played, prior to these I've played “Player's Cavity back” irons. It will be interesting to see if the hollow body heads do help me gain both distance and accuracy.

 

Most of the courses I play have tightly mown, firm fairways. Will the larger clubs and thicker sole work well with these types of lies? Will the hollow body technology help me to hit a 4 Iron well? Will the larger head size be a distraction, or will I get used to it.Conversely, will the larger Gap Wedge work as well as the much smaller Scor Wedge?

 

So many questions, that I hope I can answer for myself, and for the MyGolfSpy and wider golf community.

I'm planning in swapping out all matching clubs, but if gapping looks to be an issue at either end of the bag, the 4 or U may spend some time on the bench.

Nice job. I think I used a shovel like that as a putter once.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Rick

 

 

Left Hand, 

Driver; PXG 0311XF Cypher 50 gr Senior  
5 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr       
7 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr      
5 hybrid; Cally Steelhead, Hazardous R2     
Irons; Mizuno JPX 923HM 7-GW Recoil 460 F2
Wedges; Titleist S9 54*, Mizuno SW 56*

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Stage One — Tester Introduction

 

Before we get started, I'd like to give a huge thanks to PING and MGS! This is an amazing opportunity and I am really excited to do this review for you guys. The G700s look pretty cool and I cannot wait to see what they're all about. That being said, let's dive right in! My real name is Jack and I play out of Seattle, WA.

attachicon.gifPSX_20180622_133454.jpg

I've been playing for about 10 years now, but I only started taking it seriously five or six years ago. This fall, I will be a senior in high school. My dad was really the one who got me into golf. I wasn't crazy about it at first, but then I really came to love the game. For most of my “career,” I've been with a great youth program called The First Tee. I know there are several members on here who are quite familiar with it. I'm a participant but I've also been doing lots of volunteer work the last five years. Through The First Tee, I was actually selected to play in the PURE Insurance Championship this September, which is an official Champions Tour event at Pebble Beach. I am really excited about that. For the longest time, my home course was the course Fred Couples grew up playing, which is pretty neat. In the last couple of years, I've been trying to play more tournament golf, which has been fun. I know compared to a lot of guys on here, I'm just getting my feet wet in this game. Even though it can be really absurd at times, I hope to stick with it for the long run. Alright, I know you guys didn't come here for the story of my golf life, so let's talk a little about my current irons and then about the G700s.

 

I am currently gaming TaylorMade SLDR irons, 4i-GW, with KBS Tour C-Taper 90 shafts. They have regular flex shafts when I really should be playing stiff. I have owned these for five years so I think it's time for an upgrade. We'll see if the G700s can dethrone them! From what I've read, the G700 irons have been giving people an extra 10 yards. How great would that be? Here are a couple of my carry distances. I'll check back once I get the new irons to see if there is much of a difference. Keep in mind, these are all at sea level.

 

• 9i – 145 yards

• 7i – 160 yards

• 5i – 175 yards

 

I play to a 5.7 index. For my wedges up through my 6i, I like to play a draw. For the 5i and 4i, I prefer a fade. I know, it is kind of weird and inconsistent, but whatever works, right? My typical miss is a hook. Now, the PINGs have more offset than my current irons, so I am a little worried that my miss is going to be even more of a hook, which could have a really nasty result. We'll just have to wait and see! My strengths right now are iron play and driving. I don't hit it far, but I keep it in play. Usually. My weakness has always been putting and at this point, I am convinced it always will be.

Alright, before the great reveal, let's talk a little about the clubs, the technology, and what they're designed for. The G700s are GI irons designed for maximum forgiveness and distance. They feature a hollow-core construction, very reminiscent of PXG irons or the TaylorMade P790 irons. This gives the face a trampoline effect, much like that of fairway woods. The clubface is made of C300 maraging steel which, according to PING, tightens dispersion and generates twice the face flexing, in turn producing greater distance. Additionally, the sole on the G700 irons is quite wide. This increases forgiveness significantly. Here they are compared to my SLDRs and my Mizuno MP-60s:attachicon.gifWP_20180731_002.jpg

For this test, I ordered the N.S. Pro Modus 3 105 shafts in stiff flex. At the range, these really worked well for me, much better than the stock shaft option. The irons are all red dot, which is 1° flat. I went with standard length and grip size, per the PING fitting chart. The initial test at the golf shop went really well, but that's all I'm going to say! We'll save all of the good stuff for stage two. Now for a few photos before I sign off. Remember, if you guys have questions along the way, be sure to ask!

attachicon.gifPSX_20180728_102545.jpgattachicon.gifPSX_20180728_102358.jpgattachicon.gifPSX_20180728_102712.jpgattachicon.gifPSX_20180728_102835.jpgattachicon.gifPSX_20180728_103009.jpgattachicon.gifPSX_20180728_103108.jpgattachicon.gifPSX_20180728_103237.jpgattachicon.gifPSX_20180728_103338.jpgattachicon.gifPSX_20180728_103419.jpgattachicon.gifPSX_20180728_103633.jpg

Nice Stage 1!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Rick

 

 

Left Hand, 

Driver; PXG 0311XF Cypher 50 gr Senior  
5 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr       
7 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr      
5 hybrid; Cally Steelhead, Hazardous R2     
Irons; Mizuno JPX 923HM 7-GW Recoil 460 F2
Wedges; Titleist S9 54*, Mizuno SW 56*

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So we have a lot going on. The Srixon irons were in the bag through July 19th as that is the last day of the Illinois State Amateur (74-78 missed cut). We started testing the PING G700's the next day and I put them in play for our city tournament last weekend. For not playing these irons much I do have to say it is a change for me. Especially in the lower irons, the size difference is noticeable. Here are my stats for the 3 rounds of tournament play. I shot rounds of 73, 70, 75 – 218 (+3). The 70 was bogey free. For the weekend I was 30/42 fairways (71%), 33/54 greens (61%) and had 89 putts (1.6 putts per green). So what I see here is that I need to get use to these irons. My par 3 scoring for the weekend was +4. I was +3 for the event. Should I have jumped in with these irons right away, I feel maybe not looking back on it, but there is only one way to get a good test and that is to play these irons. I have 3 weeks until my US Mid Am qualifier Aug 21 and I hope to get a lot more work in with these irons by then. I can say the long irons are awesome. I hit the ball a lot higher and that is something in need. I am sure that this testing will be very interesting and there will be a lot more to come.

 

 

I am impressed that a + handicapper would bag a set of irons that some would have thought a bit too game improvement for someone of your caliber.   Well done and looking forward to your stage 2!

Ping G430 Max Driver 10.5 Degree
Titleist TSR1 4, 5, & 6 Hybrids 
Titleist T350 Irons 7 - W48 
Cleveland
CBX ZipCore  52 56 & 60 Degree Wedges

LAB Mezz Max Broomstick Putter / TPT Shaft  (Platinum @ 45/78)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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Excellent stage 1 reviews everyone, I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences with these clubs. They are definitely on my radar and getting a fair and unbiased review has what I love about this forum.

 

Peaksy, you cracked me up with the comparison to a shovel. These G700's look like a beast.

 

Congratulations to you all and keep up the great work.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

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great job on stage one, looking forward to reading about the resutls in stage 2. 

 

i have 16 rounds in with my g700's and I have never played better. 

DRIVER -  Ping G425 SFT Driver Tensei AV 55 Orange Reg Flex 

Woods -  Ping G425 7 wood  Tensei AV 65 Orange Reg Flex 

Irons - Cobra Rad Speed 1 Length UST Recoil 780 Smacwrap Graphite Reg Flex 

WEDGES-  Callaway jaws 52/56/60

PUTTER-  Taylormade FCG spider putter 34" 

BALL-  Pro V1x or Tp5X  -- trying to figure this one out.

Footjoy Tour S golf shoe 

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I am impressed that a + handicapper would bag a set of irons that some would have thought a bit too game improvement for someone of your caliber. Well done and looking forward to your stage 2!

One of the reasons he was selected. We really wanted to see whst someone at the elite amatuer level would do with these. We know how they will help higher caps. But I know I'll be following ja's progress with these for sure.

 

And kudos to him for putting them in play right off the bat at such big tournaments.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

:ping-small: G430 Max 10K 

:titelist-small: TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g

:titelist-small: TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og

:titelist-small: TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R

:titelist-small: T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 

:titelist-small: SM10 48F/54M and58K

:ping-small: S159 48S/52S/56W/60B

:scotty-cameron-1: Select 5.5 Flowback 35" 

:titelist-small: ProV1  Play number 12

 

 

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Anybody have issues switching over to the pings swing wise ? Changes in ball position, etc? Or was it change and go?!

 

MDGolfHacker

I'm finding I can't take a huge divot. Or come in steeply. When I sweep the ball they feel better.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Driver: Callaway Rogue 9*

FW: Sub 70 Pro 4 wood

Hybrid: Sub 70 949 Hybrid 19*

Irons:  Sub 70 

659 CB 4 - 6 Black

639 MB 7 - PW

Wedges: Sub 70

JB - 50* 54* & 60*

Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2
Ball: Titleist Pro-V1x
Handicap index:  +3.9

Instagram: joshandersongolf

Twitter: @jacustomgolf

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Nice Stage 1. Last pic G700 4i looks huge, is that the angle or is it really that much bigger than the Srixon?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

It's that much bigger. I'll get one of the Ping 4 iron and my Srixon U65 next week when I get back home.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Driver: Callaway Rogue 9*

FW: Sub 70 Pro 4 wood

Hybrid: Sub 70 949 Hybrid 19*

Irons:  Sub 70 

659 CB 4 - 6 Black

639 MB 7 - PW

Wedges: Sub 70

JB - 50* 54* & 60*

Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2
Ball: Titleist Pro-V1x
Handicap index:  +3.9

Instagram: joshandersongolf

Twitter: @jacustomgolf

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One of the reasons he was selected. We really wanted to see whst someone at the elite amatuer level would do with these. We know how they will help higher caps. But I know I'll be following ja's progress with these for sure.

 

And kudos to him for putting them in play right off the bat at such big tournaments.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I know when I hit them right they do not move off line. I just need to find my swing with them and we will be spot on. I am close. It's almost like taking my 4 iron swing with every club. Just try and pick it off the turf. I'll be keeping everyone posted.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Driver: Callaway Rogue 9*

FW: Sub 70 Pro 4 wood

Hybrid: Sub 70 949 Hybrid 19*

Irons:  Sub 70 

659 CB 4 - 6 Black

639 MB 7 - PW

Wedges: Sub 70

JB - 50* 54* & 60*

Putter: Odyssey White Hot #2
Ball: Titleist Pro-V1x
Handicap index:  +3.9

Instagram: joshandersongolf

Twitter: @jacustomgolf

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Is it the size of the head or the different feel ie swing weight that's throwing you off ?

 

MDGolfHacker

Maybe a little of both, but mostly the size. Just not something I'm comfortable with.

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

2017  :taylormade-small: M1 460, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0

:mizuno-small: JPX EZ 3 wood
:cobra-small: Fly-Z 4H
:mizuno-small: MP-60, 3i-PW, True Temper Dynamic Gold
:mizuno-small: S5 54° & 58°, True Temper Dynamic Gold
:cameron-small: California Monterey
:titelist-small: Pro V1x

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I'm finding I can't take a huge divot. Or come in steeply. When I sweep the ball they feel better.

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Interesting you say that. So far I'm finding that too. Good swings I'm getting really good results, if I set up too upright (as I'm prone to) the results suffer.

:Sub70:  849 Pro Evenflow Riptide 6.0
:cobra-small: F8 3 & 5 Woods Project X Evenflow Blue 6.0

:titelist-small: TS2 7 Wood Project X Evenflow Blue 6.0
:mizuno-small:  MP18 MMC - Project X LZ 5.5
:cleveland-small: Zipcore Wedges 50,54,58 - Project X LZ 5.5
MLA Tour Mallet 33"
:srixon-small:  Z Star
:ping-small: Pioneer bag
:Clicgear: buggy

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I'm finding I can't take a huge divot. Or come in steeply. When I sweep the ball they feel better.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Same here. They play almost like hybrids.

 

Sent from my SM-T580 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

2017  :taylormade-small: M1 460, Project X HZRDUS Black 6.0

:mizuno-small: JPX EZ 3 wood
:cobra-small: Fly-Z 4H
:mizuno-small: MP-60, 3i-PW, True Temper Dynamic Gold
:mizuno-small: S5 54° & 58°, True Temper Dynamic Gold
:cameron-small: California Monterey
:titelist-small: Pro V1x

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One of the reasons he was selected. We really wanted to see what someone at the elite amatuer level would do with these. We know how they will help higher caps. But I know I'll be following ja's progress with these for sure.

 

And kudos to him for putting them in play right off the bat at such big tournaments.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

 

 

I like it, I like it alot 

Ping G430 Max Driver 10.5 Degree
Titleist TSR1 4, 5, & 6 Hybrids 
Titleist T350 Irons 7 - W48 
Cleveland
CBX ZipCore  52 56 & 60 Degree Wedges

LAB Mezz Max Broomstick Putter / TPT Shaft  (Platinum @ 45/78)

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

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