2019 Official Forum Member Review-Ping G410 irons

[gregh729]

5 hours ago, Rickp said:

Been playing the Mizzies last 3-4 times out and switch to G410 yesterday to continue comparison.
First swing, first hole Par 3 felt a “pop” in surgically repaired shoulder last year. That’s it, no more play in cold weather.
Strangely it was a poorly hit shot and still went straight and made the green.


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Dang, be careful out there! 

[ballplayer002003]

7 hours ago, Rickp said:

Been playing the Mizzies last 3-4 times out and switch to G410 yesterday to continue comparison.
First swing, first hole Par 3 felt a “pop” in surgically repaired shoulder last year. That’s it, no more play in cold weather.
Strangely it was a poorly hit shot and still went straight and made the green.


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sorry to hear that.  I too went back to my Mizuno's the last round (which I had bent to 2* upright) and played a round the other day.  Temps are now down into the low 30's here so I am done for a while too. 

[gobama84]

On 11/14/2019 at 6:38 AM, ballplayer002003 said:

I am using gottaGolf.

Do you know if this app is still available in Apple store?  I can't locate it.  Thanks!!!

[ballplayer002003]

13 hours ago, gobama84 said:

Do you know if this app is still available in Apple store?  I can't locate it.  Thanks!!!

Unfortunately, I don't see it either.  

[Rickp]

Dang, be careful out there! 

Went to gym did a lot of stretching, work out the kinks.


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[revkev]

Yes, the short game is the easiest way to save strokes, and lower the handicap.  If you can't hit a green from 100 yards out or if you can't chip or putt or get out of the sand one will never get into the single digit world.  Don't get me wrong, ball striking is extremely important and obviously the better you can hit the ball the easier the entire game becomes.  Driving though is not the most important in my humble opinion.  I can hit irons and keep driver in the bag and still shoot in the high 70's, low 80's.  There was in interesting video on YouTube where Rick Shiels played a par 5 with just a PW and putter to see if he could par it...(spoiler alert he did).  Was he striking his PW pure, oh I'm sure but it proves the long game is not necessary, it's great to have, but not necessary. 

 

The numbers disagree with you. Yes you could leave driver in the bag but you would be limiting yourself and the exception never proves the rule.

 

The biggest difference, most strokes gained, between handicap divisions from touring pro to high handicapper is driving distance. Every study I’ve seen has proven that.

 

It’s not necessarily the easiest way to improve though because if it were easy to increase distance everyone would. I absolutely agree with you that there are elements of the game that go into breaking 90 or 80 or 70 or 60 that go beyond driving. But that’s where it starts. Distance sets your potential. Even your own ability to break 80 without driver is distance related. :)

 

 

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[Golfspy_CG2]

We should make this it's own thread, there would be some good conversation about it--I'll take care of it.  But quickly, Cleveland Golf did this whole study a few years back on where the average golfer could save the most strokes.  It's determination was 100 yards and in.  No shocker there, as they are a wedge company   But it was a very interesting debate that was pretty much split down the middle between golfers.

[StrokerAce]

I was able to get out and play on 2/23 at Connecticut National golf course.  It was the first time the course had opened and it was still pretty dormant.  The greens were furry and the tee boxes were frozen about 1/2" below the surface (made it hard to get the tee in the ground!)..... 

I hit some great shots with the g410s and managed to get into the 70s.
160 yard 8 iron (which is big for me)
170 yard 7 iron (another big shot)
180 yard 6 to get on the green in 2 on a par 5

These go far and straight.  Can't wait for the course conditions to improve this year!

[Rickp]

I was able to get out and play on 2/23 at Connecticut National golf course.  It was the first time the course had opened and it was still pretty dormant.  The greens were furry and the tee boxes were frozen about 1/2" below the surface (made it hard to get the tee in the ground!)..... 
I hit some great shots with the g410s and managed to get into the 70s.
160 yard 8 iron (which is big for me)
170 yard 7 iron (another big shot)
180 yard 6 to get on the green in 2 on a par 5

These go far and straight.  Can't wait for the course conditions to improve this year!

Quite a few courses opened in Southern/Central CT but like you said still dormant and frozen. From what my Buds in CT tell me they expect decent conditions soon


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[StrokerAce]

2 minutes ago, Rickp said:

Quite a few courses opened in Southern/Central CT but like you said still dormant and frozen. From what my Buds in CT tell me they expect decent conditions soon


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Yeah - this is up in the NE corner so I would imagine it might be a bit behind the southern/central ones.  there were plenty of people out - a foursome in front that costs us an extra hour...  

[ballplayer002003]

That's fantastic news!  Who doesn't love rounds in the 70's...especially under not ideal conditions.

[Rickp]

These marks stated a while back in the shafts on 4 clubs, nothing in the other 4.
I don’t believe it’s the bag as these clubs share time with the Mizzies and there is no wear showing on those shafts.


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[ballplayer002003]

31 minutes ago, Rickp said:

These marks stated a while back in the shafts on 4 clubs, nothing in the other 4.
I don’t believe it’s the bag as these clubs share time with the Mizzies and there is no wear showing on those shafts.


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Bubba Watson inspired maybe, with his pink driver shaft?  hmmmmm 

[StrokerAce]

played one of my fav courses in NE yesterday - Blissful Meadows in Uxbridge MA - used every club in the bag from 4-UW - yes, even a 4 iron. 

Trying to get some time on the course and at the range so I can post my 'official' review....filmed a number of shots while on course; first time doing so and I'm not so good at it but I think I have at least a couple usable....next step is finding an open range where I can do some additional test and then I should have enough content to post an official final review. Hopefully soon once things return to some level of normalcy.

Back 9 was - double, bogey, and then 7 straight pars and - as you'll see in the videos - I have a janky-ass swing and if I can score like that w/such a garbage swing so can you.

STAY TUNED!

sneak peek to review: all over the face is pretty hot...if you don't hit the center of the face consistently then you really should give these a look. My miss is thin/lower on the face and I'm a sweeper vs taking a divot and I've had some great results on shots where I didn't think I hit it too well.

[tony@CIC]

These marks stated a while back in the shafts on 4 clubs, nothing in the other 4.
I don’t believe it’s the bag as these clubs share time with the Mizzies and there is no wear showing on those shafts.


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That's a big QC issue. What shafts are they?


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[Rickp]

Stock Alta CB shafts.


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[gregh729]

I think I out-smarted myself.  In my younger days, I loved the "pro series" line of Callaway. For example, X18 Pro Series or X20 Tour. It seemed like I would go from Ping to Cally to Ping to Cally, etc.

Anyway, I got a great deal on trade ins for a set of Mavrik Pros. After trade in bonuses, I was out about $15 for brand spanking new irons. They are not for me . I am not 40 anymore. At 60 (in 3 months), I want easy. The Mavrik Pros are great irons, but I will sell them and will come crawling back to Ping asking forgiveness.

[StrokerAce]

5 minutes ago, gregh729 said:

I think I out-smarted myself.  In my younger days, I loved the "pro series" line of Callaway. For example, X18 Pro Series or X20 Tour. It seemed like I would go from Ping to Cally to Ping to Cally, etc.

Anyway, I got a great deal on trade ins for a set of Mavrik Pros. After trade in bonuses, I was out about $15 for brand spanking new irons. They are not for me . I am not 40 anymore. At 60 (in 3 months), I want easy. The Mavrik Pros are great irons, but I will sell them and will come crawling back to Ping asking forgiveness.

...and it will be granted.

Playably forgiving is the name of the game with these....

[gregh729]

I will come back with my tail between my legs, but with much more knowledge 

 

And, when using these, Golfspy_CG2 got his first hole in one, they need to be forgiving!

Edited March 26, 2020 by gregh729

[revkev]

I will come back with my tail between my legs, but with much more knowledge 
 
And, when using these, Golfspy_CG2 got his first hole in one, they need to be forgiving!

Don’t feel too bad - the prevailing advice is to play an iron with as much forgiveness as your eye can handle.

I don’t know how true that really is as I think best iron type may revolve around swing type as much as ability but everyone can use a little help these days.


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[gregh729]

Took me a while, but a set of G410s will be arriving next week. I was finally able to hit/test these a little more. I've had a lot of Ping irons, so I know my specs. Verified them the other week by hitting balls, and then ordered. The Mavrik Pros are awesome irons, but I want more help.

[ballplayer002003]

Can't wait to hear how you hit them!  Christmas in July for you!

[Rickp]

Took me a while, but a set of G410s will be arriving next week. I was finally able to hit/test these a little more. I've had a lot of Ping irons, so I know my specs. Verified them the other week by hitting balls, and then ordered. The Mavrik Pros are awesome irons, but I want more help.

Hittem well Grasshopper!


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[gregh729]

60th birthday present for myself

[Rickp]

60th birthday present for myself

Well chosen gift


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[StrokerAce]

PING G410 Irons – Official MGS Forum Review by GolfSpy Stroker

Intro

* been playing about 15 years pretty regularly
* live in New England; season is usually April-Nov.
* I sweep the ball off the turf and rarely take a divot – always have and not sure why; this means my typical miss is thin
* not a baseball / hockey player … other sport is basketball; point is I didn’t have a ‘natural’ transition to golf
* 150 yarder is usually an 8i; typical shot is a fade
* No one thing is better than the other in my game; if I had to pick one it would have to be pitching/chipping because that’s what I do in my back yard almost every day. I'm not a member at a course so this is my “membership” 
* irons before g410: Sterling single length 5-P. All cut to the length of a 7i and I was professionally fit into them
* I was fit into the g410 at TrueGolf in Boston and ended up with PX LZ 115 shafts; everything else is stock

First Impressions

Out of the box these looked fantastic. They don’t look like ‘traditional’ Ping irons. I really like the coloring and the badging they used.
I did not like the large number on the sole of the irons

I loved the red/black colorway and the hydropearl/gray finish
One thing that I just didn’t get was the fact that the bottom groove is white. Not sure what the point of that is. Didn’t bug me but just seemed odd.

One of my first sets of irons when I started getting more serious about golf was the Ping g10. This was also my last set of Ping irons.
When I got these, they didn’t look anything like a Ping iron that I was used to. You know – that big hosel without a ferrule…and those g10s – aka “shovels”. Nice to see a fairly normal looking golf iron…it was a little fat but nothing too big.


I’ve always been a fan of Ping. I think that if anyone were to buy off-the-rack Ping is hands-down your best choice.
In my fitting I compared my current gamers to the 410 and I was gaining some pretty good distance with them; about 10-15 yards further than my single length irons. I tried a few different shafts and ended up with a heavier shaft (115g) than I had in my current SL set; everything else was stock – lie/length/loft.

Grading

LOOKS
Per Ping: “The resilient hydropearl 2.0 finish allows for a smooth transition through the turf and better contact, which contributes to versatility. With 10% less offset compared to G400 and a shorter blade length, the G410 iron presents a visually appealing, more refined shape with greater forgiveness than any iron its size.”

Shape-wise they’re good. Not great, but good; a bit of offset and thicker-than-normal sole.

At address the topline isn’t huge and you don’t see much of the back of the club.


Love the coloring and badging – except the big number on the sole. That bugs me.
Coloring is nice – not shiny, but a good shade of gray and the hydropearl finish is awesome.
No glare from the sun and the face ‘color’ is offset from the rest of the iron. Subtle and looks good.
The PW and GW both have machined grooves like the glide wedges…that’s a nice touch and I’m sure it helps.

Still have the traditional Ping number stamped on the toe – odd but doesn’t bug me.
White groove at the bottom – another oddity.
In the bag they look classy and if you have a red/black bag they look great. 

8/10 (knocking points off for the sole/offset/big number stamp)

SOUND/FEEL

Ping: “Feel and sound are improved with a co-molded cavity badge that damps vibrations”
I would have to agree with this statement. I didn’t get any vibrations with the club that I can remember. Even on mishits – thin/fat/toe/heel.

Sound is like snapping your fingers. A good ‘click’ to it; not too loud; more crispy and pleasing than offensive/harsh.

Face is hot – which means the sweet spot is larger than normal and therefore that I-flushed-that-one-feeling is sometimes hard to find. That might not be a bad thing but if you are in search of the ‘like-a-knife-through-butter’ feel these aren’t going to give it to you. But – those mishits that you get with blades that go up the club and straight into your arms and hands and make you feel like you stuck your finger in a light socket aren’t going to be found with these either.


 8/10 (knocking points off for lack of that pured shot feel)

BASICS

I was late getting these irons – end of 2019 when the season was nearly over in New England. I was able to sneak a couple of rounds in with them and had some winter/early spring rounds before officially starting again. BUT THEN – Covid19 happened right when courses were getting ready to open and I was stuck hitting balls into the net in the backyard; and then my mom passed soon after re-open and I had to fly out to the west coast for that. I was finally able to get some good rounds in with these and reached a point where I felt I had enough to prepare a comprehensive review.
SORRY FOR THE DELAY!

In order to really give these a good ‘test’ I bought some Mizuno MP32 irons on eBay to compare. I didn’t realize the size difference. Whoa Nellie!

I tried the mizzy’s in my yard… nope; not for me. I would not score well with these on course so they were a good comparison but not quite the proper one. Like going from a Lexus SC300 to a Toyota Yaris…


Since I was stuck at home I bought a hitting net and a VoiceCaddie to get some idea of distance and stuff – the VC is also fun as hell.


I tested these in all sorts of weather/temps – cold/dry/wet/warm/sunny/perfect; I played in fall, winter, spring and summer and this is what I found:

* these are remarkably accurate; the ball flight is dead straight and goes the direction that you hit the ball; and if you don’t hit it where you’re aimin’, it ain’t comin’ back!

* straight shooters; I’m able to draw/fade the ball with my other set and no matter what I did with these I cannot maneuver the ball. Thought it was just me but then I read/saw online the same issue with some of the YouTubeGolfers.

Here’s what Ping says:
“The more flexible, free-moving face amplifies ball speeds for greater distance and higher max height, allowing you to hit less club into the green with the control and precision to hold the putting surface. The face and cavity structure deliver faster ball speeds and save weight for expanding the perimeter weighting. Weight savings are concentrated in the toe and hosel to increase MOI 8% for more forgiveness and consistency.”

* these are designed to maintain ball speeds ALL OVER THE FACE. They moved the weight all around, put that weird looking screw in the toe (can’t really see it other than in the bag) and MAN ARE THE FACES HOT. Shots that don’t find the center of the face go pretty much the same distance as those that do; they seemed to find a way to maintain ball speeds pretty well.
Deductive reasoning: mishits are not severely punished.

* I found that I gained about 10-12 yards from my normal distance; not sure if it was the face tech or lofts or what. The 7i loft is 30 degrees.

* I didn’t notice anything abnormal about height but that is where the whole fitting process becomes important and I was fit into a shaft that didn’t balloon the ball. I will say that the ball stops pretty quickly once it lands. I hit a couple of 190+ 5 irons into greens and the ball ended up about 8 feet from where it landed.

Ping: “With 10% less offset compared to G400 and a shorter blade length, the G410 iron presents a visually appealing, more refined shape with greater forgiveness than any iron its size.”

* There is some offset. Not a ton for this type of iron but it’s there. Didn’t bother me much and it probably helped me have time to get the face square at impact and launch the ball with more spin.



* The sole is what I would call thicker-than-normal; kinda like when you go to college and start eating pizza all the time and you end up thicker-than-normal. Not CHUNKY but thick. Which is to say: the thick sole helps when you aren’t in the fairway.

* these irons bring 2 words to mind: playability + forgiveness.
playability ---  you don’t have to be a super duper primo ball striker to play these irons. I’ve hit more than my share of what I thought were duds and they ended up much better than I expected.
forgiveness ---  if you hit one thin (like me) or hit one fat it will be like going to confession and you will be forgiven for the sin you just put upon the poor club in your hand.
My miss is typically thin (since I’m a sweeper) and heel side and the club really did everything it could to help me with this and, if the miss wasn’t egregious, did it well.


19/20 (points off for lack of ball workability)

ON-COURSE

I didn’t count but the number of rounds I have with these is close to 20 – close enough that I can feel comfortable being critical. I got the clubs with Arccos grips but keep having issues getting it to read everything so that data set isn’t quite ready yet. It’s coming, although I’ve used my personal LM to figure out my gapping.
I’ve hit some shots that I happily recall with these; from long to mid to short irons. I can recall a couple of 190+ 5irons that I stuck to 10 feet.

These clubs are mainly point and shoot. But golf courses aren’t like bowling lanes – the fairways typically aren’t straight so the lack of being able to “move” the ball left or right with any sort of consistency is bothersome.

Teed up on the tee box it would be hard to find anything with as much forgiveness and ball speed as these; but you need to be careful and take that into account or you’ll be flying into the rough and over greens.

These are good performers when you’re in the “thicker” grass (aka rough) as the sole seems to really do a nice job of moving through and getting the face to the ball well. As a matter of fact I had more problems in the short grass and hit a few thin low lasers.

My set is 4-U (lofts: 4=20.5, 7=30, U=49.5) and I hit every iron. I typically don’t carry a 4 but off the tee box and – if you have the skill, in the FW – it’s a good club. I don’t really buy into the “hydropearl-sheds-water-doesn’t-affect-your-shot” theory. Yeah, the water droplets bead up on the club but I don’t think some water on the face is going to make much of a difference for my game.


FINALLY…

I didn’t have a round in the 70’s before these; afterwards I’ve had a few. It wasn’t a drastic change – I was in the low 80’s,  but these are confidence inspiring and I found that where I was missing greens I started to hit them more often. I’ve always admired Ping and they put a lot of work into their R&D and this just goes to show that it flat out works.

Things I’d like to see in the “g510(?)” would be a slight reduction in the length from heel-to-toe, a tiny bit sharper leading edge, a little less offset and, if possible, making it so players can cut or draw the ball as needed. Cosmetically, I’d replace that big giant number on the sole with something else and get rid of the white line on the last groove. I really hope that they keep the tech that maintains ball speeds on off center strikes, that is a huge plus with these.

29/30

MISC

Ping has been a well-respected brand in the industry for a long, long time and these irons go to show how seriously they take that reputation. From specs being right on to packaging (each club had its own booty) and delivery this was a top-notch experience.
 

PLAY/TRADE
This is a tough one for me: these clubs help me play BETTER but I’m not sure that they help me play my BEST. These have helped me hone my swing and give me more confidence and are great at what they seem to be intended for. I’m ready to move up to the next step and get into clubs with a little less offset and smaller face that give me the ability to hit draws/cuts as needed.

I think these clubs would be great for someone who either doesn’t play often but has the skills necessary to keep the ball in play or someone who is starting to take the game more seriously and is ready move forward into a set of irons that will help develop and refine their game. These would also be great to use early on in the season to “knock the rust off” until you get back into the groove.

18/20

TL;DR

Great straight shooting clubs with forgiveness, strong distance and launch that will give you consistent ball speeds when you’re not hitting the center of the face all the time.
Game improvers and Score makers!

Final Score (## out of 100 points)

92

 

 

[StrokerAce]

Finally got my review posted ... check it out! 

[ballplayer002003]

Great job with the review!  I especially liked the videos!  I agree with a lot of what you said in your review, but I have to say I absolutely LOVED the long irons, not so much the wedges.  They were too big and bulky for my liking.  Sorry to hear about your mom though. 

[StrokerAce]

9 hours ago, ballplayer002003 said:

Great job with the review!  I especially liked the videos!  I agree with a lot of what you said in your review, but I have to say I absolutely LOVED the long irons, not so much the wedges.  They were too big and bulky for my liking.  Sorry to hear about your mom though. 

Thanks! Appreciate your feedback and kind thoughts.

I didn't really used to hit a 5i much but once I got these I was pulling it out of the bag more often - both off the tee and in the fairway. Still getting used to the 4 iron but I've hit it more times than I typically would and it has done well so I'm not sure what the mental block is.

Agree with you - 4/5/6 are both forgiving and long!

[ballplayer002003]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

Thanks! Appreciate your feedback and kind thoughts.

I didn't really used to hit a 5i much but once I got these I was pulling it out of the bag more often - both off the tee and in the fairway. Still getting used to the 4 iron but I've hit it more times than I typically would and it has done well so I'm not sure what the mental block is.

Agree with you - 4/5/6 are both forgiving and long!

I found that these irons for me produced an extremely high ball flight but with the long irons it was more piercing.  The 4 iron off the tee was one of my favorite shots to hit.  Like a rocket.  Keep working it off the tee, you will find that it's a great fairway finder which will probably get you anywhere from 200-230 yards dead straight.  Enjoy them