Ping i20 driver vs. Nike VR_S driver

[Sorno]

Today I received my brand new Ping i20 that I had won on GolfBids and wanted to give a quick review/comparison between that and my Nike VR_S. Nike spec's are 9.5* loft, standard flex Fubuki K shaft, the Ping i20 is 8.5* stiff flex TFC 707 D shaft.

 

Now for a little background info. I was Scottsdale this winter and went thru a Nike fitting, swing speed was just over 105 but I got a little more distance and was more consistent with the regular flex shaft over the stiff, so that is what I ordered. The Ping, like I said, I won on GolfBids, so I ordered it wanting a driver to hit lower, with the windy spring/early summer here in MN I thought it may come in handy to have a driver that I could keep low.

 

Today I took them both to the back yard and hit about 10 shots with each. It's windy here today but I was hitting with the wind. The Nike does hit the ball higher, which I expected, but it isn't like the Ping hits nothing but low bullets, it's lower but not too low if you know what I mean. Out of the 20 shots I hit 2 what I'd call real bad ones, one with each club. The Ping's "bad" swing would have turned out much worse than the Nike's, probably not unexpected because of the lower loft. If you put even a decent swing on the Nike it's hard to hit a really bad drive, where I think the Ping would be a little more demanding. I also had two shots that were pulled, one from each club again, both would have either stayed in the left side of the fairway or been just in the left rough I'd say. I don't hit many draws or hooks so they ended up staying pretty straight. Distance wise, I pretty sure with the wind I was getting more out of the Nike, but turn around into the wind today and I'm sure it would have been with the Ping, so in my mind not a big difference here.

 

I read a lot about the looks of the Ping being so nice, which it is, but I don't have a problem with the looks of the Nike either. Sound and feel I'd say is a flip of a coin too.

 

Overall, I think if I were going to go out and buy one or the other I'd probably buy the Nike VR_S. I think it will be a little more forgiving and not a nickels worth of difference in distance. I'll keep them both for now and see how they perform when I get a chance to use them more.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Nice write up! Where do you play in Minnesota?

[Tony Covey MGS]

Serendipitous as it might be, the Nike VR_S and PING I20 are the next two drivers up for review.

 

They are very different animals, and while there is always going to be some overlap, they're designed with different golfers in mind.

[Sorno]

Live in SW MN, small town kind of near Worthington.

 

Yes after hitting both you can tell they are each designed for different level of golfer. I tend to fade the ball, I used to really fight it, now I've come to live with it and just play my fade. If I try to correct it I bring both sides of the course into play, this way I only have to worry about going right. So far the Nike does not fade as far/hard as the Ping. We'll see if that continues.

[Sorno]

Update on the Ping i20 vs Nike VR_S.

 

I had a chance to take them to the range today and hit two large buckets of balls....BTW, I'm tired and sore now!

 

I tested by alternating between the two clubs, 10 shots then switch clubs. The results surprised me a bit, I was expecting the Nike to be more consistent, I was wrong! The wind was strong (20 to 25 mph) right to left promoting a draw/hook. I had trouble getting any kind of consistent pattern out of the Nike. Then switched to the Ping and was hitting it dead straight and long, much longer than the Nike. My first 10 with the Ping only two had a little more draw than I'd like, even those would have easily been in the fairway...much better than with the Nike. I had similar results on the second 10 out of each club. I'm sure the stiffer shaft and lower loft had a lot to do with my results today, but I'm sold on the Ping right now and it'll be starting the season in my bag for sure.