PING s159 Wedges: 2024 Forum Member Review

[BigGuyGolfGA]

12 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Testers Announced!

It has been a few years, but we are very happy to have PING golf clubs back as part of our Forum Member Testing! The PING s159 are the newest wedges from PING; however, it is not just new wedges that PING is excited about for this testing opportunity. They have also released their new WebFit App that aims to simplify the often confusing wedge grind dilemma.

PING s159 Wedge Features:

The s159 wedges are now offered in six different grind options, with two brand new grinds introduced for this series (the B and H grinds). As PING worked closely with their tour professionals on an updated design and look which would appeal to more golfers.

PING has included their Friction Face that combines face blast and their optimized precision-milled grooves for what they claim is "the launch and spin control to play score-lowering shots from every distance." Add in appropriately spaced MicroMax grooves depending on the loft; these wedges are packed full of technology.

All of their loft and grind combinations have been made available in two different finishes: The Hydropearl 2.0 Chrome and Midnight.

The WebFit Wedge App:

A simple step-by-step questionnaire based on what their wedge experts use to identify the best grinds and options for their tour pros, the WebFit app aims to simplify and find the best grinds and lofts for your game.
The entire process takes only a few minutes and provides several options that best suit your answers, making the choice of knowing what grind should work for you a whole lot simpler!

Please welcome and congratulate our 4 testers!

@bens197

@johngschulz 

@aguybadatgolf 

@Leonvdwesthuizen

Congratulations!

[EugeGall]

Congrats to all. Looking forward to the reviews - let’s see if you can convince me to swap out my Glide 4.0s from my “cold dead hands”. 

[James Lawhead]

Congratulations to everyone that gets to test these & can't wait to hear some feed back. 

[RohanVster]

12 hours ago, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

Introduction

Firstly, thank you MyGolfSpy and Ping for this amazing opportunity to test these wedges and use their Webfit Wedge app, to get the correct fit to suit our game.

 

Hi Spies, my name is Leon vd Westhuizen and I play off an 18 handicap in and around Durbanville, Western Cape, South Africa, a small country at the bottom of Africa with about 60 million people but with a huge golf following. Our country has gifted the world the likes of Gary Player, Ernie Els, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen to name a few, so we have a rich history of producing great golfers, but I am not one of them!

 (these are not Gary, Arnold or Jack)

As a youngster, I grew up watching Gary, Arnold, and Jack battle it out at the Masters and I wanted to be like them. So, I started playing golf occasionally, while still at school, but I loved rugby more, so I never focused on it.

 

Forward many years later, and I have a wife & son, but I still love golf, cycling and rugby (Our national team, The Springboks, are the 4x World Rugby Champions you know!)

 

But enough about me, this is about the opportunity to test these beauties from Ping, the brand-new Ping S159 wedges in Midnight Black for me.

Just a disclaimer, I’m a virgin Ping player... I have never owned and played any club from Ping. Yes, I have taken their driver at the golf shop for a few hits on the trackman, but that is it, not a single club on the course, so this will be my first time in the world of Ping

 

My Rationale

We get so exhilarated when we watch DJ, Rory or Rahmbo hit their wedge just inches from the hole, but what about us mere mortals who hit our wedges, on the green, sometimes missing the green, and sometimes fat or thin.

I am one of those guys who normally hit my wedge and be happy to get the ball to stay on the green, very lucky when it is anything closer to the hole for a decent chance at birdie, par, or bogey.

I am one of those guys, who used to hit my wedges thin or fat.

I am one of the guys who had to get creative with my hybrid, 9 & 7 iron, cause my wedges would scare the heck out of me!

But I am not that guy anymore!

I have more confidence with my wedges, I don’t use my hybrid around the green anymore, I can play a shot onto the green and the ball would check and stop rolling... I have gained a lot of confidence with my wedge game, so I will use my new found skill and confidence and apply it to my testing.

 

Pings’s Webfit Wedge App

With the launch of the S159 wedges, Ping also launched their Webfit Wedge app (btw, you can also do a Webfit for all your clubs). This app makes the daunting task of choosing a wedge really easy, as they take the fundamentals of your game, through an easy questionnaire, into consideration and give you the best suggestion to have as little gaps in your game as possible, because that’s how we will improve our short game!

Check my results out:

Ping suggested I take the S grind on all the wedges, which will help me with enhancing versatility around the green, or just calming my nerves!

 

My Gameplan

My game plan is to compare the Ping S159 to my current gamers, the Cleveland RTX Zipcore, which has been instrumental to calm my nerves and my hands.

I will play my local, 18-hole par 3 course, Hazendal, twice a week for a month, so I can get used to the Pings and thoroughly test these wedges and see if I can make small incremental improvements or hoping they will be big strides of improvements.

Then I want to apply those short game improvements, to the longer courses every weekend, and see how they translate to the everyday golfer and the mid to high handicapper.

I have also booked a session at the The Pro Shop (our big national golf retailer offering fittings using track data), to see what my details are, like spin rate, launch angles, bounce control, all while playing my trusty Taylormade Soft response or Callaway Supersoft ball.

 

Thank you for coming on this journey with me!

Lekker Leon! Well done tjom!

 

Have fun testing these and I will sure to check out the reviews!

[Girldad18]

Super jealous but...happy testing testers!  Do them justice!

[Tom the Golf Nut]

Congrats testers. Wedge testing is so much fun. Looking forward to reading about your results.

[bens197]

Thank you to the MGS staff for the honor of being selected.  My intro is up…looking forward to the next several months to share this story.  

Thanks everyone for the kind words

 

[revkev]

Congrats guys - I will be following this one closely - great group, I’m sure you’ll do us proud 

 

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

@Cfhandyman, You have my sincerest commitment to this cause to ensure there are some decent pics.. I love to show off our courses (maybe a bit too patriotic), or maybe I just love golf so much I want to share it with the world!

[TSauer]

Congratulations, gang! Great job on the early intros as well. This should be a fun one!

[wely324]

Interested to hear the testers thoughts on these wedges. As a glide 3.0 user for a few years now I have been tempted to order the new S159 wedges as they bring some newly added grinds along with some other new features to their wedge line.

[nvizble1]

Congratulations all! Very lucky!

[russtopherb]

Congrats all! Solid group right here.

[jbern]

Awesome group of testers! Congratulations and have fun with that short game!

[David Leighton Reid]

Congratulations to the testers.  I look forward to your reviews of the Ping wedges. 

[Mr_BogeyPro]

I can't wait to hear the reviews. I never look at Ping when looking for a new wedge. 

[Shrek74]

13 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Testers Announced!

Please welcome and congratulate our 4 testers!

@bens197

@johngschulz 

@aguybadatgolf 

@Leonvdwesthuizen

Congrats to the testers! I look forward to hearing all about your experiences with these new Ping wedges. Haven't really considered Ping in the past for wedges, so I'm really interested in hearing about your experiences.

[frazzman80]

Looking forward to reading about the test and how they perform! Congratulations all!

[Cade Rousseau]

Congrats testers! Looking forward to following each of your journeys as you use the new clubs!

[CB Lobo 4 Life]

Congrats testers! Certainly looking forward to hearing how this review goes!

[TylorJudd]

Congrats testers! Excited to follow this one, just damaged my 56 Vokey on Saturday so make me a convert!!!!

[Rearviewmirror]

Congrats to the testers! A little bummed I didn't make the cut on this one, but I'll be excited to hear what folks think of these.

[GolfSpy_KFT]

Congrats testers! Looking forward to seeing how you get along with these wedges. When the time comes down the road to look at replacing my Cobra Snakebites, PING and Vokey will be getting primary looks for me.

[Preeway]

Congrats testers! Really excited to follow along as I still can’t decide what wedges I want next and these are high on my list. 

[Adamman84]

Congrats to all the testers, I am very much looking forward to reading the reviews! 

[LeakyValve]

Congrats testers!!! Enjoy the process!

[BallsLeon]

This should be fun! Anyone end up with an E grind??

[aguybadatgolf]

I’m honored and thrilled to be a tester again! Thank you all for the kind words. If you have any question or are looking for specific feedback please feel free to tag, quote, or message me directly. 

[Michael.Sandoval33]

Congratulations to another awesome group of testers! I am excited for this test as I have found myself becoming more infatuated with wedges recently. I could be convinced to come out of the Vokeys

 

[Cfhandyman]

14 hours ago, bens197 said:

I am thrilled to share my next six weeks and beyond as I work with an awesome group of guys to test the PING S159 wedges.

 

A little about me.  Steve, I’m 42, a husband to an amazing wife, father to an incredible daughter and dog dad to a 12 year old American pit bull terrier.  My daughter fell in love with golf last year and both my wife and I couldn’t be happier watching her hit balls with utter joy.

 

 

Golf has played a significant role in my life since I was 7.  A native Rochester, NY resident who spent 9 years living and working in golf in Southeast Florida after graduating college.  I’ve worked pretty much every job you can name in the golf services.  It all began as a 14 year old caddy at Oak Hill CC in Rochester, home of the recent 2023 PGA.  I also worked the bag room there for 3 years which included the 1998 Amateur won by Hank Kuehne…who famously hit massive bombs using none other than the PING TiSi.

Many of you are familiar with my background but it’s worth sharing now that we have so many new members involved in the forum!

I left the golf business after working as a 1st Assistant Professional in 2006.  I loved the job but it was not for me.  Since then I have been in public safety as a Firefighter / EMT.  I currently work as a Captain and as our fire district covers a portion of Oak Hill, was able to spend time working emergency services during the event.

I get to play often and while my competitive days are behind me, you will find me playing around 2-3 times a week. Last year was my best ball striking and scoring year since my club pro days and I was able to lower my index to a 3.5.

 

PING has always been a favorite of mine and was cemented for me in 2005. I traveled to Phoenix to visit the PING plant and was certified as a PING fitter.  This experience was truly phenomenal, the entire tour of the facility left no stone unturned.  From the gold putter vault to the foundry, a complete fitting process, a round at the now defunct ASU Karsten and at the end, a sit down with the Solheim family for some Q&A.  I was so impressed with the company that when I returned home I ordered a set of PING i5’s, G5 driver and PING Tour wedges.

 

So let’s talk about WHY I chose to apply for this test…

 

When I thought about this year and eligibility for testing I was dead set on one item…wedges.  Earlier in the year in the “what equipment are you thinking about” I shared my thoughts on why these were what had my eye.  I certainly consider myself fortunate to be able to test these and put them through an entire season of play.  I also am someone who loves to hit wedge shots.  It’s a strong part of my game and I love being able to be creative around the greens.

 

 

Why these wedges?  I like my Vokey’s, I want to see if there is something better.  PING is THE engineering company.  They are the early adapters and the innovators…I’ve seen it first hand in Phoenix and I am looking forward to comparing them to my current setup.

 

I loved the early release photos of the S159, notably the higher lofted wedges.  What I loved more was the emphasis on better grind options.  I stopped by the local shop last week to finally put my eyes on them and ming…they look even better in person.  The shape of the top line off the hosel is exactly what I would dream and I am really believing that PING took a lot of TOUR feedback to design a winner…I mean, look at that 50…

My Webfit results were about what I had expected.  I’m using it as a baseline and made one change.  I really wanted to push my comfort level and dig into something that would prevent digging…I’ll get into that when the wedges arrive and I do the unboxing.

Among all three clubs, the 50* will continue to be the workhorse.  This club for me will be my go-to as it’s been for years.  It’s the inside 100 yards club almost exclusively.  I’m playing a similar grind to my recommendation so I expect it to perform similarly.  I’m going to be hardest on this club because I hit it for almost every full and half shot inside 100 yards.

 

Around the greens I am excited to get into the turf interaction and really put to test how these grinds work for a variety of shots and conditions.  My current setup doesn’t give me the most confidence with the 54 and 60 so I have high hopes that opting for a more versatile bounce will give me a better sense of confidence for creativity. We get the weather and the conditions in Rochester.

I have high expectations and a very open mind.  At work, I like to say often to my crew that the best ideas have to win.  Similarly, the best clubs have to win and if these perform anywhere close to as good as they look, it’ll be a pleasant experience.

 

That’s it for now…Stay tuned

 

@bens197 superb introduction, pictures, video and how you plan on testing. Your background and insights will be valuable to us all. I look forward to see how the Ping S159 wedges compare to your current Vokey’s, particularly the turf interaction and how well the grind and bounce comb works for you.  And most importantly, will they make it into the bag. Very well done.