PING s159 Wedges: 2024 Forum Member Review

[bens197]

Looking like our delivery window is imminent. 
 

We’ve been told to keep on the lookout for some cardboard boxes to arrive very soon. Super excited to get this thread going

[TJ Hall]

29 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Looking like our delivery window is imminent. 
 

We’ve been told to keep on the lookout for some cardboard boxes to arrive very soon. Super excited to get this thread going

Super exciting…looking forward to following how these perform for the group!

[bens197]

Guess what…

Quick little teaser before I can get into some first impressions. 
 

Here’s what I’ll say in the interim…these are not what I’ve been accustomed to seeing from PING. Look alone, these raise the bar…

 

[bens197]

Took the 50* out for a couple chips while waiting for my daughter to hop off the bus. 
 

Really good feel and a lot of grit. The grass that bit between each shot was aggressively present. 
 

When I played the PING Tour wedge in 2005-2008 it was a nice profile but I do not recall having this much immediate feedback. It was significant enough that I did a double take and noticed how well it spun the ball. It reminds me of my Cleveland 900 Tours that I adored. 
 

Stay tuned…

[aguybadatgolf]

It looks like today’s been a good day for a couple of us testers! Right off the bat I’m impressed with the packaging. The looks speak for themselves. First impressions coming soon!

[TJ Hall]

Those are sharp looking!

I thought for a minute you guys were going to be using covers for these to protect them the entire time!

[aguybadatgolf]

1 hour ago, TJ Hall said:

Those are sharp looking!

I thought for a minute you guys were going to be using covers for these to protect them the entire time!

I actually thought about it for a second because they are just so pretty . But I plan to test the durability so I’ll let em bounce around freely in the bag, for science. 

[TJ Hall]

10 minutes ago, aguybadatgolf said:

I actually thought about it for a second because they are just so pretty . But I plan to test the durability so I’ll let em bounce around freely in the bag, for science. 

You can’t cover that prettiness…gotta let ‘em shine!

For science, show-off…good with whatever you call it.

Looking for some videos of low one hop checkers and overall shot control…put these things through the whole range of scrambling!

[Golf2Much]

@bens197 representing two of my favorite things:  where I was born, raised and had my career Rochester, NY and Ping!  I can't wait to read what you think!

[Josh Parker]

5 hours ago, bens197 said:

Guess what…

Quick little teaser before I can get into some first impressions. 
 

Here’s what I’ll say in the interim…these are not what I’ve been accustomed to seeing from PING. Look alone, these raise the bar…

 

 

1 hour ago, aguybadatgolf said:

It looks like today’s been a good day for a couple of us testers! Right off the bat I’m impressed with the packaging. The looks speak for themselves. First impressions coming soon!

Those look so good!  

[bens197]

19 minutes ago, Golf2Much said:

@bens197 representing two of my favorite things:  where I was born, raised and had my career Rochester, NY and Ping!  I can't wait to read what you think!

Might have to throw in a photo of a Nick Tahou’s plate just for fun

Hope I can do this one justice 

[Rob Person]

I can't lie, I'm drooling over here!!!

Couple questions as testing officially starts...

What was your normal preferred shots with each of your previous wedges?

Do you think these will help you expand on your shot capabilities over previous wedges?

[bens197]

27 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

I can't lie, I'm drooling over here!!!

Couple questions as testing officially starts...

What was your normal preferred shots with each of your previous wedges?

Do you think these will help you expand on your shot capabilities over previous wedges?

50 is my workhorse…gets most of the action in a round and often for full or partial swings inside 100 yards.  I like to hit little stingers with it.  The shape of the S159 is very similar to my SM8 with the exception being the line from the hosel to the toe is slightly straighter without as much bulge and that is something I really like.

54/55 is not a club I get along with well.  The S grind was not my ideal choice but I needed something in a pinch and purchased the SM9 knowing I would likely just use it for the medium sand we have up here.  It does not get a lot of full swings and with the S159 I went H grind.  I want to be able to use it more often for short sided swings where I can open the face and get creative.  The H will allow that, the S hasn’t been able to as much.

59/60 is for short sided when I want to get creative.  Almost no full swings.  I went T grind 58 bent to 59 for some additional bounce.  It’ll play around 7* bounce for me which is not too intimidating in the fairway and will be a lot of fun in the rough if I get the chance to open one up and hit some high ones.

I am most excited for all for different reasons…I see this as giving me a LOT of opportunity to test my creativity.

[johngschulz]

@Rob Person I was just about to drop a little update in here about some of my previous wedges - gonna hold off and give this a quick answer for me while I'm waiting!
@bens197 & @aguybadatgolf those pictures are , I should be getting mine in soon and I'm already jealous!

13 hours ago, Rob Person said:

What was your normal preferred shots with each of your previous wedges?

Part 1, shot types:

58* - Believe it or not, I enjoy hitting big high flops from all sorts of lies around the green. Something I practiced a lot and have a surprising amount of confidence with. I will use it out of short sided bunkers, out of the 2nd cut around the green, and anything that really requires a bit more touch.

54* - This is my go to from the sand usually. I use it for lower trajectory pitch shots, and longer chips where I still want to carry a little longer - may hit from 80-100ish yards fullish swing depending on circumstance

50* - This is usually my approach for any shot I want under 120 yards. I generally practice with this the most on the range to get the feel of different distances dialed in. I'll use this for bump and runnish shots a lot where I need a little check. I usually don't use anything lower lofted than this around the greens!
 

Part 2, new wedge expectations:

This is interesting and differs for each loft. I'll run through it in the same order:

58* - I got the T-6 grind here, I expect it's going to allow me to play with the face angle a bit more for my touchy shots but I'm worried that the lowww bounce isn't going to bail me out on my almost good shots and general mishits. I *do* think the more square leading edge will be a little more confidence inspiring over the more rounded tear drop on my current and previous wedges - really excited about this aspect.

54* - The S-12 grind is going to be pretty similar to the 54/56* wedges I've used in the past with general success. I mentioned in my intro that while they're geared towards mid to low handicappers I wonder if the forgiveness Ping's been known for is going to show up here for me.

50* - Also the S-12 here. I've bounced between traditional wedges and iron set gw for this distance, I had a lower bounce Vokey that I never really got along with but when I hit well had some stopping power, currently I'm using the Maltby DBM GW, which I have all of the confidence in the world but can't flight as well as I'd like, and could use a little more spin. This is the club I'm most unsure about if it will stay or go, but I'm expecting it to split the difference to some extent and add a little more workability. I'm hoping I can give this full swings and not be afraid to hit it past the pin, which would be really big for me I think. I may have to club up if I want to bump and run depending on how spinny the grooves are, though at this loft and lower lofts it should be milled to spin a little less.

All and all this is going to be a fun experiment across the board!

Edited March 28 by johngschulz

[aguybadatgolf]

2 hours ago, Rob Person said:

I can't lie, I'm drooling over here!!!

Couple questions as testing officially starts...

What was your normal preferred shots with each of your previous wedges?

Do you think these will help you expand on your shot capabilities over previous wedges?

Great question!

My 58 gets the most use, 115 yards and in. Whether or not it’s the smartest play it’s what I feel most confident with. I will say stokes gained shows it’s a positive area of my game so it’s working for now. I like to play it high and limit run out as I find that harder to control since I play a bunch of different courses where green speeds are all over the place. I play an open face frequently so I went with the lowest bounce option here in the T grind. 

54 is my 125 club, I’ll use this if I need to play a low runner. I also like it out of fairway bunkers where I need a fuller swing, 100-50 yards or so from the green.

The 50 is almost exclusively used for full swings. I’ll use it in bump and run situations occasionally. It’s my 135 club which fits the gapping well with my pitching wedge. I’m not great at “feeling” a yardage so I try to give my self lots of options to full swing in the scoring area of my bag. 

My hope for the new wedges is more consistent spin out of different lies and in the dry and wet. Sometimes I get a lot of check and sometimes the ball releases more than I’d like. I’m sure I’m partly to blame but that is one area I’m looking at. I’m also curious about the forgiveness as that’s part of what Ping is known for. I also am considering the feel. They are advertising them to have a softer feel which I personally like. My one complaint with my Jaws MD5s is that they are pretty firm and can feel a little clicky sometimes.

 

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

4 hours ago, Rob Person said:

I can't lie, I'm drooling over here!!!

Couple questions as testing officially starts...

What was your normal preferred shots with each of your previous wedges?

Do you think these will help you expand on your shot capabilities over previous wedges?

@Rob Person, I currently play my trusty 52, 60deg Clevelands RTX, and they are right on the money for me from 90m in for my 52deg, and 60m in for my 60deg wedges.

So those driver and irons that just come up short, these are the go-to clubs I use.

They are damn accurate, so if it is a 45m shot I need, I just grip down a bit, make a 3/4 swing and it'll give me my shot.

Around the green I would use the 60deg and get creative and just play a controlled quarter-stroke, and the ball would get over whatever hazard, bounce and check.

Currently I am very happy with my wedges, so these S159's has some big shoes to fill. But if the play as close to what they look, then I have big hopes for them and will put them through their places to test this.

I really like that question!!

[bens197]

Morning everyone!

Headed to a TopTracer appt at noon today for the first real feel. I’ll send photos and videos afterwards. 

[aguybadatgolf]

I was able to get some testing in with the new wedges. I’ll save my comparison for the full write up but right off the bat I’m impressed with the dispersion and feel. Distance was a little less than my current wedges but more on that latter. They were consistent with the numbers, which is what I’m really looking for. A good strike felt amazing and I could also tell if I hit it out of the toe or heel but wasn’t punished for it too severely. Overall I’m very happy with what I saw on the Foresight launch monitor.

58 degree

54 degree 

50 degree

 

I am using the Vice Pro Plus ball for testing. 

 

Edited March 29 by aguybadatgolf

[Shrek74]

53 minutes ago, aguybadatgolf said:

I was able to get some testing in with the new wedges. I’ll save my comparison for the full write up but right off the bat I’m impressed with the dispersion and feel. Distance was a little less than my current wedges but more on that latter. They were consistent with the numbers, which is what I’m really looking for. A good strike felt amazing and I could also tell if I hit it out of the toe or heel but wasn’t punished for it too severely. Overall I’m very happy with what I saw on the Foresight launch monitor.

58 degree

54 degree 

50 degree

 

I am using the Vice Pro Plus ball for testing. 

 

Crazy fast speed for wedges.
That 50-54 gap is pretty big. Do you have that now, or is this new?

[aguybadatgolf]

14 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

Crazy fast speed for wedges.
That 50-54 gap is pretty big. Do you have that now, or is this new?

Thanks haha it helps that I’m tall. That’s pretty new, my old 50 went about 135 on average.
 

I’m working on some swing changes right now so I’m going to go back and check the numbers again in a couple weeks to make sure this wasn’t some weird fluke. 

[bens197]

I went hard today and hit about 140 balls in 38* weather. My hands still hurt writing this post. 
 

Despite the cold. And the range balls. And the wind I will say there was a negligible difference in feel between my SM8 and the S159 50* wedges. Today won’t be so much about feel. 
 

 

 

If we’re talking first impressions on the range here’s what is worth mentioning. Much better grit on the face of the S159 than the Vokeys. Some wedges have it and while I settled on the Titleist option because they’ve always seemed to work, there is much better grab on the PINGs. It’s easy to observe even with a tired old range ball in this weather. 
 
I’ll be able to get a better perspective off grass when my preferred range is open. What I was especially pleased with was the ability to flight the ball. I hit them high and I’ve learned to play a higher ballflight. The S159 definitely has a better window for me on half and 3/4 swings. 
 

As you can see, I put the 58 through the gamut today. Tried hitting flops and pitches all over the face. 

Im not sold on the dyla grip quite yet. The Dynamic Gold X100 however feels good and has a consistent weight I was hoping for. 
 

I’m disappointed that my practice time with my wedges were not registered on the top tracer app. I do have results from the closest to the pin games I played. I have a call into top tracer to find out where that data went. 

It was a fun day. I can’t wait to get these on the course. 

[bens197]

Let’s get on a 50 & 59 photo dump with some specs and details. 

first, the 50’s

Clearly, PING is moving weight and pulling some mass into the toe. Not nearly as significant compared to the SM8 as you can clearly see with the S159. Grinds are pretty straight forward and similar to a degree. The SM8 has an 8* F grind and the S159 is a 12* S grind. Each is typical to favoring a squared face at impact with little heel relief. 
 

Now let’s be honest. 12* bounce for me is a little beyond my comfort zone. So far no issues at all, even when hitting off the less forgiving segment of the mats. I’ll be interested to see how this works for me. 
 

For the lob wedges it’s 60 10* S in the SM9 v 58 bent to 59 7* T. 

 

Again, mass toward the toe as I expected to see. I’m really looking at this wedge to give me a little more of a GO around the greens for short sided shots. 
 

The faces really retained some schmutz. Almost resembling a boxer after 9 rounds. As I’ve said before, I haven’t experienced that kind of grab and grit with the Vokey line. I’m really pleased to see this kind of action at the expense of eating up balls. I don’t imagine it’ll be 30 grit but I definitely welcome the abrasion. 
 

And before anyone asks. YES these get a fresh bath after each session

[TJ Hall]

42 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Let’s get on a 50 & 59 photo dump with some specs and details. 

first, the 50’s

Clearly, PING is moving weight and pulling some mass into the toe. Not nearly as significant compared to the SM8 as you can clearly see with the S159. Grinds are pretty straight forward and similar to a degree. The SM8 has an 8* F grind and the S159 is a 12* S grind. Each is typical to favoring a squared face at impact with little heel relief. 
 

Now let’s be honest. 12* bounce for me is a little beyond my comfort zone. So far no issues at all, even when hitting off the less forgiving segment of the mats. I’ll be interested to see how this works for me. 
 

For the lob wedges it’s 60 10* S in the SM9 v 58 bent to 59 7* T. 

 

Again, mass toward the toe as I expected to see. I’m really looking at this wedge to give me a little more of a GO around the greens for short sided shots. 
 

The faces really retained some schmutz. Almost resembling a boxer after 9 rounds. As I’ve said before, I haven’t experienced that kind of grab and grit with the Vokey line. I’m really pleased to see this kind of action at the expense of eating up balls. I don’t imagine it’ll be 30 grit but I definitely welcome the abrasion. 
 

And before anyone asks. YES these get a fresh bath after each session

How did the clean up after bath time…any residue left on the faces?

[bens197]

18 minutes ago, TJ Hall said:

How did the clean up after bath time…any residue left on the faces?

Super easy. No residue, just the face wear which is not super aggressive. 
 

I’ll send some additional photos later, otw to a birthday party. 

[KC Golf]

1 hour ago, bens197 said:

Let’s get on a 50 & 59 photo dump with some specs and details. 

first, the 50’s

Clearly, PING is moving weight and pulling some mass into the toe. Not nearly as significant compared to the SM8 as you can clearly see with the S159. Grinds are pretty straight forward and similar to a degree. The SM8 has an 8* F grind and the S159 is a 12* S grind. Each is typical to favoring a squared face at impact with little heel relief. 
 

Now let’s be honest. 12* bounce for me is a little beyond my comfort zone. So far no issues at all, even when hitting off the less forgiving segment of the mats. I’ll be interested to see how this works for me. 
 

For the lob wedges it’s 60 10* S in the SM9 v 58 bent to 59 7* T. 

 

Again, mass toward the toe as I expected to see. I’m really looking at this wedge to give me a little more of a GO around the greens for short sided shots. 
 

The faces really retained some schmutz. Almost resembling a boxer after 9 rounds. As I’ve said before, I haven’t experienced that kind of grab and grit with the Vokey line. I’m really pleased to see this kind of action at the expense of eating up balls. I don’t imagine it’ll be 30 grit but I definitely welcome the abrasion. 
 

And before anyone asks. YES these get a fresh bath after each session

These wedges look great!

[bens197]

10 minutes ago, KC Golf said:

These wedges look great!

Looks alone they’re a winner. 

[HikingMike]

10 hours ago, bens197 said:

Let’s get on a 50 & 59 photo dump with some specs and details. 

first, the 50’s

Clearly, PING is moving weight and pulling some mass into the toe. Not nearly as significant compared to the SM8 as you can clearly see with the S159. Grinds are pretty straight forward and similar to a degree. The SM8 has an 8* F grind and the S159 is a 12* S grind. Each is typical to favoring a squared face at impact with little heel relief. 
 

Now let’s be honest. 12* bounce for me is a little beyond my comfort zone. So far no issues at all, even when hitting off the less forgiving segment of the mats. I’ll be interested to see how this works for me. 
 

For the lob wedges it’s 60 10* S in the SM9 v 58 bent to 59 7* T. 

 

Again, mass toward the toe as I expected to see. I’m really looking at this wedge to give me a little more of a GO around the greens for short sided shots. 
 

The faces really retained some schmutz. Almost resembling a boxer after 9 rounds. As I’ve said before, I haven’t experienced that kind of grab and grit with the Vokey line. I’m really pleased to see this kind of action at the expense of eating up balls. I don’t imagine it’ll be 30 grit but I definitely welcome the abrasion. 
 

And before anyone asks. YES these get a fresh bath after each session

Yeah let me also say those S159 are looking really sharp. I’ve become a big fan of Ping’s hydropearl finish. Great job on the photos!

[bens197]

5 hours ago, HikingMike said:

Yeah let me also say those S159 are looking really sharp. I’ve become a big fan of Ping’s hydropearl finish. Great job on the photos!

This is my first go with hydropearl and I’m excited.

[GolfSpy_APH]

1 minute ago, bens197 said:

This is my first go with hydropearl and I’m excited.

Uh oh... You may never be able to change away now!

[robert76401]

Please let us know how they do