PING s159 Wedges: 2024 Forum Member Review

[bens197]

Back from my travels and get to play 9 tomorrow AM. Weather is not promising. Looking about 43* at tee off. I’m expecting some wet turf so bring it on!

Ill have some more pics and thoughts afterwards. 

Hope you all have a good night. 

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

Going into this past weekend was quite enlightening to me.

I went for a fitting at my local X-act Fitter at The Pro Shop (our national retailer of all this golf in South Africa).

The fitter focussed only on the new Ping S159's and I must say it was eye opening.

He was amazed at the wedges Ping allocated to me through the Webfit app. They assigned a 50, 54 and a 60 deg wedge, and without knowing how I play and my clubs he didn't agree with Ping, at first...

First off, I am too tall for my arms.. meaning my arms are a bit on the short side, so I compensate by flicking my wrists (which takes the spin off the club) when taking anything less than a full shot, resulting in spin rates of 3000 - 5000rpms at best, as well as losing about 25m (27yards) of distance.

Essentially the fitter want to see a 9000 - 10 000rpm spin rate on a full shot if hit perfectly.

He was also able to help me with where I make contact with the ball on the clubface, which is on the toe mostly.

Then we started to focus hitting each wedge as they should be hit, with full swing and on the exact same spot of the wedge face.

So after a lot of tries and identifying problems in my game I was able to get better as you can see on the next few pics..

 

On the last few shots I was even able to get my spin rate up to between 9000 - 10 000rpms, which he was extremely happy with, as well as hitting the exact distances I should be with each wedge.

In the end he agreed with what Ping gave me, the 50, 54 and the 60 deg wedge.

I must say I was a bit shocked at first when he didn't agree with Ping, but felt vindicated on Ping's part after he agreed they made the best choice for my game.

Something worth noting was that the Ping wedges are much lighter (100 -150g) than my Cleveland RTX Zipcores. Apparently most club manufacturers bring their stock wedges out with the heaviest shafts, but Ping don't, so this was different, but very refreshing, I liked it, cause I get more feel feedback.

Also, the shots hit flush sounded and felt like butter, but the ones hit badly sounded very clicky.. something worth considering.

Now it's off to play some courses!...

[HikingMike]

2 hours ago, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

Going into this past weekend was quite enlightening to me.

I went for a fitting at my local X-act Fitter at The Pro Shop (our national retailer of all this golf in South Africa).

The fitter focussed only on the new Ping S159's and I must say it was eye opening.

He was amazed at the wedges Ping allocated to me through the Webfit app. They assigned a 50, 54 and a 60 deg wedge, and without knowing how I play and my clubs he didn't agree with Ping, at first...

First off, I am too tall for my arms.. meaning my arms are a bit on the short side, so I compensate by flicking my wrists (which takes the spin off the club) when taking anything less than a full shot, resulting in spin rates of 3000 - 5000rpms at best, as well as losing about 25m (27yards) of distance.

Essentially the fitter want to see a 9000 - 10 000rpm spin rate on a full shot if hit perfectly.

He was also able to help me with where I make contact with the ball on the clubface, which is on the toe mostly.

Then we started to focus hitting each wedge as they should be hit, with full swing and on the exact same spot of the wedge face.

So after a lot of tries and identifying problems in my game I was able to get better as you can see on the next few pics..

 

On the last few shots I was even able to get my spin rate up to between 9000 - 10 000rpms, which he was extremely happy with, as well as hitting the exact distances I should be with each wedge.

In the end he agreed with what Ping gave me, the 50, 54 and the 60 deg wedge.

I must say I was a bit shocked at first when he didn't agree with Ping, but felt vindicated on Ping's part after he agreed they made the best choice for my game.

Something worth noting was that the Ping wedges are much lighter (100 -150g) than my Cleveland RTX Zipcores. Apparently most club manufacturers bring their stock wedges out with the heaviest shafts, but Ping don't, so this was different, but very refreshing, I liked it, cause I get more feel feedback.

Also, the shots hit flush sounded and felt like butter, but the ones hit badly sounded very clicky.. something worth considering.

Now it's off to play some courses!...

That's really cool, thanks for sharing that experience. I think I'll have to do a wedge fitting session or lesson at some point as well. I'll move my focus there for practice and equipment if and when I get my tee game to where I want it.

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

@HikingMike, for sure man, you can't go wrong.

It is quite impressive how knowledgeable these guys are, with basically 3 x swings they can see exactly what we're doing wrong and how to fix it.

My guy could even tell me what balls I should play to suit my style of approach.. and it's not ProV1's.

I will be going back for a full bag fitment, that's how impressed I was.

[bens197]

Nine holes today on a very familiar what you see is what you get course.  I wasn’t interested in keeping score and purposefully hit tee shots to give me anything from 30-120 yards into the green.  

Below are some YouTube links of videos I took today…for the longest time I was terrified of hitting lob wedges from the fairway from 30-40 yards…not today…Also includes some 50 yard pitches, full swings and some 50* pitches…really happy right now…

 

 

 

 

Edited April 22 by bens197

[bens197]

To sum up today’s play, these made my round really easy.  I feel incredibly comfortable on the course gauging distances and short shots offer a lot of versatility between wedge choices.  Below is one more, the first one I recorded this morning and it was an approach I historically would dread…forward pin to a back to front slope green.  I hit the 59 without any fear and had an 8 footer left for my 3.  

 

 

Edited April 22 by bens197

[bens197]

10 hours ago, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

Going into this past weekend was quite enlightening to me.

I went for a fitting at my local X-act Fitter at The Pro Shop (our national retailer of all this golf in South Africa).

The fitter focussed only on the new Ping S159's and I must say it was eye opening.

He was amazed at the wedges Ping allocated to me through the Webfit app. They assigned a 50, 54 and a 60 deg wedge, and without knowing how I play and my clubs he didn't agree with Ping, at first...

First off, I am too tall for my arms.. meaning my arms are a bit on the short side, so I compensate by flicking my wrists (which takes the spin off the club) when taking anything less than a full shot, resulting in spin rates of 3000 - 5000rpms at best, as well as losing about 25m (27yards) of distance.

Essentially the fitter want to see a 9000 - 10 000rpm spin rate on a full shot if hit perfectly.

He was also able to help me with where I make contact with the ball on the clubface, which is on the toe mostly.

Then we started to focus hitting each wedge as they should be hit, with full swing and on the exact same spot of the wedge face.

So after a lot of tries and identifying problems in my game I was able to get better as you can see on the next few pics..

 

On the last few shots I was even able to get my spin rate up to between 9000 - 10 000rpms, which he was extremely happy with, as well as hitting the exact distances I should be with each wedge.

In the end he agreed with what Ping gave me, the 50, 54 and the 60 deg wedge.

I must say I was a bit shocked at first when he didn't agree with Ping, but felt vindicated on Ping's part after he agreed they made the best choice for my game.

Something worth noting was that the Ping wedges are much lighter (100 -150g) than my Cleveland RTX Zipcores. Apparently most club manufacturers bring their stock wedges out with the heaviest shafts, but Ping don't, so this was different, but very refreshing, I liked it, cause I get more feel feedback.

Also, the shots hit flush sounded and felt like butter, but the ones hit badly sounded very clicky.. something worth considering.

Now it's off to play some courses!...

Leon, just looking at the launch angle by itself, those numbers are excellent. 
 

Off to a great start and it’s good to see the clubs validated themselves. 

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

Thanks @bens197, yup, initially they were terrible, but a few tweaks and adjustments here and there and now the numbers look much, much better.

I just have to keep my head on the course now.

Edited April 23 by Leonvdwesthuizen

[bens197]

Could it be…

 

 

Edited April 24 by bens197

[ejgaudette]

6 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Could it be…

 

 

Yes it is a long cardboard box just as requested

[bens197]

Ok, that Bounce deserves its own theme song…this looks too good in person.

 

[B_Cdn]

Really loving all these tests.  Ping Fitting day Sunday at my club, really hoping they bring more than one leftie S159 to try.   That H grind on the 54 looks great.  need a gap between by 58 E and 50.

[bens197]

2 minutes ago, B_Cdn said:

Really loving all these tests.  Ping Fitting day Sunday at my club, really hoping they bring more than one leftie S159 to try.   That H grind on the 54 looks great.  need a gap between by 58 E and 50.

Pretty much the same gap that I play. Fingers crossed they have some for you to use. 
 

Let us know how it goes. They’re fantastic. 

[TJ Hall]

1 hour ago, bens197 said:

Ok, that Bounce deserves its own theme song…this looks too good in person.

 

These wedges truly look fantastic!

[bens197]

1 hour ago, TJ Hall said:

These wedges truly look fantastic!

Looks alone, they’re top tier. 

Final reviews should be a lot of fun to prepare. 

[TJ Hall]

15 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Looks alone, they’re top tier. 

Final reviews should be a lot of fun to prepare. 

Seems like they’ve been fun to use also!  Looking forward to seeing the final review.

[Rob Person]

Great clips! You backswing is cool to watch. Did you carry 119 with a 50⁰?

 

[bens197]

1 hour ago, Rob Person said:

Great clips! You backswing is cool to watch. Did you carry 119 with a 50⁰?

 

Thanks Rob. 
 

Not this time. It was 119 to an elevated green and I had to step into it. If it were level ground I may have been able to get it there but landed front edge and sucked it back short of the green. 
 

Thats about my limit maxed out. Next time it’s a PW for sure. 

[Rob Person]

21 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Thanks Rob. 
 

Not this time. It was 119 to an elevated green and I had to step into it. If it were level ground I may have been able to get it there but landed front edge and sucked it back short of the green. 
 

Thats about my limit maxed out. Next time it’s a PW for sure. 

Thanks.  And In case anyone is wondering why I said cool to watch his full swing, It is because compared to most of what I see, his does not apex over the top of his shoulders or behind him.

 

[bens197]

46 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

Thanks.  And In case anyone is wondering why I said cool to watch his full swing, It is because compared to most of what I see, his does not apex over the top of his shoulders or behind him.

 

You’re kind for saying this. It’s helped me feel a better sense of staying connected and helps me keep my arms in sync with my torso. 
 

This may sound silly but my swing thought Here is that my right elbow fires like a piston. That helps me rotate at a proper speed and stay connected. 

[TJ Hall]

Didn’t hit any balls with the S159s, but did some little swings in the store today…these are quite nice,l and the black is awesome.

The clubhead seemed a little small, but not too intimidating (in comparison to my Vokeys).

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

1 hour ago, TJ Hall said:

Didn’t hit any balls with the S159s, but did some little swings in the store today…these are quite nice,l and the black is awesome.

The clubhead seemed a little small, but not too intimidating (in comparison to my Vokeys).

@TJ Hall, how did you feel about the weight of the swing?

I found the Ping S159's much lighter than my Clevelands and I actually liked it that it was lighter..  I felt as if I had more control, (if you know what I mean.)

[bens197]

4 hours ago, TJ Hall said:

Didn’t hit any balls with the S159s, but did some little swings in the store today…these are quite nice,l and the black is awesome.

The clubhead seemed a little small, but not too intimidating (in comparison to my Vokeys).

This was a big surprise as well. I was expecting a larger head and when I first saw them in the wild, I was pleasantly surprised with the size and shape. Much more refined and the most appealing cosmetics IMO that they’ve produced. 

[TJ Hall]

3 hours ago, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

@TJ Hall, how did you feel about the weight of the swing?

I found the Ping S159's much lighter than my Clevelands and I actually liked it that it was lighter..  I felt as if I had more control, (if you know what I mean.)

They seemed lighter than my Vokeys, I have S400 shafts in them…I did not pay attention to the shafts that were in the Pings.

The small swings I was doing, the Pings felt nice…can definitely see the appeal with these.

[bens197]

The 55* got some work today. Full swings and a lot of approaches. The short answer:

For my game, I was really pleased at how well it checked up on short approaches, especially from the rough. 
 

Pitching the ball was not really beneficial and didn’t give me the wow factor I was looking for. Not terrible but I am glad to know the 50* is safe in this role. 
 

More to follow later on. 

[TJ Hall]

How do the Pings do going through the sand?

[bens197]

1 minute ago, TJ Hall said:

How do the Pings do going through the sand?

Thats a great question. Glad you asked. 
 

Haven't had a chance to try yet. Not because I haven’t hit into the sand, I just haven’t played courses with bunkers yet. 

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

1 hour ago, TJ Hall said:

How do the Pings do going through the sand?

@TJ Hall, I've had to replace my SW with the 50deg wedge (club limit reached), and I have been practising hard to get the same results as I did from my SW.

I have never had an issue to get out of the sand, but also never had much feel and check when the ball lands.

But this far, the Ping S159's seemed to be rolling a bit more than I'm used to.

Still not much feel, and not a lot of check, but they get out of the sand most every time (90% strike rate thus far).

I'm happy with how it's progressing!

 

[TJ Hall]

35 minutes ago, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

@TJ Hall, I've had to replace my SW with the 50deg wedge (club limit reached), and I have been practising hard to get the same results as I did from my SW.

I have never had an issue to get out of the sand, but also never had much feel and check when the ball lands.

But this far, the Ping S159's seemed to be rolling a bit more than I'm used to.

Still not much feel, and not a lot of check, but they get out of the sand most every time (90% strike rate thus far).

I'm happy with how it's progressing!

 

Good news that your getting out with them…how’s the black finish holding up so far?

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

4 minutes ago, TJ Hall said:

Good news that your getting out with them…how’s the black finish holding up so far?

I will do a post with pics about it in due course, but nothing that I didn't expect.

Getting more wear on the 50 deg wedge due being used much more than the others, but the 54 and 60deg are not showing any wear at all currently.

(And I'm not being gentle with them)