PING s159 Wedges: 2024 Forum Member Review

[aguybadatgolf]

3 hours ago, TJ Hall said:

How do the Pings do going through the sand?

Yesterday I played a rather windy and rainy round on freshly punched greens. Ended up spending a good deal of my day in wet bunkers. I was impressed with how quickly and naturally I was able to adjust to the conditions with the S and T grinds. I was getting a lot of spin still and somehow had multiple shots checking up way more than anticipated. I’m getting more used to being aggressive with my chips and really enjoying the control I get from these wedges. 

Edited April 28 by aguybadatgolf

[TJ Hall]

28 minutes ago, aguybadatgolf said:

Yesterday I played a rather windy and rainy round on freshly punched greens. Ended up spending a good deal of my day in wet bunkers. I was impressed with how quickly and naturally I was able to adjust to the conditions with the S and T grinds. I was getting a lot of spin still and somehow had multiple shots checking up way more than anticipated. I’m getting more used to being aggressive with my chips and really enjoying the control I get from these wedges. 

Awesome to hear!  Seems like you are enjoying these so far in the test.

[bens197]

Ultimately, the easiest way to describe my experience is that I can be more aggressive out of the fairway and the rough. These wedges have grit and it’s changing the way I’m approaching my short game. 
 

I had two putts that I finished with my wedge. I hit them that close. 
 

It’s a significant change to what I’m accustomed to and I’m coming into this playing wedges from 2021 and 2022. 
 

 

[johngschulz]

On 4/28/2024 at 12:08 PM, TJ Hall said:

How do the Pings do going through the sand?

I was coming here to comment on this before I even saw your comment. I’d been out of town without the clubs for a bit, but got a round in on Thursday. It’s been a bit rainy around St Louis so I found myself ending up a little short on some of my approaches, not quite getting favorable bounces. I would say getting closer my in season form but haven’t played in particularly great conditions on course yet.

 

Feedback from my last 9-hole Spark Golf League round starting with the wet sand:

 

Wet Sand Bunkers:

On a short par 4 I ended up short sided in a wet bunker green side the green sloping away from me. My normal bunker club would be my 54*  S-12 bounce to my advantage. In this case I went to my 58* T-6 bounce, opened it up and played closer to the ball. It got through the sand *very* cleanly and landed short of the pin, ran out to about 10 feet for the birdie opportunity (I missed). I was very happy with the outcome and the performance of the wedge. 

 

Lush Green-side Rough:

The rough was lush and green this round. With my approach still being my weakness, I found myself in this lie often. I used the 54* and felt it was very forgiving and got through the thick rough nicely, leading to an opposing team player commenting on having “nice hands” and “good touch” around the green. I was still seeing a surprising amount of spin out of the thicker rough which kept me safely below the hole on more than one occasion. I still am having trouble with distance control once I get further away from the green with the wedges, it might be more me than the club at this point as I continue playing into form.

 

S159 Spin: 50* vs 54*:

54*S-12

I mentioned above the amount of spin I am seeing even out of rough with the 54*. I can’t wait to get to a proper monitor to compare one to the other, but the eye test seems to confirm PINGs claim on the differences between grooves once you hit lower lofts. My initial chips with the 54* in rounds I left very short, in part, because of the amount of spin the wedge produced. I’ve built up some confidence and I have adjusted my aggressiveness with good results.

50* S-12

I prefer using wedges around the green and practice as such. In this respect I found myself pulling out the 50* S-12 wedges for a bump and run for a slightly uphill chip from across the green from the pin. I played it as I would my Maltby gap wedge hoping to roll it out without checking up as much as its 54* counterpart. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to tell the difference but I would say it was noticeable. The shot stayed low took a little check and rolled out right past the hole. Now having experienced the difference in grooves, I can confidently day I am so glad they kept traditional grooves for the 50*. It will allow me to play lower shots with a little less spin around the greens which I am excited to find out.

 

Overall real world results are still looking promising, but I’ll need to adjust my shots to the differences in the wedges. The added spin may allow me to swing through a little more confidently, knowing that the spin can save me if I overcook it! I can’t to get on a monitor with spin and launch numbers and compare my gamers and the 54* vs 50*

[TJ Hall]

1 hour ago, johngschulz said:

I was coming here to comment on this before I even saw your comment. I’d been out of town without the clubs for a bit, but got a round in on Thursday. It’s been a bit rainy around St Louis so I found myself ending up a little short on some of my approaches, not quite getting favorable bounces. I would say getting closer my in season form but haven’t played in particularly great conditions on course yet.

 

Feedback from my last 9-hole Spark Golf League round starting with the wet sand:

 

Wet Sand Bunkers:

On a short par 4 I ended up short sided in a wet bunker green side the green sloping away from me. My normal bunker club would be my 54*  S-12 bounce to my advantage. In this case I went to my 58* T-6 bounce, opened it up and played closer to the ball. It got through the sand *very* cleanly and landed short of the pin, ran out to about 10 feet for the birdie opportunity (I missed). I was very happy with the outcome and the performance of the wedge. 

 

Lush Green-side Rough:

The rough was lush and green this round. With my approach still being my weakness, I found myself in this lie often. I used the 54* and felt it was very forgiving and got through the thick rough nicely, leading to an opposing team player commenting on having “nice hands” and “good touch” around the green. I was still seeing a surprising amount of spin out of the thicker rough which kept me safely below the hole on more than one occasion. I still am having trouble with distance control once I get further away from the green with the wedges, it might be more me than the club at this point as I continue playing into form.

 

S159 Spin: 50* vs 54*:

54*S-12

I mentioned above the amount of spin I am seeing even out of rough with the 54*. I can’t wait to get to a proper monitor to compare one to the other, but the eye test seems to confirm PINGs claim on the differences between grooves once you hit lower lofts. My initial chips with the 54* in rounds I left very short, in part, because of the amount of spin the wedge produced. I’ve built up some confidence and I have adjusted my aggressiveness with good results.

50* S-12

I prefer using wedges around the green and practice as such. In this respect I found myself pulling out the 50* S-12 wedges for a bump and run for a slightly uphill chip from across the green from the pin. I played it as I would my Maltby gap wedge hoping to roll it out without checking up as much as its 54* counterpart. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to tell the difference but I would say it was noticeable. The shot stayed low took a little check and rolled out right past the hole. Now having experienced the difference in grooves, I can confidently day I am so glad they kept traditional grooves for the 50*. It will allow me to play lower shots with a little less spin around the greens which I am excited to find out.

 

Overall real world results are still looking promising, but I’ll need to adjust my shots to the differences in the wedges. The added spin may allow me to swing through a little more confidently, knowing that the spin can save me if I overcook it! I can’t to get on a monitor with spin and launch numbers and compare my gamers and the 54* vs 50*

Nice update and loving to see the results!

[bens197]

When I chose the lob wedge, I was a little nervous about the T grind as a lower bounce option.  I am not a big divot golfer however I had mild concerns that it may become a shovel.

I don’t know the how or the why but the 58 T with 6* (this is 59 with 7*) is far from a shovel.

The creativity around the greens is fantastic but far better than I’d imagined.  There is a renewed confidence for a more full swing shot.  On paper, this thing should be throwing divots.  And while it’s nearly the opposite, I am having a lot of fun knowing I can select more than one wedge for a pitch shot.  All three of these complement my irons so well and I can really get creative with the shots I want to hit.

[bens197]

Played 18 as a single and was paired up with 2 randoms so I spared the camera footage just for today out of respect for them.  They played a quick pace which was great and that decision was a factor so we could finish in just under 3 hours...yeah...it was awesome.

So anyways...Let's talk H grind.

This one's shaping up to become more of a complement than a priority for me.  Around the green in some thick rough, it will certainly have its time.  Ordinary shots, not so much.

This setup is bringing me back to my college days where I played a 52 and a 60.  I managed well with just those two and I could learn to hit a lot of shots while limited on what I carried.

On the bright side, it's also given me a LOT more confidence with the LW.  I don't know what it is about this thing but goodness, I have an incredible level of confidence hitting tight shots around the green.  I did not imagine I would be watching one club try to exlcude itself from my bag however, here we are.

I had 5 approaches from 105 and in and hit all five greens.  Closest approach was just outside 10 feet and all were two putts.

I hit 13 GIR and shot 78.  More rounds upcoming...

[bens197]

Today’s range session was 100 balls.  I split the bucket in half and 50 were dedicated exclusively to the S159’s.  Full swings and pitches.  Here’s how it went.

50…I’m really appreciating how consistent the ball comes off the face.  The deviation of left and right is not a very wide spectrum.  I’ve realized this on the course and in practice sessions…that the ball tracks very nicely on all swings. 

55…we’re still learning where this will fit in the mix.  Now that I am gaining more confidence with the 59, I am having a hard time choosing this when I know I can make good swings.  I am going to end up saying that this may end up being more of a specialty iron for sand and thicker rough where I need 11 degrees of bounce.  Besides that, my yardages are covered quite well by the 50 and 59.

59…the biggest surprise and my favorite from this set.  I did not expect to like this wedge as much as I do yet, here we are.  7 degrees of bounce and a lot of forgiveness.  Crazy to say for a wedge but the forgiveness factor here is real.  I can hit it anywhere on the face and it lands within margins that I have expected during a pre shot routine.   One video of the 50 swing today and a vanity photo set from the range.  

Yes, they are as good as they look and in the shadows of the upcoming Vokey testing opportunity, I would love to find a way to compare results head to head.  These wedges deserve a look.

 

 

Edited May 2 by bens197

[johngschulz]

1 hour ago, bens197 said:

7 degrees of bounce and a lot of forgiveness.  Crazy to say for a wedge but the forgiveness factor here is real.  I can hit it anywhere on the face and it lands within margins that I have expected during a pre shot routine.

This is backing up my initial testing data, and what I’m seeing on course. I am starting to see a tendency of missing towards the toe, but with consistent results pretty close to my expectations on a good shot.

 

I’ll be sure to get my brother in law to help with some video and pics on the course today.

[bens197]

3 minutes ago, johngschulz said:

This is backing up my initial testing data, and what I’m seeing on course. I am starting to see a tendency of missing towards the toe, but with consistent results pretty close to my expectations on a good shot.

 

I’ll be sure to get my brother in law to help with some video and pics on the course today.

I'm curious if you're also noticing a lower trajectory and better spin with the toe shots...that's been my experience and for the low runners, I am setting up on the toe for that purpose.

[johngschulz]

41 minutes ago, bens197 said:

I'm curious if you're also noticing a lower trajectory and better spin with the toe shots...that's been my experience and for the low runners, I am setting up on the toe for that purpose.

I would say it, at the very least, maintains spin as far as trajectory I’m seeing lower trajectory compared to my Maltby’s across the board, but can’t comment on effects from the toe shots.

[johngschulz]

One thing… I’m still not loving the Dyla-Wedge Lite grips. That may be the only thing so far that I could really give any negative marks at this point.

[bens197]

1 hour ago, johngschulz said:

One thing… I’m still not loving the Dyla-Wedge Lite grips. That may be the only thing so far that I could really give any negative marks at this point.

Agreed. I see the benefit. Love the idea. Just not for me. 

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

17 hours ago, bens197 said:

I'm curious if you're also noticing a lower trajectory and better spin with the toe shots...that's been my experience and for the low runners, I am setting up on the toe for that purpose.

@bens197, I am also experiencing the same..

Although my swing is very steep, so I don't always get the most height on my shots, even on the wedges, but with the Ping S159's I do get maybe the same trajectory, but better spin and check.

Also, due to my length (and shortish arms), I also seem to hit quite a bit of shots on the toe!

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

Something which does work for me and gave me such a boost in confidence are these indicators on the grips..

Apparently I need to make full shots, then I make them perfectly, but I really suck on the half or quarter shots.

So these indicators help me play lesser distance shots by chocking down on the club.

For example: I know I hit my 50deg wedge 100m at full swing at full grip. By chocking down to the next indicator I can take a full swing, but bring in the distance down with 5-10m (11 yards), and so on, and so on..

This helps me keep my swing the same and get the distance required without the risk of playing a 3/4 shot or half a shot, I am really impressed!

The more I play with them, the more confidence I am getting!

[Rob Person]

15 minutes ago, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

Something which does work for me and gave me such a boost in confidence are these indicators on the grips..

Apparently I need to make full shots, then I make them perfectly, but I really suck on the half or quarter shots.

So these indicators help me play lesser distance shots by chocking down on the club.

For example: I know I hit my 50deg wedge 100m at full swing at full grip. By chocking down to the next indicator I can take a full swing, but bring in the distance down with 5-10m (11 yards), and so on, and so on..

This helps me keep my swing the same and get the distance required without the risk of playing a 3/4 shot or half a shot, I am really impressed!

The more I play with them, the more confidence I am getting!

That's a very interesting observation!  Was this something you figured out or do you think it was designed with that in mind?

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

@Rob Person, I wish it was all me hahaha, but kudo's to my fitter who showed it to me and made me test the different grip positions on the Trackman.

But yesterday I actually tried it out on the course (probably the best round I have played in 8 years).., and it worked!

Taking full swings and cutting the distances by 5-10m was such a big confidence booster!

[aguybadatgolf]

1 hour ago, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

Something which does work for me and gave me such a boost in confidence are these indicators on the grips..

Apparently I need to make full shots, then I make them perfectly, but I really suck on the half or quarter shots.

So these indicators help me play lesser distance shots by chocking down on the club.

For example: I know I hit my 50deg wedge 100m at full swing at full grip. By chocking down to the next indicator I can take a full swing, but bring in the distance down with 5-10m (11 yards), and so on, and so on..

This helps me keep my swing the same and get the distance required without the risk of playing a 3/4 shot or half a shot, I am really impressed!

The more I play with them, the more confidence I am getting!

I’ve also been enjoying that aspect of the grips. I’m finding it helps give me a precise and repeatable shot by moving my hand to different lines on the grip. I’d say I’m a fan so far. 

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

The past weekend gave me the opportunity to play one of my favourite courses, Hazendal at Stellenbosch, Western Cape, which is a full 18 hole par 3 course and perfect to test the Ping S159 wedge set.

Unfortunately the course completed their hollow tining the week before, so the greens were not up to their normal perfect conditions.

Hole 1 was just a chocked down 50deg wedge, which checked and stopped within 1m from the pitch mark, for a par.

Hole 2 was not the best, but at least I was taking a divot now..

and I can't fault the contact on the clubface.

I did manage to make quite a few tee shots onto the green, which was unexpected for my game..

 

And again I was super happy with the contact I was making on the clubface through most of the round.

Hole 13 had another lovely pitch and check..

And throughout most of the round I could really feel my confidence building due to good strikes on the clubface.

Thus far my opinion is very positive towards the S159's and it has definitely brought a lot of confidence to my game.

I am still getting used to playing the wedge from the sand, but that is just my personal gripe.

P.S. Make a comment on who my favourite provincial team is (and what sport they play), and I will personally send a lucky person a sleeve of TM Tour Response balls from me.. DM me if you need a clue.

Edited May 3 by Leonvdwesthuizen

[johngschulz]

5 hours ago, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

Stellenbosch

This is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Our friends had their wedding ceremony at a winery in Stellenbosch. I imagine the golf there is fantastic!

[HikingMike]

9 hours ago, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

(probably the best round I have played in 8 years)

Hell ya!!

[Leonvdwesthuizen]

13 hours ago, johngschulz said:

This is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Our friends had their wedding ceremony at a winery in Stellenbosch. I imagine the golf there is fantastic!

@johngschulz, you can come back any time and I'll show about 6 courses around Stellenbosch that'll take your breath away.. we really are spoilt for choice!

Edited May 4 by Leonvdwesthuizen

[johngschulz]

SPARK GOLF LEAGUE 

My round on Thursday went pretty well. My brother in law is my partner in Spark golf and we shot 42/43 for our rounds (par 35). That put with the top of our league this week and season long score for the team and 1st place individual for my partner. Pretty cool, it’s pretty fun and pretty chill. Starting to feel like I’m getting into form a bit.

 

PING S159 WEDGES

I had some ups and downs with the wedges, but all the bad was my own doing.

The bad: I hoseled a couple of chips. 

The good: Just about everything else.

I was able to hit another good bump and run with the 50* to roll it out to the back of a green I shorted by misjudging a well struck 54*. I wanted to hit a high shot over a tree to downhill green and thought I could still squeeze a few more yards than I could, long and left was just about dead so leaving the ball short and right was a bit of a bailout anyway. Both wedges worked as expected here.

On the 8th hole I hit my drive just beyond the crest of the hill, leaving me a little downhill lie in the fairway. I was about 104 slightly downhill. Didn’t leave it short this time hitting just next to the pin, with a bit of a lower trajectory skip/bounce and nice spin giving it a little back up to about 4 feet (of course I missed the putt).

I am still struggling a bit with my in between shots and longer pitches, but it’s more me in that respect, yet I am feeling more confident as I go along knowing the extra spinniness allows me to play for longer shots without skipping them off the back of greens as much.

 

NEXT STEPS

I am going to a club fitter I met during my sim league in the winter months on Tuesday. I am scheduled for a 2hour bag tune up, where we’ll identify loft, lie and gapping issues across the bag using Trackman and adjust as needed.

During the tuneup I am also going to get numbers between the PING S159 wedges and my Maltby gamers, finally getting those spin numbers! I am curious to see the Trackman data backs up the consistency and forgiveness I saw for the S159s on my to my early data set captured on Rapsodo. I am also really excited to get this data and share it with everyone!

Including pics of the 58* face my miss is still on the toey side of the face. After some bunker play I am seeing my first signs of wear as a few scratches have popped up, but overall they are holding up really well!

 

Edited May 6 by johngschulz

[wely324]

Curious if anyone has experience with ping glides, (3.0 or 4.0) and how the soles compare to the new S159 line. Looking for mainly the 60 degree with S grind. The new S159 looks to be thinner, and curious how that effects its turf interaction relative to the glide series. 

[bens197]

32 minutes ago, wely324 said:

Curious if anyone has experience with ping glides, (3.0 or 4.0) and how the soles compare to the new S159 line. Looking for mainly the 60 degree with S grind. The new S159 looks to be thinner, and curious how that effects its turf interaction relative to the glide series. 

I played an S grind in my SM9 Vokey 60 last season.  While they’re similar I wanted to try something a little different in my lob wedge for this testing and I am SO GLAD I DID. 

This may not answer your question however it may give you a better perspective of what else is available.  The T grind has turned this lob wedge into my favorite club of the three.  I had tremendous anxiety using my S grind SM9 and that is no longer an issue.  I have been able to use this wedge for so much more and it’s super forgiving for any shot I’ve chosen to hit.  

If you’re considering the S grind and have your mind made up, the MyGolfSpy introductory write up for the S159 line had this to say about the S grind: The S grind is PING’s self-described bread-and-butter option. That explains why it’s offered from 46 through 60 degrees – everything from a pitching wedge to lob wedge. The S works in a variety of conditions and a variety of delivery techniques. There’s plenty of bounce in the mid-section to help on square-faced shots but it offers some relief in the heel and trailing edge for versatility around the green.

 

[RohanVster]

On 5/3/2024 at 3:26 PM, Leonvdwesthuizen said:

The past weekend gave me the opportunity to play one of my favourite courses, Hazendal at Stellenbosch, Western Cape, which is a full 18 hole par 3 course and perfect to test the Ping S159 wedge set.

Unfortunately the course completed their hollow tining the week before, so the greens were not up to their normal perfect conditions.

Hole 1 was just a chocked down 50deg wedge, which checked and stopped within 1m from the pitch mark, for a par.

Hole 2 was not the best, but at least I was taking a divot now..

and I can't fault the contact on the clubface.

I did manage to make quite a few tee shots onto the green, which was unexpected for my game..

 

And again I was super happy with the contact I was making on the clubface through most of the round.

Hole 13 had another lovely pitch and check..

And throughout most of the round I could really feel my confidence building due to good strikes on the clubface.

Thus far my opinion is very positive towards the S159's and it has definitely brought a lot of confidence to my game.

I am still getting used to playing the wedge from the sand, but that is just my personal gripe.

P.S. Make a comment on who my favourite provincial team is (and what sport they play), and I will personally send a lucky person a sleeve of TM Tour Response balls from me.. DM me if you need a clue.

Nice one Leon! Love those wedges and was hoping to get picked for this test! So happy your are gaining more confidence with these bru

 

Your favorite team is the Stormers and they are a rugby team in South Africa, playing out of the Western Province ( WheeeePheee)  

[bens197]

We’re approaching the final reviews and wanted to bump this to see if anyone has any last minute questions or comments.

Played today and was able to gather some quality content and validate my experience these past few weeks.  

When you tee off at 9am and there’s still some dew on a course that’s seen rain the last two days, it makes life nice.

 

[johngschulz]

To echo @bens197 holler if anyone has questions for an 18ish handicapper (hopefully continuing to drop more as the season continues on). As I mentioned I have more data collection on the way on Trackman tomorrow and 9 more holes for my league Thursday.

I have a pretty good idea on where I stand with the wedges, but those two days should bring some additional insight!

[bens197]

As many of you can tell, my storytelling revolves around using videos. With the final reviews upcoming, I wanted to share this from yesterday.  

This shot baffled me…Not because of the difficulty, rather how it checked right up from some pretty stout rough.  I used a 58 and I’m still stumped how it was able to snap to attention so easily.

 

[russtopherb]

2 hours ago, bens197 said:

As many of you can tell, my storytelling revolves around using videos. With the final reviews upcoming, I wanted to share this from yesterday.  

This shot baffled me…Not because of the difficulty, rather how it checked right up from some pretty stout rough.  I used a 58 and I’m still stumped how it was able to snap to attention so easily.

 

I don't think I could have gotten that wedge (or any other wedge for that matter) to check up like that. Well done.