Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

hi bulldog
the tour wedge is a great club i have a ping mb 56 and now i have got use to it its great your wedge has a more rounded sole than mine. with my pings my p-wedge is a 47 degree and my s-wedge is a 52 degree so my 56 degree wedge is more like a L-wedge to me. i did have 2 STM durometer wedges but i found they put to much spin on the ball and i could not control it, with the mb it has just the right amount of spin for me.
i have been playing pings for over 25 years and i would not change, i find there quality of product to be second to none and the have the best fitting service word wide.
you might be like me and not need a wedge with more loft than your 56 degree wedge and its great out the bunkers too just spend a bit of time seeing how open you need to have the face to have the right bounce for your kind of sand. i use my 56 degree out the bunkers on the links courses i play but use my s-wedge out the inland courses where the sands more gritty and compact.
best of luck with your new ping.
bill

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

Bill: loving it! I actually look forward to shots where I can get it out of the bag! You're absolutely right, by opening the face enough, I can pop the ball up amply. Last night, I had to fly a bunker with little run-out and, though it was a kindly lie, I found it easy to produce the high floating, soft landing flight that often evades me my old lob wedge (now out of the bag!)

Accordingly, I think I'll follow your plan of rejecting the 60, and going for the 52.

Great club, loving it!

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

hi bulldog
i have been looking at the new ping G10s and i am very tempted to buy a set of irons, 4 to s-wedge only £495 and thats not a bad price.
just have to try and talk the wife round why i need 3 sets of clubs as i still have my old ping K1s and my newer zings.
maybe can talk her round before my birthday in November.
bill.

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

Bill, if your wife's anything like mine, I would start by asking her why she needs 36 pairs of shoes and 435 evening dresses.....

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

hi oldwease
yes that sounds like my wife too but i'll try and be nice to her for a few weeks and she start asking what I'm after, might get them before the start off next year if I'm lucky.
bill

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

Bill

Further to this, I now have aquired a set of i3's.

One question: these are red dot, though that didn't put me off - I know I can get that changed through Ping.

I'm 5' 10" - bog standard, average height, average build, Mr Joe Public. My wrist to floor measurement is 35.75"

Accordingly, I'd expect I'd want black spot, and indeed that's what my wedge is.

According to the Ping colour chart, I want two degrees upright - green dot.

I'm amazed. Is this right? My local pro says this is beacuse Ping are very anti-slice and so all their clubs are very upright. Is this true? What should I get? Obviously, I'll go along to my local Ping fitter, but I'm just so surprised about this...

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

hi
that ping color code has been about over 25 years and was based on a more upright swing of the time. with the one plane swing where you bend over more a flatter club is required.
I'm 5"8 and i was fitted for pings about 20 years ago and i was black code then but i had a two plane swing, but about 15 months ago i got a set of orange dot ping zings and was going to get them changed to black but i played with them a few times first and found i played better. i went to my nearest ping pro and he said if you just go by the chart i am black dot but that don't take into account my swing and he said with pings they have to view your swing to fit you, with my now changed flat swing he said that orange fitted me just right and i have not changed them and i am happy with them set at 2% flat, he checked my clubs and i had a bent 7 iron he re-shafted it for me and he checked the lie of all the clubs and all were fine.
have you tried to play with your red dot 1% flat clubs, you may find like me that you end up with a flatter swing and play better, if your a one plane swinger then flatter clubs help as you bent over more, if like i use to be (two plane swing and more upright) then more upright clubs will be better. also look at the bottom of the club to see where its touching the ground, use a marker pen and see where it rubs off and also look after you have hit a few balls on grass to see if the marks left on the face run up or stay in line with the groves, i know my lie seems fine with me and the marks odd the grass and dirt run across the face the same as the groves.
i would give then a go if you don't feel right then go and get fitted and take your clubs with you, they should still have I3 in there test rack and should be able to let you swing a 6 iron with different lie's.
I3 are really good clubs and i think you will soon trust them and feel the difference and be glad you changed.
best of luck.
let me know how you get on and any help i can give.
bill

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

hi
one thing take your black spot wedge and your red spot sand wedge and go and hit about 20 balls with each but do it on grass and check the face of both clubs and compare that should give you a good idea if the black or red works best. both should have the same shafts and same length of shaft.
a lot of the pros have flatter long irons and standard middle iron and more upright short irons, they want to sweep into the ball with the long irons but have a more upright swing with the short irons to get that important backspin.
i would think that at 5"10 that black dot will be your color code.
bill

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

Thanks Bill, that's hugely helpful. Whilst I understand conceptually what a one plane swing is, I don't really have the same understanding of what a two plane swing is. I'm pretty sure my swing is a 2 plane swing. But, sa you say, I first try them and see how I get on with them, and then take them to a ping fitter and see what they say.

They haven't arrived yet. I got them on Ebay, and the cheque I sent is caught up in the mail strike so I guess it may be a while yet. Shame - I can't wait!

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

hi bulldog
with the one plane swing the left arm is in line with the shoulders when you swing back and you have to lean over more.
with the two plane swing the arms swing on a different plane to the shoulders and the hands and arms are above the shoulders at full backswing.
many off the ping pros used the I3's before changing to the S58, some even tried the new I10's before going back to the S58 but with the new shaft system the I10's use but in there old S58.
i think you will find the I3 really good.
bet you cant wait.
bill

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

hi bulldog
is it the I3s or the I3s oversize or the I3+ your getting. if its the I3s then they have been going for 7 years now and i think last time i read they were in the top 15 off all time best sellers, ping eye were still the most sold golf clubs ever, worldwide.
bill

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

Hi Bill

They're the i3 blades, as opposed to the i3 os or the i3 +. I know it's in a sense slightly controversial - there are more forgiving irons I could get.

I tried the s59's at my local range and hit them fine, I've played with my brother's blades and hit them fine - I'm just not kind of fazed by them. In addition, these seem to me to be not really a true blade - more a halfway house, and I want to get some irons I can hang on to for a while, so I hope as I improve, I can stay with these clubs.

Damned postal strike!

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

hi bulldog
yes your right, there really forgiving and don't feel like a blade when you miss the sweet spot, you will get on great with them and they shape the ball really good too, i have a 6 iron I3 blade i use when i down at my caravan to practice with and its not that different from the feel of my huge headed zings.
what do you play off bulldog, handicap?
bill

Re: Ping (Bill!): and thus it starts...

19.6 Bill

They came on Weds, but I've had a busy week, and have only had time to fit in 2 x 9 holes, the 2nd of these last night.

So I was decided that to fit in as much iron play I could, I'd only use irons, wedge and putter, and made +7 which is my benchmark for 9 holes that I'm satisfied. I was delighted to make this with new clubs though, and having forced myself to play without woods.

I got on with the irons beautifully; better, truth otld, than my current irons, though of course I have no idea how much of that was psychological, in that I was excited about hitting every shot. The smaller head doesn't bother me at address and certainly didn't bother me in play, and my distances were similar though perhaps with a slightly flatter ball flight, though at the moment I think it's probably a bit early to say.

I still don't know about the lie issue. I haven't been aware of hitting duffers, in fact, quite the opposite, but I guess I need to get it checked out.

I love these clubs - can't say enough good about them. The cushin shafts prduce a very particular feeling when hitting down into the ball - a sort of 'springyness' that I like a lot.

Medal today. Let's hope I haven't changed my mind by the time I get back! My problem at the moment isn't iron shots, anyways - it's putting. But we'll see!