Equipment

Ping GMax irons: What you need to know

Published

11 years ago

Jul 15, 2015

Ping’s GMax irons ($121.25 per club with steel, $136.25 per club with graphite) have a dark satin finish, and are available in 4-9, PW, UW, SW. Default color code is yellow. Stock swing weight is C6-D2.

Ping’s Stock Shafts: CFS Distance Steel (Soft R, R, S, X), CFS Graphite (65 Soft R, 70 Regular, 80 Stiff)
No Upcharge Custom Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold (S300, X100), True Temper Project X (5.0, 6.0), True Temper XP 95 (R, S), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 105 (S, X)

What you need to know

Ping’s GMax irons are larger than the company’s previous G-Series irons, the G30, and are the longest and most-forgiving game-improvement irons currently offered by the company. The G30’s made our Gear Trials: Best Game-Improvement Irons list in 2014 and 2015.

: Sole Width: Ping’s GMax (right) is significantly wider than the company’s i irons.

: The GMax irons (left) have larger blade lengths, thicker toplines and wider soles than the company’s i irons.

GMax are the first Ping irons to be designed with “fast faces.” The 4-8 irons use COR-Eye technology that allows their club faces to flex at impact for more distance. The construction, which uses 17-4 stainless steel bodies and heat-treated Hyper 17-4 alloy faces, creates approximately 1-3 mph more ball speed across the face, according to Ping.

COR-Eye technology allows the sole and top rail of the GMax irons (4-8) to flex more at impact for increased ball speed, creating more distance.

Like Ping’s new i irons, the GMax irons have a revamped Custom Tuning Port (CTP). It connects low and deep on the sole, improving forgiving and raising launch. According to Ping, the GMax irons are more forgiving and fly slightly farther than the company’s Karsten irons. Their blade lengths are also approximately 1 percent longer than the Karsten irons and 2 percent longer than the G30 irons.

PING_GMAX_iron_CrossSection_Illustration

The GMax’s CTP sits low and deep in the club head to improve moment of inertia (MOI), a measure of a club’s forgiveness. An elastomer weight inside the CTP improves feel.

Like Ping’s Karsten irons, the GMax irons have progressive lengths and lofts that are designed to create high trajectories and consistent yardage gaps throughout the set.

: Sole Width: Ping’s GMax (right) is significantly wider than the company’s i irons.

: The GMax irons (right) have larger blade lengths, thicker toplines and wider soles than the company’s i irons.

The GMax irons have swing weights that get progressively lighter as the clubs get longer to help golfers swing the clubs faster and square the face more easily at impact. See the specs below.

GMax Iron Specs

: Sole Width: Ping’s GMax (left) is significantly wider than the company’s i irons.

: The GMax irons (left) have larger blade lengths, thicker toplines and wider soles than the company’s i irons.

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Related Topics:irons Ping

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20 Comments

Ted

Feb 2, 2016 at 2:06 pm

Ping does not make junk…never have and never will. They have research backed reasoning for everything they produce. If you haven’t played them, any criticisms ring hollow to this 6hdcper who absolutely loves them. Cheers!

Reply Report comment
Rick

Dec 8, 2015 at 5:10 pm

I’ll add one thing…….We had 4 guys hitting these irons on a range with several other brands.
We never compared notes….just waited to hear everyone’s choices in order of preference.
From me (61 and a 9 hdcp) to a strong 30 yr old guy who plays to about a 12 and hits it a mile, as well as a 50 yr old golf nut who plays to around a 12….and finally a 30 yr old relative beginner, who’s improving daily but still a high handicapper. We ALL loved this club.
EVERY one of us simply chose these irons over every other stick we tried that day including Titleist (which I thought I’d love), Calloway, and TaylorMade.

Reply Report comment
Rick

Dec 4, 2015 at 12:28 pm

I hit these the other day and they are terrific. I am 61 but play to a 9 hdcp and DISTANCE has never been an issue for me…even at my age.. Still hit an 8 iron 160. I currently play G15’s
But these stix were as forgiving as I could ever hope for. They provided great feedback, and mis-hits were still salvageable. Are they going to please the college tourney player, or 3-4 handicapper ??….probably not. Will they make the game more FUN for us recreational golfers ?….WOW, yes. They’ll be in my bag soon.

Reply Report comment
KK

Jul 18, 2015 at 8:21 am

The swing weight is progressive, more like MOI-matched clubs. I like it. It seems to be better for the vast majority of golfers compared with constant swing weighting.

Reply Report comment
MARK D.

Jul 17, 2015 at 10:27 pm

Maybe these are not supposed to be G30 replacement irons but K15 – Karsten replacement irons and as such are not GI but SGI.

Reply Report comment
Patrick

Jul 17, 2015 at 10:30 am

People. Please please. I beg you. Stop speaking on engineering if you have no idea about engineering. In sum, there is a difference between dynamic loft and static loft. Club length doesn’t just affect club speed. It also changes things like dynamic loft, max height, and ball speed. You can’t just look at lofts and know exactly what the gapping will look like on the course for your average golfer. Also, variable swing weights can change squaring power by making the MOI of each golf club more consistent. PING tests things years longer than any other manufacturer and all of this is solid science.

Reply Report comment
- Mark
  
  Jul 17, 2015 at 3:57 pm
  
  Patrick, so if I read in to your post correctly, if the Ping nFlight says that I need a certain length and flex to my irons, it means that I really should follow it as all of their science is reflected in their results. I’m not try to be a smart alec here, just want to make sure I understand you correctly.
  
  Reply Report comment
MHendon

Jul 17, 2015 at 12:14 am

A lot of complaining about the gaping on these clubs but lets keep in mind who they’re designed for gentlemen. High handicappers, generally speaking they don’t swing as fast so a 5 degree gap my actually give them better gaping between their clubs.

Reply Report comment
Joke

Jul 16, 2015 at 1:51 am

The gaps go from 3 to wait for it…. 4.5 degrees all of a sudden from 7 to 8. Whaaaaat? Who came up with that bright idea? Only because they had to?? And what’s with the swing weight? Oh my deary me. Don’t swing the club, folks, is what Ping is telling you – just flick at it with your amateur, stiff bodies and keep the arms in front. But hey it’s G MAX! Like CGB MAX by Taylormade! Just copy and paste it all into the computer and don’t do any designing at all. Bleh.

Reply Report comment
- joke is on you
  
  Aug 28, 2015 at 2:05 am
  
  It’s always amusing to see ppl on the internet knock something they never tried AND because they didn’t even read, or do some basic math in this case. There’s actually a loft gap of 3.5 between the 3 and 4.5 gaps. Considering it goes from a de facto 3-iron to the wedges while eliminating 1 club (that 90% of golfers and 100% of the Gmax’s target audience wouldn’t notice or miss), the lofts are very well thought-out. As for swingweight, they’re more like MOI-matched. There’s no right answer on that.
  
  Reply Report comment
- Rick
  
  Dec 27, 2015 at 1:35 am
  
  I’d check the lofts agin my friend. You are way off.
  Here are GMax lofts:
  4- 21deg
  5-24
  6-27
  7-30.5
  8-35
  9-40
  PW-45
  U-50.5
  
  Reply Report comment
Golfraven

Jul 15, 2015 at 5:04 pm

This concept reminds me of the Adams XTD Irons that were released not long time ago. Obvious market are high handicapers – folks that play the G-series at the moment. Now borh the i and Gmax modes don’t jump on me. looking at the new Mizuno irons and those are just in another league.

Reply Report comment
Plinko

Jul 15, 2015 at 4:58 pm

Lets just steal it from Taylormade this year. Why not! Inverted cone! What a laugh Pling is

Reply Report comment
Nick

Jul 15, 2015 at 12:44 pm

I’m a big PING fan. I love the clubs they make, but this club will obviously not appeal to many players out there and certainly won’t be for me….I wonder if the PING engineers enjoying designing a club like this when they’re obviously just trying to win business from Callaway and TaylorMade. There’s no way they’re thinking “Yes, this is a great club that’s really going to help people play their best golf possible”. A lot of negative comments will be made on the low lofts and long shafts, but if that’s what a large number of people are buying then PING would be silly not to at least have one offering in that category.

Reply Report comment
Ping Lover

Jul 15, 2015 at 11:47 am

I love Ping, but seriously? A 30 degree 7 iron? And 5 degree gaps all through the top end of the set where what you really want is smaller distance gaps between clubs? This is as bad as Taylor Made…

I will stick with my 9yr old set of i5’s – proper lofts, great forgiveness, still in amazing condition – and put the money in my pension pot where it belongs, not in some corporation’s pocket.

Reply Report comment
- Matt
  
  Jul 15, 2015 at 2:38 pm
  
  I still play Ping i5’s too, they are probably some of the finest clubs Ping has ever produced (they are also the last irons Ping actually manufactured in the USA). Clean appearance and superior performance, with great workability and forgiveness.
  
  I really like Ping’s products and the company in general, but I totally agree. Take a lesson and turn that weak fade into a draw. Then you won’t need to buy clubs that are ridiculously overpriced (considering what the used market currently bears) and with outrageously strengthened lofts.
  
  I carry my i5 8-iron 150-155. I have no interest in hitting it any further than than that. As it is I carry 3 wedges in addition to my PW. Really against the arms race that is continuing to occur in this industry. I don’t want to carry any more wedges.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Cliff
    
    Jul 17, 2015 at 10:03 am
    
    So when you carry your 8i 130 and your 9i 125 what are you going to do? These clubs are designed to give slow swing speed players the proper gaps between clubs. What’s so hard to understand about it.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Philip
      
      Jul 18, 2015 at 8:42 pm
      
      Think about it – if the larger gaps are truly to help slower swing speeds and not because of the foolish my #7 club is longer than your #7 (only because I increased my lofts and club lengths) then why hasn’t this been a standard for GI and SGI clubs for decades? Why is it only recently that they are even keeping a straight face when calling a 39 inch long 21 degree club a 4 iron that the gaps are increasing for the higher lofted clubs. I don’t deny that in certain cases the extra gaps can help, but if that was truly their logic than they would have also removed a couple of clubs from the set and have 6-7 degrees gaps at the lower end too. Fact is, they need the larger gaps to prevent eventually having 5-6 wedges in a set and having a 39 inch 21 degree 6 iron within the next few years. The entire industry has gotten themselves into pickle – will be interesting.
      
      Reply Report comment
- JH
  
  Jul 15, 2015 at 10:21 pm
  
  5 degree gaps all through the top end of the set? What are you smoking brah?
  
  Reply Report comment
- Rick
  
  Dec 27, 2015 at 1:32 am
  
  The G15’s have 32 degrees. I’ll bet you cannot tell the difference in 2 degrees (unless you are a scratch or better player). If you ARE that scratch player, why are you even concerned about these stix ?? They are not for you.
  
  Reply Report comment

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Equipment

Putters that never made it: Check out some of the best tour builds that didn’t make the cut

Published

2 weeks ago

May 18, 2026

Alistair Cameron

Arguably, the best perk of being a professional golfer on the PGA Tour is the ability to request or even just be handed pretty much any club you could think of. It happens more often than you think, usually with putters around the practice green from one event to the next. Come Wednesday, the Tour bags lining the edge of the putting surface become resting places for fallen flatsticks that never made the cut.

So let’s take a look at some of the best we’ve seen out on Tour this year that never made it to the competition. (You may notice none of Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Scotty Cameron putters made this list. There are too many.)

Let’s start with this custom Damascus Milled Odyssey Rossie made for Ryo Hisatsune. Featuring a single line and the short-slant hossel, we’ve seen plenty of Number 7 and jailbird heads featuring the Damascus Milled insert, but this is the first and only one we’ve spotted in a Rossie. Hisatsune primarily putts with an Odyssey Black Series iX #9, but we have seen him recently with a TaylorMade TP Collection SOTO, so there could be potential that the Damascus Milled Rossie could end up in the bag.

Everyone wants to be Cameron Young right now. We’ve had Justin Thomas and Tom Hoge both game the Scotty Cameron 9.5R prototype. Well, for the PGA Championship, Brooks Koepka nearly joined that list after requesting the same style of putter, with the full-length alignment line. But the Scotty Cameron reps took the request a step further and made one specially for Koepka with a Teryllium insert, similar to one in his previous Newport 2 gamers. The reason why this one didn’t go into play, though? Because it was too heavy.

Harry Hall was the third-best putter on Tour last year, so when Bettinardi made him a custom proto, you know it was going to be good. The custom BB28 blade features VDF face milling, a custom-welded single-bend shaft, and the owner’s initials – HH – on the sole of the putter. Hall, who usually games an Odyssey O-Works #7 W, has dabbled with a TaylorMade Spider Tour X already this year. Maybe there’s a chance this Bettinardi might make his bag.

Honestly, this one doesn’t need a description. It’s Kieth Mitchell’s custom Scotty Cameron Napa. One Scotty Cameron face stamp, two Scotty Dogs, two Scotty Cameron 7-Point Crowns and one Circle T. That is all. Oh, except for the Cashmere Cameron headcover.

Finally, and just for fun, how about we pour one out for this TaylorMade Spider Tour X made for Scottie Scheffler in its new torched finish. It’s unlikely we’ll see a putter change anytime soon from the best golfer in the world. In fact, he hit just two putts with it on the Harbour Town practice before going back to his trusty gamer.

Whats in the Bag

Patrick Reed WITB 2026 (May)

Published

2 weeks ago

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GolfWRX Staff

Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 130 M.S.I. 70 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X

7-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Irons: Grindworks PR-202 (4), Grindworks PR-101A (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Cleveland RTX6 Tour Rack (52-10 Mid), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-08M), SM11 (60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Rat 1.5 Tour Prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

See more photos of Patrick Reed’s clubs here.

Equipment

Which of Tiger’s major winning irons are your favorite? – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

2 weeks ago

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Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been discussing their favorite major winning irons used by Tiger Woods. WRXer ‘golferdude54’ kicks off the thread saying:

“Mizuno MP 14/29. Titleist 681T. Nike Forged Blades. TaylorMade P7TW.

Among these irons that helped Tiger win 15 majors, which is your favorite in terms of looks?”

And our members have been naming their favorites and why in response.

Here are a couple of posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

SwingBlade: “I prefer the early blades he played and the more recent TM TW’s especially because after Tiger had his major behavioral setbacks, part of Nikes support payback was making Tiger play a Nike putter and cease using his beloved uniquely customized Scotty putter.”
ProjectX: “This (Nike Forged Blades) and there’s not even a close second.”

Entire Thread: “Which of Tiger’s major winning irons are your favorite? – GolfWRXers discuss”