Equipment
Full details on Ping’s new i500 and i210 irons, and Glide Forged wedges
In recent weeks, we’ve spotted a number of different Ping irons and wedges. We saw Tony Finau testing an i500 driving iron, we saw Bubba Watson using Glide Forged wedges, and we also spotted photos of a new i210 iron. The problem was, Ping wasn’t giving up any information on the new clubs, so we didn’t know when or if they’d would be released to the public, or what was different about the new products.
Now, we have all of the info on the Ping i500 and i210 irons, and the Ping Glide Forged wedges. We were lucky enough to have Marty Jertson, Director of Product Development at Ping and a recent 2018 PGA Championship qualifier, on our Two Guys Talking Golf (TG2) podcast to explain the designs and technology for the three different product releases. Snippets from the full podcast are embedded below. Additionally, we provide all of the necessary spec and pricing information.
All of the products are now available for custom fitting or pre-order at authorized Ping shops around the United States.
Click here for comparison photos against PXG, Artisan and P-790 clubs.
Ping i500 irons
The Ping i500 is actually quite similar to the G700 iron, which also has a hollow-body construction, but yet the i500 has a sleeker-shaped profile. The i500 irons are built with C300 maraging steel faces and 17-4 stainless steel bodies; Ping says this design increases ball speed, lowers spin and creates higher-flying shots.
Available in 3-PW and UW, the Ping i500 irons will sell for $175 per club with a steel shaft and $190 per club with a graphite shaft. Stock steel shafts will be the True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 (R300, S300), stock graphite shafts will be the UST Mamiya Recoil ES SMAC (760A, 780R, 780S), and a number of aftermarket shafts are also available at no upcharge. The stock grip is the Golf Pride Tour Velvet (Blue -1/16 inches, Red -1/32 inches, Aqua -1/64 inches, White Std., Gold +1/32 inches, Orange +1/16 inches).
In-hand photos of the new Ping i500 irons
Ping i210 irons
Replacing the i200 irons, the new i210 irons are made from 431 stainless steel, and they have a larger and softer elastomer insert. The bigger insert is said to not only increase perimeter weighting for greater forgiveness, but also to help fine-tune swing weight and create an overall softer feel. The shaping of the irons have also been refined, according to Ping.
Available in 3-PW and UW, the Ping i210 irons will sell for $137.50 per iron with a steel shaft, and $152.50 per iron with a graphite shaft. The stock steel offering is a True Temper Dynamic Gold 120 (S300, X100), the graphite offering is an Alta CB (Soft R, Regular, Stiff), and there are a number of aftermarket options with no upcharge.
In-hand photos of the new Ping i210 irons
Ping Glide Forged wedges
Forged from 8620 carbon steel, the new Ping Glide Forged wedges have a “sleek, high-spinning blade-style design with a soft, pleasing feel,” according to a Ping press release. They’re the product of Louis Oosthuizen, Stan Utley and Todd Anderson working with Ping Engineers to develop a wedge with greater feel and versatility, says Ping. Like the Glide 2.0 wedges, the new Glide Forged wedges have wheel-cut grooves, which have a sharp edge radius to increase friction for more spin and trajectory control.
The new Glide Forged wedges are also customizable with different graphics, stamping and paint fills, which are highlighted below.
- Graphic Options: Mr. PING logo, American flag, Arizona desert scene, Boomerang
- Stamping Options: 1) Up to three characters (A-Z, 0-9) in one of three locations (toe, center or heel); 2) Two characters applied in scattered fashion; 3) Mr. PING logo scattered.
- Paint-fill options: Black, Gold, Brown, Orange, Purple, Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, White, Silver, Maroon
Check out ping.com/glideforgedcustom to design your wedges.
Ping’s new Glide Forged wedges are available in 50, 52, 54, 56, 58 and 60 degree lofts, and they will sell for $217.50 per wedge with a steel shaft and $232.50 per wedge with a graphite shaft. The stock steel shaft will be a True Temper Dynamic Gold S300, the graphite shaft will be an Alta CB (Soft R, Regular, Stiff), and there are more aftermarket shafts available at no upcharge.
Listen to the full podcast on SoundCloud below, or click here to listen on iTunes!
In-hand photos of the new Ping Glide Forged wedges.
Related
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
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Brandon
Jul 16, 2018 at 9:25 pm
In before that guy who always complains about irons not being true forgings anymore. He is right, but does it really need to be repeated on every article?
ogo
Jul 17, 2018 at 12:50 pm
These clubs are fake-forged because they are only cold stamped coin forged steel castings. They are not hot forged like Mizunos and Miuras which alters the grain structure of the steel for that soft buttery forged feeeel… ;-(
Dan
Jul 22, 2018 at 5:46 pm
There’s that guy
golfraven
Jul 16, 2018 at 5:23 pm
what is happening here? you would thing they would put the True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 (R300, S300) shaft in the i210 and not theTrue Temper Dynamic Gold 120 (S300,X100). X100 for a GI iron – wtf?
Alec
Jul 16, 2018 at 6:41 pm
I mean, the i210 isn’t a game improvement iron
Boyo
Jul 16, 2018 at 11:27 am
I have the i200’s and would kill for a matched SW at 54 degrees. The Glide’s don’t cut it…..
DB
Jul 16, 2018 at 11:19 am
Wedges are pricey – but being forged with tungsten plug in the toe, custom graphics, etc., probably does increase their cost significantly.
New irons look great.
Zbb
Jul 16, 2018 at 9:46 am
Hit both yesterday. Thought the i500 were very nice and looked great. Effortless distance.
jake
Jul 16, 2018 at 9:46 am
Not sure how they’re going to move many wedges @ $217
Dan
Jul 22, 2018 at 5:48 pm
Why not? A custom Callaway MD is $230, a custom Wedge works BV wedge is around $240. Ping is cheaper than both.
dat
Jul 16, 2018 at 9:23 am
Pretty expensive, even for Ping.
carl
Jul 16, 2018 at 9:08 am
$217 for a wedge? wow