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Check out what GolfWRXers are saying about Ping’s new i530 irons.

Ping i530 irons

Ping on the new i530 irons: “If you desire a compact, blade-style head and your primary goal is more distance, the new i530 is engineered to launch the ball higher and farther with the consistency and predictability to hit shots closer to the hole. Distance gains come from multiple sources including a highly flexible forged face in a hollow-body design that will add yards with tighter dispersion.”

Check out the full testing thread here.

How we choose our testers

GolfWRX staff evaluates each entry against the criteria laid out in the testing thread to determine the best fit for each specific product — For example, if a game-improvement iron is being tested, game-improvement iron-playing golfers will be considered.

Member testers

• @jrg75
• @lazyjc4
• @jwo
• @bladehunter
• @JL529

Ping i530 review themes

• Clean look
• Impressive feel
• Consistent, impressive distance
• Delivered on spec

Member review highlights

Jrg75

First Impressions of Ping i530:

My first impression when pulling these new Ping i530s out of the box was wow. It’s a very attractive looking iron head without much badging other than some very subtle Ping and i530 logos and a nearly indiscernible “Forged” laser engraved on the back of the clubhead. The numbering is also the standard engraving and paint fill, no more of the chrome numeral inset that were on previous generations of Ping irons. The finish is a very nice pearl chrome. I don’t know if it’s the same hydropearl finish that were on previous generations of Ping irons, it looks a little shinier and brighter to me. Overall, Ping nailed it with the appearance of these irons, very clean and understated.

Size wise, you can tell these are a little larger size with sole widths and blade lengths that are noticeably bigger than my current Titleist 718 APs. The irons have minimal offset, especially in the shorter irons and while larger than my AP2s, the size is not a drawback at all. In the address position, these have very nice and compact look (5, 7, 9 at address).

The Build:

As I mentioned in a previous post, the process for sending in my specs was super easy and everything I got was based on previous fittings/known specs. Here is what I ended up with:

Hand: Right
Set makeup: 5-UW
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Mid 115
Shaft flex: S300
Shaft length: +1/2″
Color code (lie angle): Blue Dot
Loft: Standard Loft
Grip size: Midsize Tour Velvet
Swingweight: D3

This evening, I did some checks of length and swingweight, Ping was spot on with all specifications. Every club was perfectly set to D3 swingweight, so perfect, in fact, that I really didn’t even have to move the weight on my swingweight scale when I changed clubs. Ping’s build quality and tolerances (especially swingweight) have always been one of the best in the business in my opinion.

On length, I ordered everything 1/2” long and they all came in with perfect length progressions based on the standard length listed on the Ping website. I did notice that everything was basically 1/4” longer than my current set with the UW/PW measuring 36.25” on my ruler and everything moving up from there (the 5 and 6 irons have slightly longer length progressions). I think this is an artifact of a difference in measuring techniques (grip on, grip off, etc.), just something to keep in mind if ordering (PW measurement shown below).

I plan some additional measurements in the coming weeks and plan to take these in for loft/lie checks.

Review Methodology:

I have a lot of different things I would like to do to test these irons in the coming months. In addition to initial impressions, I plan to post some detailed comparisons to my APs in the coming days. I have an anniversary and birthday this week so my first range session will probably be Thursday followed by some on course review from this coming weekend. I will post updates every so often as I continue to play these over the summer. As an engineer, I hope to incorporate some science and data into this review that will include detailed measurements and launch monitor data. I think it will be fun to find a way to do some side-by-side comparisons to other clubs in the same category (P790, T200, etc.) so stay tuned for that. Finally, I have a fun trip planned to Streamsong at the end of the summer and will take clubs with me so that I can do some additional testing under different conditions. It’s going to be an epic summer.

Thanks again @GolfWRX_Official and @PING for this incredible opportunity. I hope I can provide a review that will be of significant value to this great community that has helped me so much in figuring out this crazy game that we all love.

Sound and Feel: I started with an 8 iron and made a somewhat tentative swing, almost a 3/4 shot. To my surprise, the ball rocketed off the face in a beautiful trajectory with a loud but pleasant sound. I worked my way through a bucket hitting every iron. The best way I can describe the sound is a heavy thud with just a faint metallic undertone that gets a little clanky if you miss the center of the club face.

Feel wise, the i530s have a very pleasing, powerful feel, like the ball is springing off the face. Definitely not a dense feeling like a Mizuno forged iron that gives you a sensation like the ball is stuck to the face for a split second longer than it actually is. If anything, it feels like the ball is gone and way down range faster than you would expect it would be. The combination of sound and feel is perfectly matched in these irons and gives you the sense that you can take on any green.

Performance: These things are long, I mean stupid long. I didn’t do detailed testing of distance/gapping so everything is anecdotal based on visual and a range finder but I feel like these are at least 2 clubs longer than my 718 AP2s (not withstanding the obvious and significant differences in loft). For reference, in my 718 AP2 I normally consider my 5 as my 190 yard club and today, I was hitting the Ping i530 7 iron to a practice green I measured at 191 yards. I will do a lot more testing to check distance, spin, height and descent angle.

Overall, trajectory was outstanding, nice medium high ball flight that was very penetrating. Individually, the 5, 6 and 7 were very easy to hit, launching quickly and piercing through the sky without much curve. The shorter irons were also very easy to hit with a nice mid trajectory. It seems like Ping did a great job in keeping the scoring irons such that they don’t launch too high.

Overall, super impressive set. Need more time to figure out distances but I’m really excited and looking forward to some on course time.

In comparing the two sets, each one has its own drawbacks and advantages. I prefer the sound/feel of my Titleist irons over the Ping i530s, but it’s not a huge difference, especially when you hit the center of the club face. Forgiveness definitely goes to the Pings. I hit a few balls on different points of the club face and got reasonable results. There’s also plenty of bounce and a pretty wide sole so it’s much tougher to hit a ball fat with the i530s.

One of my favorite features of the Titleist 718 AP2s was the pre-worn leading edge which makes for lovely turf interaction and I will miss that feature with the Pings.

Comparing the VCOG is also interesting (reference Maltby). The i530s have a VCOG of 0.845 whereas the AP2s have a VCOG of 0.803. From what I saw today, this seems pretty accurate. The Titleist seem to perform a little better on thin strikes whereas the Pings like a strike a little higher and have a more piercing trajectory.

MOI comparison (reference Maltby) is also interesting, Ping (16.0887) , Titleist (14.7683). Again. this seems accurate as the Pings produce repeatable, straight ball flight and the Titleist curve more.

Overall, I prefer the new Pings for their forgiveness and straight, piercing ball flight which seems to be worth the tradeoff of less feel and the preferred sole shape of the AP2s. Below are a few pictures of address photos comparing the Titleist and Pings (5, 7 and 9 iron, Ping on the right). Pretty comparable shape from address.

I hit my 5-wood to avoid the large fairway bunker on the right which left me 168 yards out into a slight headwind, I tried to hit a stock 8 iron. My strike was pretty heavy and toe side, so I did not make the green. What surprised me was that despite my very crappy strike, the ball traveled remarkably straight and ended up just short of the green (see photo). I chipped up to about 4 feet and made a decent par despite a shaky approach shot. 1st hole and I was already very impressed with the i530 forgiveness.

The PW and UW are $$$$$$, especially on full shots. Probably my favorite clubs in the set.

These clubs are forgiving! I made some pretty crappy swings and got very reasonable results. When I missed the center of the clubface, distance loss was not all the punishing. Even better, I didn’t see any wild hooks/slices, basically if your path is screwed up, you just see pushes and pulls.

I used ProV1s for today’s test and I was getting great stopping power from all the clubs. I also think the high-quality ball added some spin and knocked down some of the distances I was seeing while testing with range balls. Overall, I think I was seeing distances about 1 club longer than my current 718 AP2s. I ordered a Mevo unit today to see if I can get some more reliable/complete data.

Overall, these are great clubs, Ping knocked it out of the park with this model Unfortunately, I won’t have another chance to play before my normal cash game on Friday. Hopefully, I can get my ballstriking cleaned up or else I’m going to have to make a run to the ATM machine.

First, the i530 are fantastic out of the rough. I had several wayward drives that stayed in play but left me in thick grass. I hit a 5 iron, 7 iron, 8 iron and PW out of some pretty gnarly lies and was easily able to advance the ball to the green complex. I think the thickish sole and hot/forgiving face makes for a pretty easy club to escape from the rough.

Excited to keep testing but I think Ping has a winner with the i530s.

I will say, the i530s are probably one of the best feeling and straightest irons I’ve ever hit, just need to get distances dialed in.

First, the most impressive thing about the i530s is their left to right dispersion. These clubs are straight, straight and straight. I’ve got probably 400+ shots in with these clubs and I have yet to see a wild hook or big slice, even with the 5/6 iron. They basically just fly straight on whatever line the are struck. You can get pushes and pulls but they will rarely have any excessive curve. Very confidence inspiring.

Next, the feel of these irons are fantastic, best I’ve experienced in the same iron category. Sound is a little less pleasing, slightly metallic and can be clanky if struck poorly. Still, Ping has managed to disguise a very forgiving iron in a compact footprint that has great feel and decent sound. Impressive stuff.

lazyjc4

As sexy as the Blueprints are, I think Ping has hit one out of the park with the looks of the i530s. For a player like me who’s grown a bit accustomed to looking down at a bit larger footprint lately, they are the perfect blend of pleasing to the eye and confidence inspiring. They’re not too big, but there’s enough behind the ball to let you know that you don’t have to be perfect. The topline isn’t too chunky, and there appears to be very little offset. The finish looks like the same as my Glide 4.0 wedges, which I personally really like the looks of. I usually don’t care too much about what’s on the back of the club, but these irons are very simple and understated. They look like they’re all business, no frills here.

RANGE REVIEW: Two range sessions, actually. Got to hit these beauties at both my local shotlink compatible range, and again today at my club’s range, off both mats and grass. Here’s what I’ve found so far:

First off, I selected a set composition of 6-U wedge with PowerSpec lofts due to the similarities to the lofts of my previous gamers, PXG Gen2 0311P’s. Though each iron was a number off (the i530 six iron is the exact same loft of the PXG five iron, etc.), the lofts were nearly identical, with only one degree of difference in the case of the biggest differences. The Ping’s are, on average, a quarter of inch shorter than the PXG’s, again due to the standard lengths of the numbered irons. I suppose I could have ordered them to try to be identical, but I kind of wanted to see how they compared at standard. The PXG’s had MMT 80 S shafts in them, the i530’s have the Alta CB Black S shafts (slightly heavier, but the most similar shaft available).

LOOKS/FEEL: I mentioned in my initial impressions post that the i530’s look great. They aren’t too small, and they aren’t too big. They are a bit shorter than I thought they might be, but they frame the ball nicely. They topline isn’t thin, but it certainly isn’t thick, either. There’s enough meat on the mid irons to inspire some confidence.

What I noticed at first contact, I started with a few chips with the U wedge, is that the i530’s are a bit “clicky” compared to other forged irons. This feeling continued with full shots. I know that’s a sound descriptor, but I think most players know what I mean. There’s a solid “hit” feel to them, rather than a buttery soft thud. I personally don’t mind that at all, it translates to pretty good feedback. I have long been a toe-strike miss player, and I knew right away when I didn’t center the ball. The all black Alta shafts look really good and felt a little bit stouter than the MMT’s.

PERFORMANCE: I had to hit a lot of balls to test the forgiveness of these clubs, because I found myself making a lot of solid contact with them. My toe-miss was almost non-existent. My most common mishit was a bit towards the heel and a few thin shots, but I found the middle with these way more often than I’m used to.

Using the shot-link data provided at my first range session, and eye test results at my club’s range, I found that the i530’s are hot, but also very consistent..

Despite being shorter than my old irons, and in most cases a bit weaker lofted, the distances I was seeing was right in my accustomed window. Some might see this as nothing to get excited about, but I think the shorter shaft lengths are a big reason I was hitting these clubs so solid. In addition, the range of distances I saw with each club were very tight…

I’ll be honest, I was pretty blown away by these numbers, that a “players distance” iron would yield such consistent results. There were no crazy hot shots, and I could count pretty much every shot because there were so few “hack” strikes (I’ll be honest, I shanked one or two, and threw those out). But out of 85 balls that I hit and collected data on, I counted 83 towards those numbers. For me, that’s insane consistency.

Off the turf at my second range session, I only recorded my own feedback. I hope to be able to get to my local Dick’s soon and get on their launch monitor for dispersion, spin, and speed data, but as far as the eye test went hitting off of grass, albeit with less than premium range balls, I was again impressed with the i530’s. I found them very easy to hit solid, and I was seeing consistent results. I typically draw my irons, and found that I could hit everything from a sweeping hook to a tight draw with each and every club. I’m kinda like Tom Lehman when it comes to hitting a cut, it’s more like a straight push, but was able to pull that shot off, too. Some heel strikes resulted in a high push, but even those were flying similar distances as my right to left shots.

I can’t wait to get these on the golf course and collect some real shot feedback. I would conclude so far that these babies are a nice fit for my game and I have to think they can help me hit more greens and hopefully shoot some better scores. I’ll be sure to update once I have a round or two under my belt with them.

I’ll say this right off the bat, these irons are fun to hit. They aren’t magic wands that can cure all of my swing ills, but they feel really good are are very forgiving from heel to toe. Getting the PowerSpec lofts have forced me to take some time thinking through every shot. On top of the yardages I hit each club being very different, the i530’s are proving to go an even longer way out of the rough and/or downwind. I hit some unbelievable shots with clubs I’d never imaged possible from where the shot was played from.

On the flip side, shots into the wind tend to come up short even when I club up. I found in that case, I really need to try to flight it down to counter the headwind. Thin shots seem to be punished the most with these irons, not directionally, but they will lose significant distance, whereas toe or heel strikes fly almost as far as centered shots.

The clubs are easy to launch, even the 24 degree six iron gets up in the air. I regret not asking for a five iron, as the six goes only a few yards shorter than my 22 degree four iron.

There’s not a ton of rough on our courses right now, as Summer has set in and it’s been hot and dry here in the Mid-Atlantic. I didn’t have any lies where I couldn’t hit the club that I wanted. The soles dealt with the firm fairways pretty well. I did hit some thin shots off of some tight lies, and they were punished, but even slightly heavy shots yielded good results. Stopping power on the firm-ish greens wasn’t an issue. All clubs stopped as expected. I play the Titleist AVX on most occasions, and while I rarely spin shots back, I’ve never had a issue stopping iron shots and haven’t had any with the i530’s. We’re supposed to get rain in the next few days, hopefully I can test them in softer conditions in the near future.

Haven’t had the chance to check in for a while, July work schedule was crazy, as was the hotter than Hades weather in the mid Atlantic. Played what is a major for me last week and the i530s performed wonderfully. I drove it like a pig most of the day, but the Pings continually got me out of trouble. One of the things I hadn’t really been able to test up until now was how these irons fared out of significant rough, and they were great. With any decent lie, I had to assume a flier, and the results were good. I hit a few incredible recovery shots out of jail, too, leaving me with way better leaves than I thought possible.

Head to the forums for @jwo, @bladehunter, and @JL529’s reviews.

Bonus comment

Jrg75: Had my best round of the year today, 74 from the back tees. I530s and the new S159 wedges were the star of the show.

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