Well, four years on and Ping is finally releasing the successors to these irons, the i525s.
There has been a lot of focus paid to the way that these irons have been engineered because as the golf irons that are designed to provide greater performance than the i500's, tehy have to be able to generate as much distance as possible while also providing a great feel and accuracy with every shot.
When designing these irons, Ping looked at some of the technology that had been used on previous irons that led to great success and combined them together to create a set of irons that can really do everything you need it to.
Just like they did with the Ping i59 Irons, the engineers used a fully machined face with MicroMax grooves so that the i525 irons provide greater control and consistency to your shots. This is thanks to the four additional grooves that have been added to the face.
These four additional grooves have been able to be added because the space that is between each groove on the face has been reduced by using a precision milling technique. By reducing the space between grooves it has allowed for them to be moved closer together and created room for four additional grooves. This new grouping means that the i525 irons provide players with more consistent ball spin on long iron shots while also reducing the number of wild fliers that come off the face when using the shorter irons.
When looking at the face of the club, Ping has used a new ballistic design which has been specifically engineered to increase the speed and distance of the ball on shots. The face is also able to provide the excellent control that is needed on shots on the golf course that are there to test your skills and require more precision on your swings.
This has been made possible thanks to the forged, maraging steel face that has been implemented in the design.
Because maraging steel offers incredible strength, Ping were able to make the face much thinner than previous designs. This means that there is much more flex in the face, so faster ball speeds can be generated much more easily.
Also helping to increase the amount of flex in the face is the use of an internal sole undercut that has been used in the 17-4 stainless steel body. This allows for increased flex for even greater ball speed, while also allowing for shots to reach their optimum height consistently.
However, one of the issues that could arise with the amount of flex that the thin face can produce is that it may make the hollow-body irons sound hollow and create a feel that many players might not enjoy. But, Ping instantly found a solution to this issue by using an EVA polymer insert which has been placed just behind the face to cushion the impact of the ball to create a much better sound and feel, even on face deflections.
All of the performance that is available in these distance irons has been created and engineered in a compact, player-style design that delivers long, towering shots across the golf course.
While a lot of power and accuracy on the i525s does come from the new face design, the use of perimeter weighting has also had a big impact too. Inspired by the success that came with the use of weighting in the Ping G425 irons, the engineers at Ping decided to use tungsten weighting and placed them in the toe of the club and in the tip of the shaft. The weighting in both of these key areas works in tandem with the new tinner face to maintain ball speed, even on mishits.
By using this additional weighting that is separated across the head, the i525 irons offer much more stability for players and a higher MOI to create improved forgiveness on both heel and toe striking.
Each head in the i525 iron set has been finished using a Hydropearl 2.0 coating. This finish has been used as it is able to repel water away from the face of the club when golfers are playing in soggy turf or wetter conditions. Because this coating is able to move water away from the face of the club, it means that players are able to generate the same amount of spin consistently no matter what conditions they play in.
As they have with many of their previous irons, Ping has provided golfers with a choice of lofts that they can have with the i525 irons.
You are able to choose to play with the standard loft or opt for change that can sometimes be as large as 1.5 degrees to fit the Power Spec or two degrees weaker with a Retro Spec set-up. This means that you get to choose whether or not you play stronger or weaker loft irons, without having any standard spec forced upon your game.
The overall look of these irons has taken a lot of style points from the i500 irons, which is in no way a complaint. Created to look like they have been forged using a single piece of metal, these irons look like classic Ping golf clubs. And despite being designed to have a larger sole and a new tungsten toe weight, these irons have been made to look sleek and stylish at the address.
Make sure you visit Golf Gear Direct over the next few weeks for more updates on the Ping i525 irons.
