Differences between Ping i-series and S-series?

[Jakester23]

Im kicking around the idea of getting a different set of irons(Im currently gaming the G-15's). I would like something with a smaller club head and less offset.  I love Pings so Im pretty sure Im going to stick with them. With my current finical situation Im not going to be able to get a brand new set so Im looking at used.  I was wondering how much difference there is between say the S59's and the i20? How much harder are the S-series to get up into the air, how much worse are they on off-center hits  ect... Any help or personal experience would be very helpful.

Thanks Jake

[rookie101]

I have previously toyed with the idea of buying into the S series but didn't have the money at the time, during my research I looked at the Maltby playability factor, and by that formula S58s are in the game improvement area in terms of COG etc. I have no experience hitting them though so possibly someone else could help you out there :)

[Jakester23]

Its hard to figure out how they compare. I read like 50 reviews on all the clubs and there's so many different opinions. Honestly I don't have to get pings if anyone has a suggestion of another good set of smaller headed irons with less offset than my G15's.

[PirateJim]

I played G20s for over a year and switched not long ago to the Titleist AP1s which I totally love.  I tried the i20s; they were nice but they were considerably less forgiving than my G20s and I didn't see much performance difference.  It should be noted that I was trying them at one of the big box golf stores where there was no effort made to show me different shafts except for "stock" steel and graphite.  For me the AP1s provide that somewhat sleeker look with less offset while still giving the forgiveness that my game benefits from, and the Titleist fitter had a stack of custom shaft options that got me the flight and spin that I needed for improved performance.  I didn't try the S series since Ping has those positioned even farther along the "players club" spectrum than the I series.

[Jakester23]

I was considering the AP2'S as well. I feel like they are between the I series and S series but I've never hit AP2.

[WUTiger]

In comparing Ping S vs. i models, you see unexpected patterns. In some cases, the "Players" S models have higher MPF than the supposedly more friendly i models.

Club	MPF*	Category	Remarks
S59	660	GI+	MPF > i10, i20
S58	778	SGI+	MPF > i models
S57	612	GI	MPF > i10, i20
S56	552	GI-
i10	560	GI-
i15 ____ i20	689_____ 469	GI+_______ Conventional	___________________
G15	844	SGI
G20	816	SGI	>VCOG than G15
*MPF has 6 categories, with UGI (i.e., K15) as highest

Back in 2009, I was redoing my entire bag - going from stiff to regular shafts.

After reading technical pieces on irons, the i10 was in first place initially. But, it didn't have much feel to it. I tried the S59, and it actually had better feel and performance. One fitter suggested I consider playing the S59 with a lightweight R.flex shaft, but I felt it was a bit much ( I had 19 HDCP back then).

This flip-flop is not unusual. In Callaway land, the X22 Tour irons had an MPF = 594, while the 2009 X.Forged had MPF = 621. In this Callaway example, basically a tie in GI- range.