Ping S55 vs Ping I

[phillyk]

I'm looking into new irons.  I currently play with Callaway Apex Pro and am either going to continue with Callaway or move to Ping, because that's what my shop mainly stocks.  I want to know what people think of the difference between the Ping S55 player irons versus the Ping I irons.

I have not gone out to hit the S55's yet.  I do like the Ping I's but I'm not 100% sold on them until I try the S55's.  I am looking for new irons, because the ones I have, even though 3 years old, are getting worn out.  The grooves in the hitting zone are getting worn down and scratched.  I haven't tried the new Callaway Apex Pros yet but I'd assume it plays about the same as my current ones.  Price is a factor, sure, but I am more concerned right now with the playability of each type of iron.

[onthehunt526]

The S55 is more of a traditional player's club, while the IE1 is more of a forgiving player's club. This year's HOT LIST player's clubs, are more forgiving, because they are putting a lot of the aspects of a forgiving clubhead in a compact classic design. Most are progressive offset, but have less than a GI club to begin with.

More and More player's models are getting forgiving.

[Par Fore]

Try to hit all 3, multiple times on different days.....just posted a recent thread, hit a crazy number of different clubs over the last few months, and the S55s, I, and Apex Pro were within that sample group.  See which feels best, and use a monitor to see if the numbers support how they feel to you.  My experience - couldn't hit the 55's with any real consistency, the I's were better, and 16 Apex Pros were amazing (look like a players club, but very easy to hit and in my top 3).  All 3 are quality clubs, can't go wrong IMHO.  Good luck.

[mvmac]

10 hours ago, phillyk said:

I'm looking into new irons.  I currently play with Callaway Apex Pro and am either going to continue with Callaway or move to Ping, because that's what my shop mainly stocks.  I want to know what people think of the difference between the Ping S55 player irons versus the Ping I irons.

The 55's will look similar to your Apex Pro irons at address and will probably perform similarly. The i irons will launch higher (degree or so), most likely hit them farther and you'll see better performance on mis-hits. The i head is still "compact" but not as "pro" looking at the S55's. The PING irons will also be more durable.

[Jakester23]

4 hours ago, mvmac said:

The PING irons will also be more durable.

Is that because the Apex are forged?

[mvmac]

5 hours ago, Jakester23 said:

Is that because the Apex are forged?

Yes mostly.

[Andy H]

^{I've recently switched from i20's to S55's and it's the best equipment move I've made.  Never really gave the S series irons much of a look because I just assumed more forgiveness was automatically better.   Well, I'm hitting the 55's WAY better than any i's or G's that i've played.    If you're able to consistently hit the sweet spot on your irons you definitely need to try out the 55's.  For me they just made my shot pattern  so much tighter.}

Edited March 15, 2016 by Andy H

[inthecup]

On March 11, 2016 at 1:51 PM, mvmac said:

Yes mostly.

The Apex have 'cup face' which is stainless face laser  welded to a forged body.  I think they will towards the durable side of things.