PingKing

I can see that our favorites depend on our exposure to the great players in our formative years. To me that means Sam Snead. I go back Shell's Wonderful World of Golf. Now that the series can be obtained on DVD, I recommend that younger players purchase and watch carefully. I would pay a thousand dollars to follow a match between any three top golfers today on a 7,000+ yard course similar to the Houston Country Club in difficulty and playing with 1950's equipment and the famous Spaulding Dot ball. It would be an apples to apples test of golf skill. Even in 1973, players like Johnny Miller were hitting 4-woods into number 10 at Augusta. Jack Nicholas hit 1-irons to reach number 13. As far as delicious swings go, Sam Snead was the Freddie Couples of his day. I followed him in the first round of the 1973 Masters and remember clearly how effortlessly he lobbed a 6-iron onto number one green. Not only were they great shotmakers, but they were personalities, a quality that is mostly absent among the current crop of athletic pro golfers. I think it would make for a great charity event to pit three top professionals in a match where they use equipment available to the best players in the 50's,

If you're referring to me, the one who originally posted this thread, then the answer to your question is no, not yet. The reason is that my clubs are in Florida where I'm having the lofts and lies adjusted and the shafts SST pured, which is a shaft alignment process far more complex than spine aligning. I should have my new clubs back the first week after Labor Day. I fully intend to report on the effectiveness of this procedure plus on the clubs themselves. I've been hitting my Ping Eye 2's in the meantime. Still great clubs, but not nearly as forgiving as the AP 1's seemed to be on the driving range. Stay tuned.

In a reply to another post, I mentioned that I am sending my new Titleist AP1 irons and Ping V2 driver to a company in Florida that uses the SST PURE technology to find the optimum alignment of shafts. One member wrote to say I was wasting my money. Has anyone had shafts re-aligned? And did it make a discernible difference in the feel, distance and accuracy of the clubs? Curious minds want to know.

Well, now I'm going to throw all of you a curve ball. I have decided to have these new clubs, which I've not yet even tried out in a regular round, shipped directly to a company in Florida that will align and pure the shafts, check all the specs and return my clubs to me. I presume that this is a good move. Everyone I've talked to says this makes a qualitative differendce and should be done. What does everyone else think?

Wow! All of your comments make me feel good about my purchase. As I said initially, I hit them really well on the range and compared to my Ping Eye 2's which I had with me for comparison the AP1's felt like forged irons. And, I was averaging about 12 yards more in distance. I've decided to go ahead and have the shafts spine aligned. When I get a couple of rounds behind me I'll report in. Thanks guys. Oh, by the way, I gave the pro my Pings to have him install new grips. After 26 years and some terrific shots in my treasure chest of golfing memories, I ain't a givin' 'em up just yet.

Oh yes, take it from me. These clubs are still relevant. I have owned a set since 1983. Stainless. They are the best, but I'll be honest the lofts are weaker than the current sets and the zz-lites truly have a hard feel if you don't nail the ball on the spot. Yes it is forgiving and even by today's club standardss, the Ping Eye 2's are definitely a game improvement club.Go ahead, pick up a set. You'll hit them shorter than your current irons, but you'll probably hit them well, that is if you can actually hit the ball. I love my Pings and will never give them up.

Is this thread possibly still alive? There is no question that my First Flight Eagles are the best irons ever. Yeah, that's right. First Flight. Tony Penna. Mid-1960's. Many clubs since have approximated the style, but none have surpassed the quality of the FF muscle backs. At least that's what my pro said when he convinced me to purchase a new set of Titleist AP 1 irons.

No. Dumb ass that I am, I did not realize it. I thought pro shops sold a variety of clubs and that the pro shop pro would recommend the best club available under the circumstances. By taking choice out of the equation, the pro probably did me a favor. After all, these many different clubs are roughly the same clubs when it gets right down to it; aren't they?

I am the new proud owner of Titleist AP1 irons that I somehow committed to without realizing that I might have options. I arranged a fitting with a PGA pro the other day and when I went out to the range and hit balls on a launch monitor, it never occurred to me that the set of Titleist fitting irons that were used in my session were actually the irons that I'd be buying in the end. We didn't try different clubs. Now I clearly remember the pro wearing a Titleist golf shirt. I hit the irons well; very well, in fact. Maybe I shouldn't complain. Titleist is good equipment, isn't it?

Help. I want to talk about those BeCu irons of yours. How do I accomplish this?

Gilly, what's a PM? I don't seem to be able to contact you directly.

Gilly, my friend. I have been looking for a white dot set of Eye 2's in Copper. Can we talk?