Ping S58 Irons
A Major Accomplishment
Nothing like a Major victory like Ping received in the hands of Angel Cabrera to generate a buzz in the golfing community. “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday,” -as they say. I had been putting the S58’s through their paces for about the last month, and it couldn’t be a more opportune time to share my findings. Ping staffers are winning with these irons, but they are playable for mere mortals like us too.
I have played Pings on and off for a few years now. Essentially, you always know what you’ll get when you buy a set of Pings. Attention to detail, in both the finished club, and the fitting process they are renowned for, is to be expected. I had been fit for Ping irons for the first time some 6 years ago. In that time, I have remained a “green dot” in my lie angle, and the resulting lie angles of that fitting carry over to almost every brand I am fit into to this day. I think that really speaks volumes about the accuracy of the fitting. Ping irons always wear like a champ, and you can be assured of a good trade in or re-sale value should you move to a newer design. My S58’s arrived with custom WRX department-installed Tour Concept X1 shafts. Every last ferrule, grip, etc. was installed to exacting standards. I continue to be impressed with each Ping iron set I am fitted to.
Ping has always seemed to be a little different in some way. Maybe slightly squarer lines; perhaps a little more offset or a unique sole designed to dig less. The S58’s continue this tradition of “uniqueness.” At address, they have a pronounced high toe, shallow heel, and a very thin topline. This is perhaps the thinnest topline Ping has incorporated into their more recent designs. The look, based on these design elements, is decidedly “blade-like.” It appears precise and almost delicate as you look down at them from address position. However, Ping is known for forgiveness and making clubs for a great majority of golfers. They didn’t fail us. There is a moderate amount of offset to the S58’s. It is progressive throughout the set, and is greatest in the longer irons to help square them at impact. The sole widths are moderately wide for a “player’s” cavity back, but they are much thinner than their siblings such as the i5’s. The overall look is one of precision, and the high toe and shallow heel made them very easy to align to the target. They also incorporate the painted bottom scoreline to further enhance aiming. Like the S59 Tours, the S58’s incorporate a ferrule to the design, which adds to their “player’s” cavity good looks.
Ping has incorporated a design element by which they help the most common miss- out toward the toe. They have implemented a dual cavity construction technique, pushing more mass out in the toe to help with the balance of the club head. In striking the toe of the club, the resulting misses were not overly punitive and lost little distance. For as serious as the S58’s look from the business end of things at address, they were surprisingly forgiving. The adjustment period was very short, and I was soon peppering my target with them. One adjustment I did have to make was with the angle of attack. The S58’s have a somewhat sharp leading edge about them. When I got a little steep, I knew it. There is still a wide enough sole that it would let me get away with the steep angle, but there was a slight “catch” at impact when I did so. Those who take healthy divots and dig for China when playing- take note. Aside from my own swing inadequacies, however, they are a very agreeable set. There is enough forgiveness there for less than perfect swings, but you will want to be on top of things to make them perform at their highest level.
When comparing to Pings other current iron offerings, I would put the S58’s squarely between the S59 Tours and the i5’s. The offset is great enough to help square them up, but is certainly less noticeable than the i5’s. Also, the trajectory of the S58’s would have them between these two sets as well. The S58 launches mid-high, and is very much an extension of the shafts you choose to pair them with. The flighted nature of the Tour Concept shafts was a great matchup. The long irons were very easy to elevate, -so much so that I dropped the 23 degree hybrid I had become so accustomed to playing and put the 4 iron back in the bag. Even the 3 and 2 irons that accompanied my set were relatively easy to elevate and control. When comparing workability to the S59 Tours and the i5’s, again, I would put the S58’s in the middle of the three sets. Draws came most naturally for me with the S58’s, but they are entirely workable both ways. I found them to be very straight hitters for the most part; with attempts to work them resulting in tight 5 yard draws and fades. They did seem very much an extension of me with their excellent balance, and they were most intuitive as far as working the ball. I essentially thought it, and they did it. I found myself taking nice, relaxed swings with the S58’s, and the distance control was excellent.
Distance with the S58’s was about what I expected. The lofts are the more modern stronger standard, with the 47 degree pitching wedge. Compared to other manufacturers, the S58’s were about on par as to distance. The distance came in a very effortless way, with additional yardage available when needed if you really step on the gas. For the most part, I got the best results when swinging within myself with the S58’s. One reason for this was the very aggressive grooves. The S58’s have some of the sharpest grooves I have experienced on an iron set. When really stepping on them, they tended to spin a little more than other sets I have reviewed. The resulting shots were a little higher, and into a headwind, tended to be just a little shorter. This may also be the Tour Concept shafts to some extent, as they are designed to flight the ball higher in the longer irons. They were, however, very point and shoot into a variety of green conditions. The ball really had some bite on it, and it rarely moved far from its pitch mark.
One area I really liked the S58’s over the i5’s I had previously owned was around the greens. They were much more serviceable for hitting bump and run style chips around the green, and for pitches from close up in the fairway. The narrower soles and sharper leading edge really allowed me to trap the ball easily, and the sharp grooves made them into viable short game tools. With their reduced bounce, there was little “skipping” into the ball in these short game situations. That is not to say the i5’s were not useable around the green. But, thoughts of “skulls” never entered my mind with the S58’s.
I cannot complete this review in good conscience without mentioning the soft feel of the S58’s. It’s pretty remarkable for a cast club. The “tuning pocket,” as Ping refers to it, located in the cavity of the head, features an insert for shock absorption and fine tuning the swingweights. Taking a cue from their Tour wedges, the feel at impact is very soft and has a high rebound sensation about it. There is little harshness; even when mis-hit, and the vibrations that make their way to your hands are muted without negating the sense of feedback. This evolution in Ping’s cast club feel will leave little to be desired if straddling the fence on the age-old “forged vs. cast” debate. These are among the best feeling cast clubs I have had the opportunity to experience.
My S58’s came fitted with the stock Ping 703 grips from Golf pride. They have excellent tack to them, with a unique traction pattern that resembles rain drops. Byron Nelson was a proponent of using a reminder on grips. He said getting the grip right was as important as anything for developing a repeating swing. The 703 grip has a pronounced reminder under the top hand (in my case, the left hand.) I found myself taking a very consistent grip each time thanks to the 703’s reminder. The bottom hand is more round, and this made the reminder less noticeable and very comfortable for the bottom hand. The rubber is soft, and offers some level of vibration absorption. While I am not always a fan of a reminder grip, I suggest trying out the 703 grip if Ping irons happen to be on your demo list. Being able to have the grip assist so much in the consistency in the way I setup up with these clubs may have changed my mind on reminder grips. For now, anyway, they stay.
With Angel Cabrera’s win at the U.S. Open, the Ping S58’s got a shot of adrenaline in the marketplace. This is not to say they needed it. They are an extremely playable set of irons, with forgiveness and an easy to square nature wrapped neatly into one of the most compact and precise-looking iron heads I have seen of late. With good workability and the ability to be used around the green as a scoring tool, the S58’s are about as versatile as you will find without going all the way to a blade style iron. Cabrera’s U.S. Open victory was a major accomplishment for him, just as the S58’s are a major accomplishment for Ping’s ever-evolving club designs.
Michael White
Independent Equipment Reviewer
GolfDiscussions.com
