Hi Ryan! Thanks for watching the video and for your question! It’s hard for me to give you a definitive answer as I think decisions like these are very personal. However my general thoughts are: 1. In my experience and testing, Game Improvement Irons have moved on loads in the last 8-10 years (I think your Ping G25s were released about 8 years ago). If you watch my review of the Callaway Rogue ST Max or TM Stealth you’ll see similar positive results with those too. 2. Getting your golf clubs fit for your swing is always going to give you the best chance of optimising your performance - however by how much and whether you see the benefits as worth the cost is personal to you. If you’re considering getting new clubs and can afford the cost of a fitting (most places make it free if you then go on to purchase), then my recommendation would be to go for a fitting - with someone you trust locally - and test loads of clubs out (which is always good fun!). You’ll find out what adjustments from standard (if any) that you need, whether you see any performance improvements and can then decide if it’s worth upgrading. If you do this, the one thing I would recommend is don’t be sold solely by the ones that go the furthest. With irons you want to also think about launch, peak height, spin and the descent angle so you can land the ball and stop it on a green. Best of luck and please let me know how you get on! Thanks, Luke
I love my ping 425 irons and woods, especially the driver….you still need to hit the ball…..working on compression vs picking my ball up with my irons…. A bigger challenge! Maybe a future show? Like your review, very fair!
Hi Jim! Thank you for watching the video and for your comment! I have a Ping G425 5 wood in my bag already and a Ping G410 driver so I absolutely get why you love Ping clubs, especially given how much I liked the irons too! It’s a really interesting and fair point you make and I don’t disagree! With these videos I try my best to review them on behalf of the average golfer (speed, handicap, ability etc.) but as you say every golfer has different swings! I’ll try and find a way to touch on this in future. Cheers, Luke
Hi Conner, Loved the review. I also got custom fitted for the G425s. I lived your advice on not getting fixated on distance. My fitter explained to me although I hit the TaylorMade irons farther (I’ve always played TM), the G425 performed better on all other aspects: launch angle, backspin, and angle of descent. What I like the most was the forgiveness; I didn’t lose much distance if I didn’t hit the “sweet spot”. I will be receiving them in a couple of days, and can’t wait to see how they perform on the course. Enjoy the channel…keep up the good work.
Hi Munder Family! Thank you so much for watching the video and for your kind words about my content and the channel! I’m still really new to this so lovely messages like this really make all the effort that goes into making a video worth it, so thank you! I’m really pleased you liked the irons. They are my favourites out of all the ones I’ve tested and I am really tempted by a set myself. Great to hear they were forgiving for you too. With distance it’s all about gapping. Your driver is your longest club and your lob wedge is your shortest. Everything else is just about gapping. The distance of each club is therefore slightly irrelevant so long as you’ve got clubs that gap and go the distances you need to inbetween and you are in control of! I also really appreciate you subscribing, thank you! Enjoy the new clubs and I would love to hear how that first round with them goes! I have a feeling you’ll be flushing them!!! All the best, Luke
Hi Luke, played my first round with my G425s, and they played fantastic. I was really impressed with the trajectory…they flew really high. It gives me confidence to know that the ball will stick as opposed to running on the green. The only trouble I had was adjusting to the 3 & 4 hybrids. I’m sure with more time at the range it will come around. Thanks again for the review.
Really glad you enjoyed them and saw the same performance on the course where it matters! I’ve hit the 4 hybrid for a few shots when it came out and I did love it so I’m m sure as you get more familiar with it then it will be just as good as the irons. I play a G425 fairway wood and that is excellent too! Thanks for letting me know and good luck with the game going forward! Cheers, Luke
Hi Luke, fellow left handed golfer here. I was fitted with the G425s last year, and they have performed better than I expected over the past two seasons. The finish on the club still looks new. I did hit P790s during the fitting process, but was not as consistent. I do wonder how much of that is a result of the AWT shafts…? Were those the shafts you trialed? Thanks for the review.
Hi Jeb! I can’t remember the exact shafts I used, I just know it was one of the stock shafts in a regular flex. I’ve been asked questions on shafts a lot so will make sure I take note of this in future and show it on screen! Really pleased to hear the irons have performed well for you over a period of time, I loved them when I hit them! I also loved the P790s when I reviewed them and can see why people would buy them too… they’d be the top two on my list if I was buying a new set tomorrow. Thank you for watching the video and subscribing to my channel. As an FYI I’ve got a giveaway video on the channel at the moment, running until 29 August - check it out and enter if you’d like! Thanks, Luke
@@weekendtourpros I also have an alternative set of irons I use at our vacation home. They’re the Takomo 101s. They remind me of the P790s, but much less expensive!
I think they look good too! And you can see rightaway they are forgiving. Actually got intreseted about them, ive been too keen on the distance only. But it really doesnt matter to me if i transfer to hybrids one club sooner. The consistent dispersion is the most important aspect of a club. Yes, that it😎
Hi Antti! You are spot on about the forgiveness and dispersion. As you say… if they are a bit shorter than the powerful, long game improvement irons you just transfer to hybrids earlier and you probably transition into your wedges later! Thanks for watching and the comment!
Just got these after a fitting the other day - excited to get the custom versions. Did enjoy them; not as eye popping but the performance was solid for me
Hi Connor! Thanks for watching the video and for your comment! I hear the Ping custom fitting process for irons is really good! Did you have a good experience during the fit? What sort of performance improvements did you see???
@@weekendtourpros Noticed the forgiveness when you don't catch in the sweet spot ; distance was not affected really maybe just a little left and very spinny - was a great experience.
Love it Connor! Would really love to hear how you find them through the bag when you get them. Keen to see how the launch and height is on a PW and then a 5 iron at the other end of the bag. I must say I’m really tempted by them myself.
I just got fitted into a set of G425's project x IO shafts, they're 10-15 meters shorter than my Titleist AP1's but the dispersion is tighter, my AP1's my misses were 10-15 meters to the left or right, compared to the G425's it's 4-8 meters either way
Hi nzfarmboy! Thanks for watching the video and for your comment! Really interesting to hear about your experience! Which loft option have you gone with? The retro or standard? I always say that distances with irons is a bit of a false thing anyway as it’s all about creating the right gaps in your bag between your longest club (driver) and shortest club (lob wedge). So really cool to hear you favoured dispersion over distance! Was the short and long dispersion tighter too?
@@weekendtourpros I've gone with standard loft, my long and short dispersion is tighter as well, when I got my AP1's around 12 years ago my swing speed was 10mph faster. In the past all I wanted to do is hit it has far and hard as I could, it affected my scoring one day I'd shoot in the low 80's the next low 100's. It'll be interesting to see my gaping, my fitter only has the 7 iron head for fitting, he's got all the shafts. Got new Glide wedges as well.
That sounds great! I’ll be interested to hear your views on the Glide wedges… I’ve heard great things but not hit them yet. I play a Ping driver and fairway wood and love them. After my experience with these irons I am becoming a massive Ping fan but haven’t considered the wedges until now! Thanks again for watching the video and for your comments! All the best!
@@weekendtourpros so far I love them only hit them on the simulator, getting 9500+ rpm, got the 4's in 50 and 54 12 degrees bounce s grind, my 58 is a glide 3 10 degrees bounce, I like the wider sole of the 3 for my lob wedge, I won't get time until September to get out on the course looking forward to see how much backspin I can get, going off the simulator it'll be a lot
I've also got the 10.5 degree Max driver head set up with a draw bias, also got the G425 3 hybrid to replace my King Cobra 3 driving iron also brought a Anser putter
Hi Dee! Thanks for watching the video and the comment! Love this! Did you test these before buying them? If so what results did you get? Did you test any other irons? Have you played Ping irons before?
That little notch on the heal of all ping iron heads is for adjusting the loft and lie! All the videos of people reviewing there clubs should know that.
Hi Scott! Thanks for letting me know! Someone did tell me this in the comments months ago! In truth, at the time, the fitters at the place I hire were building the clubs for me at this point so I wasn’t aware that Ping had a different fitting system to most manufacturers at the time! I always test in a flat/neural loft and lie setting to make my review videos consistent! Thanks for watching the video though! All the best! 👍🏼
Hi Alan. The coloured dots reflect the lie of the clubs. A black dot is standard lie. If you Google “Ping Color Code chart” you’ll see images of the chart with what each colour means. Ultimately the wrong lie angle could impact the shot shape you get from a club however in my experience most people are standard or 1-2 degrees either way. There are ways you can test if your clubs have the correct lie for you yourself, such as putting ‘strike’ tape on the face of your iron and marking the ball you hit with a line - if you Google “how to test the lie angle of your golf irons” you’ll see a few videos and articles explaining how to do this. Alternatively you can pay for your local golf pro to test this for you as most will have a loft and lie machine to make adjustments if required. What I would say is if you’re hitting your new clubs fairly straight, and not seeing any unusual and consistent ball flights particularly compared to your previous clubs, then I wouldn’t worry at all! Hope that helps! 👍🏼
Hi SJ! Thanks for watching the video and for your comment! Oh no! Sorry to hear this! I’m really surprised as I absolutely loved them in the bay! I think it’s great for viewers to see your comment though and have a balanced opinion - what sort of inconsistent distances are you seeing?
Hi Mat! Thanks for watching the video and for your comment! Yeah I’ve never noticed the line on the bottom groove of a Ping iron before! Has it been there for a long time then? Like I say in the video it’s the first time I’ve hit a Ping iron in about 5-6 years and I really can’t remember the last one! As for the hosel notch, I still don’t know what it does!!! Haha! I’ve googled it since and seem to get conflicting answers between it being there to help the fitter adjust loft/lie and reducing the club weight so they can place more on the clubhead… which one is it?!? Fair point on the homework! 😂 I’m still new to this so I’m sure I’ll get better as I learn more and get constructive feedback! Thanks again, Luke
Are there any better irons for mid to high handicap golfers at the moment???
I’ve got Ping G25s that I picked up 2nd hand. Do you think it would be worthwhile for me to upgrade to the G425’s? Current Hcp is 22.
Hi Ryan! Thanks for watching the video and for your question! It’s hard for me to give you a definitive answer as I think decisions like these are very personal.
However my general thoughts are:
1. In my experience and testing, Game Improvement Irons have moved on loads in the last 8-10 years (I think your Ping G25s were released about 8 years ago). If you watch my review of the Callaway Rogue ST Max or TM Stealth you’ll see similar positive results with those too.
2. Getting your golf clubs fit for your swing is always going to give you the best chance of optimising your performance - however by how much and whether you see the benefits as worth the cost is personal to you.
If you’re considering getting new clubs and can afford the cost of a fitting (most places make it free if you then go on to purchase), then my recommendation would be to go for a fitting - with someone you trust locally - and test loads of clubs out (which is always good fun!). You’ll find out what adjustments from standard (if any) that you need, whether you see any performance improvements and can then decide if it’s worth upgrading.
If you do this, the one thing I would recommend is don’t be sold solely by the ones that go the furthest. With irons you want to also think about launch, peak height, spin and the descent angle so you can land the ball and stop it on a green.
Best of luck and please let me know how you get on! Thanks, Luke
I love my ping 425 irons and woods, especially the driver….you still need to hit the ball…..working on compression vs picking my ball up with my irons…. A bigger challenge! Maybe a future show? Like your review, very fair!
Hi Jim! Thank you for watching the video and for your comment! I have a Ping G425 5 wood in my bag already and a Ping G410 driver so I absolutely get why you love Ping clubs, especially given how much I liked the irons too!
It’s a really interesting and fair point you make and I don’t disagree! With these videos I try my best to review them on behalf of the average golfer (speed, handicap, ability etc.) but as you say every golfer has different swings! I’ll try and find a way to touch on this in future. Cheers, Luke
Hi Conner,
Loved the review. I also got custom fitted for the G425s. I lived your advice on not getting fixated on distance. My fitter explained to me although I hit the TaylorMade irons farther (I’ve always played TM), the G425 performed better on all other aspects: launch angle, backspin, and angle of descent. What I like the most was the forgiveness; I didn’t lose much distance if I didn’t hit the “sweet spot”. I will be receiving them in a couple of days, and can’t wait to see how they perform on the course.
Enjoy the channel…keep up the good work.
Sorry Luke…I called you Conner. My mistake. Just discovered your channel, and just subscribed. Looking forward to future content.
Hi Munder Family! Thank you so much for watching the video and for your kind words about my content and the channel! I’m still really new to this so lovely messages like this really make all the effort that goes into making a video worth it, so thank you!
I’m really pleased you liked the irons. They are my favourites out of all the ones I’ve tested and I am really tempted by a set myself. Great to hear they were forgiving for you too. With distance it’s all about gapping. Your driver is your longest club and your lob wedge is your shortest. Everything else is just about gapping. The distance of each club is therefore slightly irrelevant so long as you’ve got clubs that gap and go the distances you need to inbetween and you are in control of!
I also really appreciate you subscribing, thank you! Enjoy the new clubs and I would love to hear how that first round with them goes! I have a feeling you’ll be flushing them!!! All the best, Luke
Hi Luke, played my first round with my G425s, and they played fantastic. I was really impressed with the trajectory…they flew really high. It gives me confidence to know that the ball will stick as opposed to running on the green. The only trouble I had was adjusting to the 3 & 4 hybrids. I’m sure with more time at the range it will come around. Thanks again for the review.
Really glad you enjoyed them and saw the same performance on the course where it matters! I’ve hit the 4 hybrid for a few shots when it came out and I did love it so I’m m sure as you get more familiar with it then it will be just as good as the irons. I play a G425 fairway wood and that is excellent too! Thanks for letting me know and good luck with the game going forward! Cheers, Luke
Hi Luke, fellow left handed golfer here. I was fitted with the G425s last year, and they have performed better than I expected over the past two seasons. The finish on the club still looks new. I did hit P790s during the fitting process, but was not as consistent. I do wonder how much of that is a result of the AWT shafts…? Were those the shafts you trialed? Thanks for the review.
Hi Jeb! I can’t remember the exact shafts I used, I just know it was one of the stock shafts in a regular flex. I’ve been asked questions on shafts a lot so will make sure I take note of this in future and show it on screen! Really pleased to hear the irons have performed well for you over a period of time, I loved them when I hit them! I also loved the P790s when I reviewed them and can see why people would buy them too… they’d be the top two on my list if I was buying a new set tomorrow.
Thank you for watching the video and subscribing to my channel. As an FYI I’ve got a giveaway video on the channel at the moment, running until 29 August - check it out and enter if you’d like! Thanks, Luke
@@weekendtourpros I also have an alternative set of irons I use at our vacation home. They’re the Takomo 101s. They remind me of the P790s, but much less expensive!
@@jebsmythe8300 I’ve not heard of that brand Jeb! To my knowledge we don’t have them in the UK! I’ll do some research into them!
I think they look good too! And you can see rightaway they are forgiving. Actually got intreseted about them, ive been too keen on the distance only. But it really doesnt matter to me if i transfer to hybrids one club sooner. The consistent dispersion is the most important aspect of a club. Yes, that it😎
Hi Antti! You are spot on about the forgiveness and dispersion. As you say… if they are a bit shorter than the powerful, long game improvement irons you just transfer to hybrids earlier and you probably transition into your wedges later! Thanks for watching and the comment!
Just got these after a fitting the other day - excited to get the custom versions. Did enjoy them; not as eye popping but the performance was solid for me
Hi Connor! Thanks for watching the video and for your comment! I hear the Ping custom fitting process for irons is really good! Did you have a good experience during the fit? What sort of performance improvements did you see???
@@weekendtourpros Noticed the forgiveness when you don't catch in the sweet spot ; distance was not affected really maybe just a little left and very spinny - was a great experience.
Love it Connor! Would really love to hear how you find them through the bag when you get them. Keen to see how the launch and height is on a PW and then a 5 iron at the other end of the bag. I must say I’m really tempted by them myself.
The cutaway in the heel is so the head can be adjusted a bit, by the fitter
Hi Tim! Thanks for watching the video and for letting me know. Is it mainly used for loft and lie adjustments?!?
I just got fitted into a set of G425's project x IO shafts, they're 10-15 meters shorter than my Titleist AP1's but the dispersion is tighter, my AP1's my misses were 10-15 meters to the left or right, compared to the G425's it's 4-8 meters either way
Hi nzfarmboy! Thanks for watching the video and for your comment! Really interesting to hear about your experience! Which loft option have you gone with? The retro or standard? I always say that distances with irons is a bit of a false thing anyway as it’s all about creating the right gaps in your bag between your longest club (driver) and shortest club (lob wedge). So really cool to hear you favoured dispersion over distance! Was the short and long dispersion tighter too?
@@weekendtourpros I've gone with standard loft, my long and short dispersion is tighter as well, when I got my AP1's around 12 years ago my swing speed was 10mph faster. In the past all I wanted to do is hit it has far and hard as I could, it affected my scoring one day I'd shoot in the low 80's the next low 100's. It'll be interesting to see my gaping, my fitter only has the 7 iron head for fitting, he's got all the shafts. Got new Glide wedges as well.
That sounds great! I’ll be interested to hear your views on the Glide wedges… I’ve heard great things but not hit them yet. I play a Ping driver and fairway wood and love them. After my experience with these irons I am becoming a massive Ping fan but haven’t considered the wedges until now! Thanks again for watching the video and for your comments! All the best!
@@weekendtourpros so far I love them only hit them on the simulator, getting 9500+ rpm, got the 4's in 50 and 54 12 degrees bounce s grind, my 58 is a glide 3 10 degrees bounce, I like the wider sole of the 3 for my lob wedge, I won't get time until September to get out on the course looking forward to see how much backspin I can get, going off the simulator it'll be a lot
I've also got the 10.5 degree Max driver head set up with a draw bias, also got the G425 3 hybrid to replace my King Cobra 3 driving iron also brought a Anser putter
The “cutaway bit” allows more flexibility in lie adjustments
Hi Jeff Job! Thanks for watching the video and your comment! That’s good to know, thank you!
Waiting for mine to arrive.
Hi Dee! Thanks for watching the video and the comment! Love this! Did you test these before buying them? If so what results did you get? Did you test any other irons? Have you played Ping irons before?
That little notch on the heal of all ping iron heads is for adjusting the loft and lie! All the videos of people reviewing there clubs should know that.
Hi Scott! Thanks for letting me know! Someone did tell me this in the comments months ago! In truth, at the time, the fitters at the place I hire were building the clubs for me at this point so I wasn’t aware that Ping had a different fitting system to most manufacturers at the time! I always test in a flat/neural loft and lie setting to make my review videos consistent! Thanks for watching the video though! All the best! 👍🏼
Can you explain this in more detail, please? I just bought a used set with a black dot.
Hi Alan. The coloured dots reflect the lie of the clubs. A black dot is standard lie. If you Google “Ping Color Code chart” you’ll see images of the chart with what each colour means. Ultimately the wrong lie angle could impact the shot shape you get from a club however in my experience most people are standard or 1-2 degrees either way. There are ways you can test if your clubs have the correct lie for you yourself, such as putting ‘strike’ tape on the face of your iron and marking the ball you hit with a line - if you Google “how to test the lie angle of your golf irons” you’ll see a few videos and articles explaining how to do this. Alternatively you can pay for your local golf pro to test this for you as most will have a loft and lie machine to make adjustments if required. What I would say is if you’re hitting your new clubs fairly straight, and not seeing any unusual and consistent ball flights particularly compared to your previous clubs, then I wouldn’t worry at all! Hope that helps! 👍🏼
@@weekendtourpros excellent, that helps a lot. Appreciate it!
I hate mine!
Very inconsistent distance.
Hi SJ! Thanks for watching the video and for your comment!
Oh no! Sorry to hear this! I’m really surprised as I absolutely loved them in the bay! I think it’s great for viewers to see your comment though and have a balanced opinion - what sort of inconsistent distances are you seeing?
You’ve only just noticed the line on the bottom of a ping club? And you don’t know what the “notch” is for? Homework next time my friend.
Hi Mat! Thanks for watching the video and for your comment! Yeah I’ve never noticed the line on the bottom groove of a Ping iron before! Has it been there for a long time then? Like I say in the video it’s the first time I’ve hit a Ping iron in about 5-6 years and I really can’t remember the last one!
As for the hosel notch, I still don’t know what it does!!! Haha! I’ve googled it since and seem to get conflicting answers between it being there to help the fitter adjust loft/lie and reducing the club weight so they can place more on the clubhead… which one is it?!?
Fair point on the homework! 😂 I’m still new to this so I’m sure I’ll get better as I learn more and get constructive feedback! Thanks again, Luke