As always, let’s start with a little background information about the clubs, then we will get on to the meat of the review.

Background

The technology of the G15 Iron provides the high-launching, maximum forgiveness attributes that bring consistency to your iron play.. The stainless steel iron’s cavity design features a new Custom Tuning Port (CTP) which expands the perimeter weighting and increases the moment of inertia.

Weight savings from a thinner face is re-positioned to the toe for added forgiveness on mis-hits and its wider sole produces a higher launch angle. Stronger lofts combine with a center of gravity located low and farther from the face to produce longer shots without sacrificing the higher trajectory required in a maximum forgiveness iron.

Look and Feel

G15 Pitching Wedge

There is no mistaking the G15 for blades, that is for sure. However, even with the wide sole and thicker top-line of a super game improvement iron, the G15 irons are very reassuring at address. As expected, the club face is slightly larger than that of the i15, especially noticeable in the heel to toe dimension at address. Personally, I like this in the longer irons, however, feel a little less confident when it comes to the shorter irons.

Flip the club over and you’ll notice the wider sole. Part of the theory behind this design decision is to get the center of gravity lower and further back on the club. This helps launch the ball higher. So, if you are one who has a hard time getting some height out of your irons, you should be able to hit a high ball with these sticks!

There is a nice finish to all PING clubs, the G15 irons are no exception. The almost rough finish to these cast irons is very cool in my book. The graphics on the back of the club face are interesting enough, but not overly distracting. Very similar to the i15 graphics, and even the G10 line to some degree. You will not be seeing them while swinging the club, so the design of the backside of the club rarely influences my decision on a club purchase.

Feel is where I have always found the PING G and I series lacking. The PING i15s, in my opinion, have made a nice step forward in the feel department over the i10 irons. The same can be said for the G15 irons. That being said, a well struck 8 iron is not going to feel as buttery smooth as a Mizuno blade. The flip side on that is when you thin a 5 iron in the early spring, you are not going to feel like you just smacked a cold cinder block.

All that being said, in the super game improvement class of clubs, I think the G15 irons do an admirable job of preserving some level of feel. While you may not feel exactly where you may have mis-hit a shot, you will at least know you did. I cannot say this for all super game improvement clubs out in the market.

Performance

Like any club out there, if you try hard enough, you can make these things slice and hook. Now, a gentle draw or fade? That will probably depend on your swing. I have a slight draw tendency, couple that with the offset and draw bias in these clubs, and I was generally hitting these with a few yards of right to left in them. Are they any more or less workable than the G10 irons? Not sure I can say there is a huge difference there.

As I mentioned earlier, these clubs have pretty wide soles. Personally, I always seem to struggle with wide soles, especially when it comes to tight lies. I feel like it is a little more difficult to play these out of a wider variety of lies because of that sole. However, given that these things are so darn forgiving, I found myself in fewer situations that required a club with a little more ‘workability’. If you have trouble getting the ball elevated, the wider sole in this set of irons does help get the ball up quickly.

When it comes to forgiveness, you will be hard pressed to find an iron that is this easy on your poor swings. Thin shots carried distance well, as did shots out on the toe and to some degree the heel as well. Sure, come in there with the face wide open, and this club won’t help you…but none of them will.

Conclusion

I really loved hitting the long irons, especially when the ball was sitting up on a tee. Standing on the tee box of a long par 3 or a tight par 4, the 3 or 4 iron from this set are superb. As I generally find with most sets of irons, a well struck 3 iron is a pretty amazing feeling. With the G15 irons, I found it relatively easy to find the sweet spot off a tee and could get used to launching my golf ball way up into the sky, hurdling down the middle of the fairway.

That being said, I felt like I gave up a little something in the control and accuracy department with the shorter irons. Now, this is just me, and I am looking for shorter irons I can work and flight. If you are just looking for maximum forgiveness, to hit the ball straight, and make the game of golf a heck of a lot easier…these may make more sense for you! Wait a minute, why do I want to be able to work the ball?

But back to those long irons. Today, the longest iron I am playing in my bag is a 5 iron. Anything above that, I am using a hybrid. It is difficult to beat the versatility of a hybrid and the forgiveness. But, a few sweet swings with the G15 3 and 4 irons on the range, and it is hard for me not to want to put them in play. So, we will see, they may make another appearance in my bag soon.

Should you be looking at the G15 irons? If you are currently playing something like the TaylorMade RAC OS2 irons and are looking for a little more feel and distance, this would be a nice step up. If you are coming from a set of blades, looking to make your Sundays more enjoyable, I would suggest stepping into something a little more intermediate, like the i15 irons.

The great news is, PING irons generally seem to retain their value well. So, picking up a set of either of these irons for a month or two would not cost you an arm and a leg if you consider the resale value.

While I personally will not be there, we will have a contributing blogger submit some reports over the next week. You may also want to check out our friends at oobgolf who will be live blogging the event. Knowing Andrew @ oob, I am sure that will be a blast to follow.

If there are any products you are specifically interested in, drop us a note in the comments here and we’ll try to get some more details for you. I am getting inundated with emails from manufacturers who will be at the show, so I may have some info for you!

Christmas Golf?

Golf Balls

This is always the ‘old standby’, I am sure most people out there with a golfing dad has bought a dozen golf balls as a gift on numerous occasions. If your dad generally plays ‘whatever golf ball he finds’ you could surprise him with a dozen ProV1 golf balls, at a discount price. How, you say? Check out our review on KnetGolf, a company that resells refinished or recycled golf balls. You can get top quality balls for half the price, and I really could not notice any difference…performance wise or cosmetically. So if you are looking to surprise that golfer in the family with some pricey golf balls…without breaking the bank, that route is a great option.

Epoch Golf Tee

A big bag of wooden golf tees is another traditional gift for a golfer. Rather than boring that golfer in your family with a $5 bag of 100 wooden tees in their stocking, check out our Evolve Golf. They offer a couple varieties of environmentally friendly, reusable golf tees. Not long ago we reviewed the Epoch and Vireo golf tees. Both can be had for about the same price as a large bag of wooden golf tees, but will last a heck of a lot longer, might eek out a few more yards and you won’t be killing any trees in the process.

Sassy Golf Glove

So you have a lady golfer in your life, and have no clue what to get her. Well, Sassy Golf has a real simple option for you, a decked out golf glove designed by a woman for women. Elizabeth, over at Sassy Golf, grew tired of wearing a man’s golf glove sized for a woman. So she put together some cute glove designs and has been selling her Sassy Golf gloves like crazy! There are a number of design options available, so you have another opportunity to be a little creative. The gloves can be had for just under $20 and include a boutique style gift pouch…saves you some wrapping time perhaps? After you order one of these gloves for the golfing woman in your life, be sure to follow Sassy Golf on Twitter.

Practice Golf Balls

Is your golfer looking at a cold winter season, stuck indoors? There are a number of practice golf balls on the market that can help ease the winter golf blues. We have reviewed a few of the options in the past, all of which are great options, let’s have a look at see what might work best for your golfer. Almost Golf makes a soft, foam like golf ball that looks a traditional golf ball and almost feels and flies like one. It could be used indoors for chipping or hit into a net in your garage. Another option, if the golfer has a little less space is The Floppy. The Floppy is more of a bean bag type material that can be used for any number of short game shots around the house. It works great off carpet, and unless you are hitting it toward that antique vase, it should be relatively safe around the house. Now, for the golfer that is in a little warmer weather and can hit some balls outside, your best bet is the Birdie Ball. The Birdie Ball is the most realistic feeling of the practice balls we have tested, but flies a much shorter distance. So for someone with a small back yard, you can still take pretty big swings and not worry about breaking any windows…well…hopefully not! All of these practice balls can be had at stocking stuffer prices, and would be a great gift for the avid golfer.

Pure Ball Striker

How many people out there have spent hundreds of dollars on golf training aids, only to find them collecting dust in the basement? The Pure Ball Striker is a very simple, yet very effective training aid that will help you develop lag pressure in your swing. It’s as simple as a little piece of rubber cut to fit over your golf grip. You place the meat of your lower hand (right hand for right handed golfers) on the PBS and feel the club head lagging against that finger through your swing. It’s something you can use anywhere and anytime you are practicing. Coming in at under $15, it definitely falls into that stocking stuffer category. Here is a nice video review of the product.

Golf Clubs

Now, what about golf clubs? This is a tricky subject. If the golfer in your life is an avid golfer, he or she probably has a very good idea of what type of club fits their game and what they want in a club. Most likely they would want to demo a few sets of irons or try out a variety of drivers before setting on a single club. This makes it difficult to choose a specific golf club for such people. In this case, it may make sense to simply get them a gift certificate at a local pro shop. Maybe make it a little interesting, buy them a custom club fitting at a location with a launch monitor or motion capture technology (TaylorMade Performance Lab or MotionGolf). If you still want to stick with a golf club, check out our used golf club buying guide on oobgolf.

Win some Golf Stocking Stuffers!

Okay, so hopefully you got some good advice there, and have enough time to order some little stocking stuffers for that golfer in your life. Now, if you are really tight on cash, and still want to get that golfer a pretty cool gift, have no fear, The Deep Rough has put together a little stocking stuffer contest for you! We will be awarding four prizes over the next couple of weeks.

• December 11th – Post a Comment – A Selection of a Dozen Golf Balls from KnetGolf
• December 16th – Follow us on Twitter – A Selection of Golf Tees from Evolve Golf
• December 18th – Subscribe to the Newsletter – Three Birdie Balls
• December 24th – Random One of the Above – A new Heavy Putter Mid-Weight CX2

To be entered into the contest, simply do one or all of the following:

Comment on a post on The Deep Rough (be sure to leave a valid email address) – We will select one comment posted after December 7th 2009, on December 11th. There is no limit to the number of entries, but please keep in mind that any that are determined to be spam will be deleted. So please, make your comments meaningful.

Follow us on Twitter and Retweet – Simply tweet the following:

RT @thedeeprough Enter our Stocking Stuffer Contest http://bit.ly/89mhHa

We will select one random person who tweets the message above on December 16th. Again, no limit to the number of entries.

Subscribe to our Newsletter – We will randomly select one new subscriber to The Deep Rough as of December 18th, make sure you have entered a valid email address and confirmed the validation email.

Lastly, for the putter, we will put all of the comments, tweets and new newsletter subscribers into a big pool, and randomly select one entry. The Heavy Putter Mid-Weight CX2 could be a nice little ‘slightly belated’ Christmas gift for someone!

Enter early, and enter often! Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Winners

• December 11th – Dozen Golf Balls from KnetGolf – Jim V
• December 16th – A Selection of Golf Tees from Evolve Golf – @garthspaulding of CA
• December 18th – Three Birdie Balls – Jeremy of MD
• December 24th – A new Heavy Putter Mid-Weight CX2 – George of NV

Background

The G15 driver is engineered for golfers seeking a maximum forgiveness driver that delivers distance and accuracy. Its 460cc titanium head is longer front to back and features PING’s patented ultra thin crown technology. Weight savings from the thin crown are positioned as an external sole weight to optimize the center of gravity for higher trajectories and reduced spin.

A larger face is designed to increase ball speed and provide consistency across the entire hitting surface. The new PING-designed TFC 149D high balance point shaft allows for a five gram increase in head mass (without increasing swingweight or overall weight) which results in higher ball speeds and an increased moment of inertia.

Look and Feel

The Ping G15 driver is an interesting piece of equipment. At first glance it appears to be a traditionally shaped, large head driver of 460cc. However, upon closer inspection one can make out the triangular geometry of the club head. It is not nearly as pronounced as something like the TaylorMade R7 CGB Max, but it is definitely there. I really liked the shape of it, not quite as clean as something like the Nickent 4DX, but much more pleasing to the eye than so many drivers these days.

The club head is finished in a dark color that is very subtle and does not distract you at address or during your swing. The crown of the club is set with the trademark Ping alignment aid, a reversed crescent moon. Again, nothing distracting about this, the alignment aid is a dark gray that does not stand out significantly, just enough that you can easily align the ball and club face.

Feel off the face is solid when well struck. Heel or toe shots are instantly recognizable, as are hits that are a little thin or fat. Unlike some other drivers today, if you do not hit the ball on the sweet spot, you will not be falsely rewarded with a solid feeling impact. This is a welcome surprise in a driver in this category. Generally I have found that the game improvement drivers always seem to reward you with an awesome feeling…you look up and you have hit a snap hook that nose dives 100 yards off the tee.

For those of you who are bothered by offset and draw bias in a club, you will be happy to know that the G15 sets up pretty neutral and looks quite square at address. There is a draw bias version of the G15 for those of you looking to help ease a slice. That particular model offers up a slightly more pronounced offset. The standard G15, on the other hand, will look quite pleasing to a golfer who naturally hits a draw. No worries about having to hold off the release to avoid those big hooks!

Performance

The day UPS dropped the G15 off at my door, I headed right over to my home course and took the driver out for a spin. I did not even bother to hit up the range, just took it right on the course. Little crazy perhaps, but it worked out pretty well. Lucky for me, the loft and shaft seemed to fit my swing pretty decently. I ended up hitting about 70% fairways, which is well above average for me.

With my swing, the ball launched quite high and seemed to have a pretty good spin rate, as the ball seemed to hang in the air forever and then roll out quite nicely. My driver was fitted with the PING TFC 149D shaft in stiff flex. It seemed to be quite stable and worked well with my particular swing. Nonetheless, you would probably want to be fitted by an authorized PING club fitter to help set you up with the right shaft/head combination to optimize the driver for your game.

I usually play with a Callaway FT-5 driver that has been fit with the proper lie/loft and shaft combination. The FT-5 is a solid performer in the ball speed department, one of the longer drivers out there. Fit to my swing, it should produce about as much distance as I can get on the course. Amazingly enough, I found solid strikes with the stock PING G15 to be not far behind the FT-5. At the same time, it also seemed to be far more forgiving.

As I mentioned earlier, it was very easy to tell where on the face the ball hit on a poor swing. On those hits, distance loss does not seem to be as severe as it is with a driver like the FT-5. While the driver does seem to be quite forgiving, it will not be as forgiving as some of the square faced clubs out there. There will always be trade-offs in the golf equipment market. Do you want more forgiveness? Do you want to maximize distance? Do you want to be able to work the ball? Generally you need to make a compromise somewhere and take whatever you feel will work best with your game. The PING G15 driver seems to settle nicely in the, good amount of forgiveness, lots of distance, and still some workability and decent feel.

Conclusion

I have been playing the G15 for about a month now, and have had some of my better driving days of my golfing ‘career’. When struck on the screws, this club can launch the ball a long way. And I suspect, if I were fitted with the right shaft/loft combination, I could eek out a few more yards from this combo. In addition to the great distance, the level of forgiveness has been great for my game. I really do struggle with my driver at times and find playing with drivers more along the ‘player’ level of driver can be a problem. I still manage to lose a ball now and then with the G15, but have kept a lot more balls in the short stuff (or at least playable) while I have been bagging the G15.

I cannot speak to how the G15 compares to previous generations of the G line, however, I would highly recommend adding the G15 to your list of drivers to hit if you are on the market for a new ‘Big Dog’. Coming in at $299 retail (or around $225 on eBay), the G15 is slightly less expensive than some of the high tech, bells and whistle drivers out there. So be sure to find yourself a local authorized PING fitter and take a couple swings with this stick. Let me know how you make out with it!

As with most of our reviews here, Ping has provided the G15 driver used in this review free of charge. As we receive equipment from all of the major golf equipment manufacturers, we try to remain unbiased and provide an honest look at every piece of equipment we review at The Deep Rough, this is nothing new. We would have a much harder time putting together all of these reviews if the manufacturers if we had to go out and purchase all of this equipment at retail prices. And for full disclosure, just about every piece of equipment we receive for a review we end up giving away to charity or as prizes in contests.

Background

The G15 hybrid is engineered as a high-launching, forgiving alternative to long- and mid-irons. A large internal toe pad expands the perimeter weighting to make it PING’s most forgiving and longest hybrid ever.

The stainless steel hybrid’s unique shape features an iron-style face and hosel design which positions the center of gravity closer to the face to increase launch angle and reduce spin. The clean look at address inspires confidence for golfers of all abilities.

Look and Feel

First thing you will notice when you line this club up at address is the large amount of offset built into the club head. We reviewed a G15 hybrid with 20 degrees of loft, and were surprised by the amount of offset. This is built into most game improvement clubs, and should help the average weekend golfer square up the club face, helping to prevent a slice. Pesonally, I just found it to be distracting, but I have been playing the Adams Idea Pro Gold hybrids most of the season, and those offer little to no offset, and nowhere near the forgiveness or length of this particular hybrid.

I generally find people lean one of two ways: they love their fairway woods and that particular shape or they love the look and feel of an iron. Golf equipment manufacturers seem to understand this as well and generally seem to build hybrids that tip in one of those directions. The PING G15 hybrid definitely falls more on the iron side of the fence. The relatively compact head and sharp face angle are reminiscent of an iron at address. For those of you who have been reluctant to give up the 3 iron because you like that feel in your hand, the PING G15 should appeal to you. If you are the kind of person who likes a 7 wood, you may not be as impressed.

Feel wise, the PING G15 hybrid offers up a solid thud at impact and the ball proceeds to launch itself off into the stratosphere, eventually landing way down the fairway. I did not find the feel on off center hits to be as telling as hybrids in the player class of club, but that is to be expected. Hits on the sweet spot did feel nice, not as buttery soft as a well struck 3 iron, but still nice. I could also tell about where on the face any poor swings managed to connect with the ball. Feel was a little clicky on more finesse shots like a bump and run around the green or trying to punch out from under a tree. I did not have confidence with the club to execute those types of shots and just stuck with my irons.

The stock shaft fit in the G15 was quite stout and stable at impact. Not nearly as smooth as a Matrix shaft, but, it seemed to do its part in launching the ball high and did not feel too loose.

Performance

The first few hits I had with this club were phenomenal. They were high, straight as an arrow and as long as any hybrid I have ever hit, if not longer. Then, I hit a hook. And the offset in the club just started bugging me. It became one of those mental things for me…is it the offset? Can I just hold off the release to get it straight? So I went through a series of hooks and pushes trying to get my release back under control, never quite feeling as comfortable with it as I did on those first couple swings. That being said, I put this club in the hands of a golfer that was more accustomed to playing with an offset long iron and he was crushing the ball just like I did on my first few swings. No question, this club is extremely forgiving and long.

Workability wise, I was certainly able to hit a hook with the club and even hit a nice little draw with it now and then. I was not able to hit a baby cut with it, however. Was either a push or a hook, that’s about all I could get from it. Now, granted, I am certainly no professional golfer, so your mileage may vary. I also doubt the target audience for this club is looking to work the ball. If you are just looking to be more accurate with your long irons, get rid of those 3 and 4 irons, replace them with something significantly more forgiving like these G15 hybrids.

Conclusion

While I may have had some mental issues with this club, if you typically play a straight ball or a little slice and are looking for added forgiveness in your long iron game, put these clubs on your list to demo. Initially I was absolutely crushing the ball with this clubs, long, high, straight, it was awesome. Me, being a mental midget when it pertains to golf, let the offset get to me, and really could not settle in to be comfortable with this club or trust it. Based on how much I loved the i15 irons, I suspect I am a better candidate for the i15 hybrids as well, which offer less offset, more workability and are still quite forgiving.

The G15 Hybrid can be found at your local golf retailer for a suggested retail price of $159. As with all PING clubs, your best route, however, would be to find an authorized PING club fitter in your area. They can set you up with a number of fit options and suggest the best club head or specifications for your swing.
As with most of our reviews here, Ping has provided the i15 Irons used in this review free of charge. As we receive equipment from all of the major golf equipment manufacturers, we try to remain unbiased and provide an honest look at every piece of equipment we review at The Deep Rough, this is nothing new. We would have a much harder time putting together all of these reviews if the manufacturers if we had to go out and purchase all of this equipment at retail prices. And for full disclosure, just about every piece of equipment we receive for a review we end up giving away to charity or as prizes in contests. This particular club was given away as a prize in a charity golf tournament for a local high school.

The PING G10 and i10 irons and were well received for the most part. The G10 irons continued to improve the game improvement line, while the i10s seemed to take a step closer to the S57/S58 player line of clubs. Some players of the i5 were put off by that, some seemed to embrace it.

Now, in 2009, PING has released the 15 line of clubs, including new i15 and G15 irons. It seems PING has listened to the feedback from their loyal customers and made some welcomed changes to the i15 line. Today we will have a closer look at the i15 irons. Over the next few weeks we will also be having a look at some of the other clubs in this new 15 line. Throughout the review you will see some pictures of the PING i15 irons alongside pictures of Mizuno MP-57 irons, which are targeted at a similar level of player.

As always, we will start with a little information from PING then on to the detailed review.

Background

In the design of the i15 iron, PING engineers focused on the better player who prefers an iron set that offers the control to play a variety of shots. Created as a progressive set, the longer irons are larger for more forgiveness. The mid- and short-irons are smaller to ensure workability and control on approach shots.

The stainless steel iron features a tungsten toe insert to add forgiveness to the mid-size design. A stabilizing bar and new Custom Tuning Port (CTP) provides the feel and sound attributes preferred by better players.

Specifications

The following table details the club specifications of the PING i15 irons.

Look and Feel

The PING i15 irons feature a relatively compact face size. As you can see in some of the pictures in this review, they are pretty similar to that of the Mizuno MP-57 or Adams Idea Pro Gold irons. They are, however, slightly larger than the previous generation i10 irons. While the backside may look a little busy to the golf purist, at address the irons setup real clean. The top line is relatively thin for an iron with this much forgiveness and the offset in the shorter irons is pretty minimal. When you get up to the 3/4/5 iron, the offset is a little more prominent and the top line is a little more noticeable, but nothing overly distracting. They have designed the clubs this way, where the offset and club head size gets progressively larger as you get up to those long irons.

Feel wise, I would not put these in the same class as a forged iron like the Mizuno MP line or even the Adams Idea Pro Gold irons. However, as with most things, there are always trade-offs. We are giving up a little in that feel department to gain a little in the forgiveness realm. All that being said, by no means are these dead shovels. I always knew where on the face I had hit the ball and I find that level of feedback to be critical to my game, especially while practicing. It was just on the sweet spot shots that I felt like I lost a little of that buttery smooth forged iron feel. Nonetheless, hitting an i15 3 iron on the center of the face, and watching it rocket down the center of the fairway is pretty awesome. They are also actually quite nice feeling on chip shots. I spent a good amount of time hitting 8/9/PW bump and run shots and really liked the feel there.

Performance

The long irons in this set are rock solid. Featuring that slightly thicker top line, slightly bigger offset and slightly larger club face, really add a lot of forgiveness and confidence to your long iron game. In the past a lot of players using a set of irons like the PING i15 series may have been inclined to replace the 3/4/5 irons with hybrids or the G series equivalent. This shift to make the long irons more forgiving, easier to hit, and higher launching make the decision to replace those clubs with an alternative a little difficult. You will certainly want to spend some time at the range comparing your 3 hybrid or 3 iron from the G series verse the performance of the 3 iron from the i15 series. I would probably stick with the 3 hybrid simply because I am just so in love with mine, but the 4 iron is a toss up at this point, and the 5 iron will definitely remain in the bag.

These clubs really get the ball up in the air with the stock AWT shafts. Everything from the 3 iron through the PW, full swing for me results in a very high launch and soft landing shots. That certainly could be a combination of the lower center of gravity of these irons and the flight characteristics of the AWT shaft. I would suspect one could flatten out the trajectory some with a custom fit shaft. I have been playing Project-X shafts in most of my irons recent, so I am accustomed to that flatter trajectory. That being said, it is certainly possible to hit knockdown shots with these clubs and lower the overall flight. I hit a few nice knockdown 7 irons out from under trees that flew just as I expected hoped?

Distance and off center performance, while still being very playable is where these irons really shine. I found these irons to be a good club longer than either the Mizuno MP-57 or Adams Idea Pro Gold irons. Not only were they a club longer, but they were extremely consistent when it came to distance control. Often times when you move up to a more forgiving, game improvement iron, you lose some of that consistency (one shot goes 150, one goes 155, etc). These are most certainly targeted at the consistency needs of a lower handicap player.

While the i15s may not be in the same class as the G15 irons in terms of pure forgiveness, they are several steps ahead of the irons I mentioned earlier. When I first received the i15s, I headed right to my home course, walked out on the first tee without even hitting them on the range. After adjusting to the added distance, I settled into a decent ball striking day. The 18th hole on my home course is a 180 yard par 3, over a lake to a small green. I put a pretty sloppy swing on the ball, and caught the ball a little thin and out toward the toe (speaks to the feel of these clubs). My first thought was water, because if I hit a shot like that with the Idea Pro Golds I had been playing, it would have been in the water. But, much to my surprise, the ball managed to carry the water and end up only about 10-15 yards short of where a well struck ball would have landed. Color me impressed, real impressed. If that wasn’t enough, after a few more rounds with these clubs and some driving range sessions, I played in a Member-Guest and decided to use the i15s. I ended up winning the closest to the hole with a well struck 9 iron. Sweet!

The last thing I will mention about the i15s is something I have seen a number of people complain about. The grooves. The i15s conform to the new 2010 groove rules so they are USGA competition ready for events on the PGA Tour. What does that mean for the average golfer? Honestly, probably nothing. Most people do not generate enough club head speed, or make the contact necessary to take advantage of those deep cut grooves in most irons. I had no problem getting 8 or 9 irons to stick from the fairway, even sucked back a few pitching wedge shots. Now, out of the rough? Yeah, the ball is going to lose some of that back spin, but to be honest, I never generated much, if any spin out of the rough even with the pre-rule change groves. Anyway, I do not think it is a big deal, but some might, so keep that in mind.

Conclusion

The only thing that prevents me from completely loving the i15 irons is the cast vs forged feel. That, however, is a personal preference, some people actually prefer the feel of a cast club. Performance wise, these clubs are rock solid and I could certainly see myself playing them They are quite forgiving, are very accurate when it comes to distance control, and I found them to have a very nice feel on chip shots. I had no problem hitting nice high draws or hitting knockdowns under the early fall winds here in the North East. Overall I would say if you are a mid to low handicapper, and are in the market for new clubs, these must be on your list of clubs to demo.

The PING i15 irons retail for $799 fit with the AWT shafts. Purchasing them through an authorized PING retailer is generally your best option, especially if you can do it through a PING club fitter. PING has always done a wonderful job of making sure that players of their irons are fit to the proper equipment, whether that means finding the right shaft, lie angles, down to even the grip size. If you are comfortable with your specifications and do not mind taking a bit of a risk, you could save a few bucks on a used set on eBay, but at this point the prices are still quite high, so it may not be worth it.

Keep your eye open for reviews of the G15 Hybrid and G15 Driver coming soon!

As with most of our reviews here, Ping has provided the i15 Irons used in this review free of charge. As we receive equipment from all of the major golf equipment manufacturers, we try to remain unbiased and provide an honest look at every piece of equipment we review at The Deep Rough, this is nothing new. We would have a much harder time putting together all of these reviews if the manufacturers if we had to go out and purchase all of this equipment at retail prices. And for full disclosure, just about every piece of equipment we receive for a review we end up giving away to charity or as prizes in contests. Though, I suspect I will be keeping these i15s in my bag for a little while!

Super Game Improvement

Are you a high handicapper? Struggle to break 100? Or are you shooting in the 90s, looking for a way to add a lot of forgiveness to your iron game? The Super-Game Imprvoement line of irons may be right for you. One thing to keep in mind with irons in this class, you are generally looking at clubs with very wide soles that sacrifice a lot in the feel department. If you are not worried about working the ball or playability in a variety of lies…and just want to hit the ball high and straight, these most definitely will work for you. Here are a couple sets of irons to help get your game on track.

Nike Sumo – Complete Review – Ebay: $150-$300

With a wide sole and a chunky back side, the Sumo won’t be turning the heads of any club pros. Nonetheless, put one of these sticks in your hands and unless your swing is all over the place, it will be hard to not hit the ball straight and very long. While we were not huge fans of the feel off the face, the performance is hard to dispute. Given that these clubs can be found on ebay for $150, if you are playing an old set of unforgiving cavity backs or blades…looking to instantly add some forgiveness to your game, the Sumo is not a bad option.

TaylorMade R7 CGB Max – Complete Review – Ebay: $250-$500, TaylorMade Golf Preowned: $550

The CGB Max irons offer a slightly more narrow sole than some of the other Super-Game Improvement irons we have listed here, but they still offer a ton of forgiveness. So, if you are looking for something a little more playable, while hitting the ball high and straight, have a look at the 2008 R7 CGB Max irons from TaylorMade.

Callaway Fusion Wide Sole – Ebay: $$-$$, CallawayPreowned: $400-$650

These clubs topped the Maltby Playability Factor list the year it was introduced, which speaks volumes about the forgiveness and playability of this particular set of clubs. It is widely (no pun intended) known to be a super easy to hit iron that hits the ball real long and very straight.

Cleveland Hibore Irons – Ebay: $160-$350

Now if the Fusion Wide Soles are still too much for you, maybe you just have trouble hitting traditional irons? Do you love your hybrids? Check out these Cleveland Hibore Irons, they are stupid simple to hit and Cleveland has managed to integrate hybrid type technology all the way down to a pitching wedge! They can be had for under $200 now, so they could be worth a shot!

Game Improvement

Are you a mid handicapper, shooting in the 80s and 90s? Want some help on those thin, fat…toe shots? Game Improvement is the way to go. In this class of club, you’re looking at a mix between getting a good amount of forgiveness, while retaining some playability and feel. This is also a great option for a low handicapper who just doesn’t have time to work on the game as much anymore.

Callaway X-20 – Complete Review – Ebay: $250-$500, CallawayPreOwned: $289-$600

The Callaway X-20s continued to improve the amazing X line of irons Callaway puts out. We really loved playing the X-20s, as they are very forgiving but retain a lot of playability. I did not notice a huge difference between the X-20s and X-22s. So if you have been considering the X-22s, why not a used set of X-20s?

TaylorMade RAC OS2 – Ebay: $150-$250, TaylorMadeGolfPreowned: $250-$300

The RAC OS2 is a classic in the game improvement category and probably one of the most popular iron sets out there. What does that mean for you? There are a lot of used sets to be found out there, which means, they are super cheap! I played this set for a year when they first came out, and they really like to fly high, long and straight.

Mizuno MX-23 – Ebay: $200-$400

Here we are getting a little closer to the Player Iron class, but the MX-23 is a very forgiving, easy to play iron that also offers some of that legendary Mizuno feel. I played these irons for about two years and broke 80 for the first time with a set of these clubs. I ended up selling them on ebay and replacing them with a set of Mizuno MP-33 blades. I played the MP-33 blades for a while, but these days I leave them mostly for practice (and let me tell you, if you want to work on your swing at the range, MP-33…great club to use while trying to groove the swing).

Players Irons

Mizuno MP-57 – Complete Review – Ebay: $300-$550

If you have been a long time reader of The Deep Rough you know our love affair with Mizuno irons. The Mizuno MP-57 irons are a great set of irons for a low teens to single digit handicapper or someone looking to improve their swing. We fell in love with the buttery soft feel of a well struck Mizuno iron. If you have not experienced it, picking up a set off ebay is a great option.

Adams Idea Pro – Ebay: $250-$500

Similar to the Adams Idea Pro Gold Irons we reviewed not long ago, the original forged Adams Idea Pro irons are still being used by a few players on the Champions Tour and the LPGA. A solid forged feel and some sweet hitting hybrids make for a huge upgrade for someone stuck with some beat up cavity backs from the 80s.

Callaway X-Tour Irons – Ebay: $250-$350, CallawayPreOwned: $300-$450

A lot of PGA Tour staffers swore by the Callaway X-Tour irons for years. They were Callaway’s first real entry into a forged iron market. No, they do not have the same kind of feel as the Mizuno or Adams irons listed above, but where you sacrifice a little feel, you gain a little more performance. The X-Tour irons have a compact head size (for Callaway) and a very playable sole. The top line may prove to be a little on the thick side for some golfers, but overall we really like the X-Tours. Given that these clubs once sold for over $1000, given that some sets are under $200 on ebay right now…you’re looking at quite a steal.

Conclusion

One great thing to keep in mind is that with a used set of clubs like this, especially off ebay, if you take the clubs to the range or out on the course and find out that you really do not care for them, you can always go and resell them again. The price will most likely not change much at this point, they have already been ‘driven off the lot’. Just don’t go smashing the 5 iron into a huge rock!

We will start with a little information from Evolve regarding the products and then continue on with our detailed product review. This review has numerous photographs of the Evolve golf tees, please click on the images to see a larger photo.

The Epoch – Performance Golf Tee

The Epoch is the only performance tee with radius posts that span the width of a golf ball dimple. This unique feature creates the lowest coefficient of friction of any tee, eliminating deflection at impact and increasing ball speed and control off the tee. Epoch tees are available in three lengths 3¼”, 2¾”, and 1½”. You can choose either the 3¼” or 2¾” length depending on the size of your driver and your personal depth of insertion preference. The 1½” Epoch is designed specifically for fairway woods, irons and hybrids.

Since being introduced in 2004, the Epoch has racked up well over 100 wins on tour. PGA: 44 Wins, LPGA: 31 Wins, Nationwide: 26 Wins, Champions: 18 Wins.

The Vireo-S3 Golf Tee

Vireo-S3 golf tees represent the intersection of tradition and sustainable design by Evolve Golf. Vireo-S3 tees feature a smooth rolled edge. The cup of the Vireo-S3 is slightly wider and deeper than the typical wooden tee making it easier for a golfer to tee their golf ball. The Vireo-S3 is also the first Evolve Golf product to feature the new Sweet Spot System (S3).

Sweet Spot System (S3) – Be Absolutely Certain You’re Hitting the Sweet Spot

Consistently hitting your driver’s sweet spot delivers the maximum amount of carry distance and roll. Incorrect tee height creates improper ball flight resulting in a loss of distance.

Evolve Golf’s Sweet Spot System takes the guess work out of consistently teeing up your golf ball. The Sweet Spot System aligns the height of the ball with your driver’s sweet spot so that you get the most distance out of every drive. The Sweet Spot System’s depth of insertion guide is available on the Vireo-S3 (available now) and the Epoch-S3 (coming soon).

Evolve has put together a nice little web based tool to help you find the mark to use on the side of the tee. Check out their Sweet Spot System Calculator and see how many dots should be showing when you tee up your golf ball.

Usage and Performance

I have been playing the Epoch golf tees for the past year and, while I may not actually notice a direct improvement in distance, I do feel more confident over the ball on the tee box. I will try and blind test here and there, teeing up a ball on a wooden tee and then an Epoch, Vireo-S3 or some other brand of performance tee. I hit away, trying to gauge the results best I can, but without an Iron Byron swing and a Trackman at my disposal it is tough to say that any one tee is better than the other. Evolve Golf, and plenty of other independent labs that do have that equipment have tested these tees and will tell you that they do indeed perform better. Evolve has even put together a page to show you relative performance gains based on your swing speed. It turns out to be a couple yards and some decent reduction in side spin, certainly nothing your eye could notice, but the gains do seem solid…and quite surprising from something as simple as a tee. I will tell you this, at least mentally I am convinced they help the ball perform better. It may just be in my head, but I do feel more confident when I have teed my ball up with one of the Epoch tees. I even go so far as to use the short Epoch tees on my Hybrid or Iron tee shots.

More important to me, and this starts to lead into the Vireo-S3, I like being able to just take a couple tees in my pocket and use the same ones all round. Through this season, I think I have gone through 6 Epoch tees, and that is mostly because I have simply lost them…either fell out of my pocket (whoops!) or just couldn’t find it on the tee. Only once have I had an Epoch actually break on me. At first I thought it was pretty silly to want to pay a lot of money for some performance tees, when I generally can just grab a handful of the old wooden ones whenever I need in the pro shop. But, now, when I take 2 or 3 tees with me…and leave the course with all them…I find myself noticing how many broken wooden tees litter the various tee boxes. I am doing something to help the environment…right?

The Vireo-S3 sacrifices some of the technology and performance benefits of the Epoch tee, but still seems retains the durability and longevity. With the introduction of the S3 dots on the bottom of the tee, you can feel a little more confident in your ball height on the tee box as well. I have been using a couple Vireo-S3 tees for the past 8 weeks or so, and have only managed to break one of them. That happened to be an absolutely awful swing with a driver that ended up cracking the little cup where the ball rests. It certainly was not a good swing and probably would have shattered just about anything under there! Speaking of the little cup, it does do a nice job of holding the ball up. With some of these performance tees it is difficult to get the ball to sit right on the tee, not so with the Vireo-S3, piece of cake.

I played around with the tee height markers (S3) on the range for an afternoon until I found a height that worked well for me. And now it really is pretty stupid simple when you get up to the tee box, push the ball/tee down until it hits that mark, and then I am not worrying about whether or not the ball is tee’d up too high or low. Simple thing…but as we all know golf can be so darn mental! The S3 marks should be available on the Epoch tees in the near future, which will be great!

One little side story, my wife and I played this weekend with a random single we caught up to on the 3rd hole. He was struggling with his driver a bit, was missing a lot of fairways. Around the 11th tee I gave him one of the Vireo-S3 tees, told him a little about it, and about The Deep Rough and all. He thought the idea was a little hokey, and ended up putting the tee in his pocket. Well, we continue on, still no fairways. Finally, on the 17th tee, he pulls the Vireo-S3 out, tees it up and proceeds to smoke one down the middle. Honeymoon? Perhaps. “These results are not typical”? Most definitely. But, anyway, he was impressed.

Conclusion

If you play a lot of golf you know how many wooden tees you go through a season. Are they cheap? Yes. Do they leave little marks on the bottom of your driver? Yes. Do they litter your tee boxes on a Sunday afternoon…no doubt. If you are a low handicapper, have a consistent swing and are looking to eek out a few yards from your clubs, the Epoch tee is a great idea and has proven itself on all of the major professional tours. You can purchase a combo pack of 50 Driver length and shorter iron/hybrid length tees for $6.99. With 50 Epoch tees…I cannot imagine you will have to buy any other tees again anytime soon. You could probably outfit your foursome with tees for the next season or two for $6.99, how can you go wrong?

If, on the other hand, you are a casual weekend golfer, and are just looking to eliminate the need to purchase golf tees again for the next few years, check out the Vireo-S3. You can pick up a package of those for $5.99 at your local golf retailer. The little S3 marks on the tee could help give you that little extra bit of confidence you need to stripe your drives down the fairway.

Also, check back tomorrow as we will be starting up our September Deep Rough contest, where we will be giving away some Evolve golf tees along with some other great golf equipment, including the recently reviewed Heavy Putter Mid-Weight!

As always, we will start with a little background information on the clubs and the technical specifications. Throughout the review you will find pictures like the one below, if you would like to see a larger image, simply click on the picture.

Background

With our Idea hybrids ranking as the most-played on the 2008 PGA, Champions and Nationwide Tours, our engineers were able to canvass the tours with hybrid prototypes in an effort to gain feedback from the world’s best golfers.

The result is the Idea Pro Gold Hybrid that utilizes advanced geometric shaping (known as Boxer Technology), an improved maraging steel face and an enhanced weighting system.

• Idea Hybrids — #1 on 2008 PGA, Champions and Nationwide Tours.
• Improved maraging steel face for a 10% hotter ball flight compared to the Idea Pro.
• Boxer Technology delivers advanced geometric shaping for higher MOI resulting in 5% more forgiveness on off–center hits.

Look and Feel

The first thing that will jump out at owners of the original Idea Pro hybrid is the squared off shape of the Idea Pro Gold. Adams Golf, as mentioned earlier, has integrated their Boxer technology from the earlier generation A3 hybrids into the Idea Pro Gold line. When I first got the club in my hand I was a little put off, however, as more and more square shaped clubs arrive in the marketplace, I have grown to actually like the shape of the Idea Pro Gold. It is not nearly as squared off as something like the Callaway Squareway or Nike Sumo Squared Hybrids. As you can see in the pictures below, the toe is actually slightly rounded so from that end of the club it does appear more traditional. When you flip the club over and take a gander at the sole, more of that Boxer technology will jump out at you.

Pro Gold vs A3 Boxer

Idea Pro vs Pro Gold

Idea Pro vs Pro Gold

I was absolutely in love with the sound and feel of the original Idea Pro hybrid. The solid thud you were rewarded with on a hit off the screws was extremely satisfying. I feel like I have lost a little of that with the Idea Pro Gold. The sound is a little more ‘metal tingy’, though the feel is still quite solid at impact. Slightly off center hits are not quite as harsh as the Idea Pro either. This could be a good thing, or a bad thing. It is not a huge difference, I would just say something I noticed when I first switched from the Pro to the Pro Gold. It put me off at first, but then I hit Idea Pro…Pro Gold…Pro…Pro Gold…and had a real hard time disputing the results (but we will get into that in the Performance section).

Idea Pro – Idea Pro Gold – A3 Boxer

If you have a look at the first picture in the review, you’ll notice some little grooves under where it says Tour Prototype. I am not sure of the engineering reasoning behind this (maybe to reduce weight?) but it is a lovely place for dirt to collect when you hit the ball a little fat or are playing out of some thicker rough.

Performance

Here is where I was sold on these clubs. The performance, especially on slight mishits is absolutely phenomenal. I really loved playing the Idea Pro, but when I took the two to the range and out on the course I would hit the same shots back to back. Rarely was I able to execute the shot as often with the Idea Pro. The Pro Gold just flat out put the ball where I wanted. Sure, I still put real bad swings on the ball here or there and the Pro Gold is not going to magically save you, but in those cases where you catch the ball a little closer to the heel or toe, the Pro Gold’s Boxer technology really pulls through for you. I would lose noticeable distance with the Idea Pro on those shots, where as the Pro Gold really seems to hold its line and still carry an acceptable distance.

The addition of a little forgiveness has not dramatically impacted ones ability to work the ball with this club either. I can still get the ball to bend left or right pretty easily and unlike a lot of hybrids on the market you can also keep the ball low. This was a huge pet peeve of my golf instructor. He is a Callaway staffer and complained that he could never keep a Callaway hybrid out of the stratosphere. I let him hit the Idea Pro Gold a few times and he said he would have to give his Adams rep a call. He had no issue hitting it low, high, left, right, anything he threw at it, it seemed to respond well.

Originally the Idea Pro Gold was shipped with either the JavlnFX or Matrix Altus graphite shafts. Today it seems Adams is exclusively offering the club in Matrix Altus configurations, though you can custom order whatever shaft fits your swing best. While I read some negative reviews of the JavlnFX shaft, I actually found it to fit my swing well. I played an Altus Hybrid shaft in my Idea Pro and loved the smoothness and consistency of the shaft, but did not find the JavlnFX to be much of a step down. Right now I have a 20 and 23 degree Idea Pro Gold fitted with the JavlnFX and recently picked up a 16 fitted with the Altus. I still have not decided which shaft I should stick with! Best advice, go hit them both, preferably on a launch monitor, and have a professional tell you which best suits your swing.

What amazes me with this club is how predicable the distances are for me now, especially off a tee. My home course is a little short but features a lot of very tight driving holes. The 20 degree Idea Pro Gold really has become my go to club on those shorter par 4s and I can count on a good swing landing in nearly the same exact spot every time I walk up to those tees. It really is very confidence inspiring.

At first I was reluctant to drop the 4 iron from my game and replace it with a 4 hybrid, but again…take the two clubs to the range and hit them back to back. Hit 10 balls with the hybrid, 10 with the iron. I might hit 9 or even 10 shots as I expect with the hybrid, where as the iron might be 7 or 8. I sucked it up and bagged the hybrid. I love it so much, I actually find myself hardly ever using even my 5 iron. Choke up on the 4 a little, take a 75% swing and I am far more accurate and consistent with the 4 hybrid. I toyed with the idea of dropping the 23 hybrid and picking up the 26 (5 iron replacement), but I think I would miss the utility of having a long iron in certain situations.

That brings me to the last area of performance I would like to mention…punching out/low ‘save your butt from the hooked tee-shot into the woods’ shot. I usually play the low punch hook with a 4 iron or 5 iron, I never really had much success using a hybrid on those types of shots. I was able to execute a few of those shots with the 23 Idea Pro Gold Hybrid on the course, but more often than not, I felt like I would have been better off using the traditional 5 iron. That’s just my game though. With some practice, I am sure it’s as easy with this club, as it is pretty easy to keep the ball down.

Conclusion

The Idea Pro Gold Hybrid originally retailed for well over $200. It was quite the expensive hybrid. However, today you can find these in most retail shops for $119. Or, if you want to also give the Idea Pro Gold Irons a shot, the 4 and 3 hybrids are included in the set. You can also find the hybrids on eBay for well under $100 usually or the #4 and #3 included with used or new sets on eBay for around $500.

To show you how much I trust these clubs, I will be bagging both the Idea Pro Gold Irons and Hybrids (#4,#3,#1) for my club championship qualifying this weekend. So check back early next week, or follow me on twitter and I will let you know how it went!

Background

To get us started, here is some detailed information about the design of the club as well as club specifics from the manufacturer. As always, we will continue with a detailed review following the specifications. Within this review there are several photographs comparing the Deep Face series to the Mid-Weight series. The Mid-Weight CX2 putter is the black matte finish, while the C2-DF is the same I reviewed last year, in grey (see picture below – Mid-Weight left, DF right). Be sure to click on any photos to get a closer look.

This classic blade design incorporates the tour proven patented weighting technology in a new MID-WEIGHT (750gm) category. The CX2 is a face balanced blade with a plumber’s neck hosel and has a full shaft offset. The putter is constructed of Stainless Steel and has a CNC milled face and is offered in a PVD Black or Satin finish. Each MID-WEIGHT uses a True Temper proprietary shaft with a 200 gram weight inserted in the butt end of the shaft; this creates the necessary weight to give the golfer more control of the stroke and also produces a balance point 75% higher than conventional putters that eliminates the wristy action in the stroke. Heavy Putter uses a newly developed Winn Mid-size grip with a V17 Super Soft compound with a cord base material which produces an extremely tacky but firm feel, preferred by better golfers.

• Stock lengths 32″ – 36″ (custom lengths available 30″- 38″)
• Dexterity: Right and Left Hand Available
• Total Putter Weight = +/- 750 grams
• Head Weight = +/- 400 grams
• Weight Management System (weight in grip end of shaft) = 200 grams
• True Temper Proprietary Steel Shaft
• Custom Winn Mid-Size Grip
• Custom Head Cover included
• Stainless Steel Material
• CNC Milled Face
• Loft = 3° (custom loft adjustments +/- 2 degrees)
• Lie Angle = 70° (custom lie adjustments +/- 2 degrees)
• Custom Mid Length Putters available

Look and Feel

The CX2 model is a traditional Anser style blade and ours is coated in a matte black finish that is just spectacular. The finish seems to have held up well over the past 6 weeks and should look sharp for many more rounds to come I would think. With the Mid-Weight putter, not only has Heavy Putter gone towards a more traditional weight, they have gone to a more traditional putter face size. Sticking with this theme the grip that the CX2 ships with is also more subdued. The C2-DF putter we had reviewed featured a flashy camouflage style Winn putter grip that really stood out. I did not have an issue with it in the least, but some more ‘refined’ players might. Speaking of the grip, it has that slightly tacky Winn Grip feel to it, little cushion, but no real loss of feel. Last thing I will say about the look of the

On the feel side, at impact the CX2 feels a lot like the B3-M. They are both CNC milled stainless steel and produce a nice click off the golf ball. A little off center, and you know that you have missed the sweet spot. But hit that sweet spot and you are rewarded with nice feedback that you just do not get with most insert face putters. The weight of the putter head will still force you to use a smooth, pendulum like putting stroke and really try to take your hands out of the equation. I still found this putter to be very deadly within 6 feet, much like its predecessors.

The CX2 is a face balanced putter, which, personally I prefer, as I am a straight back and through kind of putter. If you are unfamiliar, next time you’re at a golf store, pickup a putter and place your finger down near the neck of the putter head (on the steel shaft). A face balanced putter will balance nice and perpendicular to the ground, a toe weighted putter will point the toe down to the ground. This toe weighting will help keep the putter face from closing too fast on you if you open/close the club face along the arc. So, if you’re pulling a lot of putts left, check out a toe weighted putter. Now…back onto our regularly scheduled program!

On to the most important part, long distance putting feel. With the B3-M and C2-DF, my only complaint was with the feel on long range putts. If I was playing fast greens and had a 30 or 40 footer, I really had a hard time ‘feeling’ the distance. With the Mid-Weight, you’re looking at about 750g instead of 900g of total weight. 400g in the putter head vs 475g in the B3-M. This may not seem like a huge amount of weight, but it is noticeable. How does it translate on the putting green? I found the quick putts from long distance were a little easier to judge with the Mid-Weight, I was able to lag them up there close far more frequently than with the previous generation Heavy Putters. So, if you have struggled with this issue with your old Heavy Putter, be sure to check out the Mid-Weight, you might be surprised.

Performance

As I mentioned in the feel area, the putter is still pretty heavy and you will quickly become less ‘handsy’ with your putting stroke if that is a part of your game. If you are new to the game, or feel your putting stroke needs some work, you cannot go wrong with a Heavy Putter. I do not care which model, just go buy one, and commit to playing it for a season. Trust me, you’ll see a major improvement in your putting stroke. For someone with a solid putting game, it is a great tool to have around the house for ‘indoor’ or ‘winter’ putting practice. Just work on grooving that solid putting stroke.

I generally have found that the Heavy Putters are not quite as forgiving as high MOI putters like the TaylorMade Spider, but I think you will find, that over time you will have FEWER off-center hits using a putter like this. This particular model, the Mid-Weight seems to be similar in the forgiveness department to prior models, perhaps slightly less forgiving than the Deep Face model. Hits off the toe or heel do lose distance, however it seems to be a predictable loss. I know some players certainly intentionally try to hit it off the toe at times to deaden the impact, like say on a severely downhill putt, coming off the fringe. Shots like this, you can execute with the Mid-Weight, that I find more difficult to pull off with something like the Spider.

Conclusion

If you have never laid your hands on a Heavy Putter, it is an eye opening experience. I do not know how many times playing partners of mine have said, ooh, a Heavy Putter, I have heard of those…can I see it? Oh wow it is REALLY heavy! You’ll certainly get over that initial shock of a very Heavy Putter and will be pretty psyched when you are dropping everything inside 6 feet.

For a weekend hacker that has been strugling with his putting stroke, I would almost suggest going to one of the earlier model Heavy Putters like the B3-M (used ones can be had for $50 on eBay these days) and work on grooving a solid putting stroke. Once you have that down, and if you have found that you like the weight, but would like to step down a little for a little more feel, the Mid-Weight is a great option. For a younger player or those who might find the 900 gram Heavy Putters just way too heavy, the Mid-Weight could fit the bill for you.

For those of you who may have struggled with feel on longer putts like I did, you may find that the Mid-Weight is the answer for you. I had a much easier time lagging those long putts up real close with this particular model, and still felt like anything short range would always drop with the CX2 in hand.

Lastly, John Daly has been rocking the Mid-Weight on the tour this season and has been having some new found success.

The Mid-Weight Heavy Putter is available in several head shapes (blades as well as mallets) and can be found at your local golf retailer for around $169 or directly through the Heavy Putter website. As I mentioned earlier, you can find some used earlier model Heavy Putters on eBay for around $50 or perhaps even some Mid-Weight putters at this point. But, as always, be aware of the seller and feedback. There are still plenty of scammers to be found.