PING i525 Irons
The PING i525 iron is emblematic of the company’s typical no-nonsense approach to design (and marketing, for that matter). With PING, there’s usually not much in the way of fanfare. Occasionally, they give us something we can see—Turbulators and Hydropearl finish spring to mind—but more often than not, PING hides its best work under the hood and under the radar.
It’s the consequence of a Moneyball-like strategy that doesn’t rely on hitting a home run with each new release. Summed up by PING’s Director of Product Design Ryan Stokke, “We don’t find that one design attribute makes a great club.”
With that in mind, it won’t surprise you to learn that performance gains between the i500 and i525 irons weren’t made with a single leap but rather a series of small steps that touch on nearly every aspect of the design.
More Speed
Given that the PING i525 resides solidly in the “player’s distance” category, it makes sense that improving ball speed would be one of the design goals. That’s typically easy enough to accomplish given that the industry has no qualms about adding gaining distance via the bending machine. So the more nuanced part of the discussion is that PING was able to make the i525 iron longer than its predecessor without jacking lofts or sacrificing performance in other areas.
The extra speed comes by way of changes to the construction of the iron. With the i525, a forged maraging steel face is robotically plasma-welded to a 17-4 stainless steel body. The fundamentals of the construction aren’t uncommon in the player’s distance category or even the game-improvement space for that matter.
It’s a metalwoods-like approach that allows for more face deflection.
There are two key speed-boosting elements to the design. The first is a variable thickness face that progressively thins as you move towards the perimeter. That gives the face a bit more flex.
By thinning the sole undercut and pushing it deeper into the head, PING was able to push more of the impact stress into the body. Not only does this provide greater deflection (more speed) but it does so in a more controlled manner that helps create greater consistency.
Enhanced Feel
The improved feel of the PING i525 iron is the result of a more precise use of PING’s EVA polymer (hot melt) material. As I’ve mentioned before, PING is among the companies that believe the best filler for a hollow-body iron is air so we’re not talking about a P-790 or PXG-like full-body filling. Non-scientifically, we’re talking about a little bit of good stuck to the back of the face. It’s enough to improve sound without impeding the face’s ability to flex.
By using a consistent four grams of hot melt precisely positioned in each head, PING was able to dampen the high-pitched frequencies that golfers typically correlate with unpleasant feel.
In addition to better feel in general, PING says the feel is more consistent across the set. Stokke describes it as a cleaner, pure impact experience.
Improved Shaping
For the player’s distance category, the i500 was too big for my tastes. Like PING’s game-improvement irons, it was a bit too long heel-to-toe for me.
With the i525 iron, the goal is to mimic the look of a better player blade with a design modeled off the i210.
The short version of the story is that the i525 isn’t as bulky as the i500. Toplines have been thinned, offset reduced and the blade length has been shortened.
PING describes the design as more balanced and, while that’s a reasonable assessment, what might be the most informative bit is that the long irons essentially split the difference between the i500 and i210 while the profile of the short irons and scoring clubs is nearly identical to the 210s.
Better Launch Conditions
In the case of the i525, “better launch conditions” is synonymous with “more consistent launch conditions.” The idea of “better” speaks as much to proper fitting as anything else but PING says its suite of consistency-boosting technology can help golfers reduce inconsistencies across a range of conditions.
To that end, PING is again leveraging its Hydropearl 2.0 finish. PING’s proprietary finish helps shed moisture in damp conditions, reducing the launch and spin differences between wet and dry conditions.
New to the i525 is what PING has branded MicroMax grooves. With MicroMax, PING has reduced spacing between grooves. To put some specifics on it, the distance between grooves is .104 inches, down from .140. That enabled PING to add an extra four to five grooves depending on the iron. Paired with a new sidewall geometry, PING was able to smooth out performance a bit further.
The benefit of MicroMax is reduced fliers in the short irons and more consistent spin rates with the longer irons. Ultimately, MicroMax serves to help realize the high ball speed potential of the i525 while maintaining proper trajectory and landing angle.
Finally, PING added Friction Face—a little bit of texture between the grooves—which further narrows launch and spin differences in wet versus dry conditions with the scoring clubs. That gives you more consistent distance on those critical approach shots.
Increased MOI
It wouldn’t be PING without an MOI story. So here goes …
Despite the i525 iron’s smaller footprint, by saving weight in the face and improving the positioning of the heel and toe weights, PING was able to increase the MOI of the i525 relative to the i500.
By the numbers, the i525 offers 2.5 percent higher MOI from top to bottom and 3.5 percent better MOI in the heel-toe direction. Neither is a massive number but, again, steady small improvement is the PING way and it should translate as more consistent ball speed as well as more consistent spin rates.
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The total benefit of the upgrades to the PING i525 works out to about one mph worth of ball speed and a 17-percent reduction in the dispersion with launch and spin nearly identical to the i500. Under PING’s Strokes Gained calculations, that works out to a benefit of about 1.5 strokes per round.
Power Spec and Retro Spec
While PING hasn’t changed the lofts from i500 to i525, it will again offer Power Spec and Retro Spec options. The idea is that, as with drivers, there’s not a single iron loft specification that’s right for every golfer. PING is trying to hit the middle of the market with the stock package with the understanding that some golfers will benefit from stronger lofts (Power Spec) while others will benefit from weaker ones (Retro Spec).
Power Spec lofts run 1 to 1.5 degrees stronger while Retro Spec lofts are two degrees weaker across the board.
PING i525 Irons – Stock Shafts
Given the supply chain issues plaguing the industry, you couldn’t fault a manufacturer for listing its stock shaft as “whatever we happen to today” but with the i525 iron, PING is leveraging the Project X IO as its stock offering.
Within PING’s matrix, the IO shakes out as middle of the grid for launch and spin.
The stock graphite offerings are the UST Recoil 780 SMAC and PING’s ALTA CB slate.
As always, a catalog of alternatives are available.
Arccos Sensors
PING will not be including Arccos-embedded grips as standard equipment. However, a purchase of the i525 irons entitles you to a full set of sensors and a 45-day trial of the Arccos Caddie app. All you have to do is fill out some online (virtual) paperwork and the sensors will be mailed to you.
PING i525 Pricing and availability
MSRP for the PING i525 irons is $205 each (steel) $220 each (graphite). Pre-sale starts Feb 8 with full retail availability beginning March 24.
For more information, visit PING.com.
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