Ping

Ping is responsible for one of the most iconic iron sets of all time, the Ping Eye 2 Beryllium Copper Iron Set. The Eye 2 was a culmination of years of work and improvements on previously built models, it was not Ping’s entry to making irons. Ping's initial contribution to the world of golf which set the stage for the Eye 2, and most modern irons for that matter, came from the mind of Karsten Solheim in 1961, a full 21 years before the Eye 2 irons were released in 1982. The concept of a cavity back was originally developed in 1959 for putters. Karsten wanted to increase forgiveness on putts that were not struck on the sweet spot. The success of the putters he created led him to believe that the same concept could be applied to irons, and boy was he right. In 1961 his ideas came to fruition when Karsten released the 69 Ballnamic forged irons. He chose 69 because in his mind, a 69 was a nice score for a round of golf. I would be thrilled if I could shoot a 69, nice indeed. The models that were produced between 1961 and 1982 had numerous improvements while continuing to iterate the cavity back design. One of the notable improvements was adding perimeter weighting, the effect was a larger sweet spot and more forgiveness on mishits. Another improvement, that didn’t come out until the Eye 2 was released, was the infamous square grooves. I could write a very long blog on the story of the square grooves and the lawsuits that followed, for brevity, there was a disagreement between Ping and the USGA on where the measurement for grooves should start and end. The grooves on the Eye 2 were further apart  versus other irons and the effect was that the Eye 2's put more spin on the ball than all the other irons of the day. These improvements along with various others, culminated in the pinnacle of irons designed for performance. Throw in a Beryllium Copper finish that was discontinued over safety concerns during the application process, and there it is, the recipe for the greatest iron set ever made. Here is the best thing, Ping didn't stop working when they created the Eye 2. They have continued to make improvements in look, feel, craftsmanship, and the performance of their irons. The newest models to date, the Blueprint T, the i525, the G425, the G710, these all look great and play great. If you want to buy irons from the company that built the foundation for modern irons, Ping is the way to go.