GWD_MAY_16

EQUIPMENT
IMPROVER IRONS
But which would prove the longest… and the best?
PING G SERIES
Price (per club): £92(S); £104(G)
Options: 4-9, PW, UW, SW, LW
6-iron loft: 27˚
Stock shaft: Ping AWT 2.0(S); CFS(G)
Key technology: COR-Eye face;
custom tuning port;
Hyper 17-4 steel
weighting, generous offset and low CG, G2 was aimed
squarely at the game improver, though better players also
adopted the club – a versatility Ping has sought to retain.
The next few generations saw fine tunes to sole width
(creeping wider), offset and positioning of the feel and
CG-influencing custom tuning port. The 2009 G15
saw one of the bigger changes, with more toe weight
and forgiveness plus lofts strengthened 1º to cater for
higher launch. The G25 and the 2014 G30 – the
model G series replaces – streamlined the shape
slightly, and tamed some somewhat gaudy aesthetics.
G Series, however, represents the biggest jump
between generations. Matt silver is replaced with
chrome, the sole and top line are tapered to appear more
slender and, for the first time, there’s a ferrule. Also new is
the harder, thinner Hyper steel and COR-Eye, the circular
bit behind the centre of the face. Borrowed from the larger
GMax, it causes the whole face to flex, pivoting on the sole
with the top edge relaxing. Ping say this design improves
speed and launch, as well as dispersion. The CTP has been
moved away from the face and into the sole’s back edge,
creating a more free-standing face and boosting stability.
The background: Wilson Staff C200
Wilson’s first C (originally for control but now crossover)
was the 2007 Ci6. Aimed at the mid-handicapper, it set a
theme of forgiveness technology wrapped in a betterplayer
iron look – toplines were thin, offset slight and