i iron review

If you class yourself a better player and seek an ease of launch, improved feel and a shed load of forgiveness, you will want to take a closer look at the new PING i iron.

PING engineers have used a new 431 stainless steel in the i irons as opposed to 17-4 in the i25 irons to provide a high strength-to-weight ratio and even softer feel.

TESTED: Best player irons 2015

Like previous i-series irons, a tungsten weight is used in the toe area of the three to seven irons, improving the moment of inertia (MOI), the clubhead’s resistance to twisting.

The company has favoured larger head sizes and a low, back centre of gravity location in the long irons to aid forgiveness, and designed the short irons and wedges a little sleeker to aid more control.

Looks

There are fractional differences to the i iron when comparing it to the i25 with a slightly thinner topline, less offset and a wider sole.

PING has, however, added a trailing edge to the sole to make it play with the exact effective sole width as the i25.

While we certainly prefer the cavity-back appeal of the former i25, we do prefer how the face of the i iron sits a little larger and deeper towards the heel.

We can see the look of this iron appealing to just about every half decent golfer. 

Feel

Unlike previous PING irons, the brand’s elastomer Custom Tuning Port (CTP) is now fully concealed in the head of the iron, and we found this provided us with much better energy transfer and all-round feel.

We received a nice “click” sound at impact and the custom-fitted KBS Tour shaft aided improved control.

If you hit this club blindfolded there is a strong chance you would think it was a forged iron. 

Performance

According to PING, the 431 stainless steel frame has allowed the company to make the i irons even more forgiving than the 17-4 stainless steel that was packed into its older brothers such as the i25 and i20 - and we have to agree.

The forgiveness of this player iron is rivalled by very few player irons and it proved an even more accurate weapon than the i25, which really is saying something.

We also noted a more efficient delivery to the ball thanks to the iron’s wider sole and trailing edge.

While it matched the i25 in terms of average six-iron carry distance at 174  yards, it was no match for several others in our Best 'better-player' irons test 2015 when it came to firepower. The lofts aren’t quite as jacked as others, however, with the six iron (29 degrees) and seven iron (32 degrees) playing a good two degrees higher than some. 

Our trajectory did appear a little too high at times - approximately one and half degrees higher than anything else in our test - but then again, at least we were not scaring any worms.

Verdict

The PING i proved the easiest player iron to get airborne and it also proved one of the straightest.

It won’t be breaking any long distance records in a hurry, but if you class yourself a better player then you will probably be more interested in improved control, added forgiveness and soft feel out of your irons more than anything - and the PING i irons delivers that in abundance.

At £784, the new PING i irons look a terrific addition to every true player's bag.