Ping S55 Irons Player Staff Review
29 Mar 2015
see also: Equipment Reviews
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Ping s55 irons provide added distance with control while offering
a unique combination of improved workability and forgiveness.
by Alan Alsheimer, Jr. - AmateurGolf.com Player
Staff
Ping knew they had something special when
Bubba Watson put these irons immediately
into the bag. Having played s59s for almost a
decade, Watson wasn’t going to switch irons
until he truly felt there was a performance
advantage to be had.
Now consider how wildly successful the
s56 models were - over 35 professional wins -
and then take into account that Hunter Mahan,
Billy Horschel, Angel Cabrera, Louis
Oosthuizen and Miguel Ángel Jiménez all put
the s55 irons into the bag as well.
Ping’s s55
irons are a little more forgiving, feel
slightly softer and fly a bit further than the
s56 stock. The biggest change to the iron
design lies is with the CTP (custom tuning
port). As with the i25’s, the CTP is made of a
new thermoplastic elastomer material that
better absorbs vibration at impact. This
softens the feel of the 17-4 stainless steel
cast, while the larger size of the CTP allows
more weight to be moved from the center of
the iron out to the perimeter causing a slightly
higher (MOI) - a true measure of an iron’s
forgiveness.
 |
A
tungsten toe weight stabilizes the head at
impact on the Ping S55 irons. |
At address, they look almost identical to
the s56’s, but with PING, who push
engineering and improvement with each new
set, they found a way to further improve upon
the performance of this iron. The longer irons
launch higher, faster, but with remarkably low
spin. I found each iron added about five yards
of carry on trackman testing. To me they
didn’t quite feel as soft as the i25’s, but soft
enough; Given their technology, performance
and workability, any true purist should find
themselves leaning towards a “modern blade”
that incorporates a lot of game improvement
features. They cannot be seen at address, and
the bag appeal of the satin “foggy chrome”
appearance is striking.
 |
The 17-
4 stainless steel heads offer appealing,
confidence-inspiring geometry and a clean
cavity design. |
Moving down into the scoring clubs you
have the look of a compact, traditional iron
with thin top lines and a narrower sole that
performs from any lie. I would argue that the
performance benefits of the s55 greatly
outweigh the sound and feel characteristics
listed by many top players as important in a
true players iron. All said, the s55’s are easily
the most forgiving tour-quality iron a golfer
can buy. While the i25’s remain in the bag and
are incredibly hard to take out, this iron may
be the one exception. Ping has built its name
and reputation on performance and
engineering driven improvements using
technology that have converted other brand
loyalists for decades.