News

Ping G710 irons deliver pleasing sound in a built-for-speed package

G710iron_7cavityRender 2.png

Ping’s G710 irons continue a hollow-body iron path the company embarked on in 2016 with the introduction of its Crossover iron and followed with the G700. Its latest entry into that category, however, is being touted by the company as its “longest, most forgiving iron to date.”

Like its predecessor, the G710 irons use a maraging steel face insert. That’s surrounded by a 431 stainless-steel body. The maraging steel face provides metalwood-like face flex that launches the ball higher, allowing for slightly stronger lofts for more distance without sacrificing the shot-stopping ability that comes with height on iron shots.

Tungsten weights in the toe and heel provide higher stability on off-center (up to five percent more moment of inertia compared to G700) hits to help mitigate the loss of ball speed on such shots, helping golfers have a tighter dispersion pattern. A wide sole makes it easier to get through the ground when taking more turf than desired.

The big differences in the G710 from the G700 (aside from a stealth black finish for the clubhead), however, are more nuanced. The company received feedback that the sound could be improved, and it set out to accomplish that without sacrificing the distance gain.

“We wanted to try an keep out a couple of unwanted frequencies,” said Dr. Paul Wood, Ping’s VP of engineering. “There were minimally invasive things we could do to achieve that without compromising the benefits of a hollow body golf club. It really came down to what could we do with the least amount of weight added?”

The answer turned out to be one they were familiar with. “The best solution turned out to be the use of hot melt, which we often use in drivers,” said Wood. “It’s a polymer that you can melt and place where you want and can get rid of a frequency in the club. A thin layer of that behind the face helped us get rid of undesirable frequencies that we were able to identify through modal analysis and our player testing showed the sound of the G710 was much preferred over that of the G700.”

Another leap forward is employing Arccos Caddie smart grips and a free trial of the Arccos Caddie app, something suggested by company president John K. Solheim after some first-hand experience with the product.

“I personally started using Arccos more than a year ago and have seen significant improvement across my entire game,” Solheim said. “It helps me during a round with club selection, and I really enjoy analyzing all the data after the round to uncover areas to help me play better.”

Each iron is built with an embedded sensor in the grip to automatically record and analyze every shot taken during a round when paired with the Arccos Caddie app. Golfers receive a 90-day free trial of the app and extra sensors to use on other clubs when purchasing six or more irons.

Another move to help golfers play better with the Ping G710 irons is the addition of a new ultra-lightweight shaft option for those needing to increase swing speed and height on their shots. The Alta Distanza Black 40 graphite shaft is a feathery 43-gram iron shaft with a more flexible tip section to help bring higher trajectories and more swing speed.

The G700 irons are available in 4-iron through sand wedge in 10 color codes (lie angle) at $175 per club in steel (Ping AWT 2.0) and $190 per club in graphite (Alta CB Red). Several no-upcharge shafts are also available, including the True Temper Dynamic Gold, Dynamic Gold 105, Dynamic Gold 120, Project X LZ, True Temper XP95, Nippon NS Pro Modus 105 and KBS Tour in steel and UST Recoil in graphite. A “Power Spec” option featuring lofts that are a degree-and-a-half stronger on the long and mid-irons to two degrees stronger on the short irons also is available. The G710 irons can be pre-ordered immediately.