WHAT a big year thus far with brands and manufacturers producing some unbelievable products but this review has blown me away. This month’s review we take a deep dive into the PING s159 wedges, with PING as the golfing engineer company leaving no stone unturned in the design of this wedge.
In this review PING had invited me to participate in their fitting event at Royal Melbourne Golf Club which is exciting enough, but then the added benefit of reviewing new products had me like a little kid on Christmas day!
Let’s have a look at what Ping have done with these wedges. The tour-inspired 8620 carbon steel head features a soft feel and clean shape with a straighter lead edge for improved results on full shots.
PING have given us two performance-enhancing finishes (Hydropearl 2.0 Chrome and Midnight) available in all loft/grind combinations. They have applied Friction Face – in combination with the friction-adding face blast, precision-milled grooves deliver the launch and spin control to play score-lowering shots from every distance.
PING have provided a stock shaft and grip model – PING’s lightweight Z-Z115 shaft has a lower balance point for more clubhead fee and the PING 360 Dyla-wedge Lite grip, which is ¾-inch longer than a traditional grip with a reduced taper, allows golfers to choke down for more versatility and trajectory control.
From first glance I noticed three really big changes to the PING wedge just by putting it down at address. There was considerably less offset with the club head, the top line looked thinner and the number of grooves had increased, all things I absolutely love to see in a wedge. The other big change I noticed was that PING had designed this wedge with a squarer edge than it traditionally had.
Now to testing the wedges. I carry 50-, 54- and 58-degree lofted wedges with my 50 and 54 being used the most for the longer pitch shots (105-75 meters), then a nice blend of all three around the green where possible. Playing a lot of my golf in Victoria, it’s extremely important to choose the appropriate grind as this ensures that we give ourselves the best chance to hit good shots. PING have certainly given us options here! I normally play a lot of my golf through the warmer months and generally in and around the sand belt area, so the turf interactions and grinds are really important to me. I found when testing these clubs that the amount of spin I was able to generate when pitching was unrivalled. The launch conditions if I wanted to flight them higher and flatten the flight felt seamless, something I really try to do on the course. They are carrying six different grinds in their wedges and following are the grind and loft options and what they provide.
New B Grind: For a shallow angle of attack and neutral face delivery. Low-bounce design sits low on the turf on square-face shots, providing forgiveness via the sole width to deliver score-lowering performance in firmer conditions. Available in 58°, 60°.
New H Grind: A shot-saving option for players with steeper angles of attack who like to manipulate the handle and play with versatility. The Half-Moon grind performs best in softer conditions. Available in 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°.
S Grind: Fits a wide variety of conditions and techniques. Designed with ample bounce in the mid-section to play full shots and provides greenside versatility due to heel/trail edge relief. The new 48° option helps in gapping. Available in 46°, 48°, 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°.
W Grind: Maximum forgiveness through the turf. Best fits a steep angle of attack that might also have a lot of handle lean, and a player who prefers the look of a specialty wedge but relies on a little more forgiveness in their scoring clubs. Available in 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°.
E Grind: Continues to be the ultimate bunker club, carrying on a 40-year tradition of helping golfers get up and down from the sand. It plays with relatively low bounce on square or slightly open face shots. Available in 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
T Grind: The most versatile option allows players to manipulate the face for shot-making precision around the greens. Ideal for medium to firm turf conditions, includes a new 62-degree option at the request of our tour pros for more versatility. Available in 58°, 60°, 62°.
So, in my testing I was really taken back by how good PING have done with this wedge which should come at no surprise to golfers. PING really are the engineers in golf, and I cannot express enough how good these wedges performed. They’re so versatile, I could fly them higher if I needed to, or if I needed a lower, flatter flight, I was able to do that too. If you are looking for new wedges, I can honestly say these are going to be an asset to your game. PING have also launched a new app that allows you to get a comprehensive look into your game and their system guides the golfer into finding the most suitable grind and loft options. Do yourself a favour and take a look, it takes less than five minutes and post my wedge fitting I went on the Webfit Wedge App and the results were the same.
To sum it up, if you can’t already tell, I was incredibly impressed with the PING s159 wedges. Their versatility and all-round performance will have you adding them to your golf bag ASAP.
RRP: $370 (steel) and $400 (graphite)
Happy Golfing!
Michael Cooney is a teaching professional at the PGA Centre for Learning and Performance at the Sandhurst Golf Club in Melbourne and is always on the hunt for the latest and greatest in golf products.