best ping driver in the last 10 years

PING Golf Irons Comparison: Old vs. New | G425, G, G20, G5, i3, Eye 2

Posted on by Joshua Ellingsworth

This PING golf irons comparison takes a deep drive into PING's iron technology over the past few decades leading up to the new G425 irons released in 2021. 2nd Swing master fitter Thomas Campbell begins with the Eye 2 irons, originally released in the 1980s, and also tests the i3 Oversize, G5, G20, and G irons.

PING irons have always performed well, especially in the areas of forgiveness and distance. Campbell puts each model to the test here with the help of Trackman in this golf irons comparison.

Shop PING irons at 2nd Swing: https://www.2ndswing.com/ping/golf-irons-and-iron-sets/

Shop PING G425 irons at 2nd Swing: https://www.2ndswing.com/ping/golf-irons-and-iron-sets/g425/#used

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29 thoughts on “PING Golf Irons Comparison: Old vs. New | G425, G, G20, G5, i3, Eye 2”

  1. I am a 15hcp playing with a set of G5's. Just came across aset of G 20, Is it worth the upgrade? Or is it merely the stronger loft? I dont mind taking a 7 iron when the guys with the newer clubs hit an 8 with stronger loft.

  4. What I got from this video is that Jack Nickaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Gary Player we waaaay more skilled golfers than young guys today with balls and clubs that go 20-50 yards further.

  5. It would be nice to see you do two days of testing. First day starting with eye 2 but the next day ending with eye 2. Then average those numbers, by the time you hit the modern irons you were warmed up, no doubt you’ll have that better connection with them after warming up.

  11. Looking at the dispersion of each club, I’d go for the g5 because they are grouped up the closest. At least that’s how I judge what I want. The more predictable the club, the better. That leads to more greens hit.

  16. Most today associate “forgiveness” in irons with a resistance to face deflection with off-center hits but the factor which motivated Solheim to create high-MOI putters and the PING was automatically keeping the face square to the swing arc in the takeaway and impact. This is evidenced in the “face balance” of the old Bulleye putters which hang vertically when suspended on a finger causing the toe bias to twist the club in the hands, open in the backswing and closed during downswing. By comparison a PING Anser style putter will hang at a 40°-45° angle causing it to stay automatically square to the type of inside-square putting stoke used back in the 1960s.

    Because everyone very quickly adopted the high MOI methodology for the “game improvement” category of irons is difficult to appreciate how different the PING EYE and EYE2 are unless comparing them to the blade irons from the 1960s and 1970s which I did for grins and giggles after finding both at thrift stores and re-gripping them identically before even swinging them for a similar “feel in hands” comparison. The difference in toe bias can be felt at the point in the backswing the force rotates the lead arm and cocks the wrists to guide the club up to the top of the backswing and when adjusting toe/face angle from square to hit fades and draws.

    The difference between the EYE2 and later similar high MOI designs just isn’t felt as much. In my experience the Maltby Playability Index which assigns a numerical score for “foregiveness” based on objective technical measurements tracks with how the the clubs feel. Those with a lower MPF having lower MOIs and more of a tendency to try to twist off square from the swing line making it more difficult to swing consistently.

  17. interesting, i upgraded to G20's back when they came out and felt my game inproved albeit i consider myself a hacker. I also bought my Father in law some Ping eye 2's for his first set, but when he past i was given them back, so recently looked into getting them lengthened to suit my game as i want to have a go. My only question is how hard to get the lie changed as my G20's are white when the the Eye2's are Red's.

  18. Liked the comparison. We should keep in mind though that testing a club from the 'i' eye range will give lower trajectory and less forgiveness than a 'g' range of iron as it was essentially a player's iron. But I liked those numbers from yesteryear, seems like not much has changed except the number on the bottom of the club. Great swinging by the way ?

  19. After seeing the g430, I’m thinking about moving to the g425 4,5 hybrid + 6-UW coming from the ping g20 4-LW. I prefer the look of the g425 over the g430.

  20. Thank you for this, I've had a set of Jack Nicklaus clubs since forever. Just got fitted yesterday at the Md location and picked up the Ping G. Irons are forgiving and gave me an additional 15 yards on carry. Excited for my next golf lesson this week.

  21. I played with the Eye 2 yesterday. Played them 2 clubs stronger than usual. After a couple holes of getting used to them. The final score wasn't any different than my usual low 90s. Went 52 front 44 back. Only thing I didn't like was the 4 iron even though went almost the same distance as my Rogue ST Max 6 iron…. the flight was low. Off center hits… you'll feel it in your hands lol

  22. This is one of my favorite videos you all have ever done. Can’t believe I’m only now seeing it.

    Thomas, one question for you: You mentioned feeling like you could swing the G425 4 iron faster than the Eye 2 3 iron. Why is that? Is it related to the head weight, the swingweight, the shafts? Just curious what gave you that feeling.

    The standout to me in this test was the G5. Doesn’t have all the modern tech, but you still get a super forgiving shape and sole, with spin rates that are sort of on par with modern players’ irons and could work just fine on fast greens.

  24. Great review….I play with mizuno jpx921 forged but just bought a set of ping eye 2 + irons…went down the range for a first hit and for 30 years plus iron you can't half get them up in the air…plus I get mote spin off the 8 9 P than I do with my own irons…..think ill regrip these and take them on the course…

  25. On my 18th birthday I had a set bought
    Iv not bought another set since. Iv just had them refurbished 6 mouths ago (shafts, grips) and still out performs anything about today
    If it’s not broke then don’t fix
    Besides to the average golfer you won’t see any difference, you really have to be at the top of your game imo. Golf is getting too complicated. I see people buying drivers worth £600 plus and still hitting the ball 260 yards or not even thst

  26. Feedback purely from a statistical point of view:
    1. You need 10 hits per iron to have even a basic level of statistical confidence.
    2. You should throw out the two furthest outliers per club, so shoot two extra and discard two.
    3. You should alternate clubs on every hit, to correct fatigue/warmup factor.

    Amazing shooting though, extremely consistent.

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