There’s also the option, which PING has already seen take hold on tour, of a combo set with Blueprint in the scoring irons and a constellation of iBlade, i210, and i500 in the rest of the set. PING expects the full range of results with some players committing to a complete set, while others will find Blueprint to be too demanding and return to something a bit more comfortable. With a full retail release, it’s anyone’s best guess as to how the masses will receive Blueprint. In the fall of 2018, there were only a handful of sets available to touring professionals. Just so we’re clear, this isn’t an invitation to the “I’ll become a better ball striker if I play a less forgiving club” crowd, though some vanity purchases are to be expected. Interestingly, PING started with three blade lengths, the shortest of which resulted in the best performance for the target player. In testing, PING found that better players (if you’ve won your state am, qualified for multiple majors, or a company pays you to have your name on its bag, you suffice) produced more consistent results (smaller misses) when asked to hit a variety of shots on command. Its ideal place is in the bag of a serious golfer who is willing to invest a decent amount of time in figuring out if Blueprint offers performance benefits over the slightly more forgiving iBlade.įor some players, it will. PING fans will note both Anser iron models (20) were also forged but carried geometry and footprint more similar to the i15 cavity-back.īlueprint is a niche product, best suited to accomplished ball-strikers. With that, PING designed its first 100% forged muscle-back iron. To hit the types of shots players like Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen sought, the clubhead had to be smaller and more workable. They didn’t come right out and say that explicitly, it was more along the lines of “Hey, I don’t know exactly what I want the club to be, but here’s what I want it to be able to do.”įor PING the answer (or should I say anser?) was clear. What PING staffers articulated was a desire for something more workable than the iBlade. Those bits of information become the foundation for new product ideas – some of which eventually make it to retail. Major OEMs routinely engage with tour staff to gain feedback and meaningful insights. Historically, G-series irons assumed the role of game-enjoyment clubs with the I-series satisfying the needs of better players looking for more workability at the expense of some forgiveness.īlueprint, which sounds like an internal code name, is in some ways entirely different, yet still, everything we’ve come to expect from a PING iron. “ a bit of an extended R&D experiment,” says Paul Wood, VP of Engineering at PING. PING’s Blueprint iron, beginning with the name, was always destined to be something of a departure from convention.
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