Equipment
Ping S55 irons spotted
The initial prototypes of Ping’s new S55 irons were made about one-eighth of an inch larger than their predecessors.
That small of a change would likely go unnoticed in any other Ping iron line: the G-Series, I-Series or Anser irons. But it didn’t cut it for an S-Series iron, which has to fit the eye of a very particular group of testers – tour players.
[quote_box_center]“The [tour] players noticed immediately,” said Mike Nicolette, senior design engineer for Ping. “They all said, ‘I would almost prefer that it would be a little smaller.’”[/quote_box_center]
Such is the crux of creating a “players iron,” whose target audience includes everyone from the best golfers in the world to single-digit handicappers. But unlike most golfers, that audience isn’t looking for more forgiveness, although Nicolette said that it wouldn’t hurt them. They place more value on an iron’s look, feel and workability.
That’s why there weren’t a lot of changes made to the S55 irons – their predecessors, the S56 irons, were already thought of as one of the best-looking, best-feeling irons Ping had ever produced. And for their size, the S56’s were extremely forgiving, and offered enough workability to find their way into the bags of countless professionals. But we’re talking about Ping, a company that prides itself on engineering, so of course there were some improvements that could be made.
In the playing position, the S55 and S56 irons look nearly identical, but as Hunter Mahan noticed when he tested them in the days before The Barclays, the S55’s feel different. That’s because Ping swapped the thermoplastic urethane (TPU) insert that was used on the company’s S56 irons for a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) insert, which Nicolette said is a more flexible material that is able to absorb more vibration at impact. For most golfers, that will translate into a softer feel.
Click here to see in-hand photos of the S55 irons shot at The Barclays.
The TPE insert, which Ping calls its Custom Tuning Port (CTP), is also larger in the S55 irons than the S56’s, meaning it takes up a greater amount of space in the center of the iron head. That freed up more discretionary weight for Ping engineers to redistribute to the perimeter of the irons, giving them about a 0.5 percent higher moment of inertia (MOI) than the S56’s.
One-half percent more MOI doesn’t sound like a lot, but according to Nicolette, it can make a difference. A 0.5-inch mishit with a 7 iron will fly about 1 or 2 yards farther with an S55 than a S56 iron, Nicolette said, which can big a big deal for a tour player aiming for a tucked pin.
According to Nicolette, the higher MOI of the irons won’t affect workability, as the S55 irons have a similar MOI to the S56’s “above the shaft axis.” Translation: it takes the same amount of energy for golfers to manipulate the club face to their desired position as they approach impact, the definition of workability.
Recent iron releases from Ping have seen the company release sets with progressive sole widths, which means that the long irons have wider soles than the short irons to help golfers hit them higher in the air. That is not the case with the S55’s, which have a sole design that is essentially identical to their predecessors.
But the S55’s do have an element of a progressive design. Nicolette said that the 4-or-so grams of discretionary weight the larger CTP freed up allows the S55 long irons to have a lower, more rearward CG to help golfers hit their long irons higher and farther, while the short irons have a CG that is located more forward in the head to make them fly a little lower.
Maybe the biggest change golfers will notice is with the lofts of the S55 short irons, which are strengthened about 1 degree. That will make them fly a little farther — about 4 yards, Nicolette said. But even though the lofts of the mid and short irons are relatively unchanged (the S55 6 iron measures 30 degrees, 0.5 degrees stronger, the 4 iron measures 0.25 degrees weaker), their lower CG should help them fly a little farther than their predecessors as well, which means golfers won’t have a problem with gapping.
Like the S56 irons, the S55’s are cast from 17-4 stainless steel. But thanks to tour player feedback, their overall size is a little smaller than the S56 irons.
“There’s about a coat of paint difference,” Nicolette said.
The irons will be available at retail Nov. 1 in 3-PW. They will come stock with Ping’s CFS shaft, and will be offered with KBS Tour, True Temper Dynamic Gold or Project X shafts for an upcharge.
Click here to see what members are saying about the S55 irons in the forums.
This week, we have our Tour Photographer, Greg Moore, on the ground at the OccuNet Classic at Tascosa Golf Club in Amarillo, Texas, for the 14th event of the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour season. With that, we see some great things in the Lead Tape Report as we roll into Amarillo.
Joel Thelen
Monday Qualifier, Joel Thelen is in the field this week. He has played on the Korn Ferry Tour for a full season in 2023, and he is back in action this week. A couple of clubs caught my eye this week in his bag.
First off: His trusted Titleist 816 H2 hybrid. This club came out in October of 2015, and it still remains strong in the bag. Also, take a look at this Odyssey White Hot OG 7, putting a capital S in the 7S model. This custom neck has some impressive lean for an arm-lock-style putter. The bottom of the putter is covered in tape for optimal weighting.
Mitchell Meissner
Taking a look at Mitchell Meissner’s bag this week, we have some great lead tape coverage. Top to bottom working from fairway metals, irons, and wedges. We can see on the short irons and wedges that there is tape at the base of the grip, adding a little counterbalance. Along with that, some tape on the short irons and wedges as well. Moving to his putter, he rolls the Odyssey 7 Bird putter. Meissner putts left-handed and strikes the ball right-handed.
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament.
Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: Titleist GTS3 (15 degrees, B1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 70 TX
7-wood: Titleist GTS3 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Pro Red 80 TX
Irons: Titleist U505 (3), Titleist 620 MB (4-9)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 8 X, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM11 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putters: Scotty Cameron Tour Prototype, Scotty Cameron GOLO 6.3 Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Align
Ball: Titleist Pro V1
In our forums, one user has offered up a prompt for the true sickos, inviting fellow forum members to share every set of irons they’ve ever owned. As to be expected, this is a lengthy forum topic.
@Lamosteve began:
Can you name every set of irons you’ve owned? Here’s mine
Spalding Dots
Spalding Eclipse
Ram Lazer FX
Lynx Parallax
Mizuno EZ Comp
Ben Hogans
Cleveland CG Red
Taylor Made R9s
PING i20
PING iE1
Taylor Made M6
Our members in the forum have been offering up their own collections. Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- macedan: “Started with a hand-me-down Golden Bear set from my brother when I was in high school, never really played more than once a year or got into the game until about summer of 2017. First purchased a set of Cleveland CG4’s (I actually really miss this set sometimes, soft & not terribly large for a GI iron), moved into Nike Vapor Fly’s by the end of the year. Those lasted until spring of 18 when I decided I wanted new, so I traded them in for TM Rbladez. Honestly, although I liked the Rbladez, poor decision on my part, I think this was really about the only time so far that after a week or two I was kicking myself for not staying with what I had. Rbladez stayed with me until late last summer when I switched to P790’s and (knock on wood) I am hoping this will be my longest lasting set.”
- JimmyC59: “MacGregor Jack Nicklaus Triple Crown. Palmer The Standard. Still play these.”
- jgrzask: “Tommy Armour 845u
Mizuno MP-32
Mizuno MP-33 (2 sets)
Bridgestone J33cb – still own
Srixon i-302 (2 sets) – still own
Tourstage X-Blades – still own
Mizuno Hot Metal – still own
Nike Forged Blades – still own
Titleist 714 AP1 – still own
Cobra Forged SS – still own”
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Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)
Bud Cauley had >14 clubs in his bag when photographed prior to the Memorial Tournament. Driver: Titleist GTS2 (8 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura...
Hannah Green WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Titleist GTS3 (10 degrees, D4 SureFit setting) Shaft: Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana RB 53 S 3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees,...
Asterisk Talley WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (9 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 6 S 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (16.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue...
Brianna Do WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (9 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 3-wood: Callaway Elyte Titanium (15 degrees) Shaft: KBS PGW 5-wood:...
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Jesse
Nov 5, 2013 at 6:18 pm
does anybody know the release date of these irons?
arlngo
Oct 16, 2013 at 7:15 am
I don’t agree. Look at
http://golfweek.com/news/2013/sep/17/bubba-watson-new-ping-irons-s55/
lloyd duffield
Oct 11, 2013 at 2:30 pm
TOOK A LOOK AT THESE ONE OF THESE PING S55 IRONS THE OTHER DAY AND I GOT TO SAY ITS A GREAT LOOKING IRON WHEN YOU SEE IT IN THE FLESH. THE PICS DONT DO THEM JUSTICE JUST WAITING ON THE PRICE TAG. LETS HOPE ITS NOT A RIP OFF PRICE
Atlanta Golfer
Oct 8, 2013 at 8:49 pm
These are suweet
P Healey
Oct 1, 2013 at 1:14 pm
These look fantastic! Probably the cleanest looking of all of the s series. S56s were pretty great so im interested to see if these are noticeably better. I do like the look though so I am optimistic about that these could be going in the bag.
Troy Vayanos
Sep 24, 2013 at 4:52 pm
Looking forward to trying these out as I use the Ping S56’s at present. Hopefully they have improved them even further which would be quite a task considering how good they are already.
J Duf
Sep 6, 2013 at 2:49 pm
wow these are really cool! They kind of look just like the…um, kind of like the S56, S57, S58, and S59.
Shawn
Sep 5, 2013 at 8:28 pm
In my personal opinion, I have never like the “feel” of Pings s56 although my playing partner swears by their irons. I think they are to clickey and don’t get the same feedback as I do from a forged iron. Not dissing Ping or anyone the plays them, just my personal opinion. My one question from reading this thread is to the Ping faithful. If you love your s56 set so much, why would you drop your hard earned money based on the new looks alone. A single digit HC won’t reap the rewards as much as they think from the .5 degree difference in MOI or the stronger lofts that will add 3-4 yards. When the 712 AP2 were released, I tested them and my numbers weren’t any different than my 710, although Titleist claimed they were better than the previous model. Ill do the same thing when the 714 are released this fall, but will have to buy a new set before the end of the year due to the wear on my faces. Ill test other brands as well as I don’t think I should paint myself into a box with an OEM unless they are paying me to do so.
Shawn
Sep 5, 2013 at 8:46 pm
But for the record, I do think it is a good looking iron from Ping
Mac
Aug 29, 2013 at 8:44 am
just bought the new x forged… love them, but might be trading them in sooner than expected, these look awesome!
Rich
Aug 25, 2013 at 10:26 am
Just looked at these again and I wonder if I’m on my own here. I think they have a hint of S58’s about them……….anyone else think the same thing?
TravisLG
Aug 28, 2013 at 10:40 pm
Yeah I can see a little S58 in them. Honestly I only look at them at address so that is what matters most to me in looks. We will see if they have the performance to kick the S56s out of the bag when they get released!
jhart
Aug 24, 2013 at 6:34 am
I have been playing Ping irons, with a little dalliance to Wilson for over 20 years. I enjoyed the look and feel of the S56 so much that I purchased 3 sets of the shockers – combining shaft type and length to get my ideal configuration, and mix of hot and cool weather optimum performance. I have loved these irons, albeit that I found them a little harsher than the best of the forged clubs, and tended to balloon the high irons somewhat. However their durability, playability and mid to long irons have been superb. I have struggled to think how I would find an ideal replacement. Until recently I was going move to Titleist CBs with Rifle 6.0 shafts. The S55 may now change that – strengthening the loft of higher irons, seems absolutely spot on – while to my eye the new look is much cleaner and more ‘forged/Anser’ like – but in a shape and size that still says better player, and sits nicely behind the ball. Sorry Titleist… love your woods, but think I may be on the Ping iron bandwagon for a while longer… Look forward to any feedback from people who will have tried the S55s vs the S56.
Tyler
Aug 22, 2013 at 8:23 pm
These may be the best looking irons for the 2014 season. However, it looks like there is more offset vs. the competition which may defer “players” to a different set.
Rich
Aug 21, 2013 at 10:59 pm
Love these, they look awesome but I’ll be looking for S56 sets that hit the BST when these are released (or lower priced new S56’s). Still using S57’s now so figure it won’t matter if I’m one model behind.
LL
Aug 21, 2013 at 2:58 pm
I’m not sure a lot of the tour pros will switch. The S56s are money. Widening the elastomer is like taking a step backward to the S57 with less feedback on mishits, and making it softer is going to make it feel like a Titleist AP2.
Mike
Aug 20, 2013 at 11:46 pm
it looks awesome, love it
Joe
Aug 20, 2013 at 3:53 pm
PING has lost it
JEFF SMITH
Aug 20, 2013 at 3:15 pm
HUH, I THOUGHT THEY WOULD LOOK A LITTLE BETTER THAN THAT!
Jeffrey
Aug 20, 2013 at 10:44 am
I don’t think people understand what forging is. Forging does not make a club softer. The hardness of a club is determined by the metal used. What would you rather be hit with, an 8620 cast club or and 8620 forged club? I honestly believe that there is no advantage to forging a club, other than making it cost more. The technological advances in cast clubs are growing rapidly. Today’s cast irons allow players to work the ball and if they mishit, it’s not game over.
Aaron
Aug 20, 2013 at 11:18 am
And I’m not sure you understand it, either… you say “Today’s cast irons allow players to work the ball and if they mishit, it’s not game over.” You seem to be confusing “cast” with “cavity back.” How you form the iron (casting or forging) into the right shape doesn’t make it forgiving or difficult to hit; the weight distribution takes care of that. You can easily make a blade that is cast and very unforgiving while making a forged cavity back iron that is a lot easier to hit consistently.
Alex
Aug 20, 2013 at 7:27 pm
It was easier to forge blades because they were relatively simple. It’s more difficult to be as accurate if you forged a fairly dramatic looking CB. So they started to cast them, because it was easier to mass produce.
I also think that casting is less expensive. Someone can correct me on this. You can also use harder metal with the casting process, which means it’s less expensive for material, which is why the cheaper irons are harder metal and cast.
john
Aug 20, 2013 at 9:09 pm
if you could imagine being able to see all of the atoms/molecules that make up the metal in the head of an iron. in a forged iron those molecules are closer together because the material starts as a large, soft (hot) piece of metal and pressed down into its shape. cast irons start as molten metal and poured into a “cast” and hardens into its shape, which makes the molecules farther apart from each other. this is where feel comes in, the closer the molecules are together, the better the metal resonates and carries the vibrations up to your hands (this is what “fee'” is), thus most forged irons tend to “feel” softer. now enter “form forged”…this is where that molten metal is poured into the cast and actually pressed down harder instead of just letting it cool. mizuno does this actually, and then goes to the press forge to align the grain of the metal (grain flow forged) form forging has allowed companies to continue to forge golf clubs without charging ridiculous prices
Blanco
Aug 19, 2013 at 5:12 pm
I need some club soda and baking powder for my pants
Tony
Aug 20, 2013 at 3:06 pm
LOL, that was good!
jgpl001
Aug 19, 2013 at 4:58 pm
These look brilliant, BUT why oh why are they not forged???
Once Ping took the plunge with the Ansers why not offer their tour club in forged, even as an option???
I am not a fan of Ping irons, but the S56 was good, very good, but more than a tad clicky with a slightly harsh feeling
These will sell in huge numbers though, and rightly so.
Blanco
Aug 20, 2013 at 10:49 pm
They’re not forged because PING INVENTED investment casting and has produced castings that rival the feel of a forging, are more forgiving, longer lasting, better finish, less expensive… the list goes on. They also softened the CTP which I was hoping for myself. Can’t wait to trick these out.
TravisLG
Aug 21, 2013 at 9:04 pm
Longer lasting finish…funny my s56 are a two months old and the chrome is peeling off the toe of the 8 and 7 iron. Love the irons, just hate having to send them back to Ping so soon.
Trevor
Jul 18, 2016 at 11:49 am
So will PING repair this for free? Any advice?
Billy
Aug 19, 2013 at 2:16 pm
So……….. they’re not forged?
Connor
Aug 19, 2013 at 2:24 pm
anser line are the only forged irons ping makes. cast is their bread and butter so to speak.
Billy
Aug 19, 2013 at 5:10 pm
Thanks, not really into Ping or their irons/equipment.
These do look nice. I would be willing to try the S56. Assuming they have a price drop when these irons release.
christian
Aug 19, 2013 at 1:51 pm
“They also have slightly stronger lofts, which are likely the result of Ping’s ability to move more discretionary weight to the perimeter of the club head”…Since when did perimeter weighting have anything to do with stronger lofts? There is zero connection between perimeter weighting, which helps with forgivness, and stronger lofts. Weirdest claim ever
Me nunya
Aug 19, 2013 at 2:19 pm
C’mon , dude.
This website’s for grown-ups. Don’t come here and troll.
christian
Aug 20, 2013 at 3:18 pm
Care to elaborate? Why would perimeter weighting “allow” for more loft to be added more so then with a blade for example? Or any other iron design? There just is zero connection between the two
Robert
Aug 20, 2013 at 11:27 pm
FWIW anytime I buy a new set of irons, I insist on 1.5 deg flat and 1.5 degree weaker lofts. I love hitting the ball high without having to dig out a huge divot, which then lands softer on the greens. WHo cares which iron goes which distance! So long as I know how far each iron goes, that is all that matters.
Blanco
Aug 23, 2013 at 9:43 pm
The perimeter weighting increases MOI and drives the CG lower, increasing shot trajectory– this allows them to lower the loft slightly to compensate for higher flight– it also puts lofts in line with competitors who unfortunately use claims of iron distance to drive sales.
Zach
Aug 25, 2013 at 12:08 pm
Best reply yet! Finally someone who truely understands club engineering. Can’t stand when people think they know what they’re talking about when it comes to design.
Matt
Aug 25, 2013 at 12:13 am
Actually there is a strong connection. With perimeter weighting more weight is moved towards the sole putting more mass below the equator of the ball at impact with the distinct purpose of helping get the ball airborne. As a result with everything else equal a 32 degree blade iron will hit the ball noticeably lower than a 32 degree cavity back. So in order to get similar launch characteristics with a cavity back you strengthen the loft.
R
Aug 19, 2013 at 4:33 pm
If you were familiar with physics, which evidently you are not, you could have thought that perhaps ping moved the weight LOWER and outside, which gives a higher launch and a higher moment of inertia. hence, the stronger lofts.
christian
Aug 20, 2013 at 3:20 pm
That train of thought has been killed by the likes of Tom Wishon several times over. It’s all just marketing bull.
Alex
Aug 20, 2013 at 7:24 pm
I’m thinking it’s simply a way to make the iron a little more forgiving on mishits so that the stronger lofts don’t punish you as much.
Make the sweet spot a bit bigger and suddenly missing the mark on a stronger loft may not be the low burner that it normally would. Probably also helps with the longer shaft lengths that many irons have now, too.
Jericho
Aug 19, 2013 at 1:46 pm
when are they coming out with a pure clean blade..ill be interested then
Rob
Aug 19, 2013 at 6:05 pm
Never…..so….see ya.
Evan
Aug 19, 2013 at 1:32 pm
These will be in my bag next spring!!! Purple dot w/ KBS C-taper Light X-stiff.
A.J.
Aug 19, 2013 at 11:17 am
drool…hey anyone have $1500 they want to donate to me? 🙂
Michael
Aug 19, 2013 at 12:12 pm
Why?…they’ll cost about $800-900
benseattle
Aug 20, 2013 at 1:44 pm
From David Dusek’s s55 article in Golfweek.com (August 19):
“Ping has not yet announced the stock shaft nor the price for the S55 irons.”
http://golfweek.com/news/2013/aug/19/ping-s55-irons/
john
Aug 20, 2013 at 9:01 pm
i’ll guarantee stock shaft is kbs tour and price will step up to $949.99
Connor
Aug 19, 2013 at 10:29 am
They look great. I was praying that they made these in the same finish as the G25 irons. If that were the case then it’d be a no brainer for me. I know that shouldn’t be a make or break issue but i thought they’d maybe step out on a limb and go for it. Even still, the last 3 S models have basically been the same club. Will be interesting to see if there is any vast improvement with this model, especially since it took them an especially long time to release it.
BcavWecllh
Aug 19, 2013 at 11:28 am
That may be tour player input. They may like that finish.
Blanco
Aug 20, 2013 at 10:46 pm
I think the G25 finish is cool but I’ve grown out of love with the color. These are the best looking PING irons ever created, by a sizable margin.
JnRadioActive
Aug 19, 2013 at 9:31 am
can see some anser iron influence in these as far as the look
John
Aug 19, 2013 at 9:42 am
Agree. Look a lot cleaner and nicer than most ping irons.
J
Aug 19, 2013 at 9:12 am
Look good
Tyler
Aug 19, 2013 at 7:54 am
Nice clean look with stronger lofts. I cannot wait until November to get these babies in my Latitude! It looks like I’ll be playing right on through the WV winter now.
Tyler
Aug 19, 2013 at 7:50 am
FINALLY!!! I have been waiting on this for months. I have literally been checking the internet everyday for the past weeks only to be disappointed every day with wild guesses and inaccurate renderings. Well, not anymore! 🙂
4-PW possibly w/Pxi’s – +1″, White Dot, New Decade Mid-Size Grips. 🙂
Nick Davis
Aug 19, 2013 at 7:14 am
Ummm 4-PW, Green dot, Dynamic Gold S300 shafts with black/orange New Decade grips PLEASE!!!!
Jake Garcia
Aug 26, 2013 at 9:26 pm
Can someone explain the difference between the shafts these are rumored to come in? I have G15’s now with the standard ping shafts and I was hoping to get fitted for the S55’s. Id just like to have some knowledge when I go in for a fitting.
Tyler
Sep 18, 2013 at 2:10 pm
If your currently playing G15 irons i would not recommend the S55’s unless your ball striking is good enough. The S55’s will only hurt your game because they are designed for tour players
John
Oct 22, 2013 at 12:22 pm
LMAO Tyler is incorrect. These ARE designed for lower handicap players, however, these ARE NOT only designed for tour players.