Equipment

Ping 2014 Karsten Hybrid-Iron Set

Published

12 years ago

Mar 17, 2014

It goes without saying that golfers enjoy the game more when they’re playing their best. When they’re not playing their best… well, they’re probably not having as much fun.

Ping’s new Karsten hybrid-iron set is designed to help golfers who struggle with distance and accuracy play their best more often. The irons have the longest heel-to-toe length that the company has ever produced, with extremely wide soles that help golfers launch the ball higher and farther than the company’s smaller-sized irons. The set also comes stock with hybrids that replace a golfer’s 3 and 4 irons, as well as an optional “5 hybrid” that can take the place of a Karsten 5 iron.

“The [Karsten] hybrids have a very high MOI,” said Marty Jertson, Ping’s director of product development. “They also have bigger heads than our G25 irons, which helps drive the MOI higher and the center of gravity farther back. That larger size also adds ball speed and inspires confidence at address.”

The drawback of larger-sized hybrids and irons is that they’re not as workable as smaller clubs, but that’s of little consequence for golfers who are a fit for the Karsten set. They’ll be less interested in intentionally curving the ball than they will be hitting higher, farther and straighter shots, which is exactly what the Karsten clubs can deliver.

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Like Ping’s G25 irons, the Karsten irons have Ping’s updated Custom Tuning Port (CTP), which is positioned low in the cavity of the irons directly in line with the impact area. The CTP provides support for the Karsten irons ultra-thin faces — they’re as thin as 0.07 of an inch, making them the thinnest faces Ping has ever used in an iron — and also contributes to a more solid sound and feel.

The Karsten irons sell for about $899 a set with two hybrids and six irons. They come stock with either Ping’s KS 401 graphite shafts in soft regular, regular and stiff flexes or Ping CFS Distance shafts in soft regular, regular, stiff and extra stiff flexes.

Additional Specs from Ping

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the Karsten irons in our forum.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about the Karsten irons in our forum.

Equipment

Slab city on the Korn Ferry Tour — Lead Tape Report

Published

5 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Andrew Von Lossow

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.

Whats in the Bag

Bud Cauley WITB 2026 (June)

Published

5 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

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

See more in-hand photos of Bud Cauley’s clubs here.

Equipment

Name every set of irons you’ve owned – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

5 hours ago

Jun 10, 2026

Will Schube

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”

Entire Thread: “Name every set of irons you’ve owned.”