Callaway Mavrik Pro Vs Ping i500 Irons Comparison Review
Comparing player’s irons is hard to do unless you are getting fitted for them side-by-side. And since we know not everyone has the time or discretionary income needed to get a fitting, we are continuing to provide helpful firsthand insight to popular irons.
It’s a burden we gladly bear for you, the everyday golfer. Today we will be taking a look at two player’s iron sets that take a very different approach to overall performance: the Callaway Mavrik Pro and the Ping i500 irons.
Callaway Mavrik Pro Irons Overview
The Callaway Marik Pro series is pretty much everything higher handicap players loved about the the original Mavrik’s packed into a sleeker, more compact player’s iron.
We really liked the sleeker design of the new Mavrik Pro’s compared to the original model. Gone is the clunky backside that screamed “high handicapper. “ In its place as a shallow, nearly non-existent cavity that looks cleaner at point of address.
However, apart from the design of the rear and the size of the head, not a lot has changed with the Mavrik Pro. This is both a good and bad thing as we will discuss in more detail later.
Ping i500 Irons Overview
The Ping i500 irons give you great performance from the deck to the pin. They are an advanced set of irons for serious players.
As you can probably tell from the above description, the Ping i500’s aren’t really designed for high handicappers and beginners. That being said, you don’t need a ridiculously fast swing speed in order to get good distance out of these irons.
In fact, we were pretty surprised at the almost effortless ball speed and distance we were getting from irons. The caveat here is that you still need to be pretty accurate and create consistent contact.
While both of these iron sets have the look of a player’s iron, you get more forgiveness from the Mavrik Pro’s while the Ping i500 will satisfy the player looking to sink more eagles and score lower.
Callaway Mavrik Irons
Category: Player’s/Distance
Ping i500 Irons
Category: Player’s Performance
Callaway Mavrik Irons First Impressions
The Callaway Mavrik Pro irons felt comfortable in the hands and on the downswing. It was apparent early on that these were the better irons for mid handicappers.
Overall, the Mavrik Pro’s are more forgiving in the sense that you get better distance with slower swings. The only problem we really had about these irons is that it is a bit hard to control the flight and distance of the shorter irons.
This means that these irons will be a bit unwieldy around the pin. We actually found ourselves sailing short approaches and chips over the green more than we care to admit with these irons.
The Mavrik Pro’s have slightly stronger lofts in the longer irons but the Ping i500 loft gets stronger in the mid irons. To give you an example of what we are talking about though, the Mavrik Pro’s 9 iron is 38.5 degrees while the Ping i500’s 9 iron is 36.
The Mavrik Pro irons certainly give you great distance and loft; it can be hard to check at times though.
Ping i500 Irons First Impressions
The first thing that struck us about these irons was the smooth and buttery feel.
The Ping i500 irons feature forged maraging steel faces and it’s hard to beat the feel of forged maraging steel. On full swings with the long irons, the forged faces play hot while minimizing harsh impact. With the short irons, you get the spin control and feel you need to score.
The heads of the Ping i500 irons are slightly smaller than the Mavrik Pro’s so they have more of a player’s look. Also, these are muscle back irons.
The Ping i500’s also sport milled grooves in the shorter irons which imparts excellent spin control.
We liked the overall performance afforded by the more thoughtful and involved design of the Ping i500 irons.
Mavrik Pro Selling Points
- More forgiving
- Better for mid handicappers
- Tungsten energy core
- Great distance
- Towering loft
- Good stopping power
Ping i500 Selling Points
- Cleaner design
- Good distance
- Superior short-game performance
- Good spin control
- Metal-wood performance
- Forged maraging steel faces
Who are the Mavrik Pro Irons for?
The Mavrik Pro irons would be ideal for mid to low handicappers who are prioritizing distance a bit more than anything else.
The unique shape of each tungsten weight in the set makes for tight shot dispersion and impressive distance in the long irons. We just wish the Mavrik Pro’s shorter irons were toned down a bit.
There is a lack of spin control in the short irons that seem overpowered in terms of distance.
The Mavrik Family
The Mavrik Pro irons are accompanied by the standard Mavrik which is the longest in the family and the Mavrik Max which is easily the largest and more forgiving.
Maverick Pro Final Assessment
Distance: 94/100
Accuracy: 89/100
Feel & Control: 90/100
Forgiveness: 92/100
Overall Score: 92/100
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Who are the Ping i500 Irons for?
The Ping i500 irons are for low handicappers between 0-5. They provide the kind of stopping power on the green and spin control that advanced players will appreciate.
Plus, the Ping i500 irons have the feel of a premium set of player’s irons thanks to the C300 maraging steel face embedded into the 17-4 stainless steel body.
This combination gives these irons surprising distance that is actually comparable to the long irons of the Mavrik Pro’s. The only hang-up is you have to be more accurate with the Ping i500 irons – they are not as forgiving as the Mavrik Pro’s.
The i Family
Included in the “i” line from Ping is the Ping i210 which is a bit more forgiving. The downside is that it lacks the forged face that the Ping i500 irons have. You get less feel but more help with face contact.
Ping i500 Final Assessment
Distance: 93/100
Accuracy: 93/100
Feel & Control: 95/100
Forgiveness: 89/100
Overall Score: 93/100
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