Ping i59 Irons Review – Are They Forgiving, Are The Blades, What Handicap

Ping has produced some interesting irons over the years but few are as interesting as the Ping i59’s.

The Ping i59 irons offer an intriguing combination of forgiveness and player’s performance that sets them apart even from other Ping irons.

If you have been looking for an iron set that bridges the gap between game-improvement and player’s performance the Ping i59’s may be a good fit for you.

Find out for certain in our overview of the Ping i59 irons.

The I59’s At A Glance

The Ping i59 irons have a muscle back design that looks amazing at point of address.

The topline is kept nice and thin but the offset isn’t so starkly reduced as you see in many player’s performance irons. The blade is also kept at a moderate length.

One of the most anomalous things about these irons is the fact that Ping decided to combine forgiveness features with short-game performance.

The machined face grooves allow for exceptional spin control in the short irons and great apex height in all the irons.

In line with a player’s performance iron, the Ping i59’s feature a soft 1025 carbon steel forged body while the 17-4 stainless steel face is laser-cut for absolute precision.

While we would always like to see solid forging, this combination face/body style gives these irons a metal-wood effect.

Yes, that means high flexing and more distance. While not the longest irons in Ping’s library, the Ping i59 irons go farther than you would think clubs of this category would.

Are They Blades?

The Ping i59 irons are technically blades. Though they sport a muscle back deign, the bodies have been forged – keeping with the traditional design of bladed irons.

However, we would call these hybrid blades since the sweet spot on them has actually been expanded by an aluminum core insert.

The aluminum insert is very thin and replaces a considerable swath of the center of the face.

That extra weight and thickness was moved to the perimeter of the face which will help with distance on off-center shots.

Are They Forgiving?

The Ping i59 irons are surprisingly forgiving for an iron set in this category.

The aluminum insert we talked about in the previous section allows more ball speed to be preserved when you top or bottom the ball.

In addition to the aluminum insert, Ping also decided to place weights in the hosel tip and in the form of a toe screw in the toe.

The long Ping i59 irons are incredibly easy and comfortable to square up with and even if you have trouble closing or opening the face with your short irons, these should help with distance.

Are They for High, Mid or Low Handicappers?

This is where the lines start to blur.

We are inclined to say that they are for mid handicappers but more specifically; they are for mid handicappers who have just graduated into the 15-20 range.

They lack some advanced workability but you get great help with forgiveness for an iron of this type.

Low Handicappers will also get good use out of the new i59’s and as is becoming more and more popular with irons these days, they have something to offer for every handicap range.