Ping S55 Irons Review – Are They Blades? What Handicap Are They For?

“With the advent of the Ping S55 irons, Ping R&D had a very tall order on their hands: to improve upon the formula of the S56 irons.”

The S56 irons were wildly popular on the PGA Tour; but as you probably already know, so were the Ping S55’s.

Ping S55 Irons Overview

“So are the Ping S55 irons blades? Yes. To put it quite bluntly, these irons are for better players.”

One need only to take a look at these irons behind the ball to see what we mean. These are very compact irons that sport a similar shape and size as the Ping S56 irons; but they do have some extra features that mid handicappers will love.

For instance, the Ping S55’s feature perimeter weighting in the form of an expanded custom tuning port. The custom tuning port in the Ping S55 irons stretch across more of the back of these irons so that lateral forgiveness could be enhanced.

The Ping S55’s are cast stainless steel irons. So you don’t get the soft feel of forged irons – something that golf purists might balk at. But despite the cast design, the Ping S55’s have a pleasing feel that is definitely softer than your average cast irons. This is due in part to the thermoplastic elastomer material that the redesigned custom tuning port is made of.

Despite the shallow cavity, the Ping S55’s are indeed blades. Even when they’re just sitting in the bag, you can tell that these are player’s performance blade irons.

Are the Ping S55 Irons Forgiving?

“Not in the traditional sense.”

Any forgiveness that comes from the Ping S55 irons comes from the perimeter weighting and the higher MOI (moment of inertia). The custom tuning port also provides better bracing and stability so less of your swing energy is lost at impact. This performance dynamic is kind of a double-edged sword though. Because while stability  is enhanced, you can definitely feel that these aren’t the softest irons in the world.

But that’s only to be expected given that the Ping S55’s are cast. So we can overlook the strong, stiff feel of the Ping S55’s. However, the heads are very compact. The blades are short and offset is almost nonexistent. While this design gives them a sleek,sharp look at address that better players will like, they don’t help in the forgiveness department.

Are the Ping S55 Irons Good for Beginners & High Handicappers?

“Not really. The Ping S55’s were designed with better players in mind.”

Most of the performance features will be lost on beginners and high handicappers. The Ping S55’s are supremely workable; but the compact blade design will be trouble for beginners and high handicappers.

However, it should be noted that the long irons in this set have a nice low CG. They also launch a bit faster and higher than the Ping S56 irons so at the very least, the long irons in this set are more forgiving than the long irons in the Ping S56 set.

Should you Buy the Ping S55’s or the Ping S56’s?

“If you are a high handicap player, we would recommend choosing the Ping S55’s over the Ping S56 irons.”

There is just more forgiveness and wiggle room with your shot if you use the Ping S55 irons. Even if you are a low handicapper, there are just enough improvements in the Ping S55 irons to make them a better play than the Ping S56’s.