Ping i500 Iron Retro Loft VS Standard Loft - Whats The Difference?

[@tomduckworth8335]

Good job Michael as soon as I saw the retro lofts I wondered how they would play. As you said in one of your other vids. many of these performance irons need the stronger lofts to keep the flight under control. Very smart by Ping to offer this option.

[@jnjfleming]

Great review. For those of us with much slower clubhead speed, the retro loft would seem to help with height and spin. I've played a 33 degree 7 (x14 pro) for 16 years and I'm looking for a bit more help. The i500 would seem to fit the bill.

[@stevedietrich8936]

Nice review, but how about hitting the retro-spec'd 32.5 degree i500 and the 33 degree i210 with the same shafts and see how they compare.

[@mrwoo33]

Retro spec would be great for blending with the long irons with the blue print blades 👍

[@simmonsfoursome]

Another thing I noticed was the "smash factor" on the knock-down shots was 1.38 versus 1.31 on full shots. Slower swing speed but within 5(?) yards. NOTE TO SELF: TIMING AND TEMPO. Excellent video!

[@gregburgin1210]

Interesting twist between the i500 Retro and the i210.... The i500 Retro 7i has a 32.5 deg. loft. The i210 (standard) 7i has 33 deg of loft. You would think with .5 deg more loft, and a face that is 5 times springier (Ping's claim) that the i500 Retro would carry further. In Mike's testing the i210 7i had a 173 carry compared to a 170 carry for the i500 Retro (with identical average club head speed of 95.8mph for both tests). The i500 Retro actually lost 3 yards to the "non-distance" better player's iron. So if someone is a good enough ball striker to not need the extra forgiveness in the i500 (how much can there really be in such small heads?) and they don't mind the looks of the i210, they can get the same or better performance with better feel at a lower cost from the i210's compared to i500 Retro. The question is how much more forgiving are they really? Measurable?

[@johnvickerstaff5858]

Thanks for that, just about to go test some Ping clubs and have been thinking what the retro loft might do for me 👍

[@ckimnj]

How is that in this test i500 standard's total spin is ~6400? In the i500 vs P790 test, you had ~5400 spin rate with i500. Almost ~1000 RPM difference with same 7 iron.

[@adamtuck1272]

I’ve just been fitted with the retro loft at ping was certainly great to see them side by side the distance control was certainly better and more consistent with the retro spec, found big drop offs in distance on the std loft when I hit a bad one. Awesome club though

[@rleader1]

Great video! I was wondering EXACTLY what you filmed. By the way, your swing is SO easy and smooth. It looks like a practice swing. It's very deceiving how you generate the clubhead speed that you do with that easy swing!

[@joe-q4s4q]

Hoping the retro spec i500 4 iron works out for what i need(high ball flight). Great review!

[@matthewpriestley7202]

Retro Spec i500’s look hard to beat. Forgiveness and good numbers

[@allenwilson8913]

Good review. With the retro specs, it makes me want to go out and try the i500s.

[@WTMNNJR]

My4-ow have low lofts so I have a 1 and 2 iron but no 3 because that’s basically going to be a 4 with old lofts I don’t like it but this way I get another wedge.

[@wayneowens1649]

Would like to see a comparison between I210 power spec and P790 irons to compare distance and spin rate

[@johnpauldavies7006]

nice video thanks Michael 👍

[@usee8528]

Really informative video! You get better and better in the way you do your videos. Just a little hint: try to use a fixed (and proper) focus for the camera you use - then your videos could become even better.

[@stuartgogay485]

well done michael

[@oliverizzard8751]

Manufacturers are doing it all wrong. They need to engineer the 4 iron to have max carry distance for target golfer and then work down to keep ideal distance gaps between clubs. Then you can fit players by finding which 4 iron they hit best so they won't worry about how long the 7 iron is. If they did this I bet there would be a bigger loft gap between the 4 and 5 iron than between the Pw and 9i.

[@craiggagnon8407]

you're right, however the mental blocks people have 5-3 iron are an issue, and make it more difficult to create a selling point. You're right however, 100%

[@moritzbunger9447]

Please do that video for the i210s as well! Thanks a lot, great idea and well executed!

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

Don’t have the retro loft in the i210 unfortunately, had to twist the arm of ping to send me the i500 retro

[@legend9018]

Nice review Michael, I spoke with ping regarding the Power Spec and Retro loft irons and they informed me that there is a 1:1 ratio of change (plus or minus) in bounce as the loft changes based off the standard loft model. So the standard 30.5 degree 7 iron has 9 Degrees of bounce. The 32.5 degree retro loft 7 iron now has 11 Degrees of bounce and the 29.5 degree Power Spec 7 iron has 7.5 Degrees of bounce. Add to the fact how this is further affected when players change the lie of the club. I wonder how this would play out on the course with real turf interaction. Great video, thank you!

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

Think this would be very difficult to measure and think you’d hardly see any difference if any.

[@leeshaw3733]

So get the standard clubs and get you're fitter to adjust them accordingly (I can't wait)

[@pineappleactavis3645]

“Retro lofts” a 32.5 degree 7 iron is a pretty strong 7 iron retro lofts would be like 34-35 on the 7

[@hc9987]

So new golfer here and I'm confused...a higher loft number means weaker loft, as in less loft??

[@golfbuddy1969]

Great idea for a video!

[@ashdutton7172]

Is it possible that you get the power spec to get the lofts weakened retrospectively??

[@rossreeder5865]

What's the difference between a power 5 iron and a retro 4 iron. Basically the same club with just a different number on the head. I only want to know if the new tech in the head is more forgiving with the same loft and lie specs as my irons but with more ballspeed off the clubface with the same swing speed.

[@jacobwright4496]

@Michael Newton Golf What do you think about the prospect of running a mixed set of i210 and i500 utilising retro spec lofts in long irons (3-6 irons) in i500 and then standard lofts in the short irons (7-UW) in the i210. Do you think you could achieve functional gapping and take advantage of the added "help" of the i500's in the longer clubs and the precision/spin of the i210 in the scoring clubs.Ive hit both and love the feel of the i500 but am unsure about the potential inconsistency in spin and distance control they will have in the shorter irons/wedges compared to something with a more traditional design like the i210. Would love your thoughts on a mixed set! as im not sold on a full set of the i500's despite absolutely loving the feel of the demo 7 iron i tried!

[@Godisnotjesus1967]

I'm waiting for the blue print release. But I'm going down "same length irons " lane!!! Comment please?

[@williamrussell9114]

Great vid. Would love to see the i500s vs Gen 1 0311 vs Gen 2 0311P.

[@georgesmith4639]

I'm guessing the actual carry difference would have been 9-10 yards if the avg club head speeds had been identical (instead of 1.2mph diff).

[@iangethen6656]

Have to be honest Mike. I got fitted and bought these in standard lofts. And I have been using them since before Christmas. I play off 6 so I am pretty competent but compared to my old rbz irons which I don't feel were ridiculously strong lofted there is about 2 clubs different in distance my new 7 iron goes about 160 yards were I used to hit my old 9 iron 150 yards .how many degrees can I adjust my new irons by maximum. I seem to think it is 2 ..also would there be much more distance I assume it would be about 5 yards per degree on the highest lofted clubs. To be honest I wish I hadn't sold my old clubs

[@antti1041]

Hi Michael, great stuff on the new i500! Could you do a little long iron comparison between i500 3 iron, p790 udi, Tmb or other clubs of your choosing. Based on the reviews the i500 is hot and high launching so it should be a good option for a driving iron. What I'm interested in is whether there is really a ball speed or launch angle difference between the competition.

[@peteandingrid]

My 7i is 36 degrees, hate these modern lofts

[@paulmccarville8623]

Quick question - where did you get that hat?

[@doughoad3610]

I was fit with i500 as soon as they came out and with help from my club pro decided on retro loft in the 5iron (26 degree) through gap wedge (50 degree) and 4 iron (20 degree) in standard loft. The 4 iron to 5 iron gap is 6 degrees but has not been unmanageable. The 4 iron acts as a driving iron for me and is good for 225 yards off the tee. The i500s offer all the backspin spin I need coming in to greens. Ball flight is high with full set. For reference I have 40 rounds played with thus set, 105mph driver swing speed, 8hcp and previously gamed i25s. The short irons are easy to dial in the yardage I need as well as no problem chipping with 8-gap wedge. My only criticism is that I find it hard to flight the ball down with these clubs on full shots.

[@rodneygreenwell7620]

Great video Mike... Will you be doing the same with the I 210 reg vs retro. Not to bust you chops but the I500 is 30.5 and the retro is 32.5 ...

[@timhawkridge4973]

Great review Michael and an interesting option from Ping. Hoping you can offer me some advise, any ideas where i can get a specialised Ping fitting? Cant seem to locate or find any demo/fitting days! really don't want to try these/i210's at the usual mass market golf retailer (sorry sir we only have a 7 iron). Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[@darrell3118]

Need to add the POWER LOFT i500 to this comparison for a full review .

[@simmonsfoursome]

Great video and thanks for all the time and effort taken to do them, - much appreciated! Curious as to your thoughts on performance using a higher spinning ball, such as ProV versus AVX. AVX is my gamer since my miss is pull-cut and AVX is much less punishing. Curious as to what you think about matching ball to club. BTW, I assume lie is same for both retro and standard. Thanks again! ~

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

Yes exact same spec for both irons

[@rodneygreenwell7620]

Hey Mike I've a quick question I just watched your video compression of the P790 vs I500 And the numbers on the I500 were mega different to what you get in this video Spin rates on the same I500 were nearly 1000 rpm different and the yardage was nearly 10 yards different also can you explain why...

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

Yeh, I hit pretty much everything with a little cut that day, hence the higher spin and drop off on distance .just the way the swing felt that day.

[@rodneygreenwell7620]

When I'm watching you and I hear you say oh I pulled that one I'm expecting it to be way off line then it last 5 yards left of the pin I just laugh and think yer really pulled that one ...haha... Great videos keep them coming....

[@clakerdrs]

Can the lofts be adjusted after buying for example if my swing slows can I then strengthen the loft on these irons like a forged iron.

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

Yes by upto 2 degrees

[@rodneyhickman825]

How can they be adjusted ? Aren't they cast except for the face

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

Rodney Hickman by bending them using a loft and lie machine

[@EasternElectric2012]

Which LM are you using for this test

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

GCQuad

[@2144triscuit]

I’m thinking about swapping out my i200 4-iron for the i500. Unsure which version would gap better? I’m think distance wise possibly the retro? Any thoughts?

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

+Brian Trickett Ho Brian, yeh I’d say the retro to get the gapping. Worst case of you ordered the retro and it wasn’t quite right then you can tweak loft slightly to suit.

[@keithfinley2939]

At your swing speed, could you gap the wedges properly? If so, I can't see any downside to you bagging them...

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

Yes I’d say so

[@sloebone7399]

With the “retro loft” you hit the 9, flip it over and it says “9” on the bottom. With the “power loft” you hit the 9, flip it over and it says “PW” on the bottom.

[@turtoni1707]

I'd rather have seen standard versus power loft

[@swingping]

The retro lofts are the power specs of the old forged blades of the 70s and 80s

[@poktangju]

butter swing mate

[@DavidWilliams01]

Looks like a shank at the 8:57 mark!

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

Haha yeh it does but can assure you if wasn’t!

[@DavidWilliams01]

If you had shanked it, I would have been mightily impressed with your composure to continue as you did! Good job either way. ;)

[@damnjustassignmeone]

It’s simply absurd to me that club manufacturers starting claiming their clubs hit farther when they were just lowering the lofts. They were basically just giving you a different club. A PW should be 48 degrees, not 42 or whatever they are now.

[@jorgevillela20]

Lol retro my Wilson v6 7 iron is 35 degrees of loft that’s crazy

[@leeshaw3733]

Michael are you naturally a high spin player? Other reviews I've seen show the tester not getting much above 5,000 rpm of spin with the standard 7 iron whereas you get over 6,000 which technically is pretty perfect, I wanted the retro lofts to get the balance I like at the scoring end of the bag but as I'm naturally a bit 'spinney' maybe they are not for me.

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

+Lee Shaw Hi Lee, wouldn’t say I’m a high spinner of the ball but probably have more speed than the average golfer which generates more spin. Lots of other factors to take into account like angle of attack and dynamic loft delivered to the ball. All these factors can alter spin.

[@leeshaw3733]

Thank you Michael, I'm really looking forward to my fitting tomorrow.

[@Will-pq7pj]

Can you do a i500 v g400 please

[@bennyclay]

7 iron "retro" is my 6 iron loft. Haha.

[@MichaelNewtonGolf]

Wow what irons are you using?

[@dennisdobin1918]

This information is all irrelevant,this is one man swing,we all have different swings.What is require is a swing robot that can duplicate different swings,not perfect swings as they do now but swings the duplicate a a player swing that requires fitting only then will we have the information that will be relevant to that player,the information about these clubs are only relevant to this man unless you have a similar swing.