The sharp-looking, all black, Ping i3 makes an electrifying sound at impact that pleases the senses (and this is only the stainless steel version of the head). The golfer is happy before he even sees where his shot ends up. The sweet graphite shaft is responsive and gratifying – surprising considering that this graphite has a shock-absorbing Cushin insert in it. Shots launch hot and lively.
Ping has an absolute winner on its hands here. Of the first six testers who have hit the new i3, three have decided that they would like to put it in their bags permanently. That’s quite a statement considering all of the woods that come through our shop. The high opinions of these three experienced testers have already guaranteed a first-rate review for the new Ping no matter how subsequent hitters respond to the club.
The 43″ graphite at a D0 swingweight makes for an easy-swinging club. However, a couple of testers have found the regular flex, Ping 350 graphite shaft to be too soft for their tastes and have been unable to control it as well as they had expected. There were numerous pulls and hooks. We would suggest that buyers in doubt go with stiffer flexes. All have found the feel lively and the sound at impact satisfying. The hot, tour trajectories have been universally liked – long and powerful. Most like the tendency it shows to make mistakes to the left. This 3-wood makes an excellent “safe driver” for tight fairways and for those golfers unsteady with 1-woods. With the Ping, a golfer gets the sense that he can consistently drill them right down the middle – long, straight and sweet-feeling every time. Hey, we like this club a whole lot.
- Ping i3 Fairway
- 14 degree, steel head, graphite shaft, regular
- Length 43″, Swingweight D0, Overall Weight 334
- LH available.
We have continued to hit the Ping throughout the season. It has done nothing but grow on us. We never grow tired of hitting it on the range or the course. Everything about it seems ideal – the trajectory, sound, feel and most of all the consistently easy distances we have seen. It hits longer than a number of drivers. The head design allows for very easy hitting from the turf. Balls are picked up cleanly and crisply thanks to a tungsten insert on the sole.
This is one of the finest woods we have ever tested – and one of the most popular. The only complaint remains the slightly soft shaft.
Custom orders are available through Ping fitters. To quote Ping, “…these fairway woods are designed to be custom-fit to the golfer. In addition to a choice of lofts, shaft flexes, grip sizes and swingweights, the modified JX hosel, is available in 8 different lie and face angles. This allows a fitter to recommend specifications that can help a golfer reduce or eliminate hooks and slices and help “dial in” a preferred shot shape.”
