Ping I5 Lob Wedge

Ping I5 irons have been widely regarded as for their craftsmanship and playability.  They are also one of a select few golf manufacturers that are well known for their wedges, whether they are 48, 52, 56, or 60 degrees.  With this in mind I decided to try out the Ping I5 lob wedge to see if it really provides the playability that I am looking for in a wedge.

The specific lob wedge I tried out was the Ping I5 with a red dot.  What does the red dot mean?  After putting in some research, I found out that the dot color relates to the lie angle of the club itself.  Before swinging a golf club one should make sure that the grooves of it are parallel to the ground, with both the heel and toe not being elevated above the other.  The red dot on the club specifies that the lob wedge  is  -0.75 degrees flat.  What this means is that the heel of the club is elevated a bit more than the toe, which leads to shots going more to the right for the average golfer.  With all of that technical golf jargon aside, let us move on to the review itself.

As far as positives, the Ping I5 lob wedge has great feel and control not only around the greens but also in the fairway as well.  It feels a bit lighter than a normal wedge, and I believe that is what makes it feel so good.  What does feel have to do with anything?  For low handicap golfers like myself, feel plays an important part in the wedge game (shots 100 yards and in).  You want to have a club that you can feel confident in and know will get the ball where you want it to go, and I certainly felt very comfortable using this club.  The trajectory on most shots was either mid or high ball flight.  The golf ball goes airborne very easily when hitting this lob wedge.  Even when in the deep rough it still has a pretty good trajectory to it.  Lastly, the Ping I5 lob wedge has very good forgiveness.  When I hit a shot that was a bit off the sweet spot the golf ball was still very close to my original target.

Now onto the negatives. Concerning spin, I thought the lob wedge was average to below average when it came both to fairway shots and shots around the green.  Don’t get me wrong, it spins like any other lob wedge would when hit properly, but that is the problem.  If the spin is the same as other lob wedges on the market, why not go with those instead?  I like to hit a lot of bump and chips around the green, and this lob wedge did an okay job at best.  At least two or three out of every ten shots did not check up the way that I had planned it to, and this can add unnecessary strokes to any golf round.

My overall conclusion of the Ping I5 lob wedge is that it is a good club for its intended target area – mid handicappers (around 15).  The lob wedge doesn’t have the top of the line performance that a low handicapper needs when trying to shoot scratch or below, but if offers great workability for golfers with mid to high handicaps.  Before purchasing a Ping lob wedge, make sure to check with a golf pro or golf store representative to figure out which color dot is right for you.  It could make the difference between a slice and a hook, so it is important to check into this before buying any golf club.

Take a look at some great prices on new and used Ping I5 Lob Wedges.