July 11, 2025 • 28 mins
As The Open Championship approaches, Shane and Marty discuss the new iDi driving iron, PING's latest long-game solution. They cover inR-Air technology, the three loft options that deliver varying performance benefits, and how the iDi can provide more versatility and control at the top end of players' bags.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The guys from Ping. They've kind of showed me how
much the equipment matters. I just love that I can
hit any shot.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I kind of want we're gonna be able to tell
some fun stories about what goes on here to help
golfers play better golf.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Pink Proving Grounds Podcast.
I'm Shane Bacon. That is Marty Jerts and Marty. I
am fired up for today's conversation. I am a long
time fan of a driving iron since like way back
in the day, I remember the rapture driving iron came out.
I remember having the two iron like Bill got me
(00:33):
fit for it way back in the day in the
Bubba Bay. I was obsessed with it out of the gate.
Crossover was immediately in the bag. I think at one
point I had the two and the three iron. So
the fact that Ping has a new driving iron, if
you will, and Idi, I was pumped to see. I
was excited to chat with you about and I want
to hear about some of the new things they're gonna
come with this new golf club. What is new about
(00:55):
Idi versus maybe previous iterations, crossover things like that.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Shane, actually we challenged ourselves on this product to totally
reimagine like what we should be doing in this product category.
So we Crossover has been a great product for us,
and it was kind of named as it's a cross
between a hybrid and a long IRONR.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
It's evolved a lot over the years.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
It was big, it was smaller, it was skinnier, it
had but one big commonality between the Crossover all the
crossovers is they're really long, heel to toe and so
we didn't see the tour penetration with the Crossover like
we expected to. So we spent a lot of time
with our tour players, like what are you looking for
(01:39):
this club to do, like a driving Iron type club
to do, And we really reimagined like all the goals
around this and some of the problems we were trying
to solve. And so, you know, we felt because it's
so new, you know, so different for us, and we'll
talk about some of the specifics there, it was deserve
it of a rebrand. And so we're we're calling this
(02:00):
the Eye Driving Iron. That's why it's called the IDI
because it blends right into like our I two forty
series Iron, our eye type of player.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So to speak, Marty, We've talked a lot about lofted
woods on these podcasts over the years, and it felt
like and it feels like this on tour as well.
It felt like there was this big shift I don't know,
maybe two three years ago, maybe even four years ago
now where there were a lot more head covers in
the bag of PGA Tour players. You know, for so
(02:30):
long it was driver, it was three wood, and then
it was immediately into like a two iron three iron
crossover something like that. That has shifted over the last
few years.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Why the maybe.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
The focus back in this space for golfers that are
gonna use a two iron or a three iron or
a four arm, maybe clubs that good players don't typically
think about throwing in the bag.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I mean, we have so many options in the transition
part of the bag. You know, high lofted, fairywoods are hybrid,
are doing great with the G four to forty. Now
we have this idi in here. Then you have long irons.
It's okay, what do you want all these clubs to do?
And so we do have a lot of players that
are looking for a club to maybe swap in for
(03:14):
certain conditions, whether it's the Open Championship, whether it's just
any number of those courses that get a little bit firmer,
they're going to need a club off the tee to
chase a little bit more. So that was Number one.
How do we give a club that's a little bit
more focused off as a t shot club for those
particular weeks. And then while we're at it, how do
(03:35):
we have this club that transition better from a field standpoint,
from a look standpoint, from a face closure turf interaction
into their long irons. And while we're doing it, let's
build a four iron that's really nice too, that can
possibly be a fore iron replacement and go even a
little bit higher. So one of the things with the
(03:55):
Idi family Chane is that we make a two, three
and a four, and each of those are uniquely optimized
to accomplish different goals. So the two iron is definitely
your club. You're gonna see like the Open Championship type
of conditions, Like.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Off the tea.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I mean, you're hitting this off the tee, you're hitting
the stinger. It's going for tour guys. It might be
going to eighty or something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Exactly, Yes, and it's kind of a one trick pony
like it. Like it's your t shot club. It's gonna
launch relatively low, and that thing's gonna be out there chasing.
It's gonna be easy to hit stingers. It's your fair
way finder for those Open championships. Need to carry it
down there two forty hit different trajectories, run it out,
chase it out there to two sixty to two eighty
(04:42):
whatever for the faster swing speed players. Then we got
the three. The three is going to be a club
that you know, you could probably hit the two, Shane,
You know the two's too much for me. Okay, the
three is gonna be more in the sweet spot for me.
This is gonna be my club that I can lie
at two point fifty. It's gonna have obviously lower spin
(05:04):
than a hybrid or high loft a fairy would, but
it's gonna give me more launch, more spin, a little
more forgiveness. Then let's say if I play the three
iron right, so, but because the flat face, I'm gonna
be able to use off the te then if I
have a decent lie, decent conditions into a par five,
gotta get up by the green. Maybe if the conditions
allow for it, get it on the green from about
(05:25):
two fifty carry or so, I'm gonna have that option
in the bag. And then the four Shane goes high
and so even those called the ie driving iron for
the listeners out there, the four iron, and we're seeing
this very much so in the right out of the
gate with our tour players are using it as a
foe iron replacement. Corey Connors want an ultimate golf flusher
(05:49):
out there, which is like, okay, he doesn't need a
four iron replacement with a driving iron type club. He
put it in the bag immediately. This is in my bag, Shane.
Is my new is the Idi Foreurn with the Tour
ninety X shaft in it, and I'm hitting some fantastic shots.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Man.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
The fore iron is that club in my bag for me.
It's a little fragile if if I'm flushing it, if
I got some speed, if it's warm out, okay.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, spot, I could do it. Spot in the bag,
but it's my fragile spot.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
And so the Idi has been my Idi fourn has
been my savior.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
There.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So these three different lofts all accomplished very different goals,
each uniquely optimized. The loss are seventeen, twenty and twenty
three and uh man, oh man, we've had great success
on the tour so far.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Early it's very very early.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yeah, early on tour. I mean, guys head it in
the bag at the US Open. I mean you don't
necessarily think about maybe Oakmand in traditional conditions, you'd see
players maybe wanting to run balls out, But I don't
think it's screams wet Oakmont to me. Yeah, players were
throwing it in the bag and playing it for the
week at the US Open.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yeah, I mean Victor put the three iron right in
and so he's a great example. Corey Connor's, Brian Campbell, jeez,
I mean Lori Canter put it. Has a couple of
them in the bag, and the two and the three,
and again each of these is just I just love
that we have the ability to have these different options.
So we have some of the players playing the two
(07:19):
is the driving Club, a lot of them in the three.
Then we got a players like Corey Connor's playing the
four as straight up just legit foreign replacement. And with
how we did the loss and the lengths and the
launch and the spin, it it fits in seamlessly. So
We've had these solutions, sheine, where I've done it myself,
where I'd play like that, I five thirty four iron
(07:40):
and then I got my blueprint fore iron, and I'm
psychologically it's a little weird to have two foreigns in
the bag.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
You know, I think that as well right now.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Yes, saw Hith have two of the same irons, but
they went different distances. You know, what you mentioned crossover,
and as I've said, I've been a crossover player since
they first came out. I mean I had I've played
the two iron, I played the three iron. I've played
both at times. But it feels like what you're saying
with Idi is it almost feels and looks and maybe
even sounds closer to what a traditional iron will play like,
(08:10):
yet not sacrificing distance.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Is that fair to say? Yes?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, So when you first set it down, Shane, what
you're gonna notice is the blade length is way shorter
than our crossover. So these comparisons are going to be
to crossover. It's it's about twenty percent shorter. And then
obviously you're what you're gonna see when you first set
it down or look at it in the bag, is
the soul is substantially wider, So we're pulling the seat
so way shorter blade length, so it's gonna feel more
(08:38):
like your irons from a closure standpoint, like the offset
of the CG of the shaft. Pick it up, waggle it,
close your eyes, swing it, make impact with it. It's
gonna have that sensation that the kinetics, what you feel
through your hand is gonna feel more like a long
iron because we shorten that blade length up wider soul.
(08:58):
That's gonna pull the seed back a little bit, boost
the inertia. And one of the big things, and this
is an advantage, big advantage of the original rapture driving
iron chain, is that one of the challenges with driving
iron type clubs is you get that little lie in
the rough where the ball sitting up and you hit
it high in the face and it goes absolutely nowhere,
(09:20):
falls out of the sky. So we put a lot
of emphasis on improving what's called the IXX and this
is the inertia that helps you reduce the gear effect,
preserve ball speed, preserve your launch and spin even if
you hit a little high on the face and low
on the face. This is super important in a driving
(09:40):
iron style of club, and so what you see with
the shaping little squatier, shorter heel to toe, a little
less offset, so it blends more in with your better
player irons. And then that wider soul in how the
mass is distributed helps you give you more forgiveness if
you hit a little high in the face.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
What was some of the feedback in terms of crossover
from tour players that maybe got the team thinking about IDI.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, I think it was a couple things. One, we
have the trajectory tuning sleeve and crossover, but we couldn't
always get to like the loft and lie they needed.
So while the trajectory tuning sleeve was a great tool
and feature in that club to help the consumer and
the fitter and the fitting bait to try different little
(10:29):
different loft and lie configurations, we couldn't bend them enough
to hit different lingles. So actually an advantage of crossover
now or the IDI now Shane, when you look at
it has a very big hozzle notch in it, which
is kind of classic for us at ping. That helps
us hit our entire lingle color code range. So we
prioritize the color code fitting over the trajectory tuning sleeve,
(10:53):
and we view that it's going to be a positive
benefit now and you as a consumer out there, now
you can just order these at the color code of
your irons and they'll work fantastic. This is a big
deal for me getting mine dialed in is making sure
I could hit hit the right color code, So that
was number one. Number two was having it go low
(11:14):
enough for the long iron for the in the two
iron right, so we wanted to make that two iron
club go super duper low. Number three was more forgiveness
when you impacted it high and low on the face.
Number four shorter blade length. That was a really big
deal for the tour players is they just wanted something
with a lot shorter blade length. And I think when
(11:36):
they were conceptualizing that and trying to describe that, Shaine,
it was both the look but then also the feel.
They wanted the feel of it to match their irons.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong here. It feels
like this is maybe the most unique club ping is
made in a while. I mean, you think about you know,
you Go Rapture Crossover. It was a different golf club,
obviously with a lot of new technology, but had similar characteristics.
I mean, you think about you know, ever you would,
it's going to look similar to you know, previous iterations
(12:05):
of Fairywoods.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Or all in the family.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
When you look at IDI, this looks like a golf
club that has never existed in the Pink family before.
I mean, it seems like it's almost like a whole
new category.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yeah, totally, And that's what made this project super fun.
The lead engineer, Mark blocks him on this. He was
able to kind of start from scratch, right, And I
think you're right, Shane, Like a lot of our product
categories were there might be a major innovative technology and
the construction of it, but the profile might look the same,
(12:38):
or making a little little tweaks and how we execute
the trajectory, tuning sleeve and things of that nature. We
were able to start the IDI project kind of from scratch,
reimagine what problems we need to solve here, really anchor
down with our tour players, which Shane, it's been so
fun to see how many of these are in play
out of the gate. I was very bullish on the ID.
I if I view our club like a like a
(13:01):
stock pick, you know, at the beginning of the year,
I'm like, Okay, id eye is gonna be a sleeper.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Id Ey is off to a really great start.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I mean that is it's it's so cool. I mean,
and you know I always go does already approve?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Right? And when you've got them.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Like immediately in the bag, I know you're you're immediately
a found a fan. What about sound and feel for
these golf clubs, I mean, is it as similar to
a Is it a similar to like a five hundred
series Iron? Is it a little bit more like an
I series Iron? Is it kind of own feel and sound?
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Yeah, it's got a little bit more towards the I
five hundred series Iron like our I five thirty. Because
the face is moving, it's flexing a lot. It's got
them barraging C three hundred. This material is used in
landing gear Shane because it's super flexibook and with stand
impacts a lot. The face is thinner than the crossover.
It's five percent thinner. But we were able to engineer
(13:49):
in brand new technology Shane called We're we're calling it
inner air, and there's actually a kind of a bag
inside the head that's feeling with air. So it's super
lightweight and it dampens vibrations substantially so that we can
have a very thin face, very thin wall kind of
structure to it without any undesired acoustics and sound. So
(14:14):
it's very unique. And again, I think, you know, kind
of similar to I forty Shane, where you want to
have this, you know, I think doctor Sasha Mackenzie calls
it your perception coupling action. It's like you want to
have the sound match how the club looks and how
your brain thinks it's going to behave. And I really
(14:34):
think we nailed that with the id I. It's it's
it's a nice sound. It sounds powerful but not glassy
and not clicky, and it's kind of what you expect
from this type of club, like like you want it
to have a little bit of pop to it, little
ball speed to it, and it does, but not in
any undesirable way.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Got to send Michael Jordan a set of these shutters
a little bit of air in the golf clubs, right,
So we talked a little bit about tour players, what
about the everyday player, you know, the the everyday golfer
that's going out and considering maybe you know, kind of
going with the Combo said, where does IDI fit for
the everyday twelve handicap in terms of what they might
be looking for in that longer portion of the golf bag.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I think the four is a great option for everyday
player to look at. Is simply just your straight up
foreign replacement, right, and so you can go out and
hit it, demo it, try it out. With a lot
of great shopt options, you and your fitter can also
lean upon our tool and copilot. So Shane, one of
the fun things with the Gaping App, which I know
(15:34):
we talk a lot about in terms of building your
whole bag out, we never got the crossover into our
algorithms and all that stuff with the Gaping App. It's
a little bit of a niche club, you know, different
trajectory profiles to it. But we're very excited with the
launch of the IDI and I two forty at the
same time is to have both of those now in
(15:56):
the Gaping App. So now you in the Gaping App,
you can get a recommendation and do some little what
if experiments like where what will the trajectory be with
the I d I four iron and figure out if
that's something you want to consider, and then the three iron,
Shane is gonna be the I D I three. It's
gonna be a great club. Again if you if you
have ample mount of speed, you're looking for a T
(16:19):
shot club. I know so many players, whether it's Arizona
Golf or in other parts of the country, that need
a really good T shot club. And occasionally you need
it on the long part three or a second shot
to the part five.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
And then if you have a lot of speed. I
got a member at my club, Shane, former baseball player,
professional baseball player, and he drivers too much for him
on nearly every hole Arizona Golf. He's wearing out. He's
just wearing out the You know he will wear out
the I D I two iron when you know when
he gets it. So, uh, that's a that's a that's
(16:54):
a great option. The the two is pretty spicy though.
You gotta you gotta have some heat to to send
that thing out there. So the three and the four
are gonna be fantastic options for the every day offer.
And if you got the speed, take a look at
the two.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You talk a little bit about gapping. I think one
thing people wonder about in terms of like a driving iron,
and I think it's fair to call this a driving
iron with IDI, is if I go from five to four,
does the numbers massively jump?
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Like?
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Have you seen that?
Speaker 3 (17:21):
I don't want to call it an issue, but do
you see that as something people have to think about
or when they jump into copilot or they jump into
gapping app just to kind of consider when they're looking
at maybe the numbers from you know, if you hit it,
let's say you hit it two sixty off the tee
and then you've got to use those four and five
irons occasionally into part fours. What's that gapping look like
between maybe a I two forty four iron to the
(17:43):
id I or sorry I the two forty five iron
to an.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Five iron two?
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah, no, it's that was actually a really big thing
we tried to focus on with the IDI In a
couple of ways. We did is so that it does
gap seamlessly. I've seen this with my own bag. I
went right from the blueprint. I've replaced my blueprint S
four iron with the id I foe iron. Everything stock
(18:08):
so twenty three degree stock loft and also Shane stock length.
So one of the variables that Mark, the lead designer,
worked on was short shortened, shortening the standard lengths a
little bit so when you set them down. That was
another thing, a little piece of feedback from our tour
players like, hey, the blade lengths long, then the club
(18:32):
is a little bit too long, right, So we kind
of shortened it up so now it feels more like
a long iron. That does a couple of things. That
helps with gapping because that because the length progression now
matches your long irons a little bit more, and then
the four having plenty of loft is been seamless. So
both for myself Corey Connors, I think his specs are
(18:55):
exactly just stock twenty three degrees our stock length. And
what you're going to see from the Foreshane is that
not necessarily that it's going to go massively further than
maybe your I two forty four inn. It's going to
help you get the ball in their air easier and
be more forgiving. So your your percentage of the time
(19:15):
that you're hitting high quality shots, which is a good
metric to think about with your long irons, is going
to go up.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
I think something that we've talked a lot about in
terms of fitting is the open mindedness to go get
fit right and I think that's something that you know,
golfers go in with an idea of this is the
club I want to play, which is I think great
to have on in the back of your mind when
you go in and do this. But you know, you
think about, you know, the incredible success of the fairy
Woods high Loft, the fairy Woods. You think about the
(19:44):
success of the Hybrid. You think about the success of
the Irons, depending on if you're a maybe a higher
handicap playeror lower handicapp player. Now you have idi to
throw in there as well. I think about fitting in
terms of taking the time for the top parts of
your bag and making sure or it's adequate enough when
you go get fit to think about all these options
because the options continue to expand, which means you can
(20:06):
really get dialed on exactly the right club for how
you play conditions you play, swing speed obviously, do you
possess Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I mean it's we're in a very fun time in
the golf world, in the golf equipment world. I think
consumers have so many options out there for those transition clubs. Shane,
I think I'm I'm a big fan. If it warrants
it for you the golfer out there, the listener out there,
to get a couple options in this part of the bag,
Like maybe you want to have a seven wood or
(20:35):
nine wood for certain conditions, certain times a year. Maybe
if you're traveling or things of that nature, then you
have an IDI three iron or four armed you throw
in the bag. I know, I usually travel with sixteen
sixteen clubs in my trunk, and I'm always swapping out
whether you know, ID I three iron, that won't be
(20:56):
in my bag for every tournament. I'll put the five.
I'll put my G four forty four wood in there
for some tournaments and swap it out depending on the conditions.
So I just it's fantastic. Yes, it could be a
little overwhelming, but that's why we have tools like Copilot.
We train our fitters and folks out here listen to
(21:16):
the pod can get a little more educated. That was
a big goal of the pod chain, is that for
listeners out there to be more educated, so they can
have a better understanding of this nuance and ask some questions,
get a little jumpstart when they go in and try
these clubs and get them dialed in. One fun thing
about the IDI for listeners to think about is how
(21:37):
to think about shaft options. And it is working really
well again with our tour players, and I'll I'm to
use myself a little bit here personally to build this
with our hybrid shafts. Right our tour players are putting
their hybrid shafts in there. They're not putting you know,
Corey Connors isn't putting his dynamic Gold or whatever he's
using in there, right so and same for me. I'm
(21:58):
playing our tour ninety black, our new black version of
the tour shaft ninety gram in there, and it is
absolutely fantastic. The blade length is working is a big
part of the turf interaction. How is it makes it
feel more consistent like your irons?
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Slower speed players, I mean, is there is this an
option for them at all? Could they could they lean
into the four iron and use that in any capacity?
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Yeah, the four the four would be worth looking at,
but at a certain speed threshold chain you know, you
need speed to generate spin, and without spin you lose
kind of the lift on the golf ball that gives
you peak height. So that's a great spot to look at.
Our high lofted hybrids and high lofted fairy woods, and
again gappy app can help give you a little jump
(22:45):
start to make sure you don't make a mistake.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
I think that's that's one of the big things is
we don't want to fit you into a golf club
that maybe you do even get hit good in the
fitting environment, but you get out on the golf course
doesn't fly high enough.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
I want to like walk around Bandon Dunes in about
three months and just see how many hide eyes are
in golf bags. You know, I get so many people
that ask questions. They'll send me a DM on Instagram
about going to Scotland or going to Bandon or going
to you know, Sand Valley or one of these places
where the golf is different. You know, what, do I
anything new to to bring? And you know, one of
my first things I say is do you have ring gloves?
(23:22):
It's like, basically, you have ring gloves, very important on
a trip like that. But I do think equipment is
something people probably bypass occasionally when they're thinking about these trips.
Rain pants, rain jackets, vests, rain gloves, things like that,
and there is equipment that can help you on a
golf trip just as much as something like that can
help you because the golf is so different than what
you're gonna play. Maybe if you live in Ohio, you.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Know totally yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
No, if you're going on your bucket list trip to
Scotland or Bandon Dunes, I mean, id Eye is a
great one to look at all the other little ancillary
gear Shane you mentioned man, get your ziploc bags out,
you know, your bucket and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Everything right, the good the best part about those trips
is when you don't have to use it, right, Yes,
when you went and spent like four hundred dollars on
all this stuff and you go, I didn't use any
of it, but that's uh, then you got lucky with
the weather.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
One thing with with.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
These types of clubs, and as I mentioned, something really
new for Ping, and there's so many great players at Ping.
What's been the reception from like the staff they are
at Ping, the good players that obviously get excited for
new equipment. I mean, as id I do you see
it across the board in terms of players.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Bags, tons, tons, and we have we have a lot
of golfers that are playing in all of our local
amateur events and getting you know, occasionally getting in the
us J four ball and the mid m and things
of that nature. And the id I has been uh
this has been one that when we are working on it,
it's it's one where you're you're you're waiting for the day,
you know, when does this baby come out? When can
(24:51):
I use it in a tournament? And so yeah, for
with the with the kind of competitive I'll call it
the competitive golfers have a little bit of speed, uh
I d I. It's been fantastic. The four iron again
for me, Shane, this is my fit. This is my
personal favorite club of the year, you know, for my
helping my game. So if it was if it was
the Thriver two years ago, it's the id I four
(25:14):
Iron for me this year.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
God, we need like a Marty stamp on the pod
that like comes up like an Oprah's book club.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Whatever you say, it's my club of the year.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
That's a I Listen, there's there's nothing better than than
hearing that from somebody that has designed so many great
golf clubs across the board. And you know, you know me,
I mean, as I've said, the driving Iron, it was
a club when I was younger that as a lefty
wasn't easy to get. Yeah, we were talking about this
before we got the pod going. You know, there were
clubs back in the day that I dreamed of having
(25:43):
as a lefty that weren't available. And when I first
saw images of ID, I I'm like salivating, you know,
because it just is a golf club that I'm going
to use, like the two iron will be a club
that I will occasionally be playing, Yep, depending on the
golf tournament. You know, you play these Northeast golf courses
that have corridors, but they're pretty firm, and if you
hit them in the right spot, the ball can run
(26:04):
out thirty or forty yards.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That's a layup for me.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
I mean, that's an auto put in the bag and
play it. And I just love the options of two, three,
four and kind of mixing them with the set, I mean,
going back to mixed sets being such a big part
of what ping is and basically the business of ping
in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Yeah, absolutely, Shane, and we've already seen this on tour.
But the way we spaced out the specs is there's
room to play multiple of these crossover We kind of
view that as you would play like one. Most players
kind of just had one of those in the bag,
so the loss were spaced a little bit closer together,
like two two and a half degrees. But with the
IDI again we separated the loss a lot, so we
(26:42):
got eighteen twenty twenty three, and of course we can
loft and lie them, so we have a little bit
of wheel room there if you need it twenty one
or whatever. We can absolutely one hundred percent do that
full color code range to get them dialed in. But
there's gonna be and I could definitely see this in
your bag too, shamee where you might play a couple
id eyes, right, That's what I'm doing. That's what we're
(27:03):
already seen on tour. So it's just super fun.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Man.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Whether Corey Connors using as a foreign replacement or Victor
Hoblin uses a t shot club from two fifty, there's
a This can go a couple of different ways for
you or you playing both.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Marty.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
I remember the story back in the day of the
Apple engineer that had the new iPhone and left it
in the bar. I found it when you first hit IDI.
Yet you can't take it out in tournament golf. How
much were you itching to get it like actually in
the bag once you know the date was allowing you
to go take it out there and play it on
a tournament.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Sometimes we do these research rounds and I'll put on
I'll put on an iron cover, you know, to conceal it,
kind of like you see the Tesla's out there that
are all covered up before the model y launches or whatever.
And so yeah, I snuck in a couple of research
rounds with the IDI.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
I like research rounds, by the way. That's really funny.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Marty Jerts and the IDI his Club of the Year
in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Appreciate the time of man.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
This is the Being proven Grounds podcast
Speaker 2 (28:06):
M
The guys from Ping. They've kind of showed me how
much the equipment matters. I just love that I can
hit any shot.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I kind of want we're gonna be able to tell
some fun stories about what goes on here to help
golfers play better golf.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Pink Proving Grounds Podcast.
I'm Shane Bacon. That is Marty Jerts and Marty. I
am fired up for today's conversation. I am a long
time fan of a driving iron since like way back
in the day, I remember the rapture driving iron came out.
I remember having the two iron like Bill got me
(00:33):
fit for it way back in the day in the
Bubba Bay. I was obsessed with it out of the gate.
Crossover was immediately in the bag. I think at one
point I had the two and the three iron. So
the fact that Ping has a new driving iron, if
you will, and Idi, I was pumped to see. I
was excited to chat with you about and I want
to hear about some of the new things they're gonna
come with this new golf club. What is new about
(00:55):
Idi versus maybe previous iterations, crossover things like that.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Shane, actually we challenged ourselves on this product to totally
reimagine like what we should be doing in this product category.
So we Crossover has been a great product for us,
and it was kind of named as it's a cross
between a hybrid and a long IRONR.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
It's evolved a lot over the years.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
It was big, it was smaller, it was skinnier, it
had but one big commonality between the Crossover all the
crossovers is they're really long, heel to toe and so
we didn't see the tour penetration with the Crossover like
we expected to. So we spent a lot of time
with our tour players, like what are you looking for
(01:39):
this club to do, like a driving Iron type club
to do, And we really reimagined like all the goals
around this and some of the problems we were trying
to solve. And so, you know, we felt because it's
so new, you know, so different for us, and we'll
talk about some of the specifics there, it was deserve
it of a rebrand. And so we're we're calling this
(02:00):
the Eye Driving Iron. That's why it's called the IDI
because it blends right into like our I two forty
series Iron, our eye type of player.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
So to speak, Marty, We've talked a lot about lofted
woods on these podcasts over the years, and it felt
like and it feels like this on tour as well.
It felt like there was this big shift I don't know,
maybe two three years ago, maybe even four years ago
now where there were a lot more head covers in
the bag of PGA Tour players. You know, for so
(02:30):
long it was driver, it was three wood, and then
it was immediately into like a two iron three iron
crossover something like that. That has shifted over the last
few years.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Why the maybe.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
The focus back in this space for golfers that are
gonna use a two iron or a three iron or
a four arm, maybe clubs that good players don't typically
think about throwing in the bag.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, yeah, that's a great question.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I mean, we have so many options in the transition
part of the bag. You know, high lofted, fairywoods are hybrid,
are doing great with the G four to forty. Now
we have this idi in here. Then you have long irons.
It's okay, what do you want all these clubs to do?
And so we do have a lot of players that
are looking for a club to maybe swap in for
(03:14):
certain conditions, whether it's the Open Championship, whether it's just
any number of those courses that get a little bit firmer,
they're going to need a club off the tee to
chase a little bit more. So that was Number one.
How do we give a club that's a little bit
more focused off as a t shot club for those
particular weeks. And then while we're at it, how do
(03:35):
we have this club that transition better from a field standpoint,
from a look standpoint, from a face closure turf interaction
into their long irons. And while we're doing it, let's
build a four iron that's really nice too, that can
possibly be a fore iron replacement and go even a
little bit higher. So one of the things with the
(03:55):
Idi family Chane is that we make a two, three
and a four, and each of those are uniquely optimized
to accomplish different goals. So the two iron is definitely
your club. You're gonna see like the Open Championship type
of conditions, Like.
Speaker 1 (04:14):
Off the tea.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I mean, you're hitting this off the tee, you're hitting
the stinger. It's going for tour guys. It might be
going to eighty or something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Exactly, Yes, and it's kind of a one trick pony
like it. Like it's your t shot club. It's gonna
launch relatively low, and that thing's gonna be out there chasing.
It's gonna be easy to hit stingers. It's your fair
way finder for those Open championships. Need to carry it
down there two forty hit different trajectories, run it out,
chase it out there to two sixty to two eighty
(04:42):
whatever for the faster swing speed players. Then we got
the three. The three is going to be a club
that you know, you could probably hit the two, Shane,
You know the two's too much for me. Okay, the
three is gonna be more in the sweet spot for me.
This is gonna be my club that I can lie
at two point fifty. It's gonna have obviously lower spin
(05:04):
than a hybrid or high loft a fairy would, but
it's gonna give me more launch, more spin, a little
more forgiveness. Then let's say if I play the three
iron right, so, but because the flat face, I'm gonna
be able to use off the te then if I
have a decent lie, decent conditions into a par five,
gotta get up by the green. Maybe if the conditions
allow for it, get it on the green from about
(05:25):
two fifty carry or so, I'm gonna have that option
in the bag. And then the four Shane goes high
and so even those called the ie driving iron for
the listeners out there, the four iron, and we're seeing
this very much so in the right out of the
gate with our tour players are using it as a
foe iron replacement. Corey Connors want an ultimate golf flusher
(05:49):
out there, which is like, okay, he doesn't need a
four iron replacement with a driving iron type club. He
put it in the bag immediately. This is in my bag, Shane.
Is my new is the Idi Foreurn with the Tour
ninety X shaft in it, and I'm hitting some fantastic shots.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Man.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
The fore iron is that club in my bag for me.
It's a little fragile if if I'm flushing it, if
I got some speed, if it's warm out, okay.
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Yeah, spot, I could do it. Spot in the bag,
but it's my fragile spot.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
And so the Idi has been my Idi fourn has
been my savior.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
There.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
So these three different lofts all accomplished very different goals,
each uniquely optimized. The loss are seventeen, twenty and twenty
three and uh man, oh man, we've had great success
on the tour so far.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
Early it's very very early.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yeah, early on tour. I mean, guys head it in
the bag at the US Open. I mean you don't
necessarily think about maybe Oakmand in traditional conditions, you'd see
players maybe wanting to run balls out, But I don't
think it's screams wet Oakmont to me. Yeah, players were
throwing it in the bag and playing it for the
week at the US Open.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Yeah, I mean Victor put the three iron right in
and so he's a great example. Corey Connor's, Brian Campbell, jeez,
I mean Lori Canter put it. Has a couple of
them in the bag, and the two and the three,
and again each of these is just I just love
that we have the ability to have these different options.
So we have some of the players playing the two
(07:19):
is the driving Club, a lot of them in the three.
Then we got a players like Corey Connor's playing the
four as straight up just legit foreign replacement. And with
how we did the loss and the lengths and the
launch and the spin, it it fits in seamlessly. So
We've had these solutions, sheine, where I've done it myself,
where I'd play like that, I five thirty four iron
(07:40):
and then I got my blueprint fore iron, and I'm
psychologically it's a little weird to have two foreigns in
the bag.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
You know, I think that as well right now.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Yes, saw Hith have two of the same irons, but
they went different distances. You know, what you mentioned crossover,
and as I've said, I've been a crossover player since
they first came out. I mean I had I've played
the two iron, I played the three iron. I've played
both at times. But it feels like what you're saying
with Idi is it almost feels and looks and maybe
even sounds closer to what a traditional iron will play like,
(08:10):
yet not sacrificing distance.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Is that fair to say? Yes?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, So when you first set it down, Shane, what
you're gonna notice is the blade length is way shorter
than our crossover. So these comparisons are going to be
to crossover. It's it's about twenty percent shorter. And then
obviously you're what you're gonna see when you first set
it down or look at it in the bag, is
the soul is substantially wider, So we're pulling the seat
so way shorter blade length, so it's gonna feel more
(08:38):
like your irons from a closure standpoint, like the offset
of the CG of the shaft. Pick it up, waggle it,
close your eyes, swing it, make impact with it. It's
gonna have that sensation that the kinetics, what you feel
through your hand is gonna feel more like a long
iron because we shorten that blade length up wider soul.
(08:58):
That's gonna pull the seed back a little bit, boost
the inertia. And one of the big things, and this
is an advantage, big advantage of the original rapture driving
iron chain, is that one of the challenges with driving
iron type clubs is you get that little lie in
the rough where the ball sitting up and you hit
it high in the face and it goes absolutely nowhere,
(09:20):
falls out of the sky. So we put a lot
of emphasis on improving what's called the IXX and this
is the inertia that helps you reduce the gear effect,
preserve ball speed, preserve your launch and spin even if
you hit a little high on the face and low
on the face. This is super important in a driving
(09:40):
iron style of club, and so what you see with
the shaping little squatier, shorter heel to toe, a little
less offset, so it blends more in with your better
player irons. And then that wider soul in how the
mass is distributed helps you give you more forgiveness if
you hit a little high in the face.
Speaker 3 (10:00):
What was some of the feedback in terms of crossover
from tour players that maybe got the team thinking about IDI.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Yeah, I think it was a couple things. One, we
have the trajectory tuning sleeve and crossover, but we couldn't
always get to like the loft and lie they needed.
So while the trajectory tuning sleeve was a great tool
and feature in that club to help the consumer and
the fitter and the fitting bait to try different little
(10:29):
different loft and lie configurations, we couldn't bend them enough
to hit different lingles. So actually an advantage of crossover
now or the IDI now Shane, when you look at
it has a very big hozzle notch in it, which
is kind of classic for us at ping. That helps
us hit our entire lingle color code range. So we
prioritize the color code fitting over the trajectory tuning sleeve,
(10:53):
and we view that it's going to be a positive
benefit now and you as a consumer out there, now
you can just order these at the color code of
your irons and they'll work fantastic. This is a big
deal for me getting mine dialed in is making sure
I could hit hit the right color code, So that
was number one. Number two was having it go low
(11:14):
enough for the long iron for the in the two
iron right, so we wanted to make that two iron
club go super duper low. Number three was more forgiveness
when you impacted it high and low on the face.
Number four shorter blade length. That was a really big
deal for the tour players is they just wanted something
with a lot shorter blade length. And I think when
(11:36):
they were conceptualizing that and trying to describe that, Shaine,
it was both the look but then also the feel.
They wanted the feel of it to match their irons.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong here. It feels
like this is maybe the most unique club ping is
made in a while. I mean, you think about you know,
you Go Rapture Crossover. It was a different golf club,
obviously with a lot of new technology, but had similar characteristics.
I mean, you think about you know, ever you would,
it's going to look similar to you know, previous iterations
(12:05):
of Fairywoods.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Or all in the family.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
When you look at IDI, this looks like a golf
club that has never existed in the Pink family before.
I mean, it seems like it's almost like a whole
new category.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yeah, totally, And that's what made this project super fun.
The lead engineer, Mark blocks him on this. He was
able to kind of start from scratch, right, And I
think you're right, Shane, Like a lot of our product
categories were there might be a major innovative technology and
the construction of it, but the profile might look the same,
(12:38):
or making a little little tweaks and how we execute
the trajectory, tuning sleeve and things of that nature. We
were able to start the IDI project kind of from scratch,
reimagine what problems we need to solve here, really anchor
down with our tour players, which Shane, it's been so
fun to see how many of these are in play
out of the gate. I was very bullish on the ID.
I if I view our club like a like a
(13:01):
stock pick, you know, at the beginning of the year,
I'm like, Okay, id eye is gonna be a sleeper.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Id Ey is off to a really great start.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I mean that is it's it's so cool. I mean,
and you know I always go does already approve?
Speaker 1 (13:11):
Right? And when you've got them.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Like immediately in the bag, I know you're you're immediately
a found a fan. What about sound and feel for
these golf clubs, I mean, is it as similar to
a Is it a similar to like a five hundred
series Iron? Is it a little bit more like an
I series Iron? Is it kind of own feel and sound?
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Yeah, it's got a little bit more towards the I
five hundred series Iron like our I five thirty. Because
the face is moving, it's flexing a lot. It's got
them barraging C three hundred. This material is used in
landing gear Shane because it's super flexibook and with stand
impacts a lot. The face is thinner than the crossover.
It's five percent thinner. But we were able to engineer
(13:49):
in brand new technology Shane called We're we're calling it
inner air, and there's actually a kind of a bag
inside the head that's feeling with air. So it's super
lightweight and it dampens vibrations substantially so that we can
have a very thin face, very thin wall kind of
structure to it without any undesired acoustics and sound. So
(14:14):
it's very unique. And again, I think, you know, kind
of similar to I forty Shane, where you want to
have this, you know, I think doctor Sasha Mackenzie calls
it your perception coupling action. It's like you want to
have the sound match how the club looks and how
your brain thinks it's going to behave. And I really
(14:34):
think we nailed that with the id I. It's it's
it's a nice sound. It sounds powerful but not glassy
and not clicky, and it's kind of what you expect
from this type of club, like like you want it
to have a little bit of pop to it, little
ball speed to it, and it does, but not in
any undesirable way.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
Got to send Michael Jordan a set of these shutters
a little bit of air in the golf clubs, right,
So we talked a little bit about tour players, what
about the everyday player, you know, the the everyday golfer
that's going out and considering maybe you know, kind of
going with the Combo said, where does IDI fit for
the everyday twelve handicap in terms of what they might
be looking for in that longer portion of the golf bag.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I think the four is a great option for everyday
player to look at. Is simply just your straight up
foreign replacement, right, and so you can go out and
hit it, demo it, try it out. With a lot
of great shopt options, you and your fitter can also
lean upon our tool and copilot. So Shane, one of
the fun things with the Gaping App, which I know
(15:34):
we talk a lot about in terms of building your
whole bag out, we never got the crossover into our
algorithms and all that stuff with the Gaping App. It's
a little bit of a niche club, you know, different
trajectory profiles to it. But we're very excited with the
launch of the IDI and I two forty at the
same time is to have both of those now in
(15:56):
the Gaping App. So now you in the Gaping App,
you can get a recommendation and do some little what
if experiments like where what will the trajectory be with
the I d I four iron and figure out if
that's something you want to consider, and then the three iron,
Shane is gonna be the I D I three. It's
gonna be a great club. Again if you if you
have ample mount of speed, you're looking for a T
(16:19):
shot club. I know so many players, whether it's Arizona
Golf or in other parts of the country, that need
a really good T shot club. And occasionally you need
it on the long part three or a second shot
to the part five.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (16:33):
And then if you have a lot of speed. I
got a member at my club, Shane, former baseball player,
professional baseball player, and he drivers too much for him
on nearly every hole Arizona Golf. He's wearing out. He's
just wearing out the You know he will wear out
the I D I two iron when you know when
he gets it. So, uh, that's a that's a that's
(16:54):
a great option. The the two is pretty spicy though.
You gotta you gotta have some heat to to send
that thing out there. So the three and the four
are gonna be fantastic options for the every day offer.
And if you got the speed, take a look at
the two.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
You talk a little bit about gapping. I think one
thing people wonder about in terms of like a driving iron,
and I think it's fair to call this a driving
iron with IDI, is if I go from five to four,
does the numbers massively jump?
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Like?
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Have you seen that?
Speaker 3 (17:21):
I don't want to call it an issue, but do
you see that as something people have to think about
or when they jump into copilot or they jump into
gapping app just to kind of consider when they're looking
at maybe the numbers from you know, if you hit it,
let's say you hit it two sixty off the tee
and then you've got to use those four and five
irons occasionally into part fours. What's that gapping look like
between maybe a I two forty four iron to the
(17:43):
id I or sorry I the two forty five iron
to an.
Speaker 1 (17:46):
Five iron two?
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Yeah, no, it's that was actually a really big thing
we tried to focus on with the IDI In a
couple of ways. We did is so that it does
gap seamlessly. I've seen this with my own bag. I
went right from the blueprint. I've replaced my blueprint S
four iron with the id I foe iron. Everything stock
(18:08):
so twenty three degree stock loft and also Shane stock length.
So one of the variables that Mark, the lead designer,
worked on was short shortened, shortening the standard lengths a
little bit so when you set them down. That was
another thing, a little piece of feedback from our tour
players like, hey, the blade lengths long, then the club
(18:32):
is a little bit too long, right, So we kind
of shortened it up so now it feels more like
a long iron. That does a couple of things. That
helps with gapping because that because the length progression now
matches your long irons a little bit more, and then
the four having plenty of loft is been seamless. So
both for myself Corey Connors, I think his specs are
(18:55):
exactly just stock twenty three degrees our stock length. And
what you're going to see from the Foreshane is that
not necessarily that it's going to go massively further than
maybe your I two forty four inn. It's going to
help you get the ball in their air easier and
be more forgiving. So your your percentage of the time
(19:15):
that you're hitting high quality shots, which is a good
metric to think about with your long irons, is going
to go up.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
I think something that we've talked a lot about in
terms of fitting is the open mindedness to go get
fit right and I think that's something that you know,
golfers go in with an idea of this is the
club I want to play, which is I think great
to have on in the back of your mind when
you go in and do this. But you know, you
think about, you know, the incredible success of the fairy
Woods high Loft, the fairy Woods. You think about the
(19:44):
success of the Hybrid. You think about the success of
the Irons, depending on if you're a maybe a higher
handicap playeror lower handicapp player. Now you have idi to
throw in there as well. I think about fitting in
terms of taking the time for the top parts of
your bag and making sure or it's adequate enough when
you go get fit to think about all these options
because the options continue to expand, which means you can
(20:06):
really get dialed on exactly the right club for how
you play conditions you play, swing speed obviously, do you
possess Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
I mean it's we're in a very fun time in
the golf world, in the golf equipment world. I think
consumers have so many options out there for those transition clubs. Shane,
I think I'm I'm a big fan. If it warrants
it for you the golfer out there, the listener out there,
to get a couple options in this part of the bag,
Like maybe you want to have a seven wood or
(20:35):
nine wood for certain conditions, certain times a year. Maybe
if you're traveling or things of that nature, then you
have an IDI three iron or four armed you throw
in the bag. I know, I usually travel with sixteen
sixteen clubs in my trunk, and I'm always swapping out
whether you know, ID I three iron, that won't be
(20:56):
in my bag for every tournament. I'll put the five.
I'll put my G four forty four wood in there
for some tournaments and swap it out depending on the conditions.
So I just it's fantastic. Yes, it could be a
little overwhelming, but that's why we have tools like Copilot.
We train our fitters and folks out here listen to
(21:16):
the pod can get a little more educated. That was
a big goal of the pod chain, is that for
listeners out there to be more educated, so they can
have a better understanding of this nuance and ask some questions,
get a little jumpstart when they go in and try
these clubs and get them dialed in. One fun thing
about the IDI for listeners to think about is how
(21:37):
to think about shaft options. And it is working really
well again with our tour players, and I'll I'm to
use myself a little bit here personally to build this
with our hybrid shafts. Right our tour players are putting
their hybrid shafts in there. They're not putting you know,
Corey Connors isn't putting his dynamic Gold or whatever he's
using in there, right so and same for me. I'm
(21:58):
playing our tour ninety black, our new black version of
the tour shaft ninety gram in there, and it is
absolutely fantastic. The blade length is working is a big
part of the turf interaction. How is it makes it
feel more consistent like your irons?
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Slower speed players, I mean, is there is this an
option for them at all? Could they could they lean
into the four iron and use that in any capacity?
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Yeah, the four the four would be worth looking at,
but at a certain speed threshold chain you know, you
need speed to generate spin, and without spin you lose
kind of the lift on the golf ball that gives
you peak height. So that's a great spot to look at.
Our high lofted hybrids and high lofted fairy woods, and
again gappy app can help give you a little jump
(22:45):
start to make sure you don't make a mistake.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
I think that's that's one of the big things is
we don't want to fit you into a golf club
that maybe you do even get hit good in the
fitting environment, but you get out on the golf course
doesn't fly high enough.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
I want to like walk around Bandon Dunes in about
three months and just see how many hide eyes are
in golf bags. You know, I get so many people
that ask questions. They'll send me a DM on Instagram
about going to Scotland or going to Bandon or going
to you know, Sand Valley or one of these places
where the golf is different. You know, what, do I
anything new to to bring? And you know, one of
my first things I say is do you have ring gloves?
(23:22):
It's like, basically, you have ring gloves, very important on
a trip like that. But I do think equipment is
something people probably bypass occasionally when they're thinking about these trips.
Rain pants, rain jackets, vests, rain gloves, things like that,
and there is equipment that can help you on a
golf trip just as much as something like that can
help you because the golf is so different than what
you're gonna play. Maybe if you live in Ohio, you.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Know totally yeah.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
No, if you're going on your bucket list trip to
Scotland or Bandon Dunes, I mean, id Eye is a
great one to look at all the other little ancillary
gear Shane you mentioned man, get your ziploc bags out,
you know, your bucket and all that stuff.
Speaker 3 (24:02):
Everything right, the good the best part about those trips
is when you don't have to use it, right, Yes,
when you went and spent like four hundred dollars on
all this stuff and you go, I didn't use any
of it, but that's uh, then you got lucky with
the weather.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
One thing with with.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
These types of clubs, and as I mentioned, something really
new for Ping, and there's so many great players at Ping.
What's been the reception from like the staff they are
at Ping, the good players that obviously get excited for
new equipment. I mean, as id I do you see
it across the board in terms of players.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Bags, tons, tons, and we have we have a lot
of golfers that are playing in all of our local
amateur events and getting you know, occasionally getting in the
us J four ball and the mid m and things
of that nature. And the id I has been uh
this has been one that when we are working on it,
it's it's one where you're you're you're waiting for the day,
you know, when does this baby come out? When can
(24:51):
I use it in a tournament? And so yeah, for
with the with the kind of competitive I'll call it
the competitive golfers have a little bit of speed, uh
I d I. It's been fantastic. The four iron again
for me, Shane, this is my fit. This is my
personal favorite club of the year, you know, for my
helping my game. So if it was if it was
the Thriver two years ago, it's the id I four
(25:14):
Iron for me this year.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
God, we need like a Marty stamp on the pod
that like comes up like an Oprah's book club.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
Whatever you say, it's my club of the year.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
That's a I Listen, there's there's nothing better than than
hearing that from somebody that has designed so many great
golf clubs across the board. And you know, you know me,
I mean, as I've said, the driving Iron, it was
a club when I was younger that as a lefty
wasn't easy to get. Yeah, we were talking about this
before we got the pod going. You know, there were
clubs back in the day that I dreamed of having
(25:43):
as a lefty that weren't available. And when I first
saw images of ID, I I'm like salivating, you know,
because it just is a golf club that I'm going
to use, like the two iron will be a club
that I will occasionally be playing, Yep, depending on the
golf tournament. You know, you play these Northeast golf courses
that have corridors, but they're pretty firm, and if you
hit them in the right spot, the ball can run
(26:04):
out thirty or forty yards.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That's a layup for me.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
I mean, that's an auto put in the bag and
play it. And I just love the options of two, three,
four and kind of mixing them with the set, I mean,
going back to mixed sets being such a big part
of what ping is and basically the business of ping
in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Yeah, absolutely, Shane, and we've already seen this on tour.
But the way we spaced out the specs is there's
room to play multiple of these crossover We kind of
view that as you would play like one. Most players
kind of just had one of those in the bag,
so the loss were spaced a little bit closer together,
like two two and a half degrees. But with the
IDI again we separated the loss a lot, so we
(26:42):
got eighteen twenty twenty three, and of course we can
loft and lie them, so we have a little bit
of wheel room there if you need it twenty one
or whatever. We can absolutely one hundred percent do that
full color code range to get them dialed in. But
there's gonna be and I could definitely see this in
your bag too, shamee where you might play a couple
id eyes, right, That's what I'm doing. That's what we're
(27:03):
already seen on tour. So it's just super fun.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Man.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Whether Corey Connors using as a foreign replacement or Victor
Hoblin uses a t shot club from two fifty, there's
a This can go a couple of different ways for
you or you playing both.
Speaker 1 (27:18):
Marty.
Speaker 3 (27:18):
I remember the story back in the day of the
Apple engineer that had the new iPhone and left it
in the bar. I found it when you first hit IDI.
Yet you can't take it out in tournament golf. How
much were you itching to get it like actually in
the bag once you know the date was allowing you
to go take it out there and play it on
a tournament.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
Sometimes we do these research rounds and I'll put on
I'll put on an iron cover, you know, to conceal it,
kind of like you see the Tesla's out there that
are all covered up before the model y launches or whatever.
And so yeah, I snuck in a couple of research
rounds with the IDI.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
I like research rounds, by the way. That's really funny.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Marty Jerts and the IDI his Club of the Year
in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
Appreciate the time of man.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
This is the Being proven Grounds podcast
Speaker 2 (28:06):
M
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