Gear: Blueprint s irons Price: $230 with True Temper Dynamic Gold steel shafts S300 and Golf Pride Tour Velvet handles, $245 with Ping Alta CB Black Graphite shafts
Specifications: Forged carbon steel 8620 with a Hyrdopearl finish 2.0 and a high density toe screw. Available from 3-iron to pitching wedge.
Available: Jan. 9
Who they’re for: Advanced golfers looking for a longer iron that offers more forgiveness.
The skinny: With a new forging technique, the Blueprint S long irons have improved performance and feel without being too large. While the short irons of this better-player distance set provide control and precision.
The Deep Dive: For the past few years, the better-player-distance category has become one of the most popular parts of the industry. More and more brands are offering distance-enhancing clubs which look like blades. Ping released its i59 in 2021. It has a sleek look with a thin topline, slight offset, and an aluminum core (AlumiCore), which creates a more stable perimeter.
The i59 will be replaced by the Blueprint S Iron in 2024. This club is a replica of the forged blades loved by most tour players. Ping has once again hidden some features which make the Blueprint S easier to play.
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The Blueprint S is slightly wider and has a bit more offset than the i59. Blueprint S is made from 8620 carbon steel. However, it’s forged differently than other forged irons.
Once the forging process starts and the steel is heated, the hitting area is flat on every other forged club. In the Blueprint S 3-irons, 4-irons and 5-irons, the first rough forging, and the second strike, bend the head to the point that the top of the club is angled downward and spreads the back. The metal is then reoriented to create a pocket in the back of the club. This pocket looks like the pilot hole that you would use to screw something into a brick wall. The milled pocket is used to create a pocket at the back of the head. After the pocket is in place, two final strikes with the hot metal will flatten the area.
A construction such as this could only be done with a cast iron club, because the pressing press would not allow for an angled cavity to be created in the head of an iron if it was pressed directly on the billet.
Ping believes that this seven-step process of forging can deliver the unique feel that low-handicap golfers demand. It removes 10 grams of weight (steel) and replaces it with a piece vibration-absorbing thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU), which is then capped with stainless-steel. Ping’s designers were able to lower the center-of-gravity and hit the Blueprint S irons with a higher trajectory.
Long irons, from the 6-iron to the pitching wedge, are traditionally forged. They do not contain the TPU insert. Mid-irons, scoring clubs and other clubs have blades that get shorter.
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(David Dusek/Golfweek) A small weight screw on the toe will pull the center of gravity in the middle of the striking area. (David Dusek/Golfweek)
Ping has been adding weight screws to the toe of irons and tip weights to the heels of irons for several years to increase the moment of inertia. Blueprint S comes with these features plus an updated steel shaft stick. The stick weight has been molded into a cap which extends from the hosel to the end of the steel shaft. The weight ranges between 1 and 10 grams. Ping has also developed a molded sleeve that ranges from 1 to 10 grams. It is designed to fit graphite shafts which have a smaller hollow in the middle.
The Blueprint S will launch the ball higher, but it still creates a lower launch angle than Ping’s i230, which has the highest launch angle in Ping’s better-player iron lineup. Blueprint S launches the ball higher but still has a lower launch angle than Ping’s i230 iron, which is the most forgiving of Ping’s better player irons.
Ping matched the lofts on all its best-player irons including the i230 to make it easy for players and fitting professionals to create a blended set that includes Blueprint S and Blueprint T. Ping has matched all the lofts of its better-player irons (including the i230) to make it easier for players and fitters to create blended sets that include Blueprint S and new Blueprint T irons.
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Here are some images of Ping Blueprint S Irons:
