PING Glide 4.0 Wedges – Key Takeaways
- PING updates its customary wedge line.
- New materials: 8620 tender carbon metal
- 4 grinds, 46- to 60-degree lofts
- $217.50 metal, $232.50 graphite. Pre-sale and becoming begin at this time.
The brand new PING Glide 4.0 wedges make one factor abundantly clear.
When PING modifications/updates/upgrades its wedges, it doesn’t fiddle.
And for what it’s value, it’s been some time since PING up to date the usual Glide line. The unique Glide debuted in early 2015. Glide 2.0 confirmed up two years later. One 12 months later, PING gave us a quasi-updated Glide 2.0 Stealth (MyGolfSpy’s 2018 Most Needed Wedge). It wasn’t till the summer time of 2019 that we noticed Glide 3.0.
Almost three years later, we get Glide 4.0. So what offers? Did PING let the Glide slide?
Not hardly.
PING Glide 4.0 Wedges: The Similar. Solely Completely different.
Except your title is Vokey, updating/upgrading your wedge line is a dangerous proposition. Whenever you’re the market chief, the primary rule is to do no hurt. After that, any evolutionary adjustment, further grind and a brand new end are about so far as you wish to go.
However if you’re chasing the chief and attempting to win the hearts and minds of the non-Vokey wedge-buying inhabitants, you possibly can’t be conservative.
“Once we have a look at wedges and what we’re attempting to perform, we wish the best grinds,” says PING Product Design Director Ryan Stokke. “We additionally wish to goal shaping. Whenever you look down on a wedge, it must be the best general measurement. Then it’s getting the best launch and spin, delivering on really feel and delivering the becoming expertise.”
That’s a tall order. And whereas PING didn’t precisely do a full-on grip-to-grind rebuild of the Glide franchise, the brand new Glide 4.0 wedges are totally different sufficient from Glide 3.0 to get your consideration however related sufficient to maintain hardcore Glide customers within the fold.
What’s New?
Maybe the most important change within the PING Glide 4.0 wedges is the fabric. Whereas 3.0 was forged from 431 chrome steel, the Glide 4.0 wedges are a softer 8620 carbon metal. PING is cautious to not use the phrase “solid” when speaking about Glide 4.0 nevertheless it’s vital to notice the Glide Solid Professional wedges are solid from … look forward to it … 8620 carbon metal.
Usually, wedges and irons which are 8620 Solid are first forged into close to form after which drop-forged into their closing form. Purists would possibly scoff nevertheless it tends to be a extra environment friendly and constant course of than single-billet forging. Once more, PING isn’t calling Glide 4.0 solid so it’s secure to presume they’re totally forged from 8620 with out the secondary course of.
Moreover, PING is touting a bigger and softer activated elastomer insert to again up the 8620 carbon metal.
“By utilizing activated elastomer, we will transfer numerous materials out of the middle of the membership that may be moved to the perimeter,” says Stokke. “However we’re additionally rising the face protection and positioning of our activated elastomer. It simply makes the entire impression space really feel as if you’ve hit well-struck, strong pictures.”
PING even quantifies the softness of the elastomer as a result of, nicely, they’re PING. It measures 30 on the Shore A Worldwide Rubber Hardness Scale. Is that good? Nicely, zero is roughly a shoe insert and 100 is a tough plastic wheel. 30 is someplace between an elastic band and a pencil eraser.
So yeah, it’s tender.
4 Grinds for 4.0
The subsequent largest change in Glide 4.0 is within the grinds. PING remains to be utilizing the identical 4 grind platforms: T for Skinny Sole; S for Commonplace Sole, W for Broad Sole and E for the throwback PING Eye2 Sole. The grinds themselves, together with the top shaping, are totally different sufficient to matter.
You’ll discover the most important variations within the S and T grinds. The pinnacle measurement is noticeably smaller for each in comparison with Glide 3.0 as is what PING calls Hosel-X, the gap between the rating strains and the hosel transition.
“The S grind is tried and true and is most acquainted to our PING viewers,” says Stokke. “It has a rounded lead edge and matches the broadest viewers.”
The brand new T grind is a departure from the Glide 3.0 model and really reverts again to the Glide 2.0 T grind. It includes a excessive lead edge bounce and a half-moon-shaped sole with aid on each the toe and heel.
“In the event you measure it, it has greater than 20 levels of lead edge bounce,” says Stokke. “However as a result of the only is so slim and has all that aid, it’s a a lot better steadiness. You possibly can open this membership up and do numerous the extremely versatile greenside pictures. However the lead edge bounce offers you slightly bit extra playability than you’d usually get from a skinny sole grind.”
Stokke says the brand new model of the previous T sole is a greater match for gamers with extra deal with lean who’re searching for extra versatility. Moreover, the grind opens up extra choices for PING’s WRX customized store.
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Broad Soles and Eye Soles
The Glide 4.0 W (Broad Sole) has been modified the least from 3.0. It’s a standard broad sole with a rounded lead edge and little or no path edge aid. PING says it’s by far essentially the most forgiving of the grinds and is designed for square-face and bunker pictures. It additionally matches up nicely with PING’s game-improvement G-series irons and makes for a simple transition.
The E Sole, the Eye2, can be getting a little bit of a makeover. PING reintroduced the E sole in Glide 2.0 as a throwback to the immensely widespread Eye2 wedge. The Eye2 was the unique excessive toe wedge and, for Glide 4.0, PING has taken additional steps to match the unique shaping.
“This head form comes from scanning the unique Eye2,” says Stokke. “The massive factor is excessive ease of use hitting out of a bunker. However outdoors of the bunker, it really performs nearer to a T grind. It’s fairly low bounce.”
Hydropearl 2.0 and Spin Science
One other element PING mentions however different OEMs don’t is 100-percent high quality inspections on key processes, notably in relation to face and groove machining. It’s doesn’t essentially imply different OEMs don’t do this degree of inspection, it’s simply that PING is the one one actually speaking about it.
“Whenever you’re proper as much as the USGA limits, we now have to do excessive ranges of inspection to ensure all the things is conforming,” says Stokke. “Moreover, each membership goes by a lot of totally different gauges to ensure the top form, hosel, hosel transition, sole form and bounce profiles match the design intent.”
The brand new PING Glide 4.0 wedges have the identical friction face properties and wheel-cut grooves because the Glide Solid Professional wedges which debuted final fall. It includes a distinctive emery blast course of, a machined face and wheel-cut grooves. The lofts used primarily for full pictures (46 by 52 levels) have 20-degree grooves whereas the lofts used for partial pictures (54 to 60 levels) function steeper 28-degree grooves.
And when you’ve gotten one thing that works, you keep it up. The Glide 4.0 wedges function PING’s water-shedding, super-hydrophobic Hydropearl 2.0 end.
Becoming Choices
Everybody agrees it’s a good suggestion however wedge-fitting alternatives are more durable to seek out than Tom Brady’s retirement occasion.
PING is attempting to make wedge becoming extra accessible and is offering its fitters with extra instruments to assist get golfers into the best wedge setup. Together with wedge tape, which is able to assist decide whether or not you want T, S or W soles, PING may even be offering wedge becoming baggage to 400 fitters globally. The bag will embrace 15 totally different shaft choices, 5 grip choices and 11 totally different loft and grind choices for a complete of 825 attainable mixtures.
The becoming bag will embrace color-coded heads with totally different lofts and soles, together with inventory PING Z-Z115 metal and Alta CB Slate graphite shafts. It should additionally embrace non-compulsory shafts, starting from the Dynamic Gold X100, S300, 105, and 120 to the KBS Tour, Elevate 95, Challenge X LS and Nippon Professional Modus3 105, plus light-weight and junior-specific choices.
“Gamers can now take wedges on the course or at the least outside for becoming,” says Stokke.
PING may even be offering charts to assist golfers discover not solely the most effective mixture of grinds for his or her sport however to additionally assist them select whether or not Glide 4.0 or Glide Professional Solid will finest swimsuit their video games.
Ping Glide 4.0 Wedges: Specs, Value and Availability
As talked about, the PING Glide 4.0 wedges will include the Nippon-made PING Z-Z115 metal and PING Alta CB Slate (SR, R, S) graphite shafts as inventory. The metal PING AWT 2.0 (R, S, X) and the graphite Alta Distanze Black 40 may even be out there, together with the customized choices listed above. The Lamkin Crossline 1150 is the inventory grip. It’s longer than a traditional grip with much less taper, making it simpler to choke down if the necessity arises.
The Glide 4.0 grind/loft breakdown, as you’d count on, is logic-based. The usual S-Sole has the widest providing: each two levels from 46 to 56 at a 12-degree bounce plus 58- and 60-degree fashions with 10 levels of bounce.
Each the E- and W-Soles function 54- by 60-degree fashions whereas the skinny T-Sole is on the market solely in 58- and 60-degree fashions with six levels of bounce.
The PING Glide 4.0 wedges will retail for $217.50 in metal and $232.50 in graphite.
They’ll be out there for pre-order and becoming beginning at this time.
For extra info, go to PING.com.
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