GolfWRX Editor Review by jones137
First thanks to GolfWRX and Ping for the chance to test these outstanding wedges! I was given the 54* and 60* to test with the shaft of my choice, the DG S400. This is the same shaft I play in all my wedges.
Pro’s
The satin finish and headshape of these ansers are perfect. The attention to detail is very noticeable when looking at the preciseness of the face milling. These things out of the sand are almost automatic with just the right amount of bounce and a fairly wide sole. On a full shot, they are incredibly forgiving and launch the ball high….very high even with the S400 shaft.
Con’s
While I love the head shape I could have used a more narrow sole. I tend to be a picker and with the 54* I was not catching it as crisp as I like on chips. I have always liked to be to flight my wedges and these things tend to do one thing, get the ball up high. I can see mid and high handicappers loving these.
Bottom Line
Ping has managed to make an outstanding Forged wedge with game improvement qualities. Very versatile wedges that flat out perform. In regard to spin, I would say these are similar to other conforming wedges….I wasn’t catching my chips real crisp because of the bounce/sole design but I would imagine someone with has a normal or digger approach would spin these like a top.
Big Review
Per Ping, these wedges are Forged out of a soft 8620 steel, a thicker hitting area and hour-glass-shaped reinforced back cavity to provide solid feel and feedback. A machined face and grooves ensure maximum spin and control. A high-density tungsten toe weight is balanced by a longer hosel to optimize the CG position for penetrating, high-spin trajectories. The Anser wedges have a thicker face in the impact area and a stabilizing bar that will bring consistency to your shot making. Control also comes from minimizing face fluctuation.
Look
Hands down, the best looking wedge on the market. The satin finish and plain cavity back design make these look simple eloquent. I actually had a starter at the golf course a couple weeks ago come over and grab one out of my bag and said “what are these, man they look nice”. This is important for me because if I don’t like the way a club looks I’ll never have any confidence which is a deal breaker. The head is a tear drop designed head very similar to a Vokey. Out of the bunkers on a real sunny day I didn’t get any glare. In regard to offset, it barely exists on these wedges. The 54* has 0.02″ offset while the 60* has 0.00″.
Performance / Playability
Performance is really all that matters and these flat our perform. Again, I tend to pick a picker and these wedges have a wider sole and more bounce than I’m used to playing. Having said that, for full shots and bunker shots these things were automatic. The 54* has 12* of bounce while the 60* has 10*. Ping doesn’t offer custom grinds on the Anser series. On tight chips I wasn’t getting any “skipping” of the wedge I just wasn’t making crisp contact. Out of the sand this worked to my advantage and opened my eyes to the idea of playing a 54* with a little more bounce and wider sole. Again, spin was on par with other conforming wedges. Also, if you have problem getting the ball up in the air, this is your wedge. Even with the DG S400′s, the ball flight was high…..not ballooning….but high. I would imagine this is why we don’t see more of these in the pro’s bags. Extremely forgiving on hits all of the face.
Feel
I’m currently playing Mizuno MPT10 wedges, and the Ansers feel as soft as the Mizuno’s………a statement that I thought I would never make. These were pretty limited in regard to feedback, again designed to be forgiving with great feel……the holy grail for the midcapper. These felt like a soft S56 to me and I’ve always thought the S56′s were the softest cast iron I’ve ever played. I would love to see Ping come out with some more bounce/grind options and the rustique finish. Hopefully this is just the first of many Ping Forged Products as they are outstanding.
Overall Bottom Line
Put these in the bag along with the Anser Irons and I think you would have everybody covered from a 10 – 30 handicap. If you are looking for a wedge that offers the playability and feel of a muscleback wedge along with the forgiveness of a cavity back wedge, look no further. Out of the sand these might have been the easiest wedges I’ve ever used…….literally every shot came out just right with a moderate amount of spin. These truly are the best money can buy in terms of the combination of feel, looks, performance and forgiveness. Great job Ping!
