Latest news with #Ping
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
New putter, new caddie, old Bubba? Watson sits in second after 36 holes at LIV Golf UK
Bubba Watson has been playing well of late. How come? He insists it's a new caddie and a new putter. The two-time Masters champ is in the thick of things after two rounds at LIV Golf UK, shooting a solid 3-under 68 at JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester to sit at 8 under, and in second place heading into Sunday's final round. Yes, Watson is a half-dozen strokes behind leader Joaquin Niemann, but he's looking to post his third top-7 finish in six starts, following a T-7 in Mexico City and a T-4 in Virginia. Watson said he's entering the final round with a positive mindset, and hoping that Niemann comes back to the pack. "I'm going to play it the same way. I've played well the last couple days. It's up to him. It's his golf tournament to win as of right now. If he goes out and plays half of what he's doing today, he wins it. We've got to shoot 10-under or something like that," Watson said. "You're just going to come out and try to have the best finish you can, and if he doesn't start off hot maybe you put pressure on him and you can challenge." As for the putter, which has been serving Watson well in the past few months, how did he come to the change? "I talked to Peter Uihlein, who's on my team. He's well-known for being a great putter. Probably top 5, top 10 in the world in putting. I'd say top 5. So I asked him what he did, and he told me he works on his stroke, works on trying to get the stroke the same every time. He told me a couple things to do, a couple training aids, a couple different things to use," Watson said. "Then I went back to the Ping engineers and asked them what kind of putter do I need. I need something that can hit it harder but also keep the ball on line if you mis-hit it. So we went to a mallet. I got a mallet, a Tyne putter, and it's working so far. I'm getting them to the hole. "In my career I usually leave them a little short so they're usually just missing because I like to die the putts, and now it's getting a little bit harder. Without changing my stroke, it's getting a little bit harder, so more are going in. It's exciting, and I've been calm, working on the mental side of it, and I've been calm out there on the golf course, and it's paying off." While Watson is looking to add some key points to help push him from his spot at 31st in the LIV Golf standings, he knows numerous players are out there clawing and scracthing as the season winds down, hoping to get a contract for next season. "There's a lot more stress, 100 percent. There's a lot more stress. Not knowing the number ... I do know the number, but not knowing the number, how many guys are without a contract next year, so there's people that are stressed. They're trying to get top 24. They're trying to stay in the top 48. There's a lot of movement. There's a lot of having to step up and hit great golf shots because they know what's on the line to be in an elite league like this. They want a contract. They want to be able to play here next year, so there's a lot of stress out there for sure."
USA Today
15-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
New Mizuno blades, Scotty Cameron putters, TaylorMade driving irons and more
In this week's Get Primed newsletter, learn about the latest muscleback blades from Mizuno, Scotty Cameron Futura Black putters and TaylorMade new UDI If you're a gearhead, it's Christmas in July. In just the last week, we've seen a cascade of new iron releases from some of the biggest names in golf. On Monday, Mizuno unveiled the Mizuno Pro S-1, a beautifully clean muscleback blade designed for elite ball strikers. It joins a crowded party: Ping's new i240 irons, Titleist's latest T-Series lineup (T100, T150, T250, T350), and the newest Callaway X Forged irons and Apex Ai 150. And that's not even counting Callaway's eye-catching Ti Fusion and the high-MOI Ti Fusion 250, which is designed to boost distance and forgiveness. If that feels like a lot, it is. But there's a good reason manufacturers are flooding the zone right now: This is the heart of fitting season for serious golfers. If you want new irons in your bag this summer, now's the time to get fit, test options, and dial in your specs. We've got the full breakdowns, tech details, and insights to help you make sense of it all. Whether you're looking for blades, cavity-backs, better-player distance irons or game-improvement designs, there's something new arriving in stores for just about every type of player.
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Ping's new i240 irons, Callaway updated X Forged, and Prime Day deals on lasers
Learn everything you need to know about the new Ping i240 irons, Callaway X Forged irons, and check out Amazon Prime Day deals on laser rangefinders. Typically, when the Dog Days of summer hit the United States, golf equipment companies slow down their releases and start concentrating on the following year. Sure, we see driving irons -- like the just-released Ping iDi -- made available because clubs like that are handy at the British Open and on links courses, but this has been an especially busy summer. Last week, Callaway released its cavity-back CB12 wedges for golfers who struggle with chipping, pitching, and bunker players, and on Monday, the company made its newest better-player's cavity-back iron, the X Forged, available too. On Tuesday, Ping not only released the iDi driving irons but also the new i240 irons, another cavity-back designed for better players that will be popular with elite ball strikers, tour pros, and competitive amateurs. And while I'm not at liberty to give you specifics right now, let's just say there's a lot more to come this week and next week in the golf equipment world. This week, golf lovers and bargain hunters will take advantage of Amazon Prime Day to grab items like balls, tees, apparel, and laser rangefinders at heavily discounted prices. But when is the best time to buy golf clubs? While prices often decrease slightly in November and December, allowing shops to clear their inventories and make room for the following year's models, with new gear from major brands now being released throughout the year, traditional buying patterns may start shifting. Time will tell, but one thing is for sure: equipment companies are not slowing down and the combination of limited-edition gear and mid-season releases is making for a hot season for equipment junkies.
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
Ping unveils iDi driving irons with InR-Air insert and forged face for sound and control
Ping's new iDi driving irons combine speed, control and feel with an internal InR-Air insert and compact shaping. Gear: Ping iDi driving irons Price: $295 with Ping's Tour 2.0 Chrome and Black or Alta CB Blue 70, Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 85HY, or Project X Denali Red shaft Specs: Hollow-body design with forged maraging steel face, 17-4 stainless steel body and internal air chamber. Available in three lofts: 17 degrees (2-iron), 20 degrees (3-iron) and 23 degrees (4-iron) Available: August 7 (Pre-sale and fittings), August 14 (in stores) Who it's for: Golfers who want a compact, low-profile driving iron or long-iron alternative for use off the tee, and who prefer the look and control of an iron over a hybrid. What you need to know: Ping's new iDi driving irons combine a forged maraging steel face with a cast, metalwood-style hollow body. The new internal InR-Air Technology insert is designed to enhance feel and sound while without sacrificing distance and playability for skilled ballstrikers. The deep dive: Ping has always been willing to blur the line between traditional long irons and modern distance tools. The new iDi driving irons represent the latest iteration of that balance—part forged precision instrument, part metalwood-inspired launch machine. Each iDi iron features a hollow-body design that pairs a forged, maraging steel face with a 17-4 stainless steel body, allowing for a thinner hitting area (5 percent thinner, according to Ping) and more ball speed across the hitting area. But distance is only part of the equation. Inside each head is a new feature, Ping's InR-Air Technology, and it plays a critical role in how shots sound and feel. Positioned between the face and rear side of the cavity, this internal insert is engineered to dampen vibration and fine-tune acoustics — essentially giving the club a more solid, satisfying impact feel without compromising the hollow-body design or inhibiting the face from flexing. Unlike injected foam or hot melt in other designs, this structural insert behaves more like a tuned internal chamber, absorbing excess vibration while preserving energy transfer. The shaping of the iDi reflects its Tour-inspired goals: the shallower face, shorter blade length, and reduced offset give it a compact, confidence-inspiring look at address for golfers who repeatedly make solid contact with their irons but who want a lower-flying alternative to a hybrid or high-lofted fairway wood. A rounded leading edge, more sole camber, and increased bounce (9 to 11 degrees depending on loft) help improve turf interaction and forgiveness. Available in three models, each loft serves a distinct purpose:
USA Today
08-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ping i240 irons blend tour-inspired shaping with enhanced forgiveness and feel
Ping's new i240 irons combine compact, tour-style shaping with a softer feel, higher launch, and more forgiveness in the long and mid-irons. Gear: Ping i240 irons Price: $217 with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 115 shafts Specs: Cast 431 stainless steel body, tour-preferred groove design, activated elastomer insert, cavity-back construction. Available: Pre-sale begins July 15, full retail launch July 29 Who it's for: Golfers who want a compact, tour-inspired iron with added forgiveness and improved feel. What you should know: Designed to bridge the gap between Blueprint S and the i530, the i240 offers refined sound and feel, trajectory control, and more forgiveness in the long and mid-irons. The deep dive: At first glance, the new Ping i240 irons might look like a simple replacement for the i230, but there's more going on here. While the i240 maintains the same compact, tour-inspired footprint that helped the i230 find success on both the PGA and LPGA Tours, Ping's engineers have subtly made it more playable while retaining its better-player iron qualities. Cast from 431 stainless steel, the i240 delivers about 2.5 percent more moment of inertia (MOI) than the i230, thanks largely to something most golfers rarely focus on — the back of the club. Turn the Ping i240 around and you'll see a small slot that runs from the heel to the toe on the back of the head, filled with a silver-toned material. That's an injection-molded piece of elastomer that soaks up vibrations and enhances sound and feel. It also weighs less than the steel that would otherwise be in that location. Above the elastomer is a multi-material back badge that is 8.5 grams lighter than the badge on the i230. Combine all that with tip and toe weights that Ping adds to many of its irons, and without increasing the blade length, the company's designers were able to remove mass from the middle of the head and redistribute it down and to the edges of this perimeter-weighted design. That boosts the MOI and makes the i240 more stable on off-center strikes. Lowering the center of gravity (CG) helps the i240 achieve a higher launch angle than the i230, allowing accomplished golfers to obtain a more vertical angle of descent and enhanced stopping power on approach shots. Ping has also revised the grooves in the i240, moving away from the Micromax grooves used in the i230. That groove system added more grooves to enhance spin, especially from the rough — a feature that sounds like something elite players would want. However, some tour players found it was too effective, making it harder to judge how balls in a 'flyer lie' might behave. In response, Ping shifted the i240 to a wider-spaced, 'tour-preferred' groove configuration, aiming to deliver more predictable spin characteristics for players who mostly hit from the fairway but still want enough bite when shots are played from thicker, taller grass. Unlike Ping's game-improvement offerings, the i240 will be available in 3-iron through pitching wedge and utility wedge, giving fitters and players flexibility in how they configure their bags. Ping is also making the i240 available in a standard loft configuration, along with a Power Spec that makes long irons 1 to 1.5 degrees stronger, and a Retro Spec that makes the lofts 2 degrees weaker than standard. Again, it's all about giving players and fitters options — whether they're building a full set or blending long and scoring irons from different models. Ultimately, the i240 is a measured evolution. It doesn't aim to reinvent the players' cavity-back category, but it does sharpen and expand what was already a very successful formula for Ping. For accomplished golfers who want modern forgiveness and trajectory control in a compact, confidence-inspiring shape, it's a compelling option in a space that continues to attract some of the game's most discerning players.
