Ping i20 Fairway Wood Review

Oct 2012 Fairways Test

Terrific-looking club with performance to match. Pro James said it was more forgiving than he expected for a compact head while both David and Mick commented on the powerful feel as well as the forgiveness.

TG Ratings (out of 5)

Distance: 4.0
Dispersion: 5.0
Looks: 4.6
Feel: 4.5
Forgiveness: 4.1
Fairway: 4.1
Tee: 4.5

First Hit

The majority of fairway woods and hybrids are either big and forgiving, or small and workable – it’s obvious which ones are for game-improvers and which ones for better players. It’s suggested Ping developed their i20 range to do the best of both worlds – I liked the sound of that, so headed to Stoke Park to give it a hit.

I’ve used the manufacturer’s G-series of clubs off and on for about four years now – and, if you’re like me and don’t play all that regularly, they are ideal. Boasting a sky-high MOI and a low centre of gravity, the ball goes straight and high most of the time.

But there is a slight issue – although the G20 fairway wood is perfectly attractive, and sits well behind the ball, the hybrid in the family is very much the ugly sister. It works brilliantly, but the strange aesthetics aren’t great at address. The i20 family, however, is different. The all-black finish is a work of art, and the fairway wood certainly doesn’t come across as that much smaller than the friendlier G20. The real brilliance lies in the launch angle – the previous i-range product, the i15, was workable but the ball flight was lower – which in my case cost distance.

The i20 is, once again, totally different. The trajectory I got was higher than the vast majority of fairway woods I’ve tested, and the forgiveness was impressive too. The i20 hybrid is also fairly easy to use, despite being a smaller-headed club. There is
more surface area on the lower portion of the face for extra forgiveness. While the i20 family is Ping’s most forgiving better-player woods, for more forgiveness, go for the G20; it’s hard to mis-hit them. But if you’re competent with your woods, and do want something a little smaller that will offer a high launch, forgiveness and workability, look no further.

The Ping i20 is ideal for low to mid handicap golfers, made from stainless steel and able to launch the golf ball.

It has a neutral head rotation to promote square impact and traditional head design address profile makes for confident, simplified aiming. Command of the golf club face allows you to control trajectory and shot shape thanks to Ping i20 engineering, and generous hitting surface and low-deep CG creates the ideal conditions for penetrating trajectories.