Ping unveil Glide 3.0 wedges
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Ping wedges have a had a cult following with tour pros and amateurs for the last 30-plus years.
The deep cavityback Eye2, with its flowing head shape, is definitely the most high profile, and amazingly still appears periodically today on Tour.
But where Ping has tailored its modern wedges much more conventionally over recent years, other brands have started playing with progressive centre of gravity tech (Titleist Vokey Design SM7) and Hi-Toe models (TaylorMade), which is just the sort of thing Ping would claim the ungainly Eye2 pioneered three decades ago.
So, Ping has used all its wedge know-how to come up with the new Glide 3.0, and thanks to a new cavityback design and extra mass positioned high in the toe, they’re said to offer 5% more forgiveness. Ping says Glide 3.0 have a rounded head profile, a tapered hosel, and an elastomer insert to manage vibration, improving feel/sound to similar levels as their popular i210 iron.
Extra hosel offset means Glide 3.0 launches lower and spins more, and 15g shaved from the weight (5g head, 4g shaft, 6g shaft), means in combination with a new lighter Nippon Z-Z 115 shaft, improved feel.
Just like previous Glide 2.0 wedges there’s a half-groove low in the face along with CNC milled faces and sharper/deeper grooves which Ping says improves backspin by 1000rpm.
To make sure all fitting bases are covered Ping will offer the new Glide 3.0 in four sole grinds (TS; Thin sole, SS; Standard sole, WS; Wide sole, Eye2). And for pure nostalgia Ping says the Eye2 has the same sole profile, hosel transition and high toe shape as the original 1982 Eye2. Each Glide 3.0 wedge also comes decked out with Ping’s hydropearl finish, which repels water and reduces friction as the head travels through turf.
Ping Glide 3.0 £130 (s) £140 (g)
Standard sole: 46° / 50° / 52° / 54° / 56° / 58° / 60°
Thin sole: 58° / 60°
Wide sole: 54° / 56° / 58° / 60°
Eye2: 54° / 56° / 58° / 60°