First Look – PING GLIDE Forged Wedge

Forge: to make or shape a metal object by heating it in a fire or furnace and beating or hammering it.

It’s been a good six years since forge or forged has been part of the PING lexicon (see irons -comma –  Anser), but that’s changing today on multiple fronts. Take, for example, the new and – for PING – unique Glide Forged wedge.

It’s a somewhat surprising departure from PING’s standard wedge offering. It’s Tour-inspired and is aimed squarely at the better player.

And it’s, you know, forged.

A Shotmaker’s Wedge

First things first: Glide Forged is not a replacement for the year-and-a-half-old Glide 2.0 wedges. Those aren’t going away. Instead, Glide Forged represents a completely new category for PING.

“Our Tour guys and brand ambassadors, they were yearning for little smaller head shape,” says Marty Jertson, PING’s Product Development Manager. “We termed it internally as a shotmaker’s wedge.”

What makes the Glide Forged a shotmaker’s wedge? For starters, the head size is about 10% smaller than Glide 2.0. PING has also added a wee bit more offset and rounded the head shape a tad.  Jertson says it’s all in the name of giving shotmakers a little more versatility.

“It’s definitely smaller in shape and size,” says Jertson. “The advantage to the player is that it’s less surface area going through the bunkers, through the rough, through greenside conditions, chipping. It has a little more heel-toe camber.”

Another key difference is the sole grind. Glide 2.0 has four grind options: TS for Thin Sole, SS for Standard Sole, WS for Wide Sole and ES for Eye Sole. Glide Forged has only one grind option, and you can best describe it as a tweener, lying between TS and SS.

“It has a little less angle, a little less wide,” says Jertson. “The lead edge is low to the ground with the face square and the face open.”

“We have a lot of good players that fit right between our TS and our SS, so whether they grind their SS a little bit or take a 60 and bend it to 58 and play it there, pretty skilled players have a yearning for that in our world. That’s right where this wedge fits from a pure fitting and sole grind standpoint.” – Marty Jertson, PING

PING staffer Louis Oosthuizen and advisors Stan Utley and Todd Anderson had significant design input for Glide Forged, and Oosthuizen already has the 60-degree model in play.

A Forged Shotmaker’s Wedge

You could say Glide Forged is PING’s version of a traditional looking blade-style wedge, and you’d be correct. You’ll see some PING things when you take a closer look, such as Tungsten Toe Weighting (10 to 16 grams worth, depending on the loft), the Hydropearl 2.0 Chrome finish and an Eye2 inspired gooseneck-tapered hosel.

But it’s that whole heating-it-in-a-furnace-and-beating-it-with-a hammer 8620 forged carbon steel thing that’s the real attention-getter.

“We wanted to produce something that had the perfect form and the perfect line because we worked so hard on the shape,” says Jertson. “That’s one of the main reasons we chose to forge this wedge – we could establish the reflection lines, the hosel transition, the neck, the offset, the head shaping, everything can be that much more perfect through the forging process.”

And let’s not forget the feel-appeal better players seem to prefer.

“Hitting this wedge is like putting with our Vault 2.0 putters,” says Jertson. “It gives you that homogeneous, solid, assured feel. It gives a little muted but solid feel during impact.”

Aesthetically, the back and flange of Forged Glide features an aggressive milling pattern, similar to that of Hogan’s new Equalizer wedge.

Customization Galore

Personalization is growing trend among OEM’s, as some golfers are willing to spend a little extra to make their wedges one-of-a-kind. To that end, PING is offering a unique customization program for Glide Forged through its website.

You can choose from one of four custom graphic options for the back of the club, including the Mr. PING logo, the PING Boomerang, the American flag or the Arizona desert. You also have three custom stamping options: up to three characters (letters and/or numbers) on the toe, center or heel, two characters scattered on the back of the club, or the Mr. PING logo scattered on the back of the club.

In addition, you have 12 paint-fill colors to choose from, and you can further customize your wedge with multiple shaft and grip options. Once you finalize your online design, PING wants you to visit your local PING dealer to determine fitting specs and to place your order.

Price, Availability, Options

The PING Glide Forged wedge is available for pre-order starting today, with retail availability by the end of the month.

It will be available in lofts from 50- to 60-degrees, in two-degree increments, with a single sole grind. As PING is touting the Forged Glide as a better player wedge, the stock steel shaft is the Dynamic Gold S300, with PING’s ALTA CB is the stock graphite offering. Golf Pride Tour Velvet is the stock grip.

No upcharge shaft options include Dynamic Golf in X100, Dynamic Gold 120 in S and X, Dynamic Gold 105 in R and S, Project X LZ, True Temper XP95, Nippon NS Pro Modus 105 and KBS Tour. Other shaft options are available at an upcharge.

As for price, forged feel comes at a cost, as PING is positioning Glide Forged as a premium offering. U.S. MSRP is $217.50 per wedge in steel, $232.50 per wedge in graphite. Personalization is extra.