First Look – PING Glide 2.0 Stealth Wedges

It’s not exactly unheard of for golf companies to repaint, or otherwise refinish an existing product to commemorate a particular tournament (we see a lot of green and yellow gear in early April) or generate some fresh buzz for a product it’s not quite ready to replace.

No judgment here. I love that stuff, but I think it’s important to make it clear from that start that there’s more to PING’s Glide 2.0 Stealth Wedge than just a new black finish.

The Stealth isn’t a complete overhaul either; there’s certainly not enough new for PING to label it a Glide 3.0. The shape of the wedge is the same. The groove structure is the same, and the available bounce and grind combinations are the same too.

All that makes for a fairly easy story to tell, because we covered the bulk of it when the Glide 2.0 launched about this time last year. Glide 2.0 Stealth isn’t a replacement, it’s an extension, albeit one that brings with it some appreciable changes.

New QPQ Finish

The most noticeable change from Glide 2.0 (non-Stealth) is the new dark QPQ finish. QPQ is a three-step process that actually diffuses the finish into the head making it significantly more durable than PVD. It will wear over time, but the wear processes is slower and significantly more graceful.

Although the size and shape are unchanged from the standard Glide 2.0, the darker finish can make the blade appear smaller. It’s a small detail, but use of PING’s wedges on Tour has grown of late (PING was the #2 wedge on Tour over several events during the fall series and was #3 at the Sony), so if the company can make Glide 2.0 even more appealing, that trend may continue.

New Material

The original Glide 2.0 wedges are cast from 431 stainless steel. To improve the feel of the Glide 2.0 Stealth, PING is using 8620 carbon steel. The material is softer than PING’s traditional alloys but is more durable than other carbon steel offerings. That’s exactly why 8620 is quickly becoming the go-to material for companies who cast their wedges.

An Extra ½ Groove

While the structure of PING’s Glide 2.0 grooves is unchanged, PING has done a couple of things to squeeze a bit more spin out of the Glide 2.0 Stealth.

First, it removed the paintfill from what was its bottom groove. That gets you a 30% increase in functional groove area, and with it, more consistent spin along with higher spin (up to 400 RPM) in wet conditions.

Similar to what Callaway calls a Nip It Groove, PING has added a patented wheel-cut half groove to the bottom of its wedge. By comparison, the PING implementation sits closer to the leading edge and gets you +/-200 more RPM from a standard lie.

Available Grinds and Lofts

As with the original Glide 2.0, the Glide 2.0 Stealth will be available with 4 unique sole grinds.

• Thin Sole (TS)– 58°, 60° (6° bounce)
  The TS grind features a narrow sole with added heel relief to better allow the wedge to be laid open without the leading edge getting in the way.
• Standard Sole (SS)– 46°, 50°, 52°, 54°, 56° (12° bounce); 58°, 60° (10° bounce)
  An all-purpose grind suitable for a high percentage of golfers.
• Wide Sole  (WS)– 56°, 58°, 60° (14° bounce)
  PING’s high bounce option. It’s wider sole and reduced camber make it suitable for steeper attack angles, soft conditions, and fluffy sand.
• Eye Sole (ES)– 54°, 56°, 58°, 60° (8° bounce)
  Designed with bunkers in mind, the Eye Sole features what PING calls a dish profile along with a tapered hosel to make it easier to get through the sand.

Pricing and Availability

The Glide 2.0 Stealth Wedge has a MSRP of $150 per club w/steel shaft and $175 per club w/graphite. Availability begins February 8th.

For more information, visit PING.com.

To see more photos of the Glide 2.0 Stealth Wedges, check out the Gratuitous Picture Thread in the MyGolfSpy Forum.