Viktor Hovland is teamed this week with fellow Norwegian Kris Ventura at the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic and having great success so far. Heading into the weekend’s play, they are tied for the lead after shooting a 62 Thursday in Fourball and a 69 in Friday’s alternate-shot Foursomes competition.
Hovland, who had primarily been using Ping’s i210 irons since signing an endorsement deal with the company in June 2019, has several new Ping i59 prototype irons in his bag this week in New Orleans.
While Ping has not released any official details about the clubs, we can see the word “Forged” written on the back near the heel area, and there appears to be a screw in the toe. In other Ping irons like Blueprint, i500, G410, G710 and G425, the screw is made from a more dense material that adds weight to the toe area to counteract the weight of the hosel. This pulls the ideal hitting area into the center of the hitting area.
The golf bag of Viktor Hovland at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Hovland appears to be carrying a few Ping iBlade irons this week as well. Like Hovland’s i210 irons, the iBlades have an elastomer piece in the back of the heads that softens the feel at impact. Ping calls it a Custom Tuning Port, but the i59 prototype mid- and short irons Hovland is using lack a visible elastomer piece.
Hovland also has a prototype wedge in his back that is marked Glide Forged Pro. Ping has released other Glide wedges over the past few years, including a Glide Forged, which has a series of milling marks on the back, but this club appears smooth on the back. The word “Pro” could be short for prototype or this might be a wedge from a new family of Ping wedges.
Golfweek will provide more information on the Ping i59 irons and Glide Forged Pro wedges as it becomes available.