Ping Eye 2 Beryllium Copper Wedge Golf Club

THE PING EYE2 IRON IS UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE BEST "GAME IMPROVEMENT CLUBS" EVER MADE. THE PING EYE 2 SW HAS EXTREME PERIMETER WEIGHTING, WHICH INCREASES THE CLUBS' EFFECTIVE HITTING AREA AND OPTIMIZES FORGIVENESS FOR THOSE "LESS THAN PERFECT" SHOTS. IN ADDITION, THE CLUB ALSO FEATURE AN INNOVATIVE SOLE DESIGN THAT HELPS PUSH PERIMETER WEIGHTING TO THE EXTREME AND REDUCES THE SURFACE AREA IN CONTACT WITH THE TURF AT IMPACT...MEANING BETTER FEELING AND MORE CRISP GOLF SHOTS! THE REAL DIFFERENCE THOUGH IS THE NON-CONFORMING "ONCE ILLEGAL" SQUARE GROOVES (Sand Wedges without drill dots made prior to 4/1/90). THE EXTRA SPIN PRODUCED BY THE ILLEGAL "SQUARE" OR "BOX" GROOVE IS LEGENDARY. THE SW IS INCREDIBLE!! THE SQUARE GROOVES ALLOW THE AVERAGE GOLFER TO CREATE "SPIN" THAT WILL STOP THE BALL ON A DIME. THE USGA EVEN TRIED TO OUTLAW THE PING EYE2 COPPERS WITH THE ILLEGAL NON CONFORMING GROOVES BECAUSE OF THE ADVANTAGE IT CREATED OVER ALL OTHER IRONS. BUT PING PREVAILED, AND THE CLUBS PRODUCED FROM MID 1985 UNTIL APRIL OF 1990 WERE EVENTUALLY GRANDFATHERED FOR TOURNAMENT PLAY (no club manufacturer will ever be able to make the illegal square grooves again!). Beryllium Copper irons provides an unmatched soft feel with unparalleled feedback. As you may know, the BeCu copper irons are no longer available from Ping for environmental reasons.

Beryllium copper is denser (and thus feels softer) than the steels generally used in golf clubheads. While BeCu is not toxic, the beryllium oxide gas generated during the manufacture of BeCu is very poisonous, and the EPA discouraged golf clubhead manufacture of this aerospace, national security alloy.

Ping manufactured the clubheads before April, 1990, so they have the tightly-spaced, U-grooves that were deemed legal as a the result of the court case against the USGA. So while the PGA Tour and Ping have recently agreed that the clubs won't be played in 2010 PGA events, they remain legal for USGA functions "forever". (Brilliant move in the wording by Karsten Solheim, founder of Ping, two decades ago.)

Since BeCu is heavier than steel, Ping used the Ping Lite molds to cast the BeCu Eye 2 clubs. So though they appear identical to the steel models, the BeCu are just slightly smaller, a feature I prefer. I do not like big clubheads when I am trying to execute a delicate shot from around the green.

Ping cast the BeCu Eye 2 wedges as follows. The Lob wedge (L) had 61.0 degrees of loft; the Sand wedge (S) was cast at 57.7-degrees of loft; the Pitching wedge (W) was set at 50.5-degrees of loft. This was long before the creation of attack, dual, gap, flop, trouble, or ultra wedges, so the gaps among the 7-, 8-, 9-, W- and S-wedges were greater than they are today. Back then you had 9 clubs ranging from 20 to 58 degrees, whereas today it might take 11 irons to span that same interval. That is why many folks carry four/five wedges, i.e., their 9-iron is so strong that they need extra wedges at 4-degree intervals to get them up to the lofted clubs they require from the sand or cabbage.

Ping put ample bounce on the S and L wedges, from 15 to 18 degrees. The W wedge had a turf bounce of lesser degrees; it was never designed for sand play. From a technical standpoint the axis of rotation, the center of gravity, and the moment of inertia are all very good. In common terms, the wedges feel and perform excellently. The 18 grooves (go count the lines on modern wedges) with the U-grooves to channel away moisture do provide 10-30% more backspin. You can rip portions of the golf ball's cover off into these grooves with a smartly-struck shot.

BeCu weathers to a nice patina, although immersing the clubheads in Classic Coca-Cola (pH of 2.5) overnight will shine the clubheads up without removing any of the paint fill. They do not reflect the sun.

Ping believed irons were accuracy clubs, so ALL the old steel shafts for the BeCu Eye 2 clubs were of a stiff flex. All are taper-tipped, not parallel tip, because the bond between club hosel and shaft is stronger in the former. Ping also used high temperature epoxy; it does not loosen with a propane torch in your garage the way most golf epoxies do.

I use modern irons whose 9-iron comes in the now usual 40-degrees loft. I carry the pitching wedge of that same set at 45-degrees, and the BeCu W at 50.5 and the BeCu S bent from 57.7 down to 56. So basically 5-degrees difference in my last four clubs. I am told that BeCu has a "memory", and my current 56-degree configuration will eventually revert back toward 57.7-degrees.

I could use any wedge I wanted, and I think the aforementioned BeCu Ping Eye 2 W and S wedges are the best for the bermuda grass southern turf courses I play. I suspect they would work equally well with the northern U.S. rye, bluegrass, or fescue turf.

This club has the softest feel on impact that I've ever experienced. The copper material actually gives you feedback about how hard the ball is hit. This makes for gaging strength versus distance relationships more accurately, which translates to more accurate shots and a deadly short game. I've noticed the grooves are still very unique to this item, because they are spaced a little more tightly that the more modern wedges. Much more backspin action possibilities on the green. With out a doubt, this is a decidedly handsome and unique looking club, thus making it a highly "collectable" prize. I would recommend a club head cover be utilized as much as possible, especially in very public areas around the clubhouse, to keep probing eyes and hands at bay.

There has been a recent decision in the PGA (Professional Golfers Association of America) to ban all "square grooved" clubs starting in 2010 because of their superior ability to spin the ball out of the rough and hold it on the greens. Club manufactureers have stopped making them accordingly, as they would be and are illegal for play in any PGA Tour event starting in 2010. The rules for amatuers are similar, although less restrictive. The only club that is exempt from this ruling is the "Ping Eye 2" which was "grandfathered-in" due to an earlier court ruling from a suit against the Ping Golf Mfg. Co. in 1989 which resulted in the agreement that these "Ping Eye 2" clubs manfacturered before 1990 are legal for use in any PGA Tour event through 2024. Accordingly, these clubs have become very valuable. They are limited in number and especially the "Ping Eye 2 Beryllium Copper" clubs, which were always popular. One of these clubs could easily mean the difference for a PGA tour pro between winning the Masters or any other tournament and not winning. Saving one shot could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars or even a million dollars. This has raised the value of these clubs substantially. So I bought about 15 of them which I will sell later on when they are even more valuable. Anyone interested can purchase one from me at "60sDrumGuru" on eBay or by contacting me at "kenGenz@comcast.net.

Quite possibly the best sand wedge ever made. The feel you get from beryllium copper is equalled by no other clubhead material used today. The square grooves on the original Ping eye 2 irons put more spin on the ball than any other irons I have owned.Buy this club and you will never hit anything else.