If you are familiar with the Ping G range of irons then you may think that the G30 range has not changed much and to be honest, you are right in some respects.
The overall shape and size of the Ping G30 irons is almost the same, but when Ping has one of the proven and best selling models in the market they are right not to mess around with it too much.
On the exterior of the iron the sole looks a little different as the flange looks like it has been reduced at first glance, but actually the extra trailing edge near the toe has been extended further down the back of the club, which I think looks better.
Ping say they have also tweaked the camber or curvature on the sole of the G30 to help it go through the turf more easily without digging and it did seem marginally better than the G25 iron during our testing.
Usually most of the tweaking in these types of irons comes in the cavity as the positioning of any insert and badges helps to move the centre of gravity (CG) around and changes the sound and feel.
In the G30, Ping's Custom Tuning Port (CTP) is a little lower and wider than before and the muscle bar across the back a little higher. This makes the G30 sound and feel much better and I would liken it to some of the better player cavity backs on the market, which is about the best compliment I can give it.
The cavity behind the toe area is a little bigger and this helps increase the moment of inertia (MOI) for greater forgiveness. This does mean you can just see the back of the sole on the 4 and 5-iron at address, which may put some people off.
It also results in a fractionally higher ball flight than before but it is still penetrating enough, so if you need assistance in getting the ball up then these are the irons for you.
In fact the G30 could be the irons for a lot of people as the forgiveness and ease of use will suit mid to high handicaps. Even high single figure players who find the i25 irons a little compact should consider the G30 as the sound, feel and control is excellent.
The larger heads do have a little more offset but it decreases in the shorter irons, which also have shorter heads to make them feel more compact without trading in any performance. The G30 irons will make the game easier to play and everyone can do with a little bit of that.