Guide
The colored dot on a PING iron tells you its lie angle. Black is PING's standard. Blue, green, white, silver and maroon are 1° to 5° more upright; red, orange, brown and gold are 1° to 4° flatter. PING prints each iron's lie for black, so the lie of any other dot is that figure moved by the dot's degrees: the tool below does it for every PING set we cover.
| Dot | Lie against standard | PING G440 7-iron |
|---|---|---|
| Maroon | 5° upright | 67° |
| Silver | 4° upright | 66° |
| White | 3° upright | 65° |
| Green | 2° upright | 64° |
| Blue | 1° upright | 63° |
| Black | standard | 62° |
| Red | 1° flat | 61° |
| Orange | 2° flat | 60° |
| Brown | 3° flat | 59° |
| Gold | 4° flat | 58° |
The codes are PING's, from its color code chart. A higher lie is more upright: the toe sits higher at address.
This is an example: a PING G440 set with a blue dot. Choose your set and your dot and the lies below follow.
Blue dot: the PING G440 7-iron is 63°, against 62° in black.
| Club | Black (standard) | Blue |
|---|---|---|
| 4-iron | 60.5° | 61.5° |
| 5-iron | 61° | 62° |
| 6-iron | 61.5° | 62.5° |
| 7-iron | 62° | 63° |
| 8-iron | 62.8° | 63.8° |
| 9-iron | 63.5° | 64.5° |
| PW | 64.1° | 65.1° |
| UW | 64.1° | 65.1° |
| 52° wedge | 64.1° | 65.1° |
| 56° wedge | 64.4° | 65.4° |
Black lies are PING's own, from each set's spec table, which PING bases on the black code at standard length. The lie angle chart compares every maker's sets.
PING's chart starts from two measurements: your height and the distance from the crease of your wrist to the floor, standing straight in your shoes with your arms hanging loose. Where the two meet on the chart gives a starting color and length. PING calls that your static fit; a fitter then watches the sole strike a lie board as you hit, and moves the color if the mark sits toward the toe or the heel. Two golfers of the same height can end up with different dots, because arm length changes the wrist-to-floor figure.
Along the top, the chart's columns set the starting length by height:
| Height | Height in cm | Starting length |
|---|---|---|
| 5'0" to 5'1" | 151 to 155 cm | 1½" shorter |
| 5'2" to 5'3" | 156 to 160 cm | 1" shorter |
| 5'4" to 5'6" | 161 to 168 cm | ½" shorter |
| 5'7" to 6'0" | 169 to 183 cm | standard |
| 6'1" to 6'3" | 184 to 191 cm | ½" longer |
| 6'4" to 6'5" | 192 to 196 cm | 1" longer |
| 6'6" to 6'7" | 197 to 201 cm | 1½" longer |
The length can move a column when your measurement falls outside the chart's band, which is why the chart is a starting point and not the fit.
On the iron head, on or near the hosel. It is a small painted spot in one of the ten colors; a set built to standard has a black one.
Yes: it tells you the lie the set was built to. A set one code away from yours is a degree off, which a fitter can usually bend back; a set three or four codes away is a different fit. Ask the seller for the dot color, and see the used iron prices for the PING sets we follow.
No color is better. Each suits a different golfer: blue is 1° more upright, for a golfer whose black-dot irons meet the ground on the toe at impact (a mark toward the heel calls for a flatter color). Black is simply PING's standard.
No. The dot is the lie alone. PING fits length separately, from the same chart, and builds a club longer or shorter with the color you need.
Every forgiving iron set scored and compared, with picks for slicers, slow swings, seniors and budgets.
The most forgiving head in each maker's line, scored, with the draw models for a slice and picks for slow swings and budgets.
Fairway woods with the shallow faces and low centres of gravity that get the ball up off the deck.
The hybrids built to replace long irons, with lofts, flexes, hands and price.
The smaller driver heads between a driver and a 3-wood, by head size, lofts and draw setting, each price dated.
Driving irons compared for forgiveness, lofts and hands, and when a hybrid is the better club.
Compare cavity-back wedge lofts, bounce, sole options and hands.
Mallets and zero-torque putters scored, with lengths, hands and price, and a pick for each kind of miss.
Callaway's forgiving iron line, set against each other on offset, sole, loft, flexes and price.
What a first set needs, a boxed set against a built set at the same money, and the picks by budget.
Every complete boxed set scored, with its club list, flexes, hands and price, and a pick for seniors, women and budgets.
The second set: what to buy when a boxed set stops being enough, without paying for clubs you cannot use yet.
Choose a replacement by bag role and check it against the clubs you keep.
Game improvement and players distance sets for a 10 to 20 handicap, scored and priced.
Every driver with draw help, by how much it gives, its lofts and its price.
Forgiving heads with 12° in stock and draw help for a slice, for beginners and high handicappers, each price dated.
Forgiving mallets and zero-torque heads by price, stock length and hand, for a first putter, each price dated.
Every club sold with a stock senior (A) flex or as a senior set, and what senior flex actually changes.
The forgiving drivers sold in senior flex, by slow-swing help, loft and draw help, each price dated.
The forgiving iron sets sold in senior flex, by launch, sole and forgiveness, each price dated.
Women's lines and ladies-flex options, complete sets and individual clubs, with a pick for each.
The forgiving iron sets sold as a women's line or in ladies flex, with each 7-iron's loft and length, each price dated.
The forgiving drivers made for women or sold in ladies flex, by draw help, loft and price, each price dated.
The women's sets sold shorter, by how much, and the heights each maker names, each price dated.
The men's sets sold longer, by how much, and the heights each maker names, each price dated.
Every maker's junior sets by the child's height band, with what is in each box and its price, each checked.
The most forgiving club of each type sold left-handed, and the ones that are not.
Forgiving iron sets for less, new, earlier and used, every price per club and dated.
Forgiving drivers for less: current heads at low prices, last year's still sold new, and used, each price dated.
Check the exact used configuration, condition, contents and return terms.
Every forgiving driver with a used price beside the new one, current and earlier models, each listing dated.
Every forgiving fairway wood and hybrid with a used price beside the new one, and each listing's club, loft, flex, condition and date.
Every forgiving iron set with a used price, current and earlier models, with the clubs, shaft and flex each price buys.
Forgiving clubs below the maker's list price, last year's models still sold new, and used savings, each price with the day we checked it.
The price to beat for the most forgiving club of each type, so you can tell a real Black Friday deal.
Loft ranges from the driver to the lob wedge, then every forgiving iron set's lofts, current and earlier, in one sortable chart.
Even loft steps from your longest club to your wedges, each set's uneven steps, and how to check them with your own distances.
The 14-club rule in plain words, what a first bag of eight to ten needs, and how many clubs each boxed set really holds.
Every iron set's pitching, gap, sand and lob wedge lofts in one chart, and the names makers give the gap wedge.
What a gap, sand and lob wedge is for, and which lofts to add after your own set.
What bounce does, drawn to the angle, which bounce suits your swing and turf, and the bounce on every forgiving wedge we cover.
The loft, length and bounce between the two in every forgiving set, and which one to hit.
Which hybrid replaces which long iron in each set, by the makers' own lofts, and when a hybrid is the easier club.
Which wood matches which hybrid by loft, which to carry, and every maker's stock lofts side by side.
Offset, sole width, moment of inertia and loft explained with the numbers from this site's own table.
What separates the two classes in loft, offset, sole and price, with every set in each, and how to tell which one your strike needs.
Why a cavity back forgives and a muscle back does not, with the makers' own offset figures, and how to blend the two.
What the A flex changes, who it suits, and which clubs we cover offer it as stock.
Each shaft maker's own swing speed for every flex, side by side, and the flex each chart gives at your speed.
Driver shafts for a slower swing, more height or a mid flight, with each one's weight, torque and flexes from its maker, and the stock shafts on every forgiving driver.
What a graphite or steel shaft changes, who each suits, and every forgiving iron set's stock shafts.
Prepare your shortlist and check length, lie, shafts and set makeup at a fitting.
What Club Champion, True Spec and PGA TOUR Superstore charge for each kind of fitting, the free ones, and what the fee buys, each price dated.
Every iron set's standard lengths as its maker prints them, and a calculator that adds the change a fitter gives you.
Every iron built to one length: Cobra's ONE Length sets against its standard sets, club by club, and who still makes one.
Every forgiving driver's stock length from its maker, men's, women's and mini, why two makers' figures can differ, and when shorter helps.
What a wrong lie does to your shots, how to check yours, and every forgiving iron set's lie angles club by club.
Your grip size from your hand length or glove size, on Golf Pride's and Winn's own charts, with the feel test and PING's grip colors.
The right grip for sore hands, sweaty hands or an all-round feel, with every grip's sizes and weights from its maker.
Pistol, parallel, flat-front and claw putter grips in their makers' words, their weights and prices, and the stock grip on each putter we cover.
Which forgives more, which suits your stroke, a six-foot test for your misses, and the mallets we cover.
What length putter you need, checked from your own setup rather than your height, and the stock lengths of every putter we cover.
What a zero-torque putter does, the balance test, who it suits, and how each maker builds one.
When grips and wedge grooves wear out, by the makers' own advice, what a regrip costs, and when a new club is worth it.
Irons, woods, grips and grooves cleaned the right way, the grip care Golf Pride advises, and how to store clubs over winter.
Golf Pride's ten steps with a hook blade, tape and solvent, sizing a grip up with tape, and what a shop charges.
