Ping Rapture

[JEFF4i]

As ashamed as I am to even say I picked it up, I did.

Today there was the Ping Demo Day at the range at one course, so I hit a bucket of balls with my clubs and made my way over there. They had the launch monitor and such, and I hit some with my r7 and some with the Rapture.

How did it stack up? Quite well in fact, it was keeping up with my r7 on almost every shot. It is a lot more forgiving than my r7, so for me a bit harder to work which was really the only significant turn off as far as my game goes.

Aesthetics, I liked it, the green looks good. Not a huge fan of the sound, but it sounds...whole, when I catch it.

Some basic stats:
I used a 9 Stiff.
Carried about 285-290
39* descent, which was really nice.

So to sum it all up, wait until September 1st when they go on sale Warbird, I know you'll like this one. Oh, and the stock shaft is pretty nice too.

 

[warbirdlover]

Thanks for thinking of me Jeff!! Actually I wouldn't want one because of the composite crown which makes shaft changes (part of my inner being) much harder and you can't save the shaft you pull. That's why I got rid of the Launcher Comp. I haven't found any advantage to that composite crown and from the sound of the Launcher boys in here the original Launcher was actually better then the Comp (G5 better then Rapture). I'll bet you've never hit a G5, have you?

 

[Hangfire]

Any pics of the thing?

Nevermind:

 

[JEFF4i]

Actually I did, but I like the weighting on the Rapture a bit more.

But the points you make are very valid, and were unknown to me.

 

[Eracer]

Any pics of the thing?

Nevermind:

What the heck is that thing? A tempura strainer? That makes the Hi-Bore look positively old-school.

 

[Glenn70]

Yea, I saw those pictures too and was wondering if that was a cross section picture, or is that what the top of the club really looks like. Jeff4i, can you please verify?

My buddy is trying to sell me his G5 ( 9*, Aldila Shaft ). I keep using it when we play and absolutely love it. Not wild about the 9*, but I seem to hit them well. Anyway, he wants $200 for it. He bought it a few months ago, and hasn't played too much with it. I'm trying to figure out if I should buy his, or trade my R7 into Golfsmith, get a new one with 10.5*, or wait and see how good the Rapture is. I don't think the G5 price will drop that much, at least not until next year, which doesn't help me this year.

Any thoughts, either way? Especially for those of you, WBL, that seem to know a lot about the Rapture.

Sorry, I'm not trying to "jack" this thread, its just that this topic is something I've been wrestling with for about 2 weeks.

 

[warbirdlover]

Nope that's the actual pic of the ugly beast.

You won't easily change shafts on the Rapture because of the composite crown (which doesn't do all that much) and it's way overpriced.

$200 is good price for the G5 and they are excellent clubs!! Much easier to hit straight then the R7.

G5 price won't drop for awhile. Maybe down to $250 this fall.

My 2 cents

:smilie_pi

 

[JEFF4i]

Easier to hit than a r7 sure, but it's Ping! Hahaha, just kidding, I love Ping too.

And that crown on top isn't that bad out in the sun, went almost unnoticed to me. Granted, I was taking pictures of the launch monitor to put next to my bed.

P.S. The pictures were of my TM at the launch monitor, the Ping would give me nightmares!

 

[Don]

I have a G2, and I demoed the G5 and Rapture a few weeks ago at a local range. I couldn't see any improvement over my G2 with the G5, but the Rapture did seem to give me a few more yards of carry. As for the look, you don't really notice the top of the head having those open areas in the metal, the composite crown fills in the openings, and it's hard to tell it's a composite head unless you hold the head right up to your face, not something I do too much when I'm standing over a ball on the tee. The whole idea of a composite head is to lower the CG and raise the launch angle with reduced spin, and it does do a good job of that, so what's the problem. As for re-shafting the driver, that could be a factor, if you don't get your driver with the correct shaft in the first place. And who says you can't pull the shaft and re-use it? If you know what you're doing, and use the correct method, you can pull the shaft and save the old shaft. Of course, it you don't like the old shaft, why not just cut it off at the top of the hosel and drill out the tip section? You could still use the old shaft in a fairway wood if you do like the shaft. If I wasn't quite happy with my G2, I'd have to give the Rapture another try and maybe get one.

 

[warbirdlover]

To pull and save a shaft you have to use heat. Heat melts the composite crowns. I had a Launcher Comp and had to scrap the shaft I was pulling (cut off and drill out). Just threw that out there. Also, my G5 Ping was much longer then the Launcher Comp and the Ping was solid. Guys with Launcher 460 (not the Comp) in here like them as much or better then the Comp. That little bit of metal the composite crown displaces is not going to set the world on fire. But they have to come out with something to sell the new clubs.

 

[Garrett]

DAMN THAT IS ONE UGLY BEAST!!!!! I could get over ugly looks at address though, I play callaway irons!!

 

[sssmokin]

The top of the Rapture looks like the grill on a Pontiac GTO. I like the GTO, but not on a driver............LOL.

 

[warbirdlover]

Well, I'm the first in Wisconsin to have one of these. Read my review. It is the most awesome hammer I've ever hit. The only shaft I liked in it and which gave me the results JEFF4i was getting is the NVS stiff with the 9* head.

As far as the cobweb on the crown, in reality you can hardly see it. They just made it stand out in the pics to emphasize the weighting. At address you don't even notice it.

Oh, and I don't care if it has a composite crown. There's no shaft changing needed on this one.

 

[LyleG]

If you want to save the shaft when pulling a comp, place a cold damp towel over the head, and carefully heat the hosel, for no more than 15 seconds at a time. Use a very good puller as well.

 

[VtDivot]

Do you keep your eyes open when you hit that thing???