Devil Ball Proving Ground: Ping Rapture D.I.

Welcome to Devil Ball's Proving Ground, where we put the latest golf gear through its paces. Today we look at the Ping Rapture D.I.

Tester â€" Shane Bacon â€" Handicap: +1.0

Target Golf Audience â€" +5 - 15 handicaps

Initial thoughts

I have to admit something and it always makes the equipment buffs frustrated; I'm not a hybrid guy. My golf swing was never made for hybrids, and anytime I've had one in the bag it didn't stay for very long.

Long irons are my friend, clubs that most people hate and I just can't hit them enough. My college days were spent with a 2-iron blade in the bag, and while that isn't the case these days, I still hit 3-iron off a lot of tees.

The idea of a driving iron was something I liked immediately, and after getting my hands on the Ping Rapture driving iron I immediately knew I found a club that was made for me.

The club is just a brute, a meaty, solid work of art by Ping that not only looks good in the bag, but looks like you can absolutely smash it down the fairway. The idea of a driving iron is something I've always been interested in (remember the zero irons from back in the day? I looked high and low for one left-handed but couldn't find it.), and this Rapture club is exactly what I had hoped it would be.

On-Course Thoughts

Have you ever bought a golf club that performed almost exactly as you thought it would when you first hit it? That is the Ping Rapture D.I. for me.

I knew I would like it before I even hit it because it's exactly something I've looked for over the years, a heavy, tungsten weighted golf club that allows me to smash the stinger low and straight, and hit the high cut if I need to go after a par-5 in two.

Getting a chance to take it to the range was a treat, and I liked it even more on the golf course. The club is just solid, and unlike the hybrids, works great with my steep golf swing. I didn't have a problem getting the ball in the air with the Rapture, but what I really enjoyed was how low I could keep it without having to improvise too much.

You know what else is a sneaky good part about the driving iron? It's a very, very helpful club to get yourself out of trouble. Too many times amateur golfers pick a lofted club to get a golf ball back in play (that is why you always hit the branch in front of you!), but my uncle is one that always pulls his driver out when he's in the trees and just tries to literally bunt it under all the trouble and get it back into the fairway.

The Rapture iron is helpful for that as well, and I find myself going for that club a lot when I'm out of position.

Final Verdict

I'll give Ping this compliment about the Rapture iron; the company continues to roll out top-notch products and this is just another example of that.

We all know drivers and wedges and fairway woods and even hybrids, but to create a new golf club that would benefit a large portion of golfers is both smart and innovative.

Ping should be proud of all the products they've made over the years, but they continue to hit home runs with their latest equipment and the Rapture D.I. is no different.

www.pinggolf.com, $220