Quote:
Originally Posted by Miles
Really curious what the +/no + model means since I only remember the eye 2 and those that had the + marking near the toe.
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Pros could spin the hell out of the old Eye 2s (made from 1984-89) with boxed radiused grooves (people call them square grooves now, but the name really isn't accurate). Almost half of all tour pros played them because they were that good. In 1989, the PGA banned square grooves and Ping sued them.
As part of the settlement, existing Ping irons were grandfathered in, but those manufactured from April 1990 on could no longer have square grooves. These models are indicated by the extruded plus on the toe side of the cavity.
While the lawsuit was working itself out, Ping began producing a slight redesign of the existing Eye 2 head, with a different sole design from the 9-iron down to the wedges and stronger lofts. Clubs made from about September 1989 to April 1990 have the best of both worlds: the stronger lofts of the + series Pings that are more in line with modern loft, the new sole design in the short irons, and most importantly, the existing square grooves.
+ no + irons are immediately identifiable by looking at the 9-iron or wedge. They have a cambered sole and no extruded plus in the cavity.
These are the + no + models and are the most collectible Eye 2s out there (along with the BeCus).
The + no + wedges are so good that when the USGA enacted the new groove laws Mickelson went back to his old Eye 2 wedges because of the spin advantage it gave him. Scott McCarron called him a cheater for using them. A few months later, Ping quietly acquiesced to removing the grandfather clause, and now they no longer produce any full sets of Eye 2s.