Ping Eye2 Irons

The following is a chronological history of the popular Ping Eye2 iron produced by Karsten Manufacturing. First intoduced in the early 1980s, Ping set the quality and performance standard for today's cavity back irons. Pictures are provided for those models underlined in blue. The patents identified in this history can be viewed by searching on the patent number using the IBM Patent Server site. Thanks to Paul Amato for his invaluable contribution to this history.
Year	Description
1982-1984	Original. The first Eye2 iron. Made from 1982-1984. This patent pending design featured "V" grooves.
1984-1985	U Groove. The second Eye2 iron featuring "U" grooves. The result of the 1984 USGA ruling allowing square grooves. Made from the middle of 1984 to the fall of 1985. US Patent D276644. Other patents pending.
1984-1985	EZ Lite. A version of the "U Groove" featuring a lighter swingweight, the result of a slightly smaller head. The shaft featured an "EZ-Lite" band. Made from the middle of 1984 to the fall of 1985.
1985-1990	Square Groove. Design is identical to the "U Groove" with the only change ocurring in the grooves. The change involed modifying the groove by creating a slight radius at the top of the groove. This new model is referred to as the "Square Groove". This change reduced the amount of surface area between the groove but did not change the distance between the inside edges of the grooves. Made from the fall of 1985 to the spring of 1990. US Patents D4512577 and D276644.
1986	Eye2 Beryllium Copper. Patent pending design identical to the stainless steel "Square Groove" but made from Beryllium Copper.
1987	Eye2 Beryllium Copper. Patented design identical to the "Square Groove" design but made from Beryllium Copper. US Patents D4512577 and D276644.
1989-1990	Eye2+ No+ (Plus No Plus). New head design featuring a "scalloped" sole. The scalloped refered to the design process where metal was removed from the center of the sole and redistributed in the inside of the cavity near the toe. Additional design features included a more rediused sole, a modified bounce and grind, a slightly thinner topline, a slight increase in clubhead size, a little higher and more rounded toe, and slightly stronger lofts. The grooves were the same as the "Square Groove" model. Made from the fall of 1989 to the spring of 1990.
1990-present	Eye2 Dot. Same design as the "Square Groove" model but with increased groove width as a result of the agrrement reached between Ping and the USGA regarding grooves. Distinguished by the raise dot or drill mark within eye in cavity. Made from spring 1990 to present.
1990-present	Eye2+. Same design features as the "+ No +" model but with increased groove width. Available in stainless steel and copper. Made from spring of 1990 to present. Distinguished by the "+" in the cavity underneath the patent numbers. US Patents 4512577 and 4621813. Ping ceased production of the beryllium copper model in 1999 due to environmental regulations.
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