Oosthuizen, Bubba spotted with PING "Blueprint" Forged iron

Earlier this year at the U.S. Open, Tony Finau and Tyrrell Hatton were spotted testing a muscleback prototype iron that would eventually become PING's i500.

With a blade profile and hollow-body design, the iron was designed for players who wanted the look of a blade with the performance and ball speeds of the equipment manufacturer's game-improvement G700 irons.

While the new Blueprint Forged likely doesn't have the same speed as i500 or G700, it's clear PING is attempting to pack similar technology into the yet-to-be-released Blueprint Forged iron that was teased by Louis Oosthuizen and Bubba Watson on social media.

Based on photos posted by both players, the iron has a compact profile, minimal offset and a thin topline and sole — all standard attributes for a model that could go in the bags of PING staffers this season.

What separates the iron from others in the same category is a weight screw in the toe that was last seen on the hollow-cavity i500. The screw is designed to counterbalance the weight in the hosel to help with custom fitting.

Due the presence of a weight screw with Blueprint, the assumption is the iron could have a small hollow cavity as well. Then again, designers could have added it to the toe for perimeter weighting purposes and forged the entire head.

For now, we can only speculate on an iron that could be a compliment or possible replacement to PING's iBlade.