G400 Max Driver

[Olowookere Devost]

Buildingthe perfect driver was a long way off (and still is), but Jertson was excited where Ping had landed with the G30. When it was released, the driver was a powerful testament to his vision. Its rear-CG design created great distance on good and bad shots, and it was also a very straight driver. The G30 sold incredibly well and, as a result, the industry mostly shifted away from forward-CG drivers.

G400 Test Results: With the G400, I launched my drives an average of 1.6-degrees higher than I did with the G while dropping spin an average of 416 rpm. That led to a significant improvement in distance. With my swing speed and ball speed staying about the same, I added an average of 7.2 yards more carry distance and 8.7 yards more total distance.

One way to explain the improved launch conditions is that I hit the G400 drivers more consistently. As you can see in the Trackman dispersion chart, I hit the G400 and G400 LST drivers straighter on average than the G and G LST. Is that its slightly enhanced forgiveness shining through? Maybe, maybe not.

I tried a ping g after a demo 2 years ago.i think the ping guy made a mistake recommending a SF head.told him I had a natural draw .why would he recommend a slice cure club.developed an anti hook swing.sf also had poor rolling ability.should try new low spin model.thanks

Our testers were better players, but they covered a range of handicaps (+1 to 7.1) and swing speeds (95 to 117.5 mph) within the better-player category. Learn more about the five GolfWRX Members, their new drivers and their experiences in our individual recaps below.

Andrew Harveson brought a TaylorMade SLDR (10.5 degrees) driver with him to his fitting, which was already optimized for his game. He fits into a group of golfers who are often hard pressed to see distance gains from new clubs. The former college golfer, now 34, has an ability to consistently contact drives in the center of the club face. He also has an upward angle of attack with his driver (+3 degrees on average) that helps him maximize the distance of his drives.

The M2 D-Type gave Andrew the confidence to play his preferred cut shot off the tee without fear that it would drift into the right rough. Actually, it created a bit too much draw bias for him, which is why the loft setting was lowered 1-click to 9 degrees. The change helped him lower his spin rate -553 rpm on average, while also opening the club face slightly to take the left side out of play.

Darrin Sloan, 36, knew exactly what he wanted from a new driver. He arrived at his fitting with a Ping G (10.5 degrees) that was giving him the height he wanted, but he was looking for a straighter ball flight.

The 1-handicap, former college golfer started his fitting with a TaylorMade M2 (10.5 degrees) with a Project X HZRDUS Black 65 (6.0 flex), a combo that significantly lowered his launch angle and spin rate. While it was giving him more distance, the ball flight was too low for his needs despite his 110 mph swing speed and average angle of attack of +2 degrees.

Darrin told TaylorMade Fitter Jason Werner he needed a higher ball flight to cut the corners of the doglegs at his home course, where he plays 95 percent of his golf. So the two starting experimenting with different heads and different shafts in search of a more familiar trajectory, as well as more distance.

Once the M2 (10.5 degrees) was linked up with a Project X HZRDUS Yellow 65 (6.0 flex) shaft, it was clear Darrin had a winner. The counter-balanced shaft helped him launch his drives higher, giving him the trajectory he needed to tackle his home course. It also helped him eliminate his miss to the right and easily execute his preferred right-to-left ball flight.

To get the most distance from your driver, you must optimize the launch angle and spin rate of the ball by selecting the proper loft and shaft flex for your swing speed. Generally, golfers with slower swing speeds require more-lofted drivers and more-flexible shafts to achieve the proper launch conditions. Conversely, golfers with faster swing speeds generally require lower-lofted drivers and firmer shafts.

PING offers a variety of grip sizes and styles to fit different hand sizes and texture preferences. Since grip size influences your wrist action, and therefore the direction of your shots, it is commonly used by fitters to affect ball flight.

PING color-coded grips are available in six different diameters, and can be further customized with grip tape according to your needs. Once the neutral grip color code has been determined based on hand measurements, golfers may consider smaller diameter grips to help control fades and slices, or larger diameter grips to help control draws and hooks.

The Golf Pride Tour Velvet features a state-of-the-art rubber-blend compound with a non-slip surface pattern for maximum playability and confidence. The scientifically designed plus-sign texture pulls moisture away from surface to allow for consistent traction.

The Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord features a state-of-the-art rubber-blend compound with a non-slip surface pattern and embedded cotton twill fibers for maximum playability and confidence in all weather conditions. The scientifically designed plus-sign texture pulls moisture away from surface to allow for consistent traction.

G400 Max is a great driver and I have one in my bag and currently not looking to replace it. IMO, We are getting to the point that the G400 line is about 5 years old which would indicate that current drivers may be a step up. Probably not from a distance perspective but from a forgiveness perspective. the forgiveness will depend on what your specific miss. I've hit a few of the 2024 drivers but want would want to hit them side by side to compare numbers. So my answer to your question so that the only way to know is to try them out.

For the current cost differentials, I don't think you can go wrong with the G400 Max. As others have stated, hit it and see how it feels, but if you can get fit especially in shafts may help. But, I've been super happy with my G400 woods and irons for that matter.

When I first started playing golf, I was given a set of clubs (with bag) by the person who introduced me to the game. He found it at a garage sale and bought it for me so that I would have my own clubs to play and practice with. It was a set of irons, 4-PW, with a random SW and an old blade-style putter that rattled when I shook it. It was enough to get me going in golf, but I knew at some point that I would need a driver.

Also contributing to a greater MOI is a new tungsten backweight which gives PING more precise control over of the CoG. Its location varies depending on what model you have. In the standard G400, it is located in the back behind the tuning port to move the CoG low and back for high launch and forgiveness. In the LST model, it is in front of the tuning port which shifts the CoG forward to reduce spin. The SFT has the weight more towards the heel for more draw-shaped gear effect.

PING has also incorporated its first forged face in a driver with the G400. The reason behind the forging is to create a stronger face material so that it could be made thinner. This increases ball speeds across the entire clubface. More ball speed means longer drives and less yardage lost on off-center strikes. The new manufacturing process also allows the designers to have more precise control over the contours of the face, reducing the dispersion of mis-hits.

The true test of any club is the on-course experience. As a Game Golf user, I am able to go back and look at my shot data objectively instead of relying on just my perception. By isolating my club performance data for my recent rounds and selecting an equal number of rounds played with my previous driver and the G400, I was able to get a good picture of just how well the G400 performs. I felt that I hit the G400 better, but I was surprised to see the results. I hit the ball farther with the G400, both on good shots and slight misses. According to Game Golf, my expected yardage with the G400 is 8 yards longer than that of my old driver. The difference between the averages of all my shots including misses is even more extreme, with the G400 ahead by 22 yards.

Good review and accurate, too. I just got the SFTech version of the G400 in 10 degrees. It pretty much has eliminated the right side of the fairway which for me could be a terrible miss at times. Not no more, as my kids used to say.

Bravo Ping!

Like most brands, Ping try to get the CG of their drivers as low and far back as they can to make them as forgiving as possible and so far they are the most successful at doing this according to most of the stats I see.

These are now chunkier than they were before to have a little more effect and there are some technical images from wind tunnels that I have seen that show this. On this size of head they are growing on me more than on the smaller heads of the G400 fairway and G400 hybrid and I think visually they combine well with the Dragonfly design to give a subtle, contoured style.

Smaller heads move faster through the air than larger ones and according to Ping's numbers, the 445cc G400 driver is as aerodynamic as the G30 driver shrunk to 295cc, so that is a big improvement in two generations.

However the launch was up 0.8, the peak height was up 4 yards and the descent angle was up 3. However do not be alarmed because this is the design philosophy of all the G400 range to launch it higher with more ball speed to use that deeper CG for more forgiveness and the thinner face and crown to deflect more at impact to add launch.

Now clearly this is not working for me at 10.5, so I used the Trajectory Tuning Technology 2.0 adjustable hosel (where would we be without three word technologies) to adjust the loft down 0.6 and then 1 on both clubs.

With the smaller change at effectively 9.9 I ran into the same issue, but at full adjustability of 9.5 the distance gains really kicked in as the straight flight delivered more ball speed, with less spin on the same launch as the G 10.5 but with a higher flight.

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