Ping
G425
Our Review:
WHAT IT DOES: Ping’s hybrids have always been reliable and efficient—a worthy replacement for the long iron in your bag that doesn’t work anymore. The G425 is still those things but with new heat. A high-strength maraging-steel face wraps around the sole and crown. This allows the top and bottom of the face to be thinner and more flexible to increase distance. There’s also less curvature low on the face to combat excessive spin. A three-dot alignment aid on the top of the crown offers ample guidance at address.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Distance is like a trusty fastball: It doesn’t matter how hard you can throw if you can’t throw hard consistently. Luckily the G425 brings the heat every time, even on off-center hits. The key is a tungsten back weight that creates a low and deep center of gravity to tighten that distance window. That CG is tuned to each loft to better match with the type of player expected to use it. Better players gravitate toward the lowest lofts, so those have a neutral bias. Less-skilled players use the higher lofts, so those have more anti-slice bias. An adjustable hosel and a 7-hybrid increase the overall loft range from the mid-teens to the mid-30s. Read more >>
Ratings
* Percentage of total score
Player Comments
Low-Handicapper
"Stable on the turf, sole/turf interaction good. Sound was consistent on every shot. Ball flight could go as high or low as you wanted, and you could get that pretty easily."
Mid-Handicapper
"A fresh design with the little alignment ridges. Felt like the face amplified your impact, like it caught the ball and spit it back out. Really receptive, with a piercing flight."
High-Handicapper
“The contrasting lines effectively frame the ball. Clean and classic. Center hits feel like a sledgehammer delivering energy through the ball. Compact head easily cuts through the grass.”
Club Specs
Lofts
17, 19, 22, 26, 30, 34; adjustable
Surviving the Hot List Presented by Rapsodo
For the first time in the 19-year history of the Hot List, we invited a documentary-film crew to the 2022 testing summit to document the process, the people and the drama behind the most coveted assignment in golf.