Analyzing the last three versions of Ping drivers with a swing robot

Ping’s G440 is something special. And when I say special, I mean it could wind up being one of the most complete lineups we’ve ever seen in the company’s storied history. Yeah, it’s that good.

Ping has ranked near the top in off-center performance for decades — one of the most important driver attributes for the average weekend golfer. No one wants an unforgiving driver. But stability generally came at a cost.

I like to think about each performance attribute as a lever. If you pull down hard on the off-center forgiveness lever, you need to ease up on speed. However, we’ve started to see a massive paradigm shift in the last several years as companies started to pull hard on several levers without having to sacrifice speed, forgiveness or consistency.

Sounds too good to be true, right? The Golf Laboratories swing robot might have something to say about that.

Testing protocol

When we test clubs, we run each 10.5-degree head at 95 mph — right around the average speed for an amateur golfer. This lets us gather a ton of useful data, from spin rate and dispersion to ball speed and carry distance across 9 different impact locations on the face. We also use the same shaft to create a true apples-to-apples comparison. We’re able to acquire meaningful data points for 90 percent of the face, so practically every kind of miss is accounted for.

1. What's going on here?

Let’s start with the area where Ping’s made a killing since its inception — off-center forgiveness. As we’ve said before, off-center forgiveness is tied to a couple of different metrics, the most important being launch and spin. If you can make a heel or toe shot perform closer to one coming out of the middle of the face, you’re onto something.

Looking at the spin rate data across all 9 points, it’s apparent Ping is trending lower in spin. Lowering spin is one way to gain distance, but as we’ve seen before, it can come at the expense of forgiveness, which we’ll get to.

With G440 LST, we’re getting back to G425 LST spin rates on the low end — and 425 was one hell of a driver. We see a large concentration of spins around 2,600-2,800 RPMs, which is a playable spin rate for most golfers. Compare that to 425 LST where the highest spin counts were at 2,600 and 3,200. So we’re seeing spin consistency tighten, especially on the top end. This means you’ll see less distance-killing high spin rates if you typically impact low on the face. That translates to more yards off the tee.

G440 Max follows a similar trend — lower spin overall with far fewer shots getting over 3,100 RPMs. G440 SFT is even more impressive with an incredibly tight spin band that ranges from just 2,500-3,330. And it’s important to note this is taking into account spin rates from all 54 shots across the entire face.

Visuals like these confirm your misses will look a lot closer to your best balls. It all starts with spin.

2. On target

The G440 is consistent in the spin department, but it’s important to verify if the dispersion pattern matches the metrics. Looking at our offline dispersion box plots, you can see the shot shape has changed somewhat.

As JWall mentioned, G440 and G425 LST had similar spin profiles, and that continues with the dispersion pattern. G440 LST has a similarly tight pattern that’s a bit more fade-biased this time around. For better players who swing it around 95 and don’t like to see a left miss, this is exciting news. G430 had a noticeable left bias pattern on the robot, so this is a literal flip-flop in shot shape.

Even G440 SFT, the most draw-biased product in the lineup, tended to shade more towards the middle with a less pronounced left bias. If you struggle with a slice and play the G430 SFT, this is the kind of information you want to know in advance of testing.

As for G440 Max, it produces straight balls in its sleep. The G425 Max had a nice, tight dispersion, but G440 Max takes it to another level. The Max products are always a draw for golfers with inconsistent contact, so you want to see a dispersion pattern with a high concentration of shots winding up just left and right of the center line.

3. Speed ... so what?

I don’t want you to be fixated on ball speed. Yes, it’s a nice-to-have. But if speed doesn’t come with reliable launch and spin rates, it means absolutely nothing.

That said, it’s still important to see what’s going on. Looking at the data for the last three years, you can see a larger concentration of ball speeds on the upper end for G440 LST, which tells you that even the mis-hits are retaining speed. Compare that to G425 LST where ball speed ranged from 128-140 mph. Every 1 mph equals 3 yards of carry, so that means you could lose 36 yards of carry in some instances, versus 27 yards. That could be the difference between carrying a bunker or burying one in the face.

That’s the good news.

What might be concerning to some golfers is the ball speed range for G440 Max, which is actually wider than G430 Max. And you could probably say the same for G440 SFT — it’s fairly similar to the G430. Now here’s why you shouldn’t fixate on ball speed.

4. Dispersions

Ping’s carry visual might be the most impressive chart we’ve seen. The consistent spin rates and dispersions we saw from all three models translate to better distance numbers, regardless of where you’re hitting it on the face.

I’d argue the G440 LST, Ping’s low-spin driver, is also their most forgiving. That’s usual because you’re typically having to sacrifice off-center forgiveness for lower spin and distance. But that isn’t the case with this driver.

When comparing a center strike to the other 8 mishits on the face, LST registered a carry loss delta of just 6.3 yards. That’s better than the Max, SFT — and the ultra-stable G430 Max 10K. Drilling deeper into the numbers, high-toe misses lost 1.8 yards, while misses low on the face lost less than 10 yards. No doubt about it, G440 LST is an incredibly special driver.

All of that information shows up in the carry data. All but three of the 54 shots registered a carry distance between 215 and 235 yards. The tighter you can keep the carry numbers, regardless of where it’s impacting the face, the better.

And remember the wider G440 Max spin rate? That doesn’t show up in the carry data. The latest Max and SFT have equally tight carry ranges. They register a higher concentration of longer carry distances without a single ball straying from the four-bar carry band.

If Ping was going to sell you on why you should play their drivers, just slap this chart on the wall and let the numbers speak for themselves.

5. Who should upgrade?

Who should upgrade? I’d say anyone playing G430 LST would be crazy not to spend some time testing G440 LST. It’s more forgiving than a Max driver. It’s more forgiving than a 10K driver. It protects high-toe misses. It has speed for days. Do I need to go on?

If you like the generous shape of the Max head but didn’t find the G430 Max to be nearly as straight, the G440 version has the potential to put that straight ball in your life.

Both of those drivers, according to the robot, are a must-try in the hitting bay.

6. Who should not upgrade?

I think the G440 SFT presents an interesting conundrum. The spin rates and carry numbers are an upgrade from G425 and G430, but the dispersion data gives me pause. The last two years saw Ping increase the number of shots that end up left of the center line, which is a recipe for a slice-killing shot shape.

Now we’re seeing the bias go in the other direction. It’s still a left bias, but it’s not nearly as pronounced. For someone who struggles mightily with a slice, removing the heavier left bias found in G430 might not be a good thing.