Equipment
Ping introduces new face material with its G400 Fairways, Hybrids and Crossover
With its new G400 Fairway Woods, Hybrids and Crosscover, Ping has introduced an all-new face material that helps golfers ensure all the distance gaps are filled between their driver and longest iron. The new club faces are made from maraging steel, which is stronger and more flexible than the 455 carpenter steel that was used in the G line. The material change is said to make the clubs higher-launching, longer-flying and more forgiving across the board.
Ping is also offering more options than ever to help golfers get the right fit. The company is adding a 9-wood to the lineup, as well as 22-degree SFT fairway wood. In addition, Ping’s popular Stretch 3 and Crossover have undergone changes to enhance their strengths. The company has also found a way to reduce the common miss to the left with its lower-lofted hybrids. See how the changes have improved each of Ping’s new offerings below.
G400 Fairway Woods
With the new maraging steel face inserts in the G400 fairway woods, Ping is boasting some serious improvements over the G line. Let’s talk some numbers.
Since the new face material is lighter, Ping was able to save 6 grams from the face — that weight was distributed into the copper-colored, high-density weight on the back of the sole. According to Ping, the face is 28 percent thinner, 18 percent lighter and produces 30 percent more flex at impact. As such, Ping says these fairway woods have a 5 percent higher MOI (moment of inertia, a measure of forgiveness) and 2 mph more ball speed to create a higher maximum height. This all equals 7 yards more carry than the G fairway woods, according to Ping’s testing.
When purchasing fairway woods, however, golfers must think about the intended purpose of the club they’re buying. Do they want an alternative option off the tee, or a club to use from the turf to hold greens.
Ping’s G400 Stretch 3 fairway wood is like “a driver off the tee,” the company says. Compared to the pervious model, the club has been given an even deeper face and larger club head to produce the ultimate distance. Engineers have increased MOI by moving center of gravity (CG) deeper in the club head, which will also make it more forgiving.
Ping has also introduced a new 9 wood (25 degrees), as well as a new 7 wood (22 degrees) with Straight Flight Technology (SFT) to help golfers hit the ball higher, and through SFT, reduce the likelihood of a slice.
A look at Ping’s new SFT fairway wood from address
Ping’s G400 fairway woods will sell for $287.50 per club.
G400 Hybrids
The major concern with hybrids for a majority of better golfers is they can produce a hook. To offset this issue, Ping has made the lower-lofted hybrids in the G400 line more fade-biased by moving CG toward the toe. This will reduce the leftward miss, if not eliminate it, for many golfers who struggle with this problem. The higher-lofted hybrids, however, do not have this toe-ward CG, and therefore will remain easy to turn over. Ping reasoned that higher-lofted hybrids are most likely to be in the bags of higher-handicap golfers, who are likely to need help fixing a slice.
Like the G400 fairway woods, the G400 hybrids also have maraging steel face inserts. Specifically in the hybrids, Ping says the new material makes the face 11 percent thinner, 10 percent lighter and produces 35 percent more flex at impact. This leads to 2 mph more ball speed, a steeper trajectorym and therefore more stopping power, ultimately leading to 5 yards more carry in comparison to the G hybrids with the same lofts.
Compared to the G, the G400 hybrids also have a longer hosel that allows them to be lie-angle adjusted +/- 2 degrees, which improves fitting options. The G400’s new shafts are 0.370 inches in diameter instead of 0.355 inches in diameter.
Hybrid options include 2 (17 degrees), 3 (19 degrees), 4 (22 degrees), 5 (26 degrees) and 6 (30 degrees). They will sell for $247.50 per club.
G400 Crossover: “This is definitely not a driving iron”
While some golfers may have seen the original G Crossover as a driving iron, Ping is fighting that label with the new design of the G400 Crossover. Through structural changes and its more flexible maraging steel face inserts, the G400 Crossover is higher-launching and higher-spinning than the original to better hold greens from the turf. According to Ping’s testing, golfers will see 20 percent higher launch and 500 rpm more spin.
The tungsten weight that was in the toe-side of the sole in the G Crossover has also been moved farther toward toe, and it actually wraps around the contour of the toe. The placement of the high-density weight will help to center CG and ultimately produce a straighter flight than its G predecessor. The sole also has a bit more camber so that the club glides through the turf without digging; Ping says it’s comparable to the sole of a hybrid, rather than an iron. For an even more iron-like look, Ping has “slimmed down” the profile by an eighth-of-an-inch, and it has thinned out the top rail as well.
You may also notice a different finish compared to the original design. Unlike the Black PVD finish of the G Crossover, the G400 iron head is finished with Ping’s HydroPearl finish that helps repel water. This allows the face to better grip the golf ball in damp conditions, producing more consistency.
Available lofts for the Ping G400 Crossover include 3 (19 degrees), 4 (22 degrees) and 5 (25 degrees). They will sell for $247.50 per club.
Related
- Ping claims smaller is better with its new G400 drivers
- Ping aims to make golf “more fun” with its new G400 irons
Discussion: See what GolfWRX members are saying about Ping’s G400 fairways, hybrids and Crossover
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Lou Cesarek
Jul 17, 2017 at 8:21 pm
Mizuno MX 700 Woods used the same technology
At least 10 years ago.
New. ?
MrPoopoo
Jul 15, 2017 at 5:00 am
Looks like the Orlimar Trip-Metals are going to get a little boost in value on flea-bay.
SKip
Jul 11, 2017 at 5:19 pm
I have Orlimar Trimetals from the 90’s that have Maraging Steel faces. Nothing new here. A lot of JDM clubs have been using maraging steel even way before that.
Dweebly
Jul 11, 2017 at 12:47 pm
Everyone knows that’s all the fantastic new materials are just big standard run of the mill stuff don’t they? My favourite is still the gss Scotty Cameron. How he got people to pay over the odds for bargain basement stainless is marketing genius!
Dave R
Jul 10, 2017 at 11:41 pm
Good looking clubs . Good for ping finally.
I
Jul 10, 2017 at 11:56 am
The photos shows the 9 wood with 23.5, not 25?????
Duke Nookem
Jul 10, 2017 at 9:29 am
Ping continues to make great improvements to its lineup. It lacks the over the top marketing like the other big companies but it’s not needed here. Product speaks for itself. Rumor has it there is an even lighter alloy in the works. 5-10% thinner….