Equipment

Ping G410 Plus driver: Shifting the gears of adjustability

Published

5 years ago

Jan 21, 2019

Ping has always been a company comfortable in a leadership role in terms of research and custom fitting. Indeed, the company lead the custom fitting revolution before most golfers had any idea of what a lie angle was.

Ping makes the effort to lead again with the new Ping G410: Ping’s first driver with a moving adjustable weight. It would be false to claim they are the first OEM to offer a driver that has adjustable weight, but like anything Ping, they are doing it their own way and offering a unique take to help golfers play their best.

ping-g410-face

What the new G410 offers that no Ping drivers has offered before is

A 16g adjustable weight with three distinct positions, to allow for greater direction control. This need came right from the tour since more than two-thirds of Ping’s Tour staff had their drivers custom fit for CG by using hot melt.
A new counter balance weight plug under the grip raises the balance point to allow for more mass (leading to greater MOI) in the head while maintaining swing weight.

Some of the other features of the new 2019 G410 driver include:

Five-way hosel adjustment to allow plus/minus 1.5* of loft adjustment and up to 3* flat
Ti 9s+ forged face for maximum ball speeds
Improved turbulators
Hidden Dragonfly technology inside to support the ultra thin light weight crown

To put into perspective what Ping is bringing to the table with their new driver, we have to think about how a driver is modified through custom fitting. The challenge presented to the design team was: how can the company bring moveable CG fitting to every golfer while also improving MOI and add ball speed? This is where all of the previous technology advances, along with the 16g of moveable mass positioned to the furtherest reaches of the perimeter to allow for a tour level fitting experience.

Each of the three settings on the G410 moves the CG 1/10th of an inch, which doesn’t sound like much but for the average player that equates to 10 yards of additional directional control equally a total of 20 yards of movement from side to side. 20 yards can be the difference between fairway and rough, or rough and a punch out.

Ping G410 SFT

Like with previous drivers from Ping, there will also be a Ping 410 SFT version withe the same hosel adjustment options but it will have no custom moveable weight. This is because Ping has once again improved on the previous 400 SFT and placed 50 percent more heel weight in the the new G410 Plus.

Ultimately, the Ping G410 SFT (Straight Flight Technology) is essentially a slice-correcting/draw driver.

Solheim, again: “There is still a large segment of golfers who will play better with a driver completely optimized for performance with the benefit of maximum fade correction. When we pioneered Straight Flight Technology several years ago, we wanted to provide a ‘slice-fixing’ driver without adding huge offset or just closing the face.”

Ping G410 Availability & Specs

Ping G410 Plus with come in the following lofts: 9, 10.5, 12

Ping G410 SFT (Straight Flight Technology) loft option: 10.5

Standard length will be 45 3/4″ with the Alta CB Red 55 & ;45 1/4″ for PING tour & aftermarket shafts

No-upcharge shaft options are the PING Alta CB, PING Tour 65, 75, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Orange 60, & the Project X Evenflow Black 75

The retail price will be $540

RELATED: 2019 Ping G410 Driver – Plus and SFT photos

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Equipment

A shocking Backstryke putter appearance + 7 interesting gear photos from the Zurich Classic

Published

4 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Welcome to New Orleans, where TPC Louisiana plays host to the 2024 Zurich Classic. In between breakfast beignets and nightly Creole feasts, PGA Tour players are also competing in the unique two-man format at the Zurich this week.

Although the vibes in Nawlins are a bit lighter-fare than the recent back-to-back competitions the Masters and the RBC Heritage signature event), the gear news was no less serious this week.

We spotted some recent changes from Rory McIlroy, a very rare Odyssey Backstryke putter, dove into the bag of legendary New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, and spotted Patrick Cantlay continuing to test new equipment.

Get your beads out and crack your crawfish, because it’s time for an equipment rundown from The Big Easy (meaning New Orleans, of course, not Ernie Els).

See all of our photos from the Zurich Classic here

Rory’s on-and-off lob wedge

Since the end of 2023, Rory McIlroy has had an on-again, off-again relationship with a Titleist Vokey K-Grind lob wedge. In his last start, it was on, and the wedge is back in the bag again this week. We got a great look at the complicated grind that McIlroy uses.

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A full look into McIlroy’s bag above also shows that he switched out of the TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper that he used at the RBC Heritage, and he’s back into the Qi10 core 3-wood. As we discussed last week, McIlroy will likely keep the BRNR around as a course-specific club, trading it in and out for the 3-wood.

See Rory McIlroy’s full 2024 WITB from the Zurich here

Turning Back the clock

Unless Tommy Gainey is in the field, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see Odyssey’s Backstryke technology make an appearance on the PGA Tour.

But then, when you least expect it, Russ Cochran shows up.

For more than a decade – since the 2013 Sony Open in Hawai’i – Cochran has been stuck on 599 PGA Tour starts. This week will be his 600th.

Cochran is in the field at the Zurich this week playing alongside Eric Cole, whose regular caddie is Reed Cochran, Russ’s son.

The Backstryke putter was first released back in 2010, and its unique design helps shift the axis point of the putter closer to the CG of the head. And, the putter is getting a nod this week at the Zurich Classic, thanks to Cochran’s 600th career PGA Tour start.

The putter is certainly awesome, but don’t forget to check out Cochran’s full WITB from this week.

Drew Brees with a Super Bowl winning Scotty Cameron putter

Drew Brees, a legendary retired quarterback for the hometown New Orleans Saints, made an appearance at the Zurich’s Wednesday Pro-Am, playing alongside Zach Johnson, Ryan Palmer, and current Saints QB Derek Carr.

Brees’ bag included a TaylorMade Stealth2 Plus driver, a BRNR Mini 13.5-degree, a Stealth 5-wood, a mixed set of P-790 and P-760 irons, Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedges, and a custom Scotty Cameron “New Orleans Saints” putter, which Scotty made for Brees following his Super Bowl MVP-winning performance in 2010.

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It should also be noted that Brees has his Venmo QR code as a bag tag.

If you’re gambling with Brees on the course, just know that not having cash won’t work as an excuse.

Brilliant.

See Drew Brees’ full WITB from the Zurich here

Stricker’s unrecognizable putter

Steve Stricker has made numerous upgrades to his bag recently, including a new TSR3 driver and T100 irons, but his longtime Odyssey White Hot No. 2 putter is still going strong. It’s the most recognizable unrecognizable putter ever.

Here’s a better look at Stricker’s flatstick, which he started using back in 2007.

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Patrick Cantlay has opened the equipment-switching floodgates

Over on the PGA Tour’s Equipment Report this week, we covered Cantlay’s recent switch into Ping Blueprint S irons, and a Titleist TSR2 driver.

Cantlay hadn’t switched irons for about seven years, so the iron switch he made at The 2024 Masters came as a shock to the norm. He simply isn’t one to change gear very often, so anytime Cantlay makes a switch, it’s news.

It seems the floodgates of equipment testing have opened up a bit for Cantlay, who was also spotted testing a custom Scotty Cameron blade putter on Tuesday this week. By Wednesday, Cantlay was back practicing with his familiar Scotty Cameron T5 Proto mallet, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward.

Daniel Berger’s custom Jailbird site lines

Berger, who’s currently using Odyssey’s Ai-One Mini Jailbird mallet putter, has a unique 3-dot, 2-line alignment on the crown of his navy-white-navy-white mallet putter. Looking down at the putter, it’s easy to see why this alignment system would help; it just seems impossible to set up to the ball off-center, or misaligned to the target.

Also, for anyone worried, you can rest easy. Yes, he’s still playing the 2013 TaylorMade TP MC irons, which we highlighted in our recent “Modern Classics: Old vs. New” video testing series.

FitzMagic teams back up

Brothers Matthew and Alex Fitzpatrick are teaming up once again at the Zurich this year, and Bettinardi Golf hooked them up with some festive “FitzMagic” headcovers to match this week.

See what else is in Alex Fitzpatrick’s WITB here

And, with that, we say goodbye to the Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out all of our photos from this week, including 30 unique photo galleries full of equipment photos.

We’ll see you next week in Texas for the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson!

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