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G25 Driver

Ping’s new G25 driver will help golfers do what the pros do to get more distance – launch the ball higher and faster with less spin.

Marty Jertson, senior design engineer for Ping, said that engineers moved the center of gravity (CG) substantially lower and further back than the company’s previous model, the G20.

Moving the CG lower and further back helps a golfer in two ways: it increases perimeter weighting, which adds forgiveness to shots hit off-center, and it works to deliver the club at impact with more dynamic loft, creating a higher launch angle.

As a result, most testers went down in loft and saw a 1-mph increase in ball speed with the new model, Jertson said.

Ping’s decision to move the CG lower and further back on the G25 driver is different than the approach of TaylorMade, which has touted moving CG lower and more forward for faster ball speeds and reduced spin.

“The negative of [moving CG] forward is that now your movement of inertia, which is so important in a driver, starts to go down,” Jertson said.

“Any time you can pull CG away from the face you’re getting a lot more perimeter weighting.”

Jertson said that the face of the G25 is 2 percent larger than the G20, and has a 10 percent higher heel-to-toe inertia and a 17 percent higher top-to-bottom inertia than its predecessor, making it more forgiving.

The G25 will come stock with Ping’s 45.75-inch TFC 189D shaft, a high-balance point model that has allowed engineers to add 1 gram of weight to the head and still maintain the company’s desired swing weight of D3. Jertson used the example of two car crashes to explain why a driver with more head weight can be a good thing for distance. 

Charcoal, non-glare matte finish helps with alignment and inspires confidence

“If you got hit by a big truck that’s going 60 mph, it’s going to do a lot more damage than a little car going 62 mph,” he said. “It’s basically the same thing with a driver. We’re trying to maximize momentum, even if it means sacrificing a minor amount of speed.”

Trajectory Tuning allows golfers to add or subtract ½ degree of loft beyond the standard setting

The slightly heavier driver head will be good for golfers who prefer aftermarket shafts as well. Most golfers prefer to have their aftermarket-installed shafts trimmed to a length between 45 and 45.25 inches, which means the increased head weight of the G25 will help them maintain a swing weight closer to D3 with shorter shafts.

Variable-thickness face design delivers a powerful energy transfer for faster ball speeds and greater distances

The G25 drivers will be available in 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 12-degree lofts, and are adjustable by 0.5 degrees up or down through the company’s adjustable hosel, which is the same weight and size as the company’s fixed hosels.

Comparison photos of the 2013 Ping G25 Driver and the 2011 Ping G20 Driver

Comparison photos of the 2013 Ping G25 Driver and the 2011 Ping G20 Driver

The TFC 189D stock shafts will be offered in Soft R, R, S, Tour Stiff and Tour X-Stiff flexes. The MSRP will be $385. The G25 Driver and the rest of the G25 lineup will hit shelves Feb. 14, with pre-ordering starting today.

Comparison photos of the 2013 Ping G25 Driver and the 2011 Ping G20 Driver

Additional specs are available below:

G25 Fairway Woods

The low-profile, forgiving design features mass low, positioning the CG low and back for high launch with increased forgiveness, especially on shots struck low on the face, the most common “miss-hit”. The head is slightly larger but maintains a traditional profile that is easy to align with the target.

For the Ping’s newest fairway wood, the G25, the company wanted to create a club with a higher launch, higher ball speed and more forgiveness than the G20.

To do this, engineers removed weight from the perimeter of the faces, creating a higher-rebound area that results in faster ball speeds on all hits. The trimmed weight was then moved low and deep in the head, increasing launch angle and providing more forgiveness, especially on shots hit low on the face where most mishits with fairway woods occur.

The new fairway woods will offer a similar amount of spin as the G20 fairway woods, keeping the clubs playable from a variety of surfaces. Jertson said golfers upgrading to the new model should expect to see between 0.5 and 1 mph of increased ball speed.

Comparison photos of the 2013 Ping G25 fw and the 2011 Ping G20 fw

Comparison photos of the 2013 Ping G25 fw and the 2011 Ping G20 fw

G25 fairway woods will be available in 3 (15 degrees), 4 (16.5 degrees), 5 (18 degrees) and 7 (21 degrees) with Ping’s TFC 189F stock shaft. Unlike the 189D shaft in the G25 driver, the 189F shaft has a standard balance point. It will come in Soft R, R, S, Tour-Stiff and Tour X-Stiff flexes). The MSRP is $255. Additional specs are available below:

G25 Hybrids

The aesthetics of Ping’s 2012 G20 hybrid lagged behind its competitors in the marketplace. Whereas the G20 hybrids looked like swollen driving irons, the new G25 hybrids provide a more pleasing round shape that is on trend.

Take a look at our comparison photos below (Note: The G25 features Ping’s matte charcoal finish).

Each of the new hybrids, which are available is 17, 20, 23, 27 and 31 degrees, was engineered to have a specific center of gravity that helps to create the ideal ball flight. In the low-lofted hybrids, the CG is positioned low and deep to help golfers launch the ball higher and with more spin than their iron equivalents, resulting in more playability and a greater carry distances.

But Ping’s higher-lofted hybrids (23 degrees or more) had a tendency to spin too much for most players in the past, leading to shorter carry distances and less control in windy conditions. That’s why the CG of the 23, 27 and 30-degree hybrids creep forward to help golfers reduce spin.

The G25 hybrids also feature a generous amount of camber and sole relief for playability from different surfaces. They’re available with Ping’s TFC 189H stock shaft in Soft R, R, S, Tour-Stiff and Tour X-Stiff flexes. The MSRP is $220.

Additional specs are available below:

Check out the photo gallery below, or click here to see what people are saying in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.

Check out the photo gallery below, or click here to see what people are saying in the “Tour/Pre-release equipment” forum.

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10 Comments

1. 

   Troy

   January 2, 2013 at 10:13 am

   Wow, the woods look awesome! Clean looks, not too deep a face. I wonder how hte ball flight is?

   Reply
2. 

   Joe Golfer

   January 2, 2013 at 11:49 pm

   I like the counterbalanced shaft, as I’ve used a Harmon Tour Design counterbalanced shaft in driver and liked it. Ping’s stock shafts are often better than some of those aftermarket shafts that say “designed exclusively for ‘fill in brandname here’”. Also, making the new hosel about the same weight as standard is a big plus, as earlier adjustable hosels on other brands are much heavier, causing problems.
   The loft adjustability is minimal, as one can change it only 1/2 degree up or down. And no statement as to how this affects the face angle, closed or open when a change is made.
   I’ve seen other photos than these, and the crown seems to slope downwards from front to back much more than the prior model, so I’m guessing you’re likely to get a higher ball flight than you’d expect.

   Reply
3. 

   Johnny D

   January 3, 2013 at 3:11 pm

   I’m looking forward to seeing and swinging this new G25 line. I liked the G20 but prefered the I20 over the G series. That said there might be enough change between the G20 and the G25 to make a real difference.

   Reply
4. 

   dj

   January 4, 2013 at 11:45 am

   I’ve been a TM guy for 10 years and for the first time, I’m more interested in another OEM driver setup. I buy into the technical explanations by the engineers at PING and can’t wait to have this compete for a spot in my golf bag. And let me add that this driver looks great.

   Reply
5. 

   Enno

   January 9, 2013 at 8:03 am

   Decreasing loft => opens face and vice versa. See the G25 driver video where that is stated by the presenter.

   Reply
6. 

   FCM

   January 13, 2013 at 5:51 pm

   It looks sweet! I have the Anser and I can’t wait to compare the two. Good observation on the face angle Joe G. I was wondering the same thing when I saw some online videos and nobody commented on it. I have to assume it will be same as the Anser.

   Reply
7. 

   GolfDose

   January 15, 2013 at 8:25 am

   The G25s are going to be quite something in 2013. I really want to compare the driver to my RBZ Tour.

   Reply
8. 

   rahrah

   January 28, 2013 at 11:39 pm

   I’m so tired of all these ” Adjustable lie” Adjustable face angle ” blah blah blah,,,Just practice , practice,practice, get a couple lessons and use a “normal ” driver!!!!! works for me>>>>>

   Reply
9. 

   qpaovpkabcve

   March 28, 2013 at 7:19 pm

   stcpmtvflrvg

   Reply
10. 

    karl

    May 15, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    The biggest change that I noticed for ping’s g25 series is a reduction in shaft choices.

    In the g25 the standard shaft is a # 189 in a stiff flex it is 4.8* torque and 58 grams. The only optional “stock” shaft is a #80 for ladies and seniors.

    In the g20 series the stock shaft was a #169 4.9* torque in stiff flex and 52 grams of weight. But, there was also the “stock” no extra cost # 169 tour shaft with only 3.9* of torque in a stiff flex and weight of 63 grams.

    I have been quite happy with a g20 Driver, 4 wood and 7 wood in the 169 tour regular flex shaft. The 4.6* of torque in my regular flex driver is les than the torque of a stiff flex g25.

    Reply