Equipment
Ping G30 Drivers, Fairway Woods, Hybrids and Irons
G30 Drivers
No matter where a golf equipment manufacturer places the center of gravity in its latest driver, one thing is true; modern driver heads aren’t very aerodynamic objects. Ping’s new G30 driver doesn’t change that, but the company’s engineers found a way to improve its aerodynamics without compromising the framework that has made Ping’s line of G-Series drivers some of the best performers in the industry.
The improved aerodynamics come in the way of turbulators, which are six ridges on the front of the G30’s crown that reduce drag forces. According to Ping, the turbulators helped Bubba Watson increase his driver club head speed 2 mph, which lead to 7 to 10 yards of extra driving distance.
Click here to see photos of Bubba Watson’s pink G30 driver.
“What turbulators do is give you a little bit of turbulence that makes the air stick to the surface,” said Marty Jertson, Ping’s director of product development. “Air sticking to the surface is a good thing … The air already sticks to the surface of the sole of a driver pretty well, so we don’t need turbulators there.”
Click here to read our full review of the Ping G30 driver.
Golfers who swing faster create more drag forces, so they’ll gain more club head speed from the turbulators than average golfers, who can expect gains of about 0.7 mph according to an internal Ping study. All things being equal, that equates to about 2-to-3 yards of more distance than Ping’s G25 driver. All things aren’t equal between the G25 and the G30, however, which is why golfers might be able to hit the company’s new driver a little more than 2 or 3 yards farther than the G25.
The G30 uses a new T9S titanium face, which is thinner, stronger and lighter than the company’s previous driver faces. The new material saves 4 grams of weight from the driver’s construction, which was redistributed low and rearward in the driver head to boost the G30’s moment of inertia (MOI), a measure of a club’s retention of ball speed on off-center hits. Its MOI is even higher than that of the G25, which was already the highest MOI driver on the market. The lower, more rearward center of gravity (CG) also makes the G30 about 150 rpm lower spinning than the G25 driver, according to Ping.
Moving the weight lower and more rearward has another advantage, Jertson said. The position of the weight helps the driver head swing more upward heading into impact, something that’s known as “increasing dynamic loft.” That helps golfers launch the G30 driver higher, creating more of the high-launch, low-spin conditions that can lead to more distance.
The G30 will also be available in Ping’s SF Tec model, which stands for “Straight Flight Technology.” The G30 SF Tec drivers are nearly identical to the standard models except that their face angles sit more closed at address and they have CG’s that are shifted slightly toward the heel. That helps golfers who tend to fade or slice the ball to more easily square the clubface at impact. The SF Tec driver heads are also 3 grams lighter (203 grams instead of 206 grams). Those combined changes can increase driving distance as much as 12 yards, the company claims.
The G30 drivers are available in lofts of 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees, and have a new adjustable hosel that’s the same weight and diameter as Ping’s fixed hosels. The drivers can be adjusted as much as 1-degree up or down from the driver’s printed loft and allows golfers to adjust loft incrementally as well: 0.6-degrees higher or lower from the printed loft. The stock swing weight is D3.
The G30 SF Tec drivers are available in lofts of 10 and 12 degrees. They have the same adjustable hosel as the G30 and have stock swing weight of D1.
The G30 and G30 SF Tec drivers come stock with the company’s new TFC 419D shafts, which are counterbalanced and have a stock length of 45.75 inches. They’re available in the following flexes: Soft R (53 grams), Regular (55 grams), Stiff (59 grams) and X-Stiff (63 grams).
Both the G30 and G30 SF Tec drivers carry an MSRP of $385 and are currently available for pre-order. They’ll hit stores along with the G30 fairway woods, hybrids and irons in late July.
New Ping Tour shafts
Golfers who prefer shafts that are a little shorter, heavier, stiffer and have less torque can also opt for the company’s new “Tour” shafts, which have a slightly lower balance point that creates the same D3 swing weight while being 0.5 inches shorter (45.25 inches). They also launch a little lower than the TFC 419D shafts.
The Tour shafts are not exclusive to the G30 launch, which means they’re available for all current Ping metal woods in Tour 65 and Tour 80 models, as well as a Tour 90 shaft that’s designed for hybrids.
G30 Fairway Woods
Like Ping’s G30 drivers, the G30 fairway woods have turbulators on their crown to help boost clubhead speeds through improved aerodynamics. That will lead to some distance gains, but won’t have nearly the impact on their performance as their new carpenter 475 steel faces, which are 44 percent stronger than the 17-4 steel faces used on the G25 fairway woods.
According to Jertson, the thinner, stronger faces will give the G30 fairway woods approximately 1.5-to-2 mph more ball speed than the G25 models, which along with other changes make the G30’s much more of a distance threat than their predecessors.
At address, golfers might notice that Ping made the heel height of the G30 fairway woods a bit taller, creating a little more surface area that causes the face to flex more at impact.
The new faces and improved manufacturing techniques also freed up more discretionary weight for Ping to move the CG of the G30 3 wood (14.5 degrees, 167 cubic centimeters) lower and more rearward like the G30 driver to raise its launch, lower its spin and increase forgiveness. The higher-lofted G30 5 wood (18 degrees, 151cc) and 7 wood (21 degrees, 145cc) have CG’s that are moved slightly forward to help lower their spin, which creates a more penetrating trajectory that’s less likely to “balloon.”
For the first time in a G-Series fairway wood, Ping has also made the G30’s adjustable. They use the same adjustable hosel as the G30 driver, giving them a 2-degree range of adjustability.
The G30 fairway woods come stock with Ping’s TFC 419F shaft in Soft R (63 grams), R (64 grams), S (68 grams) and X (69 grams) flexes and carry an MSRP of $275. Stock swing weight is D1.
G30 Hybrids
The G30 hybrids use a new heat-treated 17-4 stainless steel face that improves strength by 19 percent, boosting the CT of the hybrids by 20 points. That will give them a little more ball speed than the G25 hybrids, and with their similar trajectory that means they’ll likely carry a few yards farther for most golfers.
There’s no turbulators due to their smaller, more aerodynamic size, but the shape of the hybrids was tweaked to include a flatter top rail and a higher heel section that gives them a more square appearance at address.
The G30 hybrids are available in lofts of 17, 19, 22, 26 and 30 degrees and use progressive CG locations that are low and rearward in the 17- and 19-degree hybrids for maximum forgiveness and peak height, and more forward in the 22-, 26- and 30-degree hybrids to create a flatter trajectory.
They come stock with Ping’s TFC 419H shaft in Soft R, R, S and X flexes and carry an MSRP of $242.50. Stock swing weight is D1.
Click here to see what GolfWRX members are saying about the G30 hybrids in our forum.
G30 Irons
Ping’s G30 irons have thinner faces than the company’s uber-forgiving G25 irons, but their design doesn’t follow the industry trend of making thinner, unsupported faces to create more ball speed and more distance.
“The faces are not unsupported,” Jertson said. “We want to be able to control the [flexing of our iron faces] to give our irons more consistency.”
With Ping irons, there’s almost always an effort to reposition as much weight around the perimeter of the iron as possible to create more forgiveness and the G30 irons are no exception. But first things first, Ping engineers wanted the G30 irons to fly a little farther, which isn’t an easy thing to do when the iron faces can’t be made to flex more. The company achieved its goal by giving the irons slightly longer shafts to help golfers create more clubhead speed and a higher launch angle. The longer shafts, along with the slightly stronger lofts, also provide better gapping throughout the set.
Sound like a simple fix? It is until you consider this: when you make a club longer and don’t want to increase its swing weight, you have to remove weight from the club head. And since Ping engineers didn’t want to make the G30 irons less forgiving than the G25’s, they had to do more with less and needed to execute several different design plans to accomplish their goals.
They started with slightly longer blade lengths, which are most noticeable in the 4-iron through 7-iron clubs. That gave the engineers a larger canvas that made it easier to redistribute weight around the perimeter of the irons. The G30’s were also designed with a deeper undercut that lowers their CG to boost the their MOI, which helps iron shots that are hit off-center fly closer to the distance of shots hit in the center of the face. The soles of the G30 irons are wider as well, which moved the CG of the irons a little lower and deeper to further boost MOI. The soles have their extra width positioned on the club’s trailing edge, where it is not really a factor in turf interaction.
Add up those changes and the G30’s not only fly higher than the G25 irons, but the 4 iron is about 7 yards longer, according to Ping estimates, and the 7 iron is about 3 yards longer. The MOI of the irons is also 2 percent greater from heel-to-toe and 1 percent from top-to-bottom despite the lighter head weights.
Visually, the G30 irons have less offset than the G25 irons, a change that is most noticeable from the 6 iron down. There’s also a softer elastomer badging that helps improve the feel of the irons.
The G30 irons are available in 4-PW, UW, SW and LW and have the same lofts and shaft lengths as the company’s Karsten irons. The 4 iron’s stock loft is 21 degrees, the 6 iron is 27 degrees and the PW is 45 degrees. They carry an MSRP of $110 per club with the company’s stock CFS Distance steel shafts (Soft R, R, S, X flexes) and $125 per club TFC 419i graphite shafts (Soft R, R and S flexes).
Click here to see what GolfWRX members are saying about Ping’s G30 irons in our forum.
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Whats in the Bag
Kris Kim WITB 2024 (May)
- Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.
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Equipment
Welcome to the family: TaylorMade launches PUDI and PDHY utility irons
TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.
TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.
TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.
Can you see where this is going?
Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”
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TaylorMade PUDI
Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.
In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.
TaylorMade PDHY
Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.
Club Junkie’s take
Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.
For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.
PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?
TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:
- PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
- PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
- Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
- PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
- PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family
Pricing, specs, and availability
Price: $249.99
At retail: Now
Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)
Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)
PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed
PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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long&left
May 8, 2015 at 12:50 am
always hated the look of the g30 woods with the fins – what a gimmick i thought….then i demoed the 3 wood today for a whole round…..whoaaaa give me that ugle stick anytime…
this thing is the dogs bol…..s…ridiculous long with great penetrating flight – even mishits are long especially near the bottom.
as easy hitting from the deck as the tee. little hard to shape though as its just wants to go straight…..hated it but now that i tried her, i have to have her….
cant wait to try the driver now…irons? nah cant cheat on my mizzy’s
MASSIVE MIKE!
Apr 10, 2015 at 11:37 am
I ordered a set with cushions. After 6 months I found that they never put in the cushions.
I ordered a wedge with a cushion. It came with no cushion and the wrong lie.
I sent the clubs back to get the cushion put in and all the cushion labels peeled off in 5 days.
I sent the clubs back for repair and they sent them back with the wrong grips
I WILL NEVER TRUST PING AGAIN AFTER 30+ YEARS—– WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!
THE SWEET THONG
Mar 21, 2015 at 9:57 pm
I have these with KBS TOUR V STIFF. This is the best iron I have ever hit. 2.5 Handicap w/ 30 years of playing. Wish they made a long iron like a 2 or 3 though.
Jeff
Mar 11, 2015 at 2:49 pm
I just got a G30 fairway wood. 14.5 3 wood and it’s hot and long. I like the turbulators. My auto correct does not. I like to look at them at address. There’s only 4 on the 3 wood crown and it kinda shows you, big hook, small hook, little slice, big slice.
Stuart
Aug 15, 2014 at 9:41 am
I have always disliked ping until today hit the 3 wood wow wee seriously long like 20 metres fly to my sldr
Tony
Aug 4, 2014 at 12:09 pm
Took the Tour shafted 80 XS 3 wood out for the first time Saturday.
Short par 5 495 yards, I hit 2 3 woods, fairway and on the green for easy bird.
Heavier shaft, shorter length has made the 3 wood a go to club once again!
Tyler Wainright
Jul 19, 2014 at 9:02 am
I just had my first Trackman fitting after not playing for 7+ years and the G30s, for me anyway, were spot on. I hit the 7 iron only. I haven’t kept up with all the gear changes over the years but the G30s with stock shafts felt amazing compared to my current set. Nice high ball flight and good carry too.
Martin
Jul 6, 2014 at 5:22 pm
I would like to see pics of the irons next to the G25 rather than the I25.
Makes them look chunkier than they probably are.
Joe Golfer
Jul 13, 2014 at 1:50 am
Couldn’t agree with you more, Martin.
Let’s compare apples to apples instead of apples to oranges.
Rich
Jul 4, 2014 at 11:02 pm
I like the set up of the irons. It covers roughly a normal 3-PW loft range with 7 clubs instead of 8. That’s a bonus if you ask me. Now I can carry an extra long club or wedge with only a minor change in gapping between clubs. Bring it on!
TL
Jul 3, 2014 at 9:22 pm
Surprising that length of 5 iron measures 38.25″, which is 0.5″ longer than Ping i20.
Rocky
Jul 3, 2014 at 8:54 pm
Turbulators? Lol….
If TM came up with that name and those fins, this post would be rabid by now…
Congrats to Ping for having the stones to come out with something *very* un-ping like.
Hung Le
Jul 7, 2014 at 8:56 pm
Just got an i25 driver to replace my titleist D2 913, love the Ping unique way it has. Totally agree to the “un-ping” thing, wonder if they have just hired some former TM designers? 😀
froneputt
Jul 3, 2014 at 5:22 pm
G30 Driver looks great as well as the graphics and color — looking forward to a demo.
The turbulators might be a bit much on the fairway…
RAT
Jul 3, 2014 at 3:35 pm
Typical Ping , change the colors and badge now it’s new and better than ever…. yep
Mikec
Jul 3, 2014 at 8:25 pm
Typical of “every” OEM for the most part. At least ping does not release a new iron every year or even 6 months like some!
WILSON
Jul 7, 2014 at 1:19 pm
… ping does release a new iron every year. G25>i25>s55>G30
TB
Jul 3, 2014 at 3:28 pm
As far as driver, fairway, and hybrids go the g25 and i25 compete against each other. They seem to be very similar as far as numbers go (for me at least). Hope the G30 woods and hybrid off something different.
Basically I feel like a good player is just as likely to play a g25 wood as they would an i25.
James
Jul 3, 2014 at 3:02 pm
The little white ring or whatever would bother me. I would use a black magic marker to turn it black.
Prut
Jul 3, 2014 at 2:13 pm
The G30s look a lot like the G2s.
Tarheel
Jul 4, 2014 at 9:24 am
I thought so too. I had G 2’s and liked the look
Duncan Castles
Jul 3, 2014 at 10:27 am
Hmmm. Longer shafts and stronger lofts in the G30 irons should mean harder to hit. The longer irons in particular.
harrold
Jul 3, 2014 at 1:46 pm
No it just means that the 5 iron in that set has a 6 stamped on the bottom of it as they are all a club stronger
Duncan Castles
Jul 3, 2014 at 5:26 pm
And is a 5 iron harder to hit than a 6 iron, a 3 iron harder than a 4 iron? Yes. So these clubs should be harder to hit…
Ben
Jul 4, 2014 at 1:04 pm
Yeah, I don’t really like the sound of that at all. Harder to control is never a good thing and gaining a couple yards isn’t enough to justify that.
wcavanau
Jul 3, 2014 at 3:23 pm
Kind of surprised Ping did this. Seem to be following the lead of TM in this regard. They are just about a club stronger that the G25.
Keith
Jul 5, 2014 at 9:16 am
It is a progressive length change. Only in long / mid irons and enough to balance control and a distance gain. That’s also why they played with the lofts, if you look closely at the specs the lofts change to balance out the effective carry gain with added progressive length. They don’t just make all clubs 1 degree stronger and 1/2″ longer like other companies have done. PING doesn’t release anything without significantly improving on a previous model. It may look the similar but with blue graphics, but it performs better, straighter and more consistently.
Rob
Jul 3, 2014 at 10:10 am
Had the G25 irons come out a week earlier, maybe they could have been included in the “player’s irons” reviews.
Scooter McGavin
Jul 5, 2014 at 3:15 pm
Lol. Nice.
Shooter McGavin
Jul 3, 2014 at 9:41 am
Wow, I think the new blue color scheme makes the clubs look cheesy and cheap. I like the simple look of the G25 series.
KJ
Jul 3, 2014 at 8:23 am
The hybrids are not adjustable.
Keith
Jul 5, 2014 at 9:19 am
Hybrids are long iron replacements. Why would you want an adjustable long iron? Adjustability has some benefits, but it also adds unwanted weight / drag, subsequently decreasing forgiveness and clubhead speed. Get fit properly and there is no need for 15 loft/face angle adjustments!
MHendon
Jul 5, 2014 at 10:58 pm
Why would you want anything adjustable. Just give me a nice square set up with the right shaft and loft and I’m good to go.