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.
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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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.
It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.
When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”
“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”
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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.
Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:
“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.
“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.
“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.
“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.
“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”
So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.
His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.
See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here
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Equipment
Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron
It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.
We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.
From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.
“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.
TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°
TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
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Whats in the Bag
Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)
- Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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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….