15 Comments

1. 

   Frank Peterson

   Oct 28, 2017 at 7:37 pm

   After 3 months of trying new clubs I have ordered a complete set of ping G400 clubs that have been custom fitted to me. In testing other brands including Calaway, Titleist, Cobra and TM, I settled on Ping G400 as they surpassed all of the other brands as far as feel, workability(for game improvement irons) sound and appearance. What a giant improvement over past Ping clubs and I have owned most of them. I find no one has the quality of fitting and ease of finding a fitter than Ping. Also their understanding of metallurgy is only equaled by Mizuno.

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2. 

   Scott

   Aug 4, 2017 at 11:03 am

   As a seasoned club fitter I must insist, stronger lofts don’t always equal more distance. Loft is just a number to gauge the angle of the club face. Stronger lofts would always equal more distance ONLY if every club were made the same, out of the same material(s).
   Trajectory, not distance, should be closely examined when looking at lofts. If you have two irons, (both 8 irons for example) and one is 2 degrees stronger than the other, but both are flying the same height and trajectory, is loft really a factor?
   example: 43 degree wedge flying higher than a 45 degree wedge and going 5 yards less. Shouldn’t the 43 fly lower and go 5 yards farther than the 45 degree wedge? Yes, ONLY if they are the same make, model, style, material etc etc etc.

   It happens ALL the time.

   The way clubs are made- what they are made of, how they are weighted and designed- help to determine the “loft” club companies must produce clubs with. Nowadays, club companies have to make them “stronger” (than standard) because if they didn’t, the ball flight would be much too high. Way higher than optimal.

   Try this for yourself. Test a blade at your local golf shop on a monitor. Then try a newer game improvement iron (same iron ie. 8 iron to 8 iron) with a “stronger” loft. Try to keep the shaft flex and weight similar as well.
   I guarantee the “stronger” lofted club goes higher.

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3. 

   Power Fade

   Jul 15, 2017 at 8:03 pm

   I recently had a club fitting and tried out the G400’s against Cobra F7’s and Mizuno JPX 900s. I did research in advance to understand their lofts, lengths and lie compared to my current Mizuno 825 Pros which are already +1″ and +2deg UP (I’m 6’6).
   I wasn’t surprised by the lower lofts of each brand as they compete to say their clubs hit longer and straighter than other brands. If people fall for the gimmick, I feel sorry that they don’t do their research.
   I was hitting the g400 slightly better than the other 2, I liked the sound and feel as well as the frosted look because it wasn’t glaring at me on the hot sunny day as was the case with the F7s.
   I probably would have been happy with any of the 3 though. Aesthetically, the g400’s are a little “fatter” than the other brands I tried as well as my current set, but I can overlook that as it’s on the bottom of the club which I don’t see while hitting the ball. I decided to go with the G400’s as I also plan to get the new driver which I was hitting farther and straighter (see my name) than other drivers I’ve tried (Cobra F7, JPX-900 and 2017 M2 driver) and I like less club brands in my bag. I also like Bubba.
   The other nice thing about their lofts being lower (and I’m one to tell people what degree loft I hit as opposed to a club number when they ask) is that I need to buy less clubs. My old set is 4-GW…8 irons. In the G400’s I only need 6-UW….2 clubs less and less money spent.
   Appreciate everyone’s thoughts and comments on these. Buy em if you like em, avoid em if you don’t.

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4. 

   Rich Douglas

   Jul 15, 2017 at 8:37 am

   You want your irons to go 10 yards farther you say? No problem. Just paint new numbers on them. Now a 9I becomes an 8I and flies 10 yards farther than a 9I. See how simple that was?

   Absurd, you might say? That’s EXACTLY what’s going on with irons. Stronger lofts and longer lengths are what define the next iron up in a set.

   The higher COR brought about by slots (pioneered by TM, copied by a lot of others, including Ping now) add distance irrespective of changes in loft and length, certainly. But the rest is a con. Be sure you’re not being taken in by claims of longer lengths if the increase is due (in part or in full) to lengthening the shaft and/or strengthening the loft.

   Oh, and if you DO go for longer lengths, be sure to get fit. Your lie angle just changed and you’re going to need flatter lies than usual. But I suspect most people suckered in by this stuff just grab ’em off the rack and go. (Ironic, since Ping pioneered the idea of pre-fit lie angles with their dot system).

   These Ping G-400 look like great clubs and are a technical advancement over the Ping G. But if you already play the Ping G, don’t expect much (if any) real improvement. The distinctions do not necessarily add up to a real difference.

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5. 

   Dave R

   Jul 10, 2017 at 9:52 pm

   Really like the look finally a club that looks better than the last bunch they produced.

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6. 

   The Drop Zone

   Jul 10, 2017 at 6:41 pm

   g400max please

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7. 

   Rich Douglas

   Jul 10, 2017 at 5:33 pm

   Nice to see Ping decided to sell Taylormade PSi irons. Ho hum.

   Higher launch angles mitigated by stronger lofts with higher COR. So they go a little farther, in part by fudging the specs so the 8 is really a 7, the 5 is really a 4, etc. The other part is the everyone-is-doing-it speed slots to increase COR.

   None of this is bad. But none of it is new. Except for Ping, that is.

   Still the 17-4 steel. Better get the dot color right, ’cause you ain’t bending them much.

   Having a set add 5 yards, especially when part of those come from jacked-up lofts and longer graphite shafts, is a distinction without a difference. Your game won’t improve a bit with these compared to the previous G series.

   There have been very few real leaps in irons over the past 5 decades:

   — Cast irons (cheap)–Spaulding
   — Cavity backs (forgiving)–Ping
   — U grooves (spin, then banned, but really never left)–Ping
   — Cavity backs with forged steel (forgiving and soft)–Hogan Edge
   — Slots (higher MOI and COR)–Taylormade
   — Single-length irons that actually work–Wishon, Cleveland, et al

   That’s the list, I think. These new irons by Ping are a few years late.

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   • 

     JThunder

     Jul 10, 2017 at 9:26 pm

     And the point made is what? That every new iron release should have new, groundbreaking tech? Completely, absolutely literally impossible. That new irons should only be released when new tech has been developed? In modern capitalism, essentially impossible. Like every other golf company, they feel pressure to “introduce” new products once or twice every year, replacing their entire lineup more or less every two. If they don’t, they will be the easiest target in the world for competitors’ marketing; Ping has been left behind, Ping is standing still; Don’t play with 5 year old technology… And they would likely lose their tour presence.

     The solution would be to dial back capitalism and increase education; smarter consumers with less hyaenas trying to tear all the money out of their pockets at every turn. Both of those goals would be moving further away currently – at least for the USA.

     On the other hand – golf is a luxury to begin with, so it’s not the first place to show grave concern with hyped marketing and phantom tech. In this arena, there isn’t a shortage of choices, including an eBay full of enough clubs to last eternity, and last year’s models with significant discounts.

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     • 

       Rich Douglas

       Jul 11, 2017 at 12:25 am

       You’re looking at it from Ping’s perspective. I was commenting from a player’s perspective. And from that player’s perspective, this release offers nothing new. This is just Karsten catching up.

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8. 

   Guia

   Jul 10, 2017 at 2:32 pm

   Nice write up, a few more changes than I expected. I will check them on a launch monitor and compare them to the last model. I will purchase or not dependent upon the outcome.

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9. 

   Dat

   Jul 10, 2017 at 11:28 am

   5 yards more distance? Love to see a breakdown of that claim.

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   • 

     joro

     Jul 10, 2017 at 11:47 am

     Break it down this way, make you wedge 44 degrees instead of 47, simple. oh, and add a half inch while you are at it. Wow, is this Wedge long. As PT Barnum said, there is a sucker born every minute. But, PING is also is and has made the best clubs, they are just cheating to sell em.

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     • 

       Cory

       Jul 10, 2017 at 12:47 pm

       loft is always relative to the geometry of the head, tuning the trajectory. Old lofts would create a ballooning effect. PING uses a progressive length chance where the long irons a +1/2 – +1/4 longer and it transitions to the “old” standard in the control clubs like a 9, PW, etc. If you like the old lofts, PING is 100% custom and will accomodate!

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10. 

    Ted Thompson

    Jul 10, 2017 at 11:20 am

    These look like anyone with a 10+ hdcp would do well by giving them a try. No gimmicks like slots or cage bars. I tend to gravitate towards a shiny metal rather than the frost that these have. Ping will sell a lot of these if the distance is really there

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11. 

    Clubber Lover

    Jul 10, 2017 at 10:21 am

    I love the look of these new improved G400s. I particularly love the HydroPearl Chrome finish. I don’t want my clubs reflecting glare at address cause it’s too annoying. These are lovely awesome clubs and will find a place in my bag soon. Good job Ping.

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