Ping’s reputation in technology has been outstanding!
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Is equipment from Ping better than Mizuno? Is Callaway better than TaylorMade? Can Bridgestone outperform Titleist?
These are the questions going through a golfer’s head when deciding which new set of clubs to purchase. Ping claims that their new G series will improve drag by a staggering 37%, so says Marty Jertson, Ping director of product development. But is that 37% for a tour pro or the 24 handicap lady golfer with a swing speed of 70 mph with her driver? I cannot answer all of these questions, so I post this article from Mike Stachura of Golf Digest and let the reader make the final call! Here is some info on Ping’s latest offering to help make the decision a little easier.
Ping’s reputation in equipment technology has long been driven by the idea of forgiveness, and whether it be its oversized titanium drivers or its cavity back cast stainless steel irons, the goal is to mitigate the downside of all your missed shots and maybe make your results a little better than you believe your actual game might deserve.
Its new line of drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, and irons continues that trend in relatively historic and complex ways.
“That’s our challenge,” says Ping director of product development Marty Jertson. “It’s a simple concept, but it’s not easy to do, how we get there is very challenging.”
It’s why the new line—which will go by the name G—employs a diverse array of technologies, including unique-to-Ping elements that borrow from transportation aerodynamics, biomimicry and materials science. The end result are drivers, metalwoods and irons that break new ground for the company.
G metalwoods Like its G30 predecessor, the new G drivers utilize a large, forgiving footprint to create a more stable head on off-center hits. The G drivers feature the lowest center of gravity and the farthest back inside the head of any driver in the history of the G-series. While the G drivers feature a similar lightweight Ti 8-1-1 body and T9S titanium that was used in the G30, they incorporate the idea of a dragonfly photograph that was sent to the design team by company president John A. Solheim.
The Dragonfly!
“He asked us to understand the wings of a dragonfly to see if we could use that create real performance benefits,” Jertson said. The point was the thin structure of the dragonfly’s wings is supported by the veins. That same structure appears in the crown of the new G drivers, allowing the crown to get as thin as .43 millimeters. That saves weight allowing for the center of gravity to be lower and farther back than any Ping driver in history.
It also creates a higher moment of inertia measurement than any driver in Ping history and likely the highest of any major driver currently in the market. (A driver with a high MOI number means that it is more stable on off-center hits across a wider area of the face, both left to right and up and down. That yields both more consistent ballspeeds and more consistent spin rates both across and up and down the face.
“The big difference was in wall thickness capability. We now can go thinner and thinner in casting the titanium,” Jertson said. Noting that the wall thickness on the G is 20 percent thinner than the G30 to save eight grams of weight.
Thinner is better!
Ping’s reputation in technology has been outstanding!
The thin structure supports the G’s larger footprint. But that also means engineers had to take the next step in improving one of the key elements of the G30: aerodynamics. Made famous by the G30, the crown turbulators had an update in the G drivers. This improves the club’s air resistance, or drag, as it moves through the downswing. The turbulators’ benefit also was enhanced by a small rear cavity feature. Aimed at stabilizing the club’s movement when it reaches its highest speeds right before impact. That idea was to borrow from the aerodynamic panel skirts on an 18-wheeler. This increased a truck’s efficiency to help save gas.
According to Jertson, the G driver has 37 percent less drag than the G30. Meaning all things being equal the G driver moves through the air similar to if an oversized driver like Ping’s G25 was brought down to a 3-wood size.
“All these aerodynamic benefits are additive,” Jertson said.
“Certainly, there’s a lot of variation in how different players with different swings benefit from these features, but everybody gains.”
Like the G30, the G line also features a slice-fighting SF Tec version and a spin-reducing LS Tec version. The SF Tec features more weight shifted toward the heel. To help slicers close the face at impact. While the LS Tec features a lower CG that is slightly forward of the standard G driver.
The G (9, 10.5 degrees), G SF Tec (10, 12 degrees) and G LS Tec (9, 10.5 degrees) all feature Ping’s adjustable hosel. This alters loft by plus/minus 1 degree across five settings. They are available for preorder starting today ($400).
