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PING G400 Max Driver - THP Review Thread

SuperStroke
Reframmellator said:
I stopped by the golf center at 4:45 today at the end of a four day sale. It was 35 and raining and I was the only customer there. We went back out on the ProTracer with a 10.5 G400 Max head, about 60 range balls, and these shafts:

Kuro Kage Silver TiNi 60, S
HZRDUS Yellow 5.5
Aldila X Torsion 60, S
Alta 55 CB, S (Stock)

On Saturday, I had tried only the stock shaft and was very impressed with the overall reproducibility of the setup. I wanted to see whether the stock shaft was indeed the best for me. Here's what I found with my 26 handicap swing

The clubhead continues to feel good and deliver a decent amount of feedback. It felt stable and confidence-inspiring.

We started with the Kuro Kage. I was seeing a very reproducible dispersion and a relatively straight, albeit shorter, ball flight. It felt good through the swing, better than the KK Black on my GBB driver, which I like. I wasn't too happy with the distance.

After about six shots it was clear the stoutness of the Yellow was not for me, even in the 5.5 flex.

The X Torsion was the loosest of the four shafts. I had the longest shots of the session with this shaft, but also the largest dispersion, and by quite a bit. The ProTracer's consistency number with this shaft was 0%. This felt great during the swing, but the results said I would be in the tall stuff - or worse - a lot.

The stock shaft again did quite well, but the dispersion was not as good as my first time out (23% this time).

So we did a second round, and after that, the average yards were within five yards for all three clubs. All three had comparable launch angles of about 16 degrees. I hit the KK much better the second time around, starting to approach the length of some of the better X Torsion shots. At the end of the day, I wound up with the KK Silver TiNi 60 for these reasons:

- The fitter said because it had the best dispersion of the three shafts (48%) with only a few yards given up in distance, it was the best fairway finder option for me. I agreed.
- Compared to stock, it felt as good, launched the same, went as far (farther in the second round) and had better dispersion.
- If I didn't like this choice, new stock shafts are available on eBay for $50

It also helped that, for some reason, they had in the rack a standard G400 with a Kuro Kage stiff shaft that they hadn't ordered, so they swapped it out for me in store.

It's supposed to be 74 here on Wednesday. I'm hoping to be able to get a bay at their range at lunch to get acquainted.
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Did you see much variation in the spin department between the shafts?
 
mikedean441 said:
Did you see much variation in the spin department between the shafts?
Click to expand...

We didn't look at spin. The best I can say is that I saw no ballooning in my ball flights with any of the shafts. I was getting about 14-20 yards roll with the Alta and KK, and about 7-10 with the X Torsion
 
At some point I'll learn that my "eye" is pretty good.

Foresight GC2 last night with the G400 and the G400 Max, same shaft (Alta CB) and then both with my gamer shaft (ATTAS COOOL).

G400 w/ Alta
Launch: 12.8
Spin: 2798 RPM

G400 Max w/ Alta
Launch: 13.7
Spin: 3120

G400 w/ COOOL
Launch: 12.1
Spin: 2493

G400 Max w/ COOOL
Launch: 13.2
Spin: 2820

Both right in that 400-500 RPM range, like I thought, and both times the Max launched higher. IMO, its what its supposed to do, launch higher, spin a touch more, and offer a bit more forgiveness through the 460cc head.
 
Jman said:
At some point I'll learn that my "eye" is pretty good.

Foresight GC2 last night with the G400 and the G400 Max, same shaft (Alta CB) and then both with my gamer shaft (ATTAS COOOL).

G400 w/ Alta
Launch: 12.8
Spin: 2798 RPM

G400 Max w/ Alta
Launch: 13.7
Spin: 3120

G400 w/ COOOL
Launch: 12.1
Spin: 2493

G400 Max w/ COOOL
Launch: 13.2
Spin: 2820

Both right in that 400-500 RPM range, like I thought, and both times the Max launched higher. IMO, its what its supposed to do, launch higher, spin a touch more, and offer a bit more forgiveness through the 460cc head.
Click to expand...

Love me some data, thanks James.

What kind of carry variances did you see? a few yards?
 
mikedean441 said:
Love me some data, thanks James.

What kind of carry variances did you see? a few yards?
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Just a handful, the Max has been a touch shorter, but wind and roll (or lack thereof) are playing a role there too. Ball speeds were actually very close as well.
 
Jman said:
Just a handful, the Max has been a touch shorter, but wind and roll (or lack thereof) are playing a role there too. Ball speeds were actually very close as well.
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Makes sense
 
Thanks for the data, James!

This website screen capture shows the data the Toptracer displayed when I tested

WIMB.JPG

The consistency numbers are calculated in the upper right portion of the screen. This was the What's in My Bag mode, which allowed us to compare different shafts in the same session by assigning them different club IDs. We saw all of the dispersion patterns in the same display. Spin is about the only thing missing.

I will try to get some spin numbers at sim league this week, but i won't be able to do apples to apples.
 
I'll add, I don't think it sounds great. Its not obnoxious, but the G400 makes it sound underwhelming as heck when hit side by side.
 
If I could get more spin and more launch from this head that would be EXACTLY what the doctor ordered.
 
ntanygd760 said:
206g without the adapter part on the shaft seems really heavy or is that standard for Ping.
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Ping specs their driver heads with the adapter. So the head alone is really around 200g plus around 6g for the adapter.

Having said that, Ping does usually make their heads a little heavier by design compared to most OEMS. For example my GBB head is 193 plus 9g for the adapter 202g).
Ping uses a counterbalanced shaft to bring the swing weight down a bit so they can make the stock length 45.75. That is why the Tour Shaft (less counterbalanced than the Alta shafts) plays at 45.25 which makes the swingweight right again.
 
erock9174 said:
Interesting on the X Torsion. I have hit the G400 and the 400 Max with this shaft (In R flex with a low 90 mph swing) at two different shops and found it to be the firmest feeling R flex driver shaft I’ve ever come across. Felt dead and lifeless to me and no sense of loading at all. It would fit the definition of boardy imho. I’d argue that it felt firmer than most Stiff flex shafts I’ve tried.
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It could be different because right now my hands are waaaay too fast in my swing. In my group, the Yellow was too boardy for me, the X Torsion felt the softest, and the KK and stock were right in between. I really liked the X Torsion feel and distance, but I was so wild with it I would almost certainly contract Lyme disease.

If I've learned anything in two years here, they are a) hit before you buy; b) fit before you buy; and c) if you try a lot of configurations, including some you would normally dismiss, you will end up pleasantly surprised.
 
erock9174 said:
Ping specs their driver heads with the adapter. So the head alone is really around 200g plus around 6g for the adapter.

Having said that, Ping does usually make their heads a little heavier by design compared to most OEMS. For example my GBB head is 193 plus 9g for the adapter 202g).
Ping uses a counterbalanced shaft to bring the swing weight down a bit so they can make the stock length 45.75. That is why the Tour Shaft (less counterbalanced than the Alta shafts) plays at 45.25 which makes the swingweight right again.
Click to expand...

Thanks that makes sense
 
Jman said:
Some thoughts? Why not.

First off, the looks. Well, it looks like a G400. SHOCKER! Hahaha, seriously though, its the G400 on steroids, its fascinating that 15cc can make such a visible difference, but, having gamed the G400 for months now, it does. The front to back is what I noticed the most, its more in line visibly with what I remember the G and G30 to me. Also, the face seems huge, I'll get some side by sides, but, it definitely seems deeper.

Sound/Feel wise, don't expect G400 here, but also don't expect G/G30. Its got some boisterousness to it, a little more on the hollow end but not tin-can and not harsh like the G/G30 were synonymous for being. Personally, I don't mind it, but its also not as muted as the carbon fiber heads like the M's and Rogue/Epic's either, nor should it be expected to be given the material differences. All that said, it feels powerful at impact, just like the standard G400 does IMO.

I dont want to get too into flight or launch/spin yet, and hence I haven't put it on the monitor yet so I cannot YET go apples to apples. But, I'm playing it at 10.5 and my G400 is hand picked to 11.5, and this launches the same, if not a touch higher. Distance is still ample, so I don't think the spin is going to be as much of a jump as some have reported in here, but, time will tell there when I can get it on the GC2.

All in all, its of no surprise thus far that its performing like a G400, nor is it that I caught a couple on the toe that just WENT. They're talking up the combined MOI for this, as they did the standard model, and there is definitely more to the puzzle than just that, but, it IS part of the puzzle and no one denies how forgiving the G400 is, so the Max being that and then some would surprise no one.

More soon.
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Jman said:
At some point I'll learn that my "eye" is pretty good.

Foresight GC2 last night with the G400 and the G400 Max, same shaft (Alta CB) and then both with my gamer shaft (ATTAS COOOL).

G400 w/ Alta
Launch: 12.8
Spin: 2798 RPM

G400 Max w/ Alta
Launch: 13.7
Spin: 3120

G400 w/ COOOL
Launch: 12.1
Spin: 2493

G400 Max w/ COOOL
Launch: 13.2
Spin: 2820

Both right in that 400-500 RPM range, like I thought, and both times the Max launched higher. IMO, its what its supposed to do, launch higher, spin a touch more, and offer a bit more forgiveness through the 460cc head.
Click to expand...
Shameless evening bump of both these updates.
 
I've now had this out for 18 holes, two different 9 hole rounds, and the bottom line is it's a straight shooter, I can barely hit it off line, if I tried and believe me I have hit some offline drives in my day.

Now the particulars, first I agree with Jman's assessment 100% on the spin and launch, it's higher than what I would have expected. When I demoed it at the PGA Show, It was in the indoor test center so only got to see about 75 yards or so of flight. I guess it's a bit louder than some, certainly louder than my 917 D3 was, but not nearly as loud as the G30 was. But it's not a sound that bothers me at all.

The first 9 holes, I played it with the Xtorsion Copper 50g R shaft, and as I said got a very high ball flight. My swing speed (via SC200) was right around 90 to 91 and most carry distances were right around 197 to 206 with a smash factor averaging around 138 or so. not my best ball striking day, but it hit 6 of 7 fairways, and the one it missed was from trying to kill it on last hole and I came way over the top.

Today's round was on the same nine, but i put the Hazrdus Yellow 5.5 in it. On the range I was getting a lower ball flight, more mid to migh high vs high. I liked it. But got on the course and it was more back to high. I got better numbers on the SC200 this time out, most were over 205 to 212 (not getting much roll though as the course was damp) and smash factor was a bit better in the 143 range and ball speed was still right around 90 with an occasional 89. it split the center of the fairway on 6 of 7 drives and the one miss was a playable miss to the right that was a bit of a push. I was thrilled with how straight and true this driver has been the past two days.

So much so, it may have put the breaks slightly on my lusting of the Rogue Sub Zero. But I still like that a lot and may wait until our demo day here next month, to make sure I get a good quality fitting from our rep.

If you're looking for a high flight, with a bit of spin and straight shots, then this may be just what your're looking for.
 
This could use a bump.

Been iced in for now, but will be back out by weekends end.

Anyone have anything in particular they are looking at or curious about? I know the data I provided earlier should be of interest to many who had the G400 vs G400 Max thoughts.
 
I'm curious about the Alta shaft after you giving it a workout how it compares to your gamer. Specifically is there that much difference in the numbers.
 
buckeyewalt said:
James I have seen those numbers however I was looking at dispersion and distance between the two. Those were very comparable launch and spin numbers you posted.
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The #'s tell the distance story, more launch and spin in this case lead to less total distance and a flight that, for me, would've had some issues in the wind here.

Dispersion wise, it was done mostly on range and I don't take much from driver testing on the range personally, tale will be told on the course.

All that said, it's a good shaft imo, but its not my gamer, nor did I expect it to be.
 
James,
It looks like, based on the numbers, this is an option that you could fairly easily tweak to provide gamer numbers for you. Or is that comment off base? I'd guess what would hold you back from tinkering a bit more would be preference in sound/feel with the regular G400. Does that sound about right?
 
Jman said:
At some point I'll learn that my "eye" is pretty good.

Foresight GC2 last night with the G400 and the G400 Max, same shaft (Alta CB) and then both with my gamer shaft (ATTAS COOOL).

G400 w/ Alta
Launch: 12.8
Spin: 2798 RPM

G400 Max w/ Alta
Launch: 13.7
Spin: 3120

G400 w/ COOOL
Launch: 12.1
Spin: 2493

G400 Max w/ COOOL
Launch: 13.2
Spin: 2820

Both right in that 400-500 RPM range, like I thought, and both times the Max launched higher. IMO, its what its supposed to do, launch higher, spin a touch more, and offer a bit more forgiveness through the 460cc head.
Click to expand...

Holy spin batman!!!

I guess I need to give this one a go... great write-ups as all ways James.
 
Jman said:
This could use a bump.

Been iced in for now, but will be back out by weekends end.

Anyone have anything in particular they are looking at or curious about? I know the data I provided earlier should be of interest to many who had the G400 vs G400 Max thoughts.
Click to expand...
First off thanks for killing it in this thread.

Thoughts on maybe some g400max vs rogue battle? So early into 2018 in sure these 2 are on a lot of radars
 
mikedean441 said:
First off thanks for killing it in this thread.

Thoughts on maybe some g400max vs rogue battle? So early into 2018 in sure these 2 are on a lot of radars
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I'm not JMan, but I have a Rouge SZ on the way, I'll be sharing some comparisons on in the coming weeks.
 
CAA_Beat said:
I'm not JMan, but I have a Rouge SZ on the way, I'll be sharing some comparisons on in the coming weeks.
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Awesome...looking forward to it
 
Ping has been putting out seriously solid stuff over the last year and a half


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