My 425 Max sounds completely different than my buddies 425 Max, mine sounds like a metal baseball bat, his is loud, but doesn't have that metal sounding part. Results are great, but something is off I think, not sure I can stay with it.
PING G425 Drivers and Irons
I just got the Max and too, it to the range yesterday so I could hear what it sounds like before today's round because of all the comments and I have to say I don't know what everyone or saying as mine doesn't sound much different then the LST one! I Jean you can tell a difference but it is no way a bad sound! Maybe some are worst then others, IDK. I meanno one was staring at me! The guy I played with never looked twice at me or the driver. Nothing!
I will say it is not longer then the LST for me anyway!
I will say it is not longer then the LST for me anyway!
Bought a G425 SFT 10.5 Driver from the marketplace here a few weeks back. I had it for a few rounds now and started with a stiff flex tensei orange 60g which worked pretty good for me but yesterday I switched back the the reg flex stock alta shaft and gained a few yards but pulled most everything left. I really swing too slow for a stiff flex seeing that my driver swing is 85-90 but they feel more stable to me. With that said though, this is the most forgiving driver I have ever swung! Have yet to slice it, hit some nice fades with it when the stiff shaft was in it. Can actually hit some baby draws with it from time to time and Ive never been able to draw a driver on demand. Always have been a Ping fan and this did not disappoint!
TxAggie2018
Well-known member
I demoed one of the game improvement model drivers at my local golf shop, thinking if it hit well maybe I could talk myself into it.
The thing only wanted to hit left. My normal miss is a slice, and I figured the LST (?)'s closed face would fix that a bit, but it seemed to way overdo it and just shoot banana hooks. The club sounded like an empty Coke can being hit, but I could live with that if it played... it doesn't for me.
I also demo'ed a Sim Max 2 and it was exactly the opposite. Even my bad shots were flying high and straight. I might end up talking myself into spending a lot of money there.
The thing only wanted to hit left. My normal miss is a slice, and I figured the LST (?)'s closed face would fix that a bit, but it seemed to way overdo it and just shoot banana hooks. The club sounded like an empty Coke can being hit, but I could live with that if it played... it doesn't for me.
I also demo'ed a Sim Max 2 and it was exactly the opposite. Even my bad shots were flying high and straight. I might end up talking myself into spending a lot of money there.
I'm glad someone said something about this. My Max did not sound anything like some I've heard on YouTube. I can't compare the LST because I had Ping put hot melt in it, and I think it sounds amazing.
Out of curiosity, @JayVee when you have your setting are you a one click or double click with the wrench?
I don’t really notice the sound when playing. Biggest thing for me is the number of center face hits I’m getting. Not sure if I’m longer or not but I am hitting more fairways.
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Same here. I'm a high hc and driver has been my nemesis for 2yrs. I have 3 rounds with the Max and my fw's hit percentage has been 71, 62, & 71. Before that I was averaging in the low 40's. If I can figure out how to hit a green maybe I can get my hc down.
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Good question, I just left it at where the fitter set it when I left the place. Should it be a double click?
I think the directions say just a one click, but I was wondering if tightening a driver would influence the sound. probably not, but just curious. I've always been a double click once I'm dialed because I won't change it after that.
Always at least double click to make sure it is tight.
Loving my new G425 Max driver. Got fit into the Alta CB stiff shaft.
Question for the guys/gals with the 3w as well, did you stay in the same shaft? I hit a few G425 Max 3W shots with the Alta and launched/spun it too much.
Thinking a lower spinning shaft might be the ticket. Thoughts?
Question for the guys/gals with the 3w as well, did you stay in the same shaft? I hit a few G425 Max 3W shots with the Alta and launched/spun it too much.
Thinking a lower spinning shaft might be the ticket. Thoughts?
It is funny, I have heard more comments about how good my 425 Max sounds out playing rounds and on the range. At first I worried about the sound, not I do not even notice it. Just notice how many fairways I am hitting.
Picked up a set of 425 irons to give them a try since the driver and fairway were so good. They sound and feel loud and clicky with range balls but with a tour ball they sound like how the pro irons used to sound on tour when they added the extra mic effect a few years back. Not mizuno soft but not horrible.
Picked up a set of 425 irons to give them a try since the driver and fairway were so good. They sound and feel loud and clicky with range balls but with a tour ball they sound like how the pro irons used to sound on tour when they added the extra mic effect a few years back. Not mizuno soft but not horrible.
I use a hzrdus red in my 3 wood as I need a little more help getting it in the air than what I saw with the smoke black and this does the trick for me. If I was only going to use my 3 wood off the tee the smoke would have stayed in it.
I like the Alta shafts but I can see some high spin numbers. In the past with my ping clubs if the Alta #s were too high I would find success in the tour shafts. Im not much help on the other shafts as I've only played the Ping offerings or the project x shafts in my fairway woods for the last several years.
I did tinker with a TM sim titanium 3 wood with the Mitsubishi shaft and could get that pretty high without a ton of spin. But it wasn't a Ping so my ocd got weirded out seeing it in the bag.
That is one of the only iron I did not compare them to haha
- Just my luck!
Joining in on the G425 LST discussion. Local shop fit me to this set up at 9* with the Ping Tour Stiff shaft. They demo'd the club out to me for a few weeks for a trial run. Have 2 rounds in so far and hitting more fairways than I usually have. First round 50%, 2nd round 43%.
The MAX head was too spinny for me like just about everything else out there. My current Speedzone Xtreme driver is higher spin than the LST is giving me, but not as high as a lot of the other heads I tried during a fitting. As a higher handicap with a developing swing, just about everything is spinny for me.
The LST head, when I commit myself to making sure I am swinging correctly, it just goes. Had some great drives in my rounds this past weekend and kept myself in a more playable position than I have experienced. Few more rounds to get in this next week to determine if this is staying or if I stay with Speedzone.
The MAX head was too spinny for me like just about everything else out there. My current Speedzone Xtreme driver is higher spin than the LST is giving me, but not as high as a lot of the other heads I tried during a fitting. As a higher handicap with a developing swing, just about everything is spinny for me.
The LST head, when I commit myself to making sure I am swinging correctly, it just goes. Had some great drives in my rounds this past weekend and kept myself in a more playable position than I have experienced. Few more rounds to get in this next week to determine if this is staying or if I stay with Speedzone.
Joining in on the G425 LST discussion. Local shop fit me to this set up at 9* with the Ping Tour Stiff shaft. They demo'd the club out to me for a few weeks for a trial run. Have 2 rounds in so far and hitting more fairways than I usually have. First round 50%, 2nd round 43%.
The MAX head was too spinny for me like just about everything else out there. My current Speedzone Xtreme driver is higher spin than the LST is giving me, but not as high as a lot of the other heads I tried during a fitting. As a higher handicap with a developing swing, just about everything is spinny for me.
The LST head, when I commit myself to making sure I am swinging correctly, it just goes. Had some great drives in my rounds this past weekend and kept myself in a more playable position than I have experienced. Few more rounds to get in this next week to determine if this is staying or if I stay with Speedzone.
What you decide as far as the Xtreme, it will be interesting to follow. As someone who has replaced an Xtreme this season (B21), it will be interesting to see your results. The Xtreme was very accurate for me but I had a tendency to hit a high spinny fade. With the B21 I am as accurate but have improved as far as distance, trajectory and ball flight.
Ive got some good data since making my switch to the LST from the Max. A couple surprises with the distances, and this comes from my shot scope information.
LST
Shortest drive 266.7 yards / longest drive 319.6. My P average with the driver = 292. Left is 8%, Fairways hit 59%, Right is 32%
Max
Shortest drive 271.3 yards / longest drive 301.4. My P average with the driver = 284. Left is 17%, Fairways hit 58%, Right is 24%
My main take-aways so far:
1) On the course I am always worried about a hook as that is my big miss. I like to set up on the left side of the tee box and play a fade so when that hook crawls out from the hole it should be in, I'm usually OB, in a tree, or not doing well. The LST has been wonders for my confidence as I dont worry about left misses anymore. Most of the ones left are just pulls and not too far off the fairway. I can hit a draw if I try but if a draw is needed I'm usually hitting my fairway wood off the tee.
2) I was mostly worried about distance loss on bad hits. Its there when you hit it ugly but boy oh boy, this is the most forgiving LST I've played in the Ping Lineup.
3) Hot Melt is your friend if you worry about sound, I added some to the LST and the sound was noticeable enough that my playing partners thought I got another driver. I haven't had anyone in League ask what I'm hitting or make comments about it being loud. It maybe does sound like a baseball bat but it doesnt bother me one bit.
4) To be completely honest, I'd be fine playing the G410 or the G400 but the confidence I have on the tee box has been at an all time high with the G425. Not worrying about hitting one left is really a good feeling to have, and that could just be from my swing being in a good place. Now if I could only find something on the green that gave me that same feeling
LST
Shortest drive 266.7 yards / longest drive 319.6. My P average with the driver = 292. Left is 8%, Fairways hit 59%, Right is 32%
Max
Shortest drive 271.3 yards / longest drive 301.4. My P average with the driver = 284. Left is 17%, Fairways hit 58%, Right is 24%
My main take-aways so far:
1) On the course I am always worried about a hook as that is my big miss. I like to set up on the left side of the tee box and play a fade so when that hook crawls out from the hole it should be in, I'm usually OB, in a tree, or not doing well. The LST has been wonders for my confidence as I dont worry about left misses anymore. Most of the ones left are just pulls and not too far off the fairway. I can hit a draw if I try but if a draw is needed I'm usually hitting my fairway wood off the tee.
2) I was mostly worried about distance loss on bad hits. Its there when you hit it ugly but boy oh boy, this is the most forgiving LST I've played in the Ping Lineup.
3) Hot Melt is your friend if you worry about sound, I added some to the LST and the sound was noticeable enough that my playing partners thought I got another driver. I haven't had anyone in League ask what I'm hitting or make comments about it being loud. It maybe does sound like a baseball bat but it doesnt bother me one bit.
4) To be completely honest, I'd be fine playing the G410 or the G400 but the confidence I have on the tee box has been at an all time high with the G425. Not worrying about hitting one left is really a good feeling to have, and that could just be from my swing being in a good place. Now if I could only find something on the green that gave me that same feeling
3rd round in with the G425 LST and I am just about sold on it. 58% fairways found on with it today and any misses were easily in play.
Sound to me is really good.
Sound to me is really good.
I've had a 425 Max for a few months now, experimenting with numerous shafts, but had been bouncing back & forth between it and my 400 Max with stiff Fuji Fuel.
In the 425 Max I tried the stock stiff Tensei Orange, an x-flex AV Blue 55, stiff Fuel, stiff Pro 2.0 TS, stiff Evenflow Black, and then last, an x-flex Aldila Tour Green 65.
Finally, with that last shaft, the Tour Green, I found the one. Well, that is... until the shaft snapped at the hosel.
Ebay purchase, used, potluck, whatcha gonna do? Went back to the ebay well for a replacement from a different seller. But in the interim, I turned once again to my 400 Max and while less accurate with it, I was hitting bombs.
When I finally put the 425 Max with the new Tour Green back in play, that's all she wrote. Just as accurate and repeatable as with the prior shaft. There's really something about this combo, and the x-flex specifically. Because I also have a stiff Tour Green that fits the 400 Max but I'd always been wild with it. Long, but very inaccurate at times.
A buddy who's hit my G425 Max many times yet didn't like it previously, absolutely loves it with the Tour Green X. So much so that he's buying the same driver and also has the same shaft coming his way from Ebay.
Incidentally, he's also used my stiff Tour Green shaft in his G30 and is wild with it too. Yet he'll grab my driver and launch a rocket down the middle nearly every time.
Neither of us are a fan of the sound but finding fairways at a high level has seemed to have made us tone deaf.
In the 425 Max I tried the stock stiff Tensei Orange, an x-flex AV Blue 55, stiff Fuel, stiff Pro 2.0 TS, stiff Evenflow Black, and then last, an x-flex Aldila Tour Green 65.
Finally, with that last shaft, the Tour Green, I found the one. Well, that is... until the shaft snapped at the hosel.
Ebay purchase, used, potluck, whatcha gonna do? Went back to the ebay well for a replacement from a different seller. But in the interim, I turned once again to my 400 Max and while less accurate with it, I was hitting bombs.
When I finally put the 425 Max with the new Tour Green back in play, that's all she wrote. Just as accurate and repeatable as with the prior shaft. There's really something about this combo, and the x-flex specifically. Because I also have a stiff Tour Green that fits the 400 Max but I'd always been wild with it. Long, but very inaccurate at times.
A buddy who's hit my G425 Max many times yet didn't like it previously, absolutely loves it with the Tour Green X. So much so that he's buying the same driver and also has the same shaft coming his way from Ebay.
Incidentally, he's also used my stiff Tour Green shaft in his G30 and is wild with it too. Yet he'll grab my driver and launch a rocket down the middle nearly every time.
Neither of us are a fan of the sound but finding fairways at a high level has seemed to have made us tone deaf.
erock9174
Well-known member
I think the same could be said for many drivers as long as we’re comparing models over the past couple of years.
I owned the Epic Flash, Mavrik and Epic Speed. On the course they were all the same distance pretty much with strike trumping anything. The Mav and Speed definitely sound better than the Flash though. but performance wise nothing in them.
The biggest thing I see with the 425 over say the 410 or 400 is the face angle. Swear the way I address that thing looks way more closed than the 400 and 400 max I had. Otherwise I’d have it in the bag as in my 2021 testing it was the longest. but it led to some snap hooks with the closed face.
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Spent some time at the range this morning and put my Alta shaft back in the G425 MAX. I'm trying to do a lot to slow my tempo down. I tend to get really quick so I am really forcing myself to have a slower tempo to hit is farther. it's a hard concept for my brain to believe. So far I'm having decent success in practice with my tempo on the irons and driver. I was hitting the driver and irons well today. If anything I struggle the most with tempo on my G425 hybrids right now in comparison to the irons and woods.. With a slower tempo I'm struggling with the transition from the 5i to the 4h because the feel between the clubs is so different to me.
myspinonit
Active member
I still don't see ithe 425 Max as closed. But after trying a lot of settings at the range the other day it seemed to really come to life for me in the Fade setting, standard loft, with baby draws or hitting to right centre straight or slight draw from right side if needed for hole setup. As opposed to draws that were mostly more pull draws with the weight in Draw setting.
I think in Fade and being further from the hosel it helps me feel the head better and provides a bit more resiitance to my hands getting too quick. I kinda had trouble feeling where the head was in neutral everything, and sometimes in the Draw, and sometimes was hitting big pushes or heel slices. Not my usual shot. A few knuckle balls in the Fade, but those happened only real the real beat-up range balls, so I'll attribute that to the ball. I hope to get back to the range today or tomorrow to retest before my rounds later in the week.
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I was recently fit for the 425 LST 10.5 with an Oban Devotion 06/04 @ 45". Fitting was a toss up between it and a the TSi2, same shaft. I liked the shape and matte finish of the Ping a little better. Hated the sound of the 425 MAX, and tended to hook it for some reason.
Coming from a G400 10.5 HZRDUS Yellow 75 5.5 and the same Oban ( turned down to 9.5), I can really tell the difference in spin and flight. I did hit my old stick for comparison in the fitting, it spun quite a bit more- 4-500rpm, no matter the shaft.
The LST seems to be a bit longer on carry and has a flatter ball flight, so with the roll I've probably picked up another 10-15 yards.
The sound is definitely different for the G400, but I quickly got used to it. I would like to mute it if I can do it without increasing the head weight noticeably. Hot melt? Yarn in the head?
Coming from a G400 10.5 HZRDUS Yellow 75 5.5 and the same Oban ( turned down to 9.5), I can really tell the difference in spin and flight. I did hit my old stick for comparison in the fitting, it spun quite a bit more- 4-500rpm, no matter the shaft.
The LST seems to be a bit longer on carry and has a flatter ball flight, so with the roll I've probably picked up another 10-15 yards.
The sound is definitely different for the G400, but I quickly got used to it. I would like to mute it if I can do it without increasing the head weight noticeably. Hot melt? Yarn in the head?