PING G430 Drivers

[MSEASU]

I had the itch for a new driver. Nothing against the TM I had, but just wanted something new. Picked up a G430 LST with Tour Chrome 2.0. Why hasn't someone told me about Ping sooner?
Still getting adjusted but I think it's the straightest ball I've seen in a while from my swing.

That’s what I love about this, straight and no big miss .

 

[keto]

I made a bad mistake this year, and went into the Cobra AJ standard, after knocking a bunch one day at GolfTown. Compounding the error, I also went 3W 5W, all are now gone. The shorter stuff all went Callaway Rogue ST Max, but the driver's going 430 Max. I hit it 25-30 times, and couldn't miss. And was consistently as long as the very longest with Rogue ST Max.

The AJ when hit in the middle is just an absolute animal, but it is less forgiving than I thought after having it out 6-7 times. Tried a shaft change - I think the Kali Blue is a noodle in R, I was missing everywhere, and same in the fairways. 430 Max, I didn't hit a push, and low-ish pulls were very playable...but I loved the Alta Black R, I centered the first swing and a bunch of the rest. I didn't notice until I got home that it was set 0 flat. Suits me fine, I feel no desire to tinker yet, going to see how it plays out in the wild, but am VERY excited, as driving in play has been an issue so far this year, while my iron and hybrid play has been very decent when in position.

The flat setting is only noted on the inner/shaft part of the connection, I didn’t notice until I got home the markings were on the other side.


My last Ping driver was G30, I believe the debut of….turbulators!

 

[keto]

I forgot to add these.

Yes and No, lol. They have the HZRDUS Smoke Red at all of the stores I checked so far, but it's always either the 6.0 in 50g and 60g or the 5.5 in 60g.
I am looking for the 5.5 in 50g which is probably not as common and mostly ordered as a result of a custom fitting. For those needing R flex probably 99% of them fit into either the Alta CB or the Tour 65 Reg flex. I am the outlier. I did find a shop online that has that combo in stock. Order is forthcoming.

The Alta CB R as noted above was great for me right off the wall. I'm low 90's @ 60 yrs.

For some reason I found the Alta Quick to be less whippy than the CB Alta. It is lighter. Maybe it’s just me.

I thought the Alta gave it a good spank and launched well.

I didn’t think any driver could unseat TSR2, but G430 MAX is just so easy to hit! High, straight fairway finders are all that come off the club face!!

What I saw at the store, can't wait to get out.

This club absolutely blew me away. I don't know how else to say it....I was 7 yards longer carry with a G430 MAX (RDX Red shaft) then my current gamer which i was fit for. I am trying to be casual as much as possible here but i am on a trackman regularly and am a +1 golfer......This is bonkers.

It is so easy to hit. My dispersion over 20 shots with this after warming up was literally less than 10 yards side to side. And i gained distance.

I ordered the MAX driver and 3-wood today pretty much immediately.

These clubs are incredible....that is all

I've read a million of your posts here and at the other place, great to see you say this. I've read conflicting things about distance for the Max, but I seemed to be getting everything I would expect out of a well hit ball. Will report back with on course experience soon.

 

[MSEASU]

I still really like mine. 3 very solid rounds last week and no penalty strokes off the tee.

 

[erock9174]

Finally got my driver swing sorted out and the 430 max has been awesome. I had dabbled with my previous gamer Shaft Tensei Orange AV Raw but decided to go back to my fitted shaft HZRUS Smoke Red RDX 50 5.5 and its been nice. I was in an outing Friday and it was on point. I only had one push but the rest were nice high draws that were bouncing and rolling out. I happened to be wearing my Shot Scope to measure my drives and was getting them out there 240-252 range which is long for me. Usually I am more 225-235 max.

 

[MSEASU]

@Stribs was killing his driver all day. I was hitting my well again, think I only missed one fairway and made birdie from there.

 

[Desmond]

I have not gotten along with the G425 at 10.5 lofted down to 9 and 9.5. Inconsistent. The feel/sound, as everyone knows - is ear shattering.

Kept on pondering for a month but today, ordered:

Ping G430 Max Digitally lofted at 9.5 Hazrdous Red Smoke 50 (51g) at 5.5 and 45 inches, D3.

Have a 53g TPT shaft to use. Want to cut the butt down to 45 in from 45.5.

Hope it works out. Just could not wait another 1.5 yrs for the 435. It will take about 3 weeks. I've heard so many good things about the 430 - I know it's not the longest out there. My first love is the G400 and this one may finally surpass it.

 

[MSEASU]

I have not gotten along with the G425 at 10.5 lofted down to 9 and 9.5. Inconsistent. The feel/sound, as everyone knows - is ear shattering.

Kept on pondering for a month but today, ordered:

Ping G430 Max Digitally lofted at 9.5 Hazrdous Red Smoke 50 (51g) at 5.5 and 45 inches, D3.

Have a 53g TPT shaft to use. Want to cut the butt down to 45 in from 45.5.

Hope it works out. Just could not wait another 1.5 yrs for the 435. It will take about 3 weeks. I've heard so many good things about the 430 - I know it's not the longest out there. My first love is the G400 and this one may finally surpass it.

Sound is much better on the 430. I am one who couldn’t play 425 due to sound and I have no
Issues with g430.

 

[Stribs]

@Stribs was killing his driver all day. I was hitting my well again, think I only missed one fairway and made birdie from there.

Thanks dude. It’s the club, not me.

 

[erock9174]

I have not gotten along with the G425 at 10.5 lofted down to 9 and 9.5. Inconsistent. The feel/sound, as everyone knows - is ear shattering.

Kept on pondering for a month but today, ordered:

Ping G430 Max Digitally lofted at 9.5 Hazrdous Red Smoke 50 (51g) at 5.5 and 45 inches, D3.

Have a 53g TPT shaft to use. Want to cut the butt down to 45 in from 45.5.

Hope it works out. Just could not wait another 1.5 yrs for the 435. It will take about 3 weeks. I've heard so many good things about the 430 - I know it's not the longest out there. My first love is the G400 and this one may finally surpass it.

Nice buy, I think you will like it. As for the not the longest out there..... for me it's proving to be.

I play the G430 Max 10.5 with the Smoke Red 50g 5.5 and can't say enough good things about it. I have mine set to std loft and weight in the middle. Bone stock at 45.25".

I played in my home town yesterday on a course I started playing when I was 18. I am now 47 yrs old. On 4 of the holes I hit my longest drives I have ever recorded there.

Granted the course got some rain Thurs but had dried out and it's been pretty firm here in OH in the past month but man was the ball moving yesterday.
I had drives on my Shot Scope that measured 260, 232, 263, 245, 258 and 255.

I took advantage of the longer drives and managed to shoot an even par 36 with 3 birds, 3 bogies and 3 pars.

I only missed one fairway (on the 2nd hole) where I aimed too far right and tried to bite off too much of the dogleg.

The drive on #12 ended up going 263 and finished 2 feet from the fringe which IIRC my best on that hole was maybe 20 yds from the green.

Wish I could bottle that driver performance and use it every time I play

 

[Desmond]

Nice buy, I think you will like it. As for the not the longest out there..... for me it's proving to be.

I play the G430 Max 10.5 with the Smoke Red 50g 5.5 and can't say enough good things about it. I have mine set to std loft and weight in the middle. Bone stock at 45.25".

I played in my home town yesterday on a course I started playing when I was 18. I am now 47 yrs old. On 4 of the holes I hit my longest drives I have ever recorded there.

Granted the course got some rain Thurs but had dried out and it's been pretty firm here in OH in the past month but man was the ball moving yesterday.
I had drives on my Shot Scope that measured 260, 232, 263, 245, 258 and 255.

I took advantage of the longer drives and managed to shoot an even par 36 with 3 birds, 3 bogies and 3 pars.

I only missed one fairway (on the 2nd hole) where I aimed too far right and tried to bite off too much of the dogleg.

The drive on #12 ended up going 263 and finished 2 feet from the fringe which IIRC my best on that hole was maybe 20 yds from the green.

Wish I could bottle that driver performance and use it every time I play

Thx.

The G400 and 400 Max with the TPT Shaft were the longest I have consistently hit the ball. Both were set at 45 in. My fitter put me at 45.5 in for some reason in the 425. I think part of the issue was starting at 10.5 and lofting down. I'd rather start low and loft up a bit. Played the G400 at 9 deg.

As to length, Ping doesn't get many huzzahs. But I've seen some peeps on YouTube gain over 10 yds in head to heads with the 430. Some not as much - perhaps a poor fit of head and shaft.

I was not comfortable in the 425 setup. I believe that I will be more consistent and long with this new setup.

 

[MH]

I passed on the g425 after trying it in the fitting bay, love my g430lst and it just gets better each time I get out. The tour ad-vr has been a fairly good pairing so far

 

[1860VS]

20mph tailwind yesterday, I launched a fade with the G430 Max around a corner to a spot I haven't been to in over 20 years. 296 yds according to gps... on the way back in I snuck a little draw 259 into the same wind... not too impressive, but I'm 63.

 

[Wongstongs]

Went for a driver fitting over the weekend, my G400 LST shaft decided to end itself recently. Figured I'd try a bunch of the new ones and the G430 Max proved to have the best numbers.

I'm sore from all the driver swings and my wallet hurts, but it'll be nice to have this on course once my club comes to me!

Couldn't say no with these numbers. Even in the mishits it was still going far and in the fairway. 11/13 found the fairway and the 2 misses were playable.

 

[keto]

I had my first round out yesterday with my Max. It took me a bit to dial it in, *gasp* it wasn't behaving the same as the in store simulator lol. My big miss is usually a pull, I didn't see any of that at all. I was hitting some slices early, grip and path issues got dealt with and it was fine. I didn't hit all the fairways on the back, but more, and smaller misses. Still tuning.

 

[AverageJoe]

Finally got my driver swing sorted out and the 430 max has been awesome. I had dabbled with my previous gamer Shaft Tensei Orange AV Raw but decided to go back to my fitted shaft HZRUS Smoke Red RDX 50 5.5 and its been nice. I was in an outing Friday and it was on point. I only had one push but the rest were nice high draws that were bouncing and rolling out. I happened to be wearing my Shot Scope to measure my drives and was getting them out there 240-252 range which is long for me. Usually I am more 225-235 max.

Ive never had a shaft fitting, no one does them in my area so Ive played several diff ones over the years but right now Im playing a tensei orange ck 60 and it performs fairly well, it doesnt have a high ball flight but had a good amount of roll out when it lands. After reading this Im wondering what the red rdx would feel like for me. Im also in the 225-240 range with the tensei orange.

 

[Desmond]

A few years ago, I did a driver shaft fitting - had a Ping Tour 65, Accra, Slay, and TPT. And I had two heads - Callaway and Ping - same lofts

The TPT Series 19 shaft fit both heads best - So I am using a TPT Series 19 in the G430 when it arrives, and if I get a Paradym, I have a TPT shaft for it. Makes things easy. And it seems D3 fits well as swing weight.

 

[erock9174]

Ive never had a shaft fitting, no one does them in my area so Ive played several diff ones over the years but right now Im playing a tensei orange ck 60 and it performs fairly well, it doesnt have a high ball flight but had a good amount of roll out when it lands. After reading this Im wondering what the red rdx would feel like for me. Im also in the 225-240 range with the tensei orange.

I don't have any experience with the Orange CK, only the Orange AV Raw.
I was playing the AV Raw 55g which is actually 50 grams in Reg flex and playing the Red Smoke RDX also in the 50g R flex. I know the AV raw is counterbalanced. I don't think the RDX Smoke is though.

To me they both feel similar and are listed as high launching in the Reg flex which I would agree with. I know when I bought the G425 with Orange AV Raw the fitter at my local shop said he puts people in that shaft if they needed to launch the ball higher.

The Ping fitter when I did my G430 fitting said the RDX and Tensei orange are kind of their tweener shaft for guys..Meaning they kind of play about a 1/2 flex firmer than the normal Alta shaft. When I did my fitting my swing speed was down that day. I was around upper 80's and he had no problem putting me in the RDX Smoke Red 50/5.5.

I like the Red shaft but also feel like I could plug my Tensei Orange AV Raw into the G430 Max and hit it just as well. Very comparable shafts in my opinion. I am hitting the Red very well at the moment so I don't want to mess up a good thing

 

[AverageJoe]

I play the tensei orange in stiff flex but Im now contemplating trying the rdx red in 5.5 after reading this. My swing speed is pretty close to yours, cold I swing mid-upper 80s. After Im a bit loose I prob hit low 90s some. It may even be a good winter golf option for me.

 

[erock9174]

I play the tensei orange in stiff flex but Im now contemplating trying the rdx red in 5.5 after reading this. My swing speed is pretty close to yours, cold I swing mid-upper 80s. After Im a bit loose I prob hit low 90s some. It may even be a good winter golf option for me.

yeah I am exactly the same swing speed wise. On Trackman its usually a little down for me, upper 80's maybe peaking around 90-91. On GC Hawk or Quad 89-93 usually. On my little swing speed radar it can be anywhere from 88 up to 95 mph. So I just say 90-ish

According to Shot Scope - For a Season avg I am at 225 yds for all drives and 240 yds performance avg. Summer months I usually go up to 230 avg ang 250 P Avg.
The 5.5 RDX Might be worth a look. Nice shaft. Light but stable imho.

 

[AverageJoe]

yeah I am exactly the same swing speed wise. On Trackman its usually a little down for me, upper 80's maybe peaking around 90-91. On GC Hawk or Quad 89-93 usually. On my little swing speed radar it can be anywhere from 88 up to 95 mph. So I just say 90-ish

According to Shot Scope - For a Season avg I am at 225 yds for all drives and 240 yds performance avg. Summer months I usually go up to 230 avg ang 250 P Avg.
The 5.5 RDX Might be worth a look. Nice shaft. Light but stable imho.

Youre about to push me over the edge of ordering one haha.

 

[Platoon]

Went for a driver fitting over the weekend, my G400 LST shaft decided to end itself recently. Figured I'd try a bunch of the new ones and the G430 Max proved to have the best numbers.

Just out of curiosity, did you try the G430 LST?

 

[AverageJoe]

Youre about to push me over the edge of ordering one haha.

I couldnt help myself, found one for a good price on ebay and pulled the trigger. It has a taylormade tip on it but I’ll pull it and put a Ping tip on it when it arrives. Looking forward to playing it.

 

[rlb4]

I couldnt help myself, found one for a good price on ebay and pulled the trigger. It has a taylormade tip on it but I’ll pull it and put a Ping tip on it when it arrives. Looking forward to playing it.

I'm similar ss as you and erock so would love to hear your feedback on that shaft. On a side note, I always see people saying they will pull the adapter and put on another. How many times can an adapter be pulled and replaced?

 

[AverageJoe]

I'm similar ss as you and erock so would love to hear your feedback on that shaft. On a side note, I always see people saying they will pull the adapter and put on another. How many times can an adapter be pulled and replaced?

I would imagine if you did this to the same shaft several several times the tip would weaken from being sanded so much but Ive never changed one over 2-3 times.