PING G430 MAX 10K Driver Review

[Jman]

When it comes to drivers with an emphasis on playability and forgiveness, you typically know what to expect when it comes to PING. Sure, they may not be the prettiest or sleekest drivers released, but they are always consistent. With the G430 lineup, PING looked to take a significant jump from what was seen by […]

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[Sean]

I was fitted for the G430 Max last fall. I hit the TM Qi10 a bit farther, but the Ping was more accurate. I would have waited until the spring to get fitted, but I had $600 in shop credit I had to use before the end of the year. On a side note, what driver do you currently use?

 

[hedley_lamarr08]

I’m sure it’s a solid driver. Nice write up. I don’t see it being worth $599 if you already have the G430 Max or even AI Smoke in the bag. It at least should get a spot in a fitting for testing.

 

[willplaysgolf]

I'm kind of curious to try one

 

[GolfTravelDude]

Went out to try this club a few months ago. Had done much research and it seemed like best fit for me. Went to three different places and none of them had one in stock to try out. Nice write up James.

 

[MtlJeff]

Ping hasn't had a lot of demo days at my club but this is on my must-try list.

I might just buy it.

Ping driver heads very much suit my eye. They are very unique looking and sounding and to me people who like them typically really like them

 

[DGA3]

When I tried out the G425, I couldn't get the swing speed up, so I lost distance. The head was very heavy fro me, despite the counter-balanced shaft. I was even fortunate to play 9 holes with it, and although I hit a lot of fairways, the distance loss was hard to take (85-90 mph swing speed), so I went in another direction (Callaway Rogue).

I currently a gaming the Callaway AI Smoke Max, and it is a great driver. However, I signed up for a PING fitting next week at my club, just to compare. Maybe the 10K will feel a little lighter, or - with its extreme forgiveness - I can be more aggressive with my swing, because the misses will still go straight?

We shall soon see . . . . .

 

[Jman]

I hit this frustratingly well.

 

[Jman]

I hit it well enough that it also made the trip to Ballyhack, with a Mitsubishi Diamana in it of course.

It remains not the fastest head, by a large margin, for me, but the spin stays so shockingly low for the design that it still gets good distance.

 

[TheRyno]

Seems like a fair review which is appreciated since I know ping hasn’t been a forum favorite over the last several years. For the G430 max being obsolete I disagree. The moveable weight differentiates it from the 10K.

I tried almost every driver the last few years and found the 430 max in the flat setting with the weight in the heel produces a very consistent push draw where every other club I would miss right or left with a less consistent shot shape. My fairways hit with the 430 max went up to 57% after hovering around 40% the last few years.

 

[Jman]

Seems like a fair review which is appreciated since I know ping hasn’t been a forum favorite over the last several years. For the G430 max being obsolete I disagree. The moveable weight differentiates it from the 10K.

I tried almost every driver the last few years and found the 430 max in the flat setting with the weight in the heel produces a very consistent push draw where every other club I would miss right or left with a less consistent shot shape. My fairways hit with the 430 max went up to 57% after hovering around 40% the last few years.

The favorite or not favorite thing doesn’t have any effect on our reviews here, we are always fair, it’s one of the big things we pride ourselves on.

I can honestly say, I don’t understand the role of the Max now that the 10K is here, with the spin level this has, it makes the standard Max awkwardly placed

 

[MtlJeff]

I hit it well enough that it also made the trip to Ballyhack, with a Mitsubishi Diamana in it of course.

It remains not the fastest head, by a large margin, for me, but the spin stays so shockingly low for the design that it still gets good distance.

How low spin would you say it is? I could barely rotate the ball with a LST head and the Ping Tour shaft.

I love the RDX red shaft, but i'd hope to be able to hit it over 2K

I'm at 2200-2300 with a ZX5 and RDX red

 

[Jman]

How low spin would you say it is? I could barely rotate the ball with a LST head and the Ping Tour shaft.

I love the RDX red shaft, but i'd hope to be able to hit it over 2K

I'm at 2200-2300 with a ZX5 and RDX red

Check out the review if you haven’t, numbers are pretty much the same there from the LINQ White I had in it for review testing.

 

[MtlJeff]

Check out the review if you haven’t, numbers are pretty much the same there from the LINQ White I had in it for review testing.

i saw you were at 2500 but i'm more curious what you are normally at, like was that way lower than you get with most other drivers

 

[Jman]

i saw you were at 2500 but i'm more curious what you are normally at, like was that way lower than you get with most other drivers

I gotcha!

I typically sit in the 2100 range with my DS LS and

 

[mson]

This is intriguing and sounds like some solid improvements. I've always hit Ping drivers well in the past and they've kept me in fairways, but lacked distance with them. Spin was good with the 425 max, but just couldn't get speed.

 

[RandallC]

I picked up the 10k and I think it was rather heavy, I ended up trading it for the ai smoke and I have so much more success.

The 10k when I got a good hit flew but I think the Alta CB shaft was playing a role also. I practiced and swung the ping so much to try to improve and played 5 rounds with it but never had luck. Th zx5 came back out and I played a few rounds with it and did so much better I knew the ping wasn’t for me.

 

[MtlJeff]

I gotcha!

I typically sit in the 2100 range with my DS LS and

I just texted my pro and Ping is actually at our club tomorrow. I'll get to see for myself after all!

Next time we talk I may have one on order

 

[Jman]

I had to turn the 10.5 all the way down to get there, I’d like to try the 9.0

That said, it does leave some notable ball speed on the table.

 

[Alan4014]

Nice write up.
I’d love to try it but last time I went to the local golf shop all they had was the stock ping shaft in all of their 10ks in stock.

 

[mson]

I had to turn the 10.5 all the way down to get there, I’d like to try the 9.0

That said, it does leave some notable ball speed on the table.

Just for a reference point, how big is the ball speed gap for you between this and some of the other releases?

 

[Jman]

Just for a reference point, how big is the ball speed gap for you between this and some of the other releases?

Im seeing 3-4 mph on average

And I’ve got to work HARD to make speed, but its the nature of the design with the CG placement

 

[MtlJeff]

This is the best driver i've ever hit bar none. BAR NONE. I put it up against my Srixon ZX5 with the same shaft in the same weight, at the same loft.....And the Ping basically treated it like Z treated his gimp in Pulp Fiction.

Higher launch, same spin, zero ballooning---probably gained about 10 yards or so. I wasn't on a trackman, but i hit a ball off the back of our range which i haven't done in probably 2-3 years.

 

[nostatic]

When I got fit a month or two ago, I swore this would be the winner as I was coming from G400 Max. Damned if it really didn’t work for me, instead AI Smoke Max gave consistently better results. Just goes to show you never know until you hit it. The G430 hybrids otoh can’t be beat (with my swing, ymmv).

 

[The Dave]

@Jman

Did you use this driver at Ballyhack? After reading your review, I went down a rabbit hole on this club and I think I might need it...lol

I hit the Paradym well and used it to upgrade to the AI Smoke with the trade bonuses, but man if it's as point and shoot as everyone is making it out to be, I'm completely ok with a little less ball speed and/or distance.

I actually like the stock shaft options that Ping now offers for this club, but man there are a couple that are quite intriguing to try. I need to find some time to hit this one...