Ping G400 Max Driver Review

JB

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Thanks for posting this @JB

Hope everyone enjoys! Feel free to post up additional questions in here!
 
Great job with this James, very all encompassing especially in conjunction with your posted thoughts over the last few weeks, much appreciated.

Crazy again to think there is such a huge gap between this (and the G400) and everything else on the market in terms of MOI, wonder if that pushes anyone to venture out to close that gap.

So looking ahead to 2018, and future reviewing aside, do you see this one dethroning the G400 or you sticking with the G400 which defeated everything you threw at it last year?
 
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Great writeup. I think if more golfers chased "directional consistency" instead of distance, there'd be a lot more lower handicaps out there. I didn't find the G30 line to be all that bad sounding (the G30 SFT is still a driver I wish I had bagged with the numbers it gave me on a monitor) but it definitely sounds like the G400 Max has it all with looks, sound, and performance.
 
Great write up! I've never been a Ping guy but this line has definitely caught my attention.
 
Thanks for the informative review!
 
Thanks for posting this @JB

Hope everyone enjoys! Feel free to post up additional questions in here!

Great review, James! Options are good, especially in what is, in my opinion, the best driver lineup available.


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Good review as always Jman!


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Another well done review. I've never played a Ping driver but this lineup makes me want to test them for sure. The number and quality of driver offerings available this year is outstanding.
 
Great job with this James, very all encompassing especially in conjunction with your posted thoughts over the last few weeks, much appreciated.

Crazy again to think there is such a huge gap between this (and the G400) and everything else on the market, wonder if that pushes anyone to venture out to close that gap.

So looking ahead to 2018, and future reviewing aside, do you see this one dethroning the G400 or you sticking with the G400 which defeated everything you threw at it last year?

I've had great luck with the G400, that's no secret and it's going nowhere in the bag.

That said, I wouldn't go as far as saying there is a huge gap between this and others on the market. In fact having hit these two against the F8 and Rogue, they're all three pretty toe to toe, to the point that confidence will be the deciding factor for many (but if course blind brand allegiance will be for others, which is golf gear in a nutshell anyway). No one is putting out a bad driver right now, and I think they're all more neck and a neck than most do.
 
I've had great luck with the G400, that's no secret and it's going nowhere in the bag.

That said, I wouldn't go as far as saying there is a huge gap between this and others on the market. In fact having hit these two against the F8 and Rogue, they're all three pretty toe to toe, to the point that confidence will be the deciding factor for many (but if course blind brand allegiance will be for others, which is golf gear in a nutshell anyway). No one is putting out a bad driver right now, and I think they're all more neck and a neck than most do.

Sorry about that, I meant gap in terms of MOI (I went back and edited my post)
 
Great review James! This has me considering a Max head again as I thought the sound difference would be more significant. Directional consistency is top bid for me. Considering ball speeds were in line with the standard G400, this sounds like a fantastic option with ridiculous forgiveness.

@jman Just to be clear, is there no difference in face size heal to toe? The difference in size is only front to back?
 
Great summation of all things G400. I was looking at drivers when G400 came out, but bought new hybrids instead. The they released Max and it felt like a perfect fit. The extra forgiveness is great and the potential speed gain of the smaller head g400 aren't as great for my average swing speed. Very good review here. I agree, a very solid driver line.
 
Thanks for posting this @JB

Hope everyone enjoys! Feel free to post up additional questions in here!

Nice review, James... and thanks for all the time you put into the G400 lineup. Much of what you've written on THP led me to go with the G400 Max. With the pricey aftermarket shafts of today, it was important for me to have the ability to install one tip and have as many options as possible in the way of heads - Ping is delivering on that front - and I am confident that I will end up with the perfect combo for my swing!
 
Interesting. When the G400 came out I was able to demo it (10.5 deg Regular shaft) for a day on the course. Relatively low ball flight for me but I was able to find most fairways with it. This would probably fit me better, but I doubt it will kick the XTD out. Is it as loud as the normal G400? I will try it once we have it over here. Thanks for the great review!
 
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I enjoyed reading your review James. In my testing I would agree that the sound is so much better than the previous Ping models. The size of The Max doesn't seem any larger than other 460cc drivers out there either and was much better numbers and ball flight wise than the regular G400 for me. If I wanted to game Ping equipment this would be the direction I would head
 
Great review James. I took a gamble on a pre-order with the standard shaft and can honestly say it hasn't disappointed me yet. I'm having a fitting at CC the first part of April and hopefully find out if the Alta shaft is ideal for me and my swing. I think I'm getting too much spin out of the Alta, so maybe they might have some options.
 
It was a great review James, and I have been following the thread. Still interested in this driver.
 
This is a club I definitely want to try with my struggles off the tee. I'm thinking maybe pair it with a shorter shaft like the guys in the second driver experiment thread. I'm looking forward to reading the reviews!

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Great review James.
 
This is a club I definitely want to try with my struggles off the tee. I'm thinking maybe pair it with a shorter shaft like the guys in the second driver experiment thread. I'm looking forward to reading the reviews!

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I can’t recommend this thing enough


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Great review!

Good data as well. I agree with more options is better and not a bad thing
 
Great review James! This has me considering a Max head again as I thought the sound difference would be more significant. Directional consistency is top bid for me. Considering ball speeds were in line with the standard G400, this sounds like a fantastic option with ridiculous forgiveness.

@jman Just to be clear, is there no difference in face size heal to toe? The difference in size is only front to back?

I didn't sit down and measure it, but for me the only in hand visual difference was the front to back at address, which makes sense since we are only talking a 15cc increase.

Thanks for the kind words!
 
Nice review, it's on my shortlist of new drivers to test.
 
Interesting. When the G400 came out I was able to demo it (10.5 deg Regular shaft) for a day on the course. Relatively low ball flight for me but I was able to find most fairways with it. This would probably fit me better, but I doubt it will kick the XTD out. Is it as loud as the normal G400? I will try it once we have it over here. Thanks for the great review!

G400 IMO isn't loud at all, much more solid of a sound/feel than we have seen from PING since, maybe, the i20? You playing the XTD (which I loved when I reviewed it) I think would find the sounds very comparable, if not a little more pleasurable on the side of the G400's.

Thank you for reading!
 
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