Golf 'N Gator
Formally HoosierGolfer
I like the look and I've always had good luck with Ping woods, but they still seem to be behind the times in the adjustability department.
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So is this a 'mini' driver type offering? or just a longer 3 wood.
Really interested on your experiences here Dan. I definitely don't have the same swing speed as you do, but this is the only wood from PING that I'm really curious about this year over my G30s. I'm sure you don't have a G30, but any size comparisons you could provide to other 3Ws would be awesome. Particularly interested in face depth.
With the relatively subtle face depth, I think this could be a hybrid of the two.
At 13° this has to be targeted at being primarily a tee club? Larger head, low spin and slightly more forward cg screams a tee club. But the lower leading edge to promote strikes higher in the face seems for off the deck use. High launch low spin on a 13° head... this club is very interesting due to some seemingly contradicting tech.
The launch I've been getting with the stretch, both on a tee and off a tee, is something I seem to constantly refer to as a "bullet" shot. It gets elevated quickly, plateaus quickly, and carries for some time. I think 'mid' launch is a reasonable assumption, with really not much deviation after a lot of strikes with it.
From the tee, I find it to promote a very, very straight flight. I'll let AMart chime in if he gets a chance, but I don't generally expect my fairways to go dead straight -- More like a soft to heavy draw depending on how far towards the toe I hit away from center. With the G Stretch, it's just flat out straight for me, and I really enjoy it.
The sound is probably the most surprising thing about the head. It's quite a bit louder and more sharp that I am used to hearing, and doesn't really match the G Series driver. It came as a surprise to me early on as I had expected a similar sound, but I am realizing that in total, the sound isn't 'bad' just... notable. Not that it matters when I am carrying a fairway wood 260 with a stock shaft off the tee (not a regular occurrence for me).
I'll offer a sample experience that I had on the final hole of the day today to help chat about what to expect. With the wind maybe slightly into us and from the left, I carried the G Stretch 261 yards off the tee (very slight elevation) with a mid flight. From there, it was 251 to the back of the green (decently downhill and a bit downwind) and I hit the G Stretch again, flying the green with a very similar mid flight.
I think there's a viable opportunity to hit this one from the short grass, but the aggressive flighting may have some folks seeking some help with launch. Either way, I've really enjoyed hitting 'bullets' with the G Stretch!
Based on your comments it sounds like many here may want to try this club out.
One of my favorite 3Ws ever is 13.5 degrees. I see similar, though much shorter, ballflight with it. You're not helping with my pondering.13 degrees with the chance to drop to 12 or 14. It's a very interesting head, because the profile screams something that would be well suited for a fairway wood, but the loft suggests the best results would come from a tee.
One of my favorite 3Ws ever is 13.5 degrees. I see similar, though much shorter, ballflight with it. You're not helping with my pondering.
The 6th hole on our course comes to mind when I think of Canadan hitting a typical 3 wood. The holes is basically a 90 left turn about 240 yards from the tee. His typical shot flies straight out and draws hard around the corner leaving a wedge into the green. Twice this weekend with the stretch I'd say he was at least a club or 2 father out because the ball just didn't turn as hard. Sure, it drew at the end but much less compared to other 3 woods.The launch I've been getting with the stretch, both on a tee and off a tee, is something I seem to constantly refer to as a "bullet" shot. It gets elevated quickly, plateaus quickly, and carries for some time. I think 'mid' launch is a reasonable assumption, with really not much deviation after a lot of strikes with it.
From the tee, I find it to promote a very, very straight flight. I'll let AMart chime in if he gets a chance, but I don't generally expect my fairways to go dead straight -- More like a soft to heavy draw depending on how far towards the toe I hit away from center. With the G Stretch, it's just flat out straight for me, and I really enjoy it.
The sound is probably the most surprising thing about the head. It's quite a bit louder and more sharp that I am used to hearing, and doesn't really match the G Series driver. It came as a surprise to me early on as I had expected a similar sound, but I am realizing that in total, the sound isn't 'bad' just... notable. Not that it matters when I am carrying a fairway wood 260 with a stock shaft off the tee (not a regular occurrence for me).
I'll offer a sample experience that I had on the final hole of the day today to help chat about what to expect. With the wind maybe slightly into us and from the left, I carried the G Stretch 261 yards off the tee (very slight elevation) with a mid flight. From there, it was 251 to the back of the green (decently downhill and a bit downwind) and I hit the G Stretch again, flying the green with a very similar mid flight.
I think there's a viable opportunity to hit this one from the short grass, but the aggressive flighting may have some folks seeking some help with launch. Either way, I've really enjoyed hitting 'bullets' with the G Stretch!
Full fledged skim alert but how can both of these statements be true?
"This special design is engineered to stretch your distance off the tee and from shots into the green with its larger head, slightly forward CG, 13° loft, and lower spin. The lead edge sits lower to the ground so impact occurs higher on the face. And our thinnest crown ever in a PING fairway wood allows for a low-back CG to ensure high launch, low spin and extreme forgiveness."
The launch I've been getting with the stretch, both on a tee and off a tee, is something I seem to constantly refer to as a "bullet" shot. It gets elevated quickly, plateaus quickly, and carries for some time. I think 'mid' launch is a reasonable assumption, with really not much deviation after a lot of strikes with it.
From the tee, I find it to promote a very, very straight flight. I'll let AMart chime in if he gets a chance, but I don't generally expect my fairways to go dead straight -- More like a soft to heavy draw depending on how far towards the toe I hit away from center. With the G Stretch, it's just flat out straight for me, and I really enjoy it.
The sound is probably the most surprising thing about the head. It's quite a bit louder and more sharp that I am used to hearing, and doesn't really match the G Series driver. It came as a surprise to me early on as I had expected a similar sound, but I am realizing that in total, the sound isn't 'bad' just... notable. Not that it matters when I am carrying a fairway wood 260 with a stock shaft off the tee (not a regular occurrence for me).
I'll offer a sample experience that I had on the final hole of the day today to help chat about what to expect. With the wind maybe slightly into us and from the left, I carried the G Stretch 261 yards off the tee (very slight elevation) with a mid flight. From there, it was 251 to the back of the green (decently downhill and a bit downwind) and I hit the G Stretch again, flying the green with a very similar mid flight.
I think there's a viable opportunity to hit this one from the short grass, but the aggressive flighting may have some folks seeking some help with launch. Either way, I've really enjoyed hitting 'bullets' with the G Stretch!
Anyone still gaming one of these, in serious ponder mode on it.
I've had it in the bag a fair bit lately, and you can probably expect the homepage review to come here in the next week.
It's been a lot of fun. It's a vocal head, there's no question about it, but the results are quality. relatively flat mid flight off the deck and off a low profile tee, with a bit of a chance to elevate AoA for a touch higher flight when teed up a bit more. I didn't see sweeping distance chances between swings off the deck and the tee which I think is a nice representation of the profile, but I also seemed to catch it clean 95% of the time. Maybe an extra 5-10 carry off a well struck tee ball.
What I think will make it stand out beyond turbulators and the elevated pitch is the flexibility to hit in most situations, even at that lower loft.
Any specific questions you have Icey?
Curious how it compares to thinner face/profile woods off the deck?
Also do you see it as a driver replacement off the tee or a more distance related choice?