PING G SF TEC Driver - THP Review Thread

I wonder what this club would do with your lovely fade.

Might be like crossing the streams in Ghostbusters hahaha the world might end


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I wonder how many orders PING gets for the SF Tec w/ a Black Tie in it. I can't imagine a ton.

If I bought one - this would be the route id go haha


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hit this last night in the sim, one of the guys I was playing with had a Tour 65 shaft from his G30(playing at 44.25". I threw that in the head for the back 9 of the round and man was it different. Other than the SW being way off, the playing length actually felt fine. Contact was good, and with this face the ball took off quite nicely. I really have enjoyed this head, more than I thought I would. Distance is good, sound is better(though still not my favorite), and the forgiveness is crazy good. The crown is busy, but that stopped bothering me when I hit the first shot. Face height is a comfortable level for me as well, not afraid to tee it up higher which is something I often battle. PING did well here, and while I suspect the other 2 pieces to the G lineup will get more attention, this one could do well in my many bags.
 
I really need to hit this. The G30 SF Tec was pretty much automatic for me every time I hit it.
 
I'll admit, I have gotten excited about Ping but after this review it seems I am excited. The technology sounds great, the club looks great and it sounds like there are some positive numbers in the performance department. Good job Dean!
 
Well done Dean. I haven't given Ping a chance either really. Ever since I gamed the Eye2 woods, I've always looked else where. Given the success of the G30, and your saying improvements over that model is interesting. Demo days are ramping up around here now, so I'll be sure to give them a go.
 
Another good review Dean. The dragon fly looks good to me and having gamed a g25 for 2 years it's nice to know the sound in this one has been imoroved over the g30.
 
Great review Dean. Knowing that this is even more forgiving than the G30 SF Tec is huge, given how insanely forgiving that club was for someone who has a high fade/slice as their main miss. I for one never had a problem with the G30's sound, but we all know that's very subjective. Anything that'll draw more golfers to this club is a good thing.
 
Good review. I ordered one on Monday now its a long wait for the delivery to reach me.
 
Good review. I ordered one on Monday now its a long wait for the delivery to reach me.

whenever it arrives make sure you let us know how it works out for you.
 
whenever it arrives make sure you let us know how it works out for you.

I am hoping to see a bit more forgiveness than I am currently seeing with my M1. It might be a long wait as I had to order it from the UK to shipped out to Malaysia.
 
I am hoping to see a bit more forgiveness than I am currently seeing with my M1. It might be a long wait as I had to order it from the UK to shipped out to Malaysia.

I would expect more forgiveness from this head vs the M1, just going off of design. Will look forward to your thoughts.
 
I've been paying a bit more attention to the Ping drivers here lately, I think the G30 really raised some eye brows and showed that Ping is definitely in the driver game. It sounds like the G series continues that success and the SF Tec to me sounds like a legit contender in everyone's bag when shopping for a new driver. I love the matte black, always have. I can't wait to get some swings in with this, thanks Dean!
 
Played mine today for the first time. Gained a lot of distance (about 30 yards) compared to my last driver and didn't miss a fairway. Probably won't be that consistent as I play more, but I fell in love with it today for sure.
 
Played mine today for the first time. Gained a lot of distance (about 30 yards) compared to my last driver and didn't miss a fairway. Probably won't be that consistent as I play more, but I fell in love with it today for sure.

wow. That's a lot of yards gained. What was your previous driver? How would you rate the spin on the G SF Tec ?
 
wow. That's a lot of yards gained. What was your previous driver? How would you rate the spin on the G SF Tec ?

I had a Cobra Amp Cell. The flight on my ball is pretty low, no clue on the spin numbers but the roll out is way better. It flew straight to a little bit of draw as to where most of my drives would fall off to the right. The SF tech didn't fix my swing but it help. I have worked on my swing and grip and I know that is a big factor. But on my home course, I hit a drive into the water that I have never been able to reach. I think its the only time I've ever been happy about losing a golf ball. I'm not sure how much the ball makes a difference but it was with a Bridgestone E6.
 
Mine has just been delivered I got a bit worried when I saw the state of the packaging. Big fragile handle with care stickers were obviously ignored by DHL or their baggage handlers. The box didn't need opening as it fell apart with me thinking "oh god whats the club going to be like". However it's fine, I have 2 hours left of my morning shift then I will be straight down the driving range and see how this matches up against my M1. No way of testing any numbers will only be able to go on visual performance, ball flight, approximate carry and total distance. I have 18 holes planned for tomorrow, hopefully avoiding the water hazards down the right side of the course.
 
Initial thoughts. Playing this at 10*. Ping Tour 65 shaft in regular flex. I am not to sure of my swing speed at the moment, and this head and shaft combination feels lighter than the M1. Very beaten up old range balls but I use them with my M1 so its apples to apples where the ball is concerned.

More forgiving than my M1 especially low heel. Straight or a very gentle fade as opposed to a pronounced fade. I was still starting it left but the left to right movement was a whole lot less. A lot more centre face contact which I think could be due to the Tour 65 being slightly shorter than the Fuji 6 in my M1. I was higher on the face than I have been with the M1, I think that could be due to the rubber tees, I'll mess about with tee height tomorrow. Distance, I'm not to sure there was quite a strong wind blowing straight down the range into my face today, BUT it appeared to be carrying further by a small margin and there was definitely more roll on landing. Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow with GPS, Game golf and range finder. A over the top, out to in swing whilst spinning your hips and moving your head forwards in front of the ball still produces a big ole banana slice, BUT nothing is going to compensate for all that in one swing. Trajectory and height are very similar to the M1 (10.5*, front weight towards draw and rear weight 3/4 towards the rear), however depending on how much backwards spine tilt I found it easier to vary the height and keep the ball relatively straight.

Sound is not as obnoxious as I have read online. I played a G25 when I first started 3 years ago and compared to that the sound is 1000% better. Head size is just right and it sits behind the ball really nicely. The Turbolators and Dragonfly on the crown really help with alignment and are no distraction at all. One thing about the shaft I was feeling as if the tip was kicking just before impact, I've never felt that sensation before, not sure if it was my swing or not. I pulled the M1 as well and didn't get that same sensation.

First impressions, I like it but I like all new clubs. Hopefully I should get rounds in on Sunday and maybe another 3 or 4 this coming week, depending on work. I know a good fitter down in Kuala Lumpur who is also a Ping fitter. As I have 2 days off next week I may head down and see if we can get a better combination, but first I want to play it and see where I end up on a course I know well. Having Game Golf is also helpful for total distances but not so much for carry, but I know roughly where I can carry the ball. I might even see more fairways.......
 
Initial thoughts. Playing this at 10*. Ping Tour 65 shaft in regular flex. I am not to sure of my swing speed at the moment, and this head and shaft combination feels lighter than the M1. Very beaten up old range balls but I use them with my M1 so its apples to apples where the ball is concerned.

More forgiving than my M1 especially low heel. Straight or a very gentle fade as opposed to a pronounced fade. I was still starting it left but the left to right movement was a whole lot less. A lot more centre face contact which I think could be due to the Tour 65 being slightly shorter than the Fuji 6 in my M1. I was higher on the face than I have been with the M1, I think that could be due to the rubber tees, I'll mess about with tee height tomorrow. Distance, I'm not to sure there was quite a strong wind blowing straight down the range into my face today, BUT it appeared to be carrying further by a small margin and there was definitely more roll on landing. Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow with GPS, Game golf and range finder. A over the top, out to in swing whilst spinning your hips and moving your head forwards in front of the ball still produces a big ole banana slice, BUT nothing is going to compensate for all that in one swing. Trajectory and height are very similar to the M1 (10.5*, front weight towards draw and rear weight 3/4 towards the rear), however depending on how much backwards spine tilt I found it easier to vary the height and keep the ball relatively straight.

Sound is not as obnoxious as I have read online. I played a G25 when I first started 3 years ago and compared to that the sound is 1000% better. Head size is just right and it sits behind the ball really nicely. The Turbolators and Dragonfly on the crown really help with alignment and are no distraction at all. One thing about the shaft I was feeling as if the tip was kicking just before impact, I've never felt that sensation before, not sure if it was my swing or not. I pulled the M1 as well and didn't get that same sensation.

First impressions, I like it but I like all new clubs. Hopefully I should get rounds in on Sunday and maybe another 3 or 4 this coming week, depending on work. I know a good fitter down in Kuala Lumpur who is also a Ping fitter. As I have 2 days off next week I may head down and see if we can get a better combination, but first I want to play it and see where I end up on a course I know well. Having Game Golf is also helpful for total distances but not so much for carry, but I know roughly where I can carry the ball. I might even see more fairways.......

I echo your thoughts on the G being more forgiving and lighter, I had a rendezvous with a M1 and M2. I love the way this club sets up to the ball, love the turbulators as well. It is a fairway finder for me!
 
I hit 79% (Game Golf Stats) of fairways this afternoon on a course I have never played before. Average distance over two rounds is 3 yards less than my M1. This was a confidence booster this afternoon, stood on the tee box I didn't think I could miss the fairway. The ball comes off the face fast with a great sound and feel. The flight is higher than my M1 but just seems to fly, with decent roll on landing.

I am not going to add anymore for a couple of weeks just to see if A: Its a honeymoon period or B: Curse what I am currently seeing.
 
^ 79% fw hit. Very Nice !!
 
PING G SF TEC Driver - THP Review Thread

5 rounds in with this now, and I seeing better results than my previous gamer. All I have are visual and Game Golf to go off due to nowhere close to where I work having any form of monitor. Using Game Golf I selected averages from my last 10 rounds, which is 5 with the Ping and 5 with the M1 and it looks like this:

M1: Fairways hit 43%, Missed right 43%, Missed left 13%.
G: Fairways hit 56%, Missed right 24%, Missed left 20%.

Average distance difference is 14 yards in favour of the G, with the M1 being 7 yards longer on the longest drives with each club. My bad miss is either a Slice or a straight pull to the left, which I know is swing related and is something I will be seeking advice about when I get back home. However that is what the SF is designed to assist with and from those percentages and what I see when playing it is working as advertised.

I know by the sound and the feel when I make a bad swing, but the forgiveness in this head is far higher than previous drivers I have used. The sliced shots are definitely less pronounced, the heel strikes are giving a higher ball flight with less loss of distance. I think these are factors in hitting more fairways which in turn has increased my average total distance. I can see on the course the ball travelling further, the 16th has a ditch running across the fairway at around 247 yards, the last 3 rounds I have been in that ditch. I have never been in there off the tee before.

I still fade the ball but again this is less pronounced and am actually starting to see more straighter shots with the odd draw as well, however that I believe is swing related. This isn't some magic slice curing wonder club, but it is doing what it is designed to do. I have been messing with the loft, I naturally hit the ball high so tried lofting down with it on the range to both settings -0.6* and -1*. At the moment it is set to -0.6* this has lowered the flight a little and also given a more rainbow like ball flight, at 10* I was seeing the ball get up high then seem to hit its apex and drop steeper than the M1 was. Adjusting it down seems to visually shallow out the descent angle. This has only been on the range due to the local club being closed this week for a competition. I will not get to play until Sunday now.

Once I get home in two weeks, I'll book a lesson with my coach and trackman and see what numbers that throws up. To be honest my swing is the only fault, I think if I can work on my swing with some professional in person guidance my averages will go up. This head combined with the Tour 65 shaft feel brilliant, the crown with the dragonfly and turbolators are in no way distracting in fact I find them the opposite and really easy to line the ball up. Its just up to me to swing this thing with a swing it deserves.
 
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Sounds like it's been on good combo for you.
 
Sounds like it's been on good combo for you.

I'm loving it. I was thinking of visiting a fitter I know "just to see" if another shaft would make any difference. I've put that idea on hold until I can get a lesson or two in and see what happens during my 6 weeks off work at home, when we can get out for a round 3 or 4 times a week. I've also dropped 0.7 off my handicap since gaming this.
 
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