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.
Ping G Stretch Fairway - THP Review
theoverswinger
New member
This looks sweet. A mini driver may be the only new club I'm getting this year. Looking forward to your review. I hope it's longer than my i25 15 degree 3-wood.
MDGolfHacker
New member
Looking forward to your thoughts!
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- #29
With the relatively subtle face depth, I think this could be a hybrid of the two.
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.
This appears to be fairly shallow faced, something I really like to see in a FW. Really interested in hearing your thoughts Dan.
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- #32
Let me see what I can do, Jon.
That would be a winning combo. And both why I love my mini and hate it at the same time. I can't hit that off the deck whatsoever.
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kc720
Active member
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.
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- #35
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.
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- #36
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!
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!
2Bad4u
KABOOM BABY!
Based on your comments it sounds like many here may want to try this club out.
lightningbolt44
Well-known member
Need to try this one out for sure
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- #39
I would encourage it!!! Ping has had a great progression in their woods over the last couple years.
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.
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- #41
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.
When clubs work, Duff, they work. I didn't exactly have high hopes with the pairing as I've been playing heavier and stiffer in my gamer fairways, but it was basically plug and play. And DEAD straight unless I went waaaaaay out on the toe.
Can't emphasize that enough. Dead. Straight.
lightningbolt44
Well-known member
This is a serious fairway. A different sound that is for sure but an explosive feeling low launch and spinning (tested with tour 80 x flex shaft) pretty darn forgiving on mishits as well. Good chance this makes the bag
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AMart
#TheGrindIsReal
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.
I took one swing on a tight driving hole that I typically hit 3w off the tee. The stretch felt very head heavy but I'm playing the v series which is super light. The 13 degree launched low (not surprising) for me with a little fade. Distance was good though and I kept it in the fairway.
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."
"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."
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- #45
Its a wording issue on their part imo as all the fairways ran together in their release info.
Would have been better written as this:
The new G woods have the thinnest crown ever in a PING fairway allowing for a low-back CG to ensure high launch, low spin, and extreme forgiveness. With the G Stretch design, the larger head has allowed for a slightly more forward CG compare to the other G offerings in order to make it a lower spinning option.
Basically, in English, its this. The new crown has allowed them to move the CG lower and more rearward to increase the launch and forgiveness while keeping the spin lower. In the stretch specifically though they placed the CG slightly more forward compared to the rest of the G fairways to make it a lower spinning option.
Its all wording, its worded poorly on their site, but its not wrong.
theoverswinger
New member
Ooh this is going to break my self-imposed rule on not to buy any more clubs this year.
I game the Ping I-series for my fairway woods, this could be a mini-driver or 2 wood for me. I've played a lot of fairway woods, nothing compares to the sound of the snap of a well-struck Ping FW.
Anyone still gaming one of these, in serious ponder mode on it.
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- #48
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?
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- #50
thinner face/profile, I think it's one of the more left/right neutralizing profiles out there. Not to say I can't work the ball, but my toe miss is definitely limited, and my flight, not unlike the driver, is strongly based on face angle.... Come over the top a bit with a shut face, expect the ball to start left and maybe hang left. Right/right, etc.
Yeah buddy, I think it has to be at sub 14 degrees, but then again, that's typically how I've played my fairways in the recent past. What I think this does better than the 'deeps' and not unlike some of the other lower profile heads is really opens the door to shots off the deck, assuming you've got a shaft that suits your flighting. So in total, as long as you aren't up and down the face of a driver replacement profile, I think this is a great option.