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Ping G30 Driver reviews


greenadam21

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Ok everyone this is a draft that i will be editing/"fluffing" a bit tomorrow but I'm throwing it out here tonight.

 

I think we should start this thread sooner rather than later. For those of you that haven't made your late summer trip to the local golf store thinking there will be nothing new to see you might want to give it a shot. Here in the KC metro the Ping reps are making their rounds and setting up the fitting carts with all the new G30 equipment for preorders on the late July official release. In other words the demo's are out.

 

///Things I've learned so far//// ////////////////////////

 

Things are a changin at Ping.

 

New releases with more adjustability

Better performance and with, in my opinion, better looks with each release. "Well done PING!" Seems as though that is the theme around here lately but that praise is pretty undeniably well deserved. Ping has a strong reputation for doing things right, sticking to their core beliefs as a company, and generally being pretty damned impressive. I hear it everywhere , believe it, yet I only have a two Ping products in my bag. That doesn't mean I don't like their product I just use whatever best fits my needs without brand consideration( as much as anyone really can). Never the less I still get excited for the next new release each time hoping the next one will be one that I can game.

 

New releases are awesome...mostly

 

New club releases, especially drivers, are about as good as it gets. Chatter,excitement, even arguments...We get pretty keyed up over it one way or another. All the way up to the release and even after for a while there is no bigger Buzz in the game of golf! Its awesome and one of my favorite things about this game. Of course everything has its downside and new equipmentreleases, as much as I love them, are no exception.

 

One thing we all hate with new releases,, more specifically with the implementation of new adjustability,,,is that our collections of adapters and high end shafts become scrap that must be painstakingly parted out. New adapters must be found at what seems an extreme expense and often after a long wait for their already loyal customers. The price we pay for progress I suppose but at times it would appear they aren't exactly trying to make it easier for us.

 

Ping it seems is addressing this, at least in part, and making the transition a little smoother. Yes the new ping adapters are different and no you cant use your old tips in the new equipment. We wanted more adjustability and now we are going to get it. But this time however I am happy to share with you that Ping will now offer components for its new clubs in the G30 line including adapters and even shafts. Shaftoids get your epoxy ready! That's right no waiting 6 months for them to be available. You can call ping customer service right now for pricing.....or read it below.

 

Adapters-

$20/pc (must be purchased in three pack so your retailer may ask you to buy all of them ...maybe not )

Shafts-

I cant speak for aftermarket ( which i know went up from last year) but the stock shafts very reasonable as well 30 dollar upgrade for this shaft with the club but only 60 for a second shaft in a different flex *tfc tour price

 

To me this is news. Tinkerers like myself are not only getting the extra adjustability and wiggle room for an ever changing poor swing, we are getting access to more options at a better price and So whether this makes you want to run right out and demo all the new Pings....I dunno. But for me its just another factor in my consideration for "whose club do I choose" and for me the options any club affords me has always been a factor.

 

 

 

 

///My First Demo/// ///////////////////////

 

I was able to get my hands on the G30 yesterday at a local Golfsmith. I was hitting my own Prov1x balls and using a brand new Foresight Gc2 monitor to test. *Thanks as always to my friends at GS*

 

THE PING G30

 

 

Image (2).png

 

PING G30 9 degree head set in std for this test....with the TFC Tour 65 in Stiff *would have preferred to demo the x but they hadn't' received that option for their cart as of yet.

 

Pings Tour shafts come cut to a shorter length of 45.25 vs the 45.75 of the Tfcd shafts

 

Adjustability as you know by now is up or down +/-.6 or +/-1.0 degrees. Double the adjustability of previous models

 

*I will come back later and update with further images of my own

 

 

Looks

 

"Trekky gets Trekkier"

 

I once saw a video review about the Ping Anser that called the crescent alignment aid, and I quote, "Klingon-Esq". This was a reference that I recognized but could not fully appreciate. Alright, I technically appreciated, yes I watched it but I was around 8 years. Cut me some slack. Anyway as soon as I saw this club I was instantly reminded of that review and I cant deny it this time, these clubs look star trek inspired. I'm not saying it looks bad I just posing the possibility that star trek has a fan in the design department in Arizona.....anyway..back to the review

 

 

First, I really actually do like the look of this club in person. This is one, that for me, was tough to appreciate in the online shots.

The Turbulators are not nearly as pronounced as i thought they would be in seeing the sneak peek images online and elsewhere. They do, as i've heard others say, frame the ball extremely well. I'm sure that purists will probably shy away from its razorbacked appearance but that is some the price you pay for being different.

 

Colors are back in ping and this time its bold, blue, and awesome.The blue is really cool mixed with matte and gloss. Putting all that together this might be the best looking club from Ping in quite some time.

 

The 460 head seems big and friendly down by the ball. Nothing new here from the the G25. It sits nice and square just like I like it and I have always been a fan of the matte finish. One other thing the turbulators do for me visually, which is an improvment over the G25, is that they draw my focus away from the large foot print of the club. Generally I dont do well with large heads and for whatever reason my misses generally tend to get bigger as "cc's" increase. Not the case here I do feel like I have to tee it up a bit further so that i can get my usual angle of attack but other than that probably unnecessary adjustment I felt very comfortable addressing the ball.

 

The TFC Tour optional shaft is a metallic pewter color that look great with this head. I might prefer the blue but only slightly and because I'm starting to like louder flashier colors personally, and because it matches the head.

 

Image.png

Feel

I base this experience on my test of the G25. The G25 for one is very loud even on the best struck shots, very firm feeling, and has a "touch" that tells you that you missed but doesn't feel abysmal like one off the hosel of a bladed iron. The G30's feel is very similar but seems softer, in my opinion, because of the lower sound. It certainly isn't muted and it is still very metalic "clack".... but it is noticeable quieter and subdued. I would say the overall sound and feel for me, a person who prefers much softer dull sounding clubs, are down from obnoxious to the tolerable. At least my ears weren't ringing.

 

WORTH A MENTION

 

Very often with all there is to talk about in a new release there are inevitably details that get left out or set aside. One luxury I have in this format is not having to care about space, how many words are in the review, or am I going to lose a reader at any given point. Basically I can blather on for ever, ie see this paragraph, and nobody can say "boo" about it.

 

So with that lets spend a minute on a little spoken of aspect of this new line and what is actually a noteworthy change. The new grip.

 

 

ping_5L_grip.png

The Ping 5L - From the website

"The 5L grip features a firmer texture in the upper portion to help control direction and a softer texture in the lower

portion for enhanced feel. It is available in two versions - round for clubs with PING's Trajectory Tuning+ Technology, and ribbed for the hybrids and irons."

I actually heard this was a new after demoing the club, or I should say I confirmed that it was because going in I had no idea. Anyway I noticed it. That is probably the most important thing to takeaway because everything else I tell you about the grip is strictly subjective. I was probably three swings in when I actually took a look at the grip. . Usually I have a hard time with demo clubs because I normally use mid sized grips and secondly because they are usually dirty, cheap, and impossible to hold on to without going white knuckle on them. Yes, these demos were brand new and practically unhit giving the 5L's a definite unfair advantage but regardless of that I really liked the feel. For those of us that refuse stock grips as an option I encourage you to give the 5L a shot.

 

 

Performance

Performance of course is where it all comes together. The G25 for my swing was never ideal. It would produce spins and launch combinations outside my personal range of "acceptable loss". I would have more shots than not that would produce spins that would were too high and would have to be in lofts that were lower than I wanted to play in order to keep them in check. The G25 always produced great ballspeed with supreme accuracy and forgiveness but the spin rates where simply not acceptable.

 

For the G30 something changed, whether it is due to the stock Tour shaft option, the head design itself, my swing changes over the past year, or it could be something else I haven't considered. Regardless all those problems seemed to have gone away.

 

As I mentioned I was testing in the Stiff Tour 65 and that i would have preferred to use the X flex as that it what tends to work best for me in most setups. Even with the looser shaft i was able to keep my spins and launch very close to what i consider to be ideal.

 

ballspeed average 15 shots= 165 (160 low - 168 high)

Launch average 15 shots = 16.5 (14.5 -low- 17.8 high)

Spin average 15 shots = 2300 - (ranging from 1900 to 2500 top to bottom)

 

If i had taken the loft down to the -.6 or -1 degree setting, or had the Tour X flex, or better yet both I could have easily gotten those spin rates down to the 1900 to 2k range.These numbers are good but not far off from what I have seen from any other club I have been testing that is set up properly for my swing.

 

That being said the thing that was notable, but not surprising, was the the dispersion. Two 5 to 6 shot groups would have fit in a space about as big as my driveway on group dead center of the fairway and the other just left 15 yds. The rest of the shots where misses that i over turned but kept in play.. I was having a good day but head to head with my current gamer this club was tighter.

 

As for shape bias i think I would have to say it has one, straight, the ball started straighter and stayed straighter than probably any drive I have hit. They say the more rearward and lower COG helps to close the face and i would have to say that from what have seen that is true. My shots generally are push draws. The G30 continually produced less of a push and less of a draw . Again and Again almost right down the line ...Lot of fun to hit really. And no fear on swinging away with the large 460 footprint. Again not really a surprise considering pings performance in their G lines for accuracy.

 

 

 

DO TURBULATORS WORK?

 

The big question. I don't doubt that they do something. I have seen others test this and I do trust Pings word. But as of right now I cant say whether I was able to achieve any more club head speed with this over the G25. At least not in this test. I did not have a trackman or my sc100 . Even if I did have either of those units I don't have the capability of testing identical setups for a truly valid test anyway.

 

I did average 2 mph more ballspeed with the G30 over the G25 but that could be attributed to better fitting shaft and heavier head weight. I will do further testing on another day to find out more on that. FWIW they do serve as a functional alignment aid that I grew more and more fond of them as the session progressed.

 

 

 

///Conclusion- a positive experience ////////////////////////////////////////

 

To sum it up I have to say that I would consider putting this one in the bag if I got a chance to test it outdoors on the course. I'm suspect I would lose on top end distance but only marginally so, maybe 5 yds. If I scored it the way MGS does with "true distance" I don't think it would even be much of a contest combining good days and bad. So if 5yds loss meant more confidence and hitting more fairways I'm sold. I think the important thing here is that I found this club capable of producing high launch and low spins that I am looking for with very high levels of accuracy and all with better sound and feel than last years model.

 

So what your experience? What do you think of the new blue? How about those turbulators? Lets hear what you have to say.

 

Guests don't be shy sign in and sound off.

007

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Enjoyed the read Huckeby.  Really enjoyed it.

 

When we were out at PING HQ hard to say I did not walk away impressed with both the driver and the tech involved.  The guys at PING do things right in my opinion.  Everything about them is all about function first.  You won't find fancy at PING but what you will find is functional.  

 

Early prediction is the G30 takes home the 2015 Most Wanted Driver Award.

 

Here a few close ups I took of the driver while out in Arizona to add to the great review done by Huckeby.

 

Let's keep this thread active.  I want to hear what you guys think about such a bold statement (Turbulators) by such a conservative company.   

photo 4-ping.JPG

photo 3-ping.JPG

photo 2-ping.JPG

photo-1-ping.JPG

#TruthDigest
 

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Very interesting look I will be anxious to see how it works and who it works best for.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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For the first few years I refused to accept a trip from the OEM's simply because of the way the PR machine tries to influence your opinion.  But as we have grown it really has become a necessity for the writers to gain all the knowledge possible regarding the technology and process that goes in to these different products.  We take in the info and tell the story the way we want in the end.  In the beginning if I would have done that they would have never had us out there again.  Now we can say what we want and possibly still maintain a somewhat cordial relationship.  

 

I have never been here to make friends, simply provide consumers with trustworthy, transparent information based on integrity.  

 

But when I had the choice to make my first trip I knew it would be PING.  I respect them and think they align with my morals the closest in the industry if you are talking major OEM's.

 

Driver was great when tested there, even though I had to cut it short.  If you missed Tony's story about the driver on the blog I was hitting the driver over the "Bubba Net" and into the highway so they said I should probably stop.

 

Hit it yesterday and today and still producing the best overall numbers for me of any driver I have hit.  Long & straight.

 

That's amazing! Congrats! I'm at 35,000' on the way home from PHX.

I'm going to need to test the G30. How'd you like it?

#TruthDigest
 

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2014-07-18 17.54.57.jpg

 

Todays numbers with the loft adjusted down to 8 degrees.  Not quite as tight today.  But great numbers for me anyway.  Seems pointless to post these now that X shared his experience.  

 

How'd it perform for you....meh..."over the Bubba fence"...

 

Enough said.

 

2014-07-18 17.55.29.jpg

007

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With those numbers you put up Huckeby you would have been close to clearing the net as well.  And I am pretty sure you had a tighter circle ;)

#TruthDigest
 

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With those numbers you put up Huckeby you would have been close to clearing the net as well.  And I am pretty sure you had a tighter circle ;)

If I'm ever there I'll ask if they could move them up just for me 20 to 60 yards? 

 

Over the fence or rolling up against it I'm pumped about this club.  

007

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Very interesting look I will be anxious to see how it works and who it works best for.

Revkev,

 

I'll be interested to see this as well. I can tell you that I have personally seen four guys with pretty different swings attempt the club so far. Overall I was very impressed that It held up the way it did with the variety approaches/swings.  

 

Of all the clubs we hit together today G30 performed best on average.  There was one exception, a friend that produces consistent 180-185 ballspeed that simply couldn't get the spin to come down to any acceptable level with the Tour Stiff shaft.  Understandable I would say.  Just in case you are wondering now, yes, the club survived.

  

One of the higher spin players that I spend a lot of time testing equipment with was able to get quite a few shots producing 2000-2500 spin.

 

High spin or low the thing that was consistent was well, the consistency. Very accurate and very straight.

 

 I still say you have to try any club yourself.  These are just the experiences of a few, and all of us are very used to testing a lot of different clubs.  

 

Not having seen any of the new offerings from any other company I hesitate to make a prediction about next years "Most Wanted Driver".  But I'll say this right now.  The competition has their work cut out for them.  I just don't know how it could get much better than this for me.

 

Hopefully we get a lot more members sharing on this thread.

007

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  • 2 weeks later...

Had an opportunity to test on outdoor flightscope at a Ping Demo Day over the weekend.  Interesting to put numbers with visual feedback

 

For those of you who might prefer that sort of data I was pleasantly surprised to find I had more ballspeed, 167 average, less spin 1650 avg, and similar if not slightly lower launch 14 degrees. Best results were still seen with the 9 degree head with the Tour 65 Stiff shaft.  Dispersion was almost identical to what I saw on Foresight.  They were very busy and i was trying all of the shaft weights and configurations so I didn't get a chance to hit more than 15 shots or so with my preferred setup and wasn't able to tune up the head to 10 degrees ( which would probably have gotten me in to the 1800-2000 spin with 15 or so launch range )

 

I also spent more time with the G30 hybrid (19*) and Fairway (14.5*)  both in tour shafts. 

 

I would say both feel just like you would expect after hitting the driver.  They both had very good numbers compared to my current setups, dispersion in particular was outstanding.  I dont know about the larger footprint on these just yet.  I'm currently playing the i25 hybrid  and an SLDR tp fairway.  Both of these clubs have fairly small footprints so looking over the G30's would take some adjustment.  I had no issue with this off the matt but in a tight lie situation. well..I would just have to test to see.

007

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was playing at a new course over the weekend and they had a big ol' Ping poster of Bubba holding up a driver with his stats prominently printed on the side in big letters. Swing Speed of 126 mph, launch angle of 15°, spin of 1865, carry distance of 360 yards. Wow, some pretty impressive numbers.

 

Only the poster was promoting the G5!

 

5 generations old and he's only lost 6 mph of club head speed and 25 yards compared to the numbers in the G30 video on Ping's landing page.

bag - SunMountain Synch with Ogio Synergy X4 cart
driver - :callaway-small: Optiforce 440, Paderson Kevlar Green stiff 46.5"
fwoods - :taylormade-small: Jetspeed, 3HL regular
irons - :taylormade-small:  Speedblades 3-8, 85g stiff steel, 2 up
wedges - :edilon-small: Scor 40, 45, 50, 54, 58
putter - :ping-small: Ketsch 35" slight arc, SuperStroke 2.0 mid-slim
ball - :titelist-small: ProV1x

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I was playing at a new course over the weekend and they had a big ol' Ping poster of Bubba holding up a driver with his stats prominently printed on the side in big letters. Swing Speed of 126 mph, launch angle of 15°, spin of 1865, carry distance of 360 yards. Wow, some pretty impressive numbers.

 

Only the poster was promoting the G5!

 

5 generations old and he's only lost 6 mph of club head speed and 25 yards compared to the numbers in the G30 video on Ping's landing page.

 

LOL! Good catch! Would love to see more examples of OEMs contradicting themselves!

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LOL! Good catch! Would love to see more examples of OEMs contradicting themselves!

 

I share this NOT to dis Ping.  I'm very excited to try the G30.  

 

I share this because of my personal belief that golf equipment design evolves with what paleontologists call "punctuated equilibrium".   Big changes occur rapidly, but are quite rare, and after a paradigm shift they are broken up by long periods of stasis.   The ProV1 ball was a big change, not many gains since.   I think driver head design reached a plateau about 2005-2007 and we have leveled off since then.  

 

I got my butt handed to me this weekend at the "G5" course by machine-consistent senior playing forged blades and a Razr Hawk fixed shaft driver.  He never missed, was longer and straighter than me every hole.   I asked him why he didn't get new equipment, he said, "Oh I try them all, I just never see improvement, so why bother to switch?"

 

If you haven't changed your equipment in say 10-15 years and you get properfly fitted now, you'll see a big change.   If you have gotten new, properly-fitted equipment in the last 5 years, you'll see almost nothing.   But this is the last thing golf mannies want you to know.   That knowledge doesn't sell clubs.

bag - SunMountain Synch with Ogio Synergy X4 cart
driver - :callaway-small: Optiforce 440, Paderson Kevlar Green stiff 46.5"
fwoods - :taylormade-small: Jetspeed, 3HL regular
irons - :taylormade-small:  Speedblades 3-8, 85g stiff steel, 2 up
wedges - :edilon-small: Scor 40, 45, 50, 54, 58
putter - :ping-small: Ketsch 35" slight arc, SuperStroke 2.0 mid-slim
ball - :titelist-small: ProV1x

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My favorite manufacturer about-face is the one TMag made with the SLDR.  When it was first launched in the summer of 2013, it was actually touted as a "HI LAUNCH" driver  (See the image below).   They were saying that the SLDR launched high, not that you needed to buy a driver that was 2 degrees higher in loft than you were used to.   There was no talk of lofting up at that time and TMag was churning out 8 and 9 degree heads.  

 

Very quickly word came back from the street that normal folks could not get the thing airborne and TMag started to say, "use the 12 degree head for optimal launch angle".  Then they start to make a 14 degree head and launch their "Loft Up" campaign as if we were the dodo heads who didn't understand the new tech.   And of course, with our short term memories, we've forgotten the whole about face.   We Loft Up with our 12 degree SLDR's and forgive the past.

 

BTW, I'm not saying that the SLDR is bad and I can personally attest to the fact that it's better in a 12 degree spec than an 8 or a 9 (because I bought it in both.)   But I am categorically stating that the low, forward CG of the SLDR does NOT naturally produce a high launch.

 

 

1-L.jpg

bag - SunMountain Synch with Ogio Synergy X4 cart
driver - :callaway-small: Optiforce 440, Paderson Kevlar Green stiff 46.5"
fwoods - :taylormade-small: Jetspeed, 3HL regular
irons - :taylormade-small:  Speedblades 3-8, 85g stiff steel, 2 up
wedges - :edilon-small: Scor 40, 45, 50, 54, 58
putter - :ping-small: Ketsch 35" slight arc, SuperStroke 2.0 mid-slim
ball - :titelist-small: ProV1x

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I received my G30 yesterday and am excited to put it through its paces.   I very much appreciate Greenadam's reports.   I hope I can add useful insights to the databank for the benefit of others.

 

I am just a "joe-golfer".   I do not test clubs for any vested interest, nor do I accept free clubs for testing.   Everything I try, I buy with my own money.  I am under no obligation to say or write anything I don't believe.  I post my impressions here because MGS does not tamper with, edit or attempt to influence my reviews.

 

95% of everything I try gets re-sold on ebay the moment I am done with it.   Very little stays in my bag and those things I keep have to prove themselves significantly superior to what I'm currently gaming or they get sold.  Strangely, I find that very few clubs or gear are "bad".   Most are just okay, or no better or worse than what I've got.   .

 

g30 sole.jpg

 

Initial Impressions - I bought this 9 degree G30 on ebay for $280.   As you can see, it is brand new and according to Ping, authentic.   That's about $70 less than retail, not a bad deal for only a few weeks after release. 

 

I bought this head with a regular TFC 419 shaft, which I will test, but certainly not use much because I knew from the outset that I would reshaft with my preferred fitted shaft in a custom length.  My SS is about 105-108, so I can play stiff shafts and Ping says I should play an X, but instead I prefer extremely low torque, somewhat heavier Regular shafts for a little bit more kick.   I don't think the very torque-y Ping regular (torque of 5) will suit me well.  9 degrees was a good loft for me when I tried the G25 with my preferred shaft, so I went with it on the G30 as well. 

 

My preferred shaft is a high launching Fujikura regular that weighs about 75 grams with torque of 2.9.  I'm not claiming that this shaft is ideal for the G30 or ideal for anyone else.   I am saying that I got fitted for it way back on the Cally Razr Fit and it has worked great for me ever since.   Most of the time I have seen improved performance with it over stock shafts regardless of manufacturer (and I've tried about 20 heads so far.)   At least I will have eliminated one variable in my testing because the shafts will be identical.

 

The G30 is a pretty club with a large, flat G25 style head.  I like the blue, silver and black color scheme, which matches my bag and Speedblades nicely.   (Too bad color coordination is not a factor in selecting a driver!)   The matte black head is pretty.   You can only BARELY see the word turbulators" on the crown and I had a hard time photographing it.   I can't imagine anyone would be disturbed by this writing when looking at it at address.

 

turbulator.jpg

 

The turbulators themselves are small.  I think that they help in face alignment with this black-on-black head, but they are such small little winglets that I find it hard to believe they actually do anything significant.   I mean, compared to the bumps and grooves and channels and ridges that adorn the soles of nearly all clubs, how are these little topside lumps going to disrupt air effectively enough to improve my SS?   I'd be surprised if they do.

 

As a final note for this pre-test post, let me say that last year I found the G25 to be only okay.   Not the longest, not the most forgiving, not the lowest spinning -- just okay.   If all 2012-2013 drivers were in a bin with lofts and shafts I liked, the G25 would be about the 4th or 5th I reached for.   I wasn't a big fan of its feel or sound, but I had no other major beefs with it.   The G30 would have to stand out in a much bigger way than the G25 did for me to bag it.   We'll see.

bag - SunMountain Synch with Ogio Synergy X4 cart
driver - :callaway-small: Optiforce 440, Paderson Kevlar Green stiff 46.5"
fwoods - :taylormade-small: Jetspeed, 3HL regular
irons - :taylormade-small:  Speedblades 3-8, 85g stiff steel, 2 up
wedges - :edilon-small: Scor 40, 45, 50, 54, 58
putter - :ping-small: Ketsch 35" slight arc, SuperStroke 2.0 mid-slim
ball - :titelist-small: ProV1x

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Ping G30 First Range Impressions -

 

Process -  Here's how I normally test drivers.   I don't care if a driver is a good fit for the average golfer and I'm not writing for him.   I only care if this driver in my hand is better for me or not.   If it is close or promising, I'll fiddle with it at length to find a optimal shaft and dial in the right settings.  So I start by taking a contender to the range to hit a bucket side by side with my gamer.   This is just a "getting-to-know-you" session.  I don't ask much from the new club or its stock shaft.  I try to learn the way it likes to be hit and what are its quirks.  I play with the hosel settings and usually have to fiddle quite a bit with stance and address and grip to close the faces down enough to hit straight shots.   I use a lot of Dr. Scholls and tees of varying heights to adjust my address to get the club to hit center face. 

 

This first range session with a new driver usually reveals two things to me:  1) The stock shaft will under-perform compared to my custom shaft, and 2) the head will be unpromisingly bland. 

 

On occasion I'll see a head demonstrate potential in the first range session and I'll be excited to give it a long second look.  (Most recently, the Jetspeed showed some promise.)   Also on occasion I'll see a head with so little potential that I won't even take it to phase 2 testing.  (Nike Covert 1.0).  Most of the time I see little to inspire me.   

 

This phase 1 session with the G30 was the most promising one I have had in over a year.

 

Almost all range shots seemed to find center face.  I had no problems with the stock regular TFC 419 shaft, which was not at all too whippy for me.  In fact I hit a lot of draws with it and no slices.   Trajectory was initially a little low at 9.0, but I dialed it up one degree and it was fine.   The G30 felt longer, more stable, less spinny, and quite a bit more forgiving than the G25.   It was so easy to hit squarely that I soon found myself trying to crank it to see how much abuse it would tolerate.   (Quite a bit, as it turned out.).   

 

Because the range I was on has bad sight lines out past 250, I could not tell which club was longer, but I can say that the stock G30 felt as long as my beloved custom-shafted Optiforce gamer with its >+1" extra shaft length.   As soon as I get my preferred shaft in, we'll really see something.  This one is definitely going to phase 2 testing, which consists of at least 36 holes side by side testing, with another half dozen range buckets, and (if I can) some launch monitor comparisons.

 

Forgiveness -  I've seen some posters claim the G30 has a beautiful "gear effect" that corrects bad shots.   Other counter-arguments dismiss this as nonsense, but I can see what they meant.  I saw shots start to fade and then corkscrew back on me.   This club had the tightest dispersion pattern I've seen since the 913d2, which was very forgiving and tight last year, just very short.

 

Sound -  It's horrible, of course.  A high, tinny, piercing bell that makes me embarassed that other people might be as bothered by it as I am.   I hate it, just like I hated the G25, but if the sombitch puts the ball out farther and straighter than what I'm currently playing, I don't care if it whistles a Spice Girls song as it swings.

 

Turbulators -  They did help me with face alignment, but I have NO IDEA if they increase SS or not.  I'll probably have to get on a LM to tell.   Frankly, if this club had no turbulators and showed the same promise I saw today, I'd still be tempted.  

 

Overall -  The head is really big in the same squashed manta ray shape as the G25.   It makes my 440 Opti look like a 3wood.  It felt like a much more forgiving and lively head than the G25 and the shaft felt leaps and bounds better than the old Ping stock shaft.   I don't know what they changed, but BRAVO, Ping.   (This is where the Ping engineers start sniggering to themselves, "That shaft is the same as last year with a different skin and it's just a G25 head with bumps!")   I don't care.   It feels very different and very new to me.

 

On to phase 2!

bag - SunMountain Synch with Ogio Synergy X4 cart
driver - :callaway-small: Optiforce 440, Paderson Kevlar Green stiff 46.5"
fwoods - :taylormade-small: Jetspeed, 3HL regular
irons - :taylormade-small:  Speedblades 3-8, 85g stiff steel, 2 up
wedges - :edilon-small: Scor 40, 45, 50, 54, 58
putter - :ping-small: Ketsch 35" slight arc, SuperStroke 2.0 mid-slim
ball - :titelist-small: ProV1x

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I took the G30 out for a head to head 9 hole spin with my Cally. It was the the little engine that almost could even with its stock regular shaft. It hit some fine shots, but got bested 4/6 times, with one tie.  It was nicely straight, but just didn't have the distance. I'll probably not try it again until I get the new shaft in. I nutted it twice and I could see that even those 100% pure shots didn't get me to unconquered territory. But with the preferred shaft, it might.

 

I might even lead tape the toe a bit. It draws a little too much and its swing weight feels light to me.

bag - SunMountain Synch with Ogio Synergy X4 cart
driver - :callaway-small: Optiforce 440, Paderson Kevlar Green stiff 46.5"
fwoods - :taylormade-small: Jetspeed, 3HL regular
irons - :taylormade-small:  Speedblades 3-8, 85g stiff steel, 2 up
wedges - :edilon-small: Scor 40, 45, 50, 54, 58
putter - :ping-small: Ketsch 35" slight arc, SuperStroke 2.0 mid-slim
ball - :titelist-small: ProV1x

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Having studied vehicle aerodynamics at uni, I'm more than confident the turbulators will work but will depends on what swing speed you can generate. The principle is similar to why there are dimpals on a golf ball they are there to disrupt the air flow and create a turbulant layer of air that adheres to the given surface for longer when compared to a more laminar flow. The reduces the drag experienced by the object :)

Driver: Titleist 907 D2 7.5* Aldila VS Proto Shaft 65 X

 

Fairway Woods: Titleist 980F 19* Pro Trajectory stock Titleist 4375 R shaft (desperately need to replace)

 

Irons: Taylormade LT2's 3-PW S300 dynamic golds

 

Sand Wedge: Vokey 56* 256 10 Oil can 8620 finish True temper shaft

 

Lob Wedge: Shark 64* wedge True temper shaft

 

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 blade, 303 GSS Insert, 35'' 330g 4*L 71*L

 

Ball: Pro VI

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Having studied vehicle aerodynamics at uni, I'm more than confident the turbulators will work but will depends on what swing speed you can generate. The principle is similar to why there are dimpals on a golf ball they are there to disrupt the air flow and create a turbulant layer of air that adheres to the given surface for longer when compared to a more laminar flow. The reduces the drag experienced by the object :)

What Salmon said!

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I don't dispute the aerodynamic theory behind turbulators, I just question whether that benefit will amount to anything at the lowly 105 to 108 mph swing speeds that I generate. If it does, I haven't seen it yet.

 

 I put my preferred shaft in my custom length in my G30 today and I took it out for 18 holes head to head with my Optiforce. It was a very close match up. I definitely saw a distance increase with the new shaft and the G30 is as close a contender as I've ever tested. It is not noticeably longer than the Opti, but it may be as long and a bit more forgiving. I'll need a couple more rounds of testing before I can reach a conclusion.

bag - SunMountain Synch with Ogio Synergy X4 cart
driver - :callaway-small: Optiforce 440, Paderson Kevlar Green stiff 46.5"
fwoods - :taylormade-small: Jetspeed, 3HL regular
irons - :taylormade-small:  Speedblades 3-8, 85g stiff steel, 2 up
wedges - :edilon-small: Scor 40, 45, 50, 54, 58
putter - :ping-small: Ketsch 35" slight arc, SuperStroke 2.0 mid-slim
ball - :titelist-small: ProV1x

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I don't dispute the aerodynamic theory behind turbulators, I just question whether that benefit will amount to anything at the lowly 105 to 108 mph swing speeds that I generate. If it does, I haven't seen it yet.

 

 I put my preferred shaft in my custom length in my G30 today and I took it out for 18 holes head to head with my Optiforce. It was a very close match up. I definitely saw a distance increase with the new shaft and the G30 is as close a contender as I've ever tested. It is not noticeably longer than the Opti, but it may be as long and a bit more forgiving. I'll need a couple more rounds of testing before I can reach a conclusion.

Wow... as long and more forgiving could be a pretty big deal. Really enjoying the read and looking forward to hearing more. Starting to make me wonder how it might measure up against my i20.

PING i20 8.5*, TFC707D (S)
Callaway RAZR Fit 15*, neutral setting, stock shaft (S)
PING i20 20*, TFC707H (S)
Adams Pro a12 23*, Matrix Ozik Altus (S)
PING i20 5-PW, TT DG S300, 1.5* flat (purple dot)
SCOR 50*,54*,58*, Genius 12 KBS Tour (S), 1.5* flat, -1/4"
STX xForm 3, 35"
 

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I'll post as I go.  I need to get out again this week.

 

It is a little more hooky than the Opti, but it doesn't fade or slice ever.   It's the first driver I've been tempted to toe weight.   It is more sensitive to proper alignment, so I have to check it twice before I swing, but I feel that if I get it in the right address position, it never strays on me.    Very easy to hit, very easy to return to square.   It's so forgiving it doesn't mind the extra shaft length at all.   Sound is just awful, though.   The loudest, clangiest bell I've yet tried.

bag - SunMountain Synch with Ogio Synergy X4 cart
driver - :callaway-small: Optiforce 440, Paderson Kevlar Green stiff 46.5"
fwoods - :taylormade-small: Jetspeed, 3HL regular
irons - :taylormade-small:  Speedblades 3-8, 85g stiff steel, 2 up
wedges - :edilon-small: Scor 40, 45, 50, 54, 58
putter - :ping-small: Ketsch 35" slight arc, SuperStroke 2.0 mid-slim
ball - :titelist-small: ProV1x

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Went to a range that has really good sight lines and a slight rise that starts at about 280 out so you can see if your balls climb that slope or not.   I hit about 30 balls each with my Optiforce gamer and the G30, head to head, one shot with each, marking down which club "won" each showdown.   Best drive (combination of straight and long) won.   Again, same shaft in the same length in both clubs.

 

My swing wasn't really on with either club, but I counted all the turds with each as well as the good drives.   Too many hooks with both.  

 

It came out a virtual dead heat, but I noticed that very few G30 shots "climbed the rise" down range, while a fair number of Opti shots did.   This is further data confirming to me that Ping in not longer than my gamer, but it's a very consistent club.   If I nut two consecutive drives, the Ping loses.  The Ping wins when I misshit the Opti, which I do with a shade more frequency than I misshit the Ping.

 

I'm seeing no increase in swingspeed.  The G30 doesn't seem to have a hidden top gear like I can occasionally find in the Opti.  I've hit no shots which caused me to remark, "That wasn't me, it was the club!"

 

Sadly, I think I've pretty much maxed out what can be accomplished by a club and shaft with my swingspeed.  I'd be better served by not testing more new clubs and working to improve my rotation or technique to unlock a few mph.

bag - SunMountain Synch with Ogio Synergy X4 cart
driver - :callaway-small: Optiforce 440, Paderson Kevlar Green stiff 46.5"
fwoods - :taylormade-small: Jetspeed, 3HL regular
irons - :taylormade-small:  Speedblades 3-8, 85g stiff steel, 2 up
wedges - :edilon-small: Scor 40, 45, 50, 54, 58
putter - :ping-small: Ketsch 35" slight arc, SuperStroke 2.0 mid-slim
ball - :titelist-small: ProV1x

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