2019 Official Forum Member Review-Ping G410 Driver

[PING Apologist #9]

2 hours ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

Flex is often more a result of your transition than just swing speed.  I don't have as high of swing speed of some, but have a very aggressive transition, so I am often fit into a R or even stiff for that reason.   That's the benefit of an experienced fitter vs just some guy in the big box store that's going off swing speed. 

I've never heard this put so simply before Rob. It most likely explains why I gravitate toward Stiff flex and seem to do better with that style even tough I hover in the high 80's to mid 90's SS range which "should" be an no-brainer selection for R-Flex every time. BUT, when I've tried R-Flex shafts they just feel "weird" and I cannot hit very well with them-especially driver. I must, like you, have an "aggressive transition". In fact during my relative short time within these forums, I've noticed quite a number of similarities between both our games. Sometimes I wonder if we're distant cousins or something..? "Have they ever been seen in the same room together?" some must ask...

[PING Apologist #9]

2 hours ago, revkev said:

Okay first at Rob, I thought of you while we were playing - it was worse - this wasn’t a scramble, so own ball from around 6500 yards at sea level on a TPC course where the winning score when it hosted champions tour events was generally around 8 under.

 

Still a fun day - Rookie is a great guy even though he doesn’t post here much any more - we just had fun regardless of score.

 

To the fitting and I in no way mean to steal the thunder of our guys here but it’s a fun comparison because I was a G400 tester so that driver is only 15 months old.

 

My fitter for that test was a top fitter but not a Ping exclusive guy where as my fitter today is Ping only. My irons are in my bag at a recommendation from a ball fitting a little over 2 years ago.

 

I won’t talk about the gapping part of the fitting beyond the fact that we started with that and established two things very quickly. I’m a head case and my current G30 irons fit me great. I could still game a 6 iron as the longest iron as I hit it as far as my current next club which I knew going in. My launch angle and spin rates are text book for my swing speed.

 

So armed with that knowledge I just came from a range session where I flushed iron after iron. Did I mention that I’m a head case?

 

Fast forward an hour and we got to driver at the end of the fitting. I hit some drives with my driver - they were all between 225 and 235 which is what I saw yesterday but ball flight was inconsistent. My fitter said, “I can get you 10 yards - take this, don’t look at it and hit it.” 94 mph SS, 138 ball speed, 228 carry, 240 - launch 15.5 spin rate of 2800. All three with that driver were like that - really high window- reminded me of the SLDR - he said yeah but this is way more forgiving. Even the one you missed went 228 and would be in most fairways.

 

So it was a 12 degree 410 plus with a senior flex shaft. He said he’s fit a few guys like me with this shaft - it’s made for your consistent swing and tempo - just don’t be afraid of the high launch window and a little spin.

 

I ordered the driver and will let you know how it does when it comes in.

 

 

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Good stuff Rev! Thanks for taking the time to thump this out so quickly! Sounds like you have a potential new winner there and I look forward to hearing more after it arrives.

Which flavor of shaft? Alta CB Red? My 7w has one of those and it is legit. If I could get hold of one for my driver in stiff, I'd give it a shot too. Tried one in R-flex which is what my "fitter" had recommended, but I was all over the Atlas with it...

[revkev]

Good stuff Rev! Thanks for taking the time to thump this out so quickly! Sounds like you have a potential new winner there and I look forward to hearing more after it arrives.
Which flavor of shaft? Alta CB Red? My 7w has one of those and it is legit. If I could get hold of one for my driver in stiff, I'd give it a shot too. Tried one in R-flex which is what my "fitter" had recommended, but I was all over the Atlas with it...

The Distanza 40. I felt like I was swinging the green club for those who do SuperSpeed. And he wants me at as long as I can tolerate. He’d actually go Brook Henderson for me if he could.


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[PING Apologist #9]

1 minute ago, revkev said:

 

The Distanza 40. I felt like I was swinging the green club for those who do SuperSpeed. And he wants me at as long as I can tolerate. He’d actually go Brook Henderson for me if he could.


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Good stuff. Not heard much about that shaft around here, so I'm looking forward to getting your valuable opinion on it. Thanks for the info Rev and have fun with it!

[tony@CIC]

He’d actually go Brook Henderson for me if he could.


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As in Brook Henderson long driver shaft?


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[tony@CIC]

Flex is often more a result of your transition than just swing speed.  I don't have as high of swing speed of some, but have a very aggressive transition, so I am often fit into a R or even stiff for that reason.   That's the benefit of an experienced fitter vs just some guy in the big box store that's going off swing speed. 

I'm sure that's what it was. My fitter really opened my eyes to swing and the right equipment.

 

 

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[Golfspy_CG2]

2 hours ago, PING Apologist #9 said:

I've never heard this put so simply before Rob. It most likely explains why I gravitate toward Stiff flex and seem to do better with that style even tough I hover in the high 80's to mid 90's SS range which "should" be an no-brainer selection for R-Flex every time. BUT, when I've tried R-Flex shafts they just feel "weird" and I cannot hit very well with them-especially driver. I must, like you, have an "aggressive transition". In fact during my relative short time within these forums, I've noticed quite a number of similarities between both our games. Sometimes I wonder if we're distant cousins or something..? "Have they ever been seen in the same room together?" some must ask...

LOL.  And I thought long lost cousins only came out when you won the lottery.

But seeing some ofcrhe distances you were hitting that driver, I wish our games were similar. 

[PING Apologist #9]

1 hour ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

LOL.  And I thought long lost cousins only came out when you won the lottery.

But seeing some ofcrhe distances you were hitting that driver, I wish our games were similar. 

Indeed! Man I wish I had the where-with-all to channel those shots in a consistent manner myself.

[revkev]

As in Brook Henderson long driver shaft?


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Yep because I have a controlled swing I’m an ideal candidate for a longer shaft.


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[PING Apologist #9]

Hit the range tonight and after the requisite warm-up, I began to work on my take-away and transition with driver. I really learned something tonight for sure. Every time I kept my hands close to my right hip when I began transitioning to the back-swing (key), paused near the top and felt my wrists hinge, transitioned my weight to the left foot and began opening my hips a bit early, I could feel my wrists turn over as I threw my hands at the ball and tried to hit my left ear on the follow through...MAGIC! Just stroke after stroke (well, with some F-Ups) was as consistent of a session that I've ever been able to put together. My 20 best shots (3 deleted that were below 220) averaged 240 and I somehow can still squeeze a few shots out to 260 and even 270..!

Most of the shots were straight, but I had a 2 that I sliced away at, and had another pair mixed in that went dead straight left that both went for miles... The majority of these shots however (not all shown), were mostly right down range with maybe a slight fade at most. It was a fun session and weather permitting, I'll hit it again tomorrow.

Also of note, the sound this beast makes is starting to earn a place in my heart. Maybe it's not so bad after all...

FYI, the second column with the mph stats is calculated ball speed. This little LM is pretty basic and I have to do some hoop-jumping to translate those figures into clubhead speeds. My good and long hits register in with SS of around an average of 93-mph and top out nearer to 96 if I do the math right... I think my average SS with driver is more near the 90-92 range FYI.

[fixyurdivot]

10 hours ago, PING Apologist #9 said:

Hit the range tonight and after the requisite warm-up, I began to work on my take-away and transition with driver. I really learned something tonight for sure. Every time I kept my hands close to my right hip when I began transitioning to the back-swing (key), paused near the top and felt my wrists hinge, transitioned my weight to the left foot and began opening my hips a bit early, I could feel my wrists turn over as I threw my hands at the ball and tried to hit my left ear on the follow through...MAGIC! Just stroke after stroke (well, with some F-Ups) was as consistent of a session that I've ever been able to put together. My 20 best shots (3 deleted that were below 220) averaged 240 and I somehow can still squeeze a few shots out to 260 and even 270..!

Most of the shots were straight, but I had a 2 that I sliced away at, and had another pair mixed in that went dead straight left that both went for miles... The majority of these shots however (not all shown), were mostly right down range with maybe a slight fade at most. It was a fun session and weather permitting, I'll hit it again tomorrow.

Also of note, the sound this beast makes is starting to earn a place in my heart. Maybe it's not so bad after all...

FYI, the second column with the mph stats is calculated ball speed. This little LM is pretty basic and I have to do some hoop-jumping to translate those figures into clubhead speeds. My good and long hits register in with SS of around an average of 93-mph and top out nearer to 96 if I do the math right... I think my average SS with driver is more near the 90-92 range FYI.

Looking good!  It seems we're getting very similar results. Traditional faders (sounds much better than slicers) seeing much straighter ball flights - one using the SFT and the other the Plus.  

[fixyurdivot]

Like @PING Apologist #9, I spent some time at the range and played 18 holes yesterday.  This is the first time I had a chance to work with my new (used) SC200 which I purchased from our fellow MGS @juspoole.  I was pleased at how easy it is to use the SC200 and how closely it matched numbers from the $10000+ system used by my fitter.  I was even more pleased to see the gains in carry distance from the hosel setting adjustments we made last week during my side by side comparison with the Razr-Fit.  CD has increased by almost 10 yards!!  This my longest with the data group averaging 237.  

This device is going to be great helping dial in the change in yardage when I get my G410 irons. As for course play, the new settings worked well.  I played a two drives, best ball (drive only) format as the course was wide open.  Of the 28 drives, 23 were in the fairway and only 3 outside of the second cut.  On hole 7, I drilled both drives to within a yard of each other and my Voice Caddy showed them to be 278 yards.

These were so good, I couldn't pick best ball - so I played both in (yellow made birdie).   One thing I noticed is that the several slight fade shots did not lose that much distance as compared to the straighter (even slight draw) flights.  I suspect the new hosel setting and weight in "draw" position is creating less side spin?  This driver continues to perform and confidence on the tee keeps getting better.  Who knows, with the addition of the G410 irons (ETA June 10), I might finally see that single digit handicap .

[StrokerAce]

We should have a "battle of the drivers" between you guys and the Callaway ESZ guys....both of these drivers sound like they are worth their weight in gold!

Great info and keep up the good work gents...precisely what we we're hoping for when we selected you guys to test.

[PING Apologist #9]

5 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Like @PING Apologist #9, I spent some time at the range and played 18 holes yesterday.  This is the first time I had a chance to work with my new (used) SC200 which I purchased from our fellow MGS @juspoole.  I was pleased at how easy it is to use the SC200 and how closely it matched numbers from the $10000+ system used by my fitter.  I was even more pleased to see the gains in carry distance from the hosel setting adjustments we made last week during my side by side comparison with the Razr-Fit.  CD has increased by almost 10 yards!!  This my longest with the data group averaging 237.  

This device is going to be great helping dial in the change in yardage when I get my G410 irons. As for course play, the new settings worked well.  I played a two drives, best ball (drive only) format as the course was wide open.  Of the 28 drives, 23 were in the fairway and only 3 outside of the second cut.  On hole 7, I drilled both drives to within a yard of each other and my Voice Caddy showed them to be 278 yards.

These were so good, I couldn't pick best ball - so I played both in (yellow made birdie).   One thing I noticed is that the several slight fade shots did not lose that much distance as compared to the straighter (even slight draw) flights.  I suspect the new hosel setting and weight in "draw" position is creating less side spin?  This driver continues to perform and confidence on the tee keeps getting better.  Who knows, with the addition of the G410 irons (ETA June 10), I might finally see that single digit handicap .

Great follow up! Indeed our experiences seem to be pretty parallel of late. I really like the added data you get with the SC200 and I'll be looking for an upgrade into one later this season myself (hopefully). Dig it!

[fixyurdivot]

3 minutes ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

We should have a "battle of the drivers" between you guys and the Callaway ESZ guys....both of these drivers sound like they are worth their weight in gold!

Great info and keep up the good work gents...precisely what we we're hoping for when we selected you guys to test.

I fold like a cheap lawn chair under pressure and would hate to place all that weight on @PING Apologist #9 

[PING Apologist #9]

3 minutes ago, GolfSpy Stroker said:

We should have a "battle of the drivers" between you guys and the Callaway ESZ guys....both of these drivers sound like they are worth their weight in gold!

Great info and keep up the good work gents...precisely what we we're hoping for when we selected you guys to test.

Thanks Bud! Doing a little "battle" sounds intriguing and would most likely motivate me to get into some new tech that tracks my on-course performance. I'd be in.

[alex_hill]

Low Spin is the signature of Ping G400.The Tungsten made structure moves the weight towards the face to reduce the spin. This little spin is responsible for stability and forgiveness. You will get increased speed and distance from this specially engineered driver.see
Multi-material structure gives reduced drag whereas thinner and stronger face comes with enhanced distance and speed. Did I mention deep CG and improved accuracy?

Ping is famous for its Dragonfly Technology. This design technology produces an improvised skirt and super thin crown to save weight. This weight saving design provides a deep CG that results in enhanced forgiveness and accuracy.

Edited May 31, 2019 by alex_hill

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Guys,
 
A bit of advice please.  I have the G410 plus for about 4 weeks.  9 degree and draw setting. Noticing 2 things are reasonably consistently happening:
1.  2/3 of my strokes are towards the heel
2. 60% of my tee shots are fading and missing right.
So I know I have work to do on my swing to get line of attack more from the inside to avoid the fade.
However, utilising the settings available on G410 PLUS what settings would you guys suggest I try that might be best suited to mitigating fade and heel strikes.  

If you are hitting towards the heel of the club 2/3 of the time you may want to look at the length of the club. Try choking down a 1/2” and see if that helps.
I usually determine the length of my driver this way. If it is more heel shots I shorten in and if it is more toe I lengthen it.


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[tony@CIC]

1 hour ago, blackngold_blood said:

If you are hitting towards the heel of the club 2/3 of the time you may want to look at the length of the club. Try choking down a 1/2” and see if that helps.
I usually determine the length of my driver this way. If it is more heel shots I shorten in and if it is more toe I lengthen it.


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Interesting that you're making that adjustment. What is your normal grip position on the shaft - how far down from the butt of the grip? 

[tony@CIC]

22 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

Like @PING Apologist #9, I spent some time at the range and played 18 holes yesterday.  This is the first time I had a chance to work with my new (used) SC200 which I purchased from our fellow MGS @juspoole.  I was pleased at how easy it is to use the SC200 and how closely it matched numbers from the $10000+ system used by my fitter.  I was even more pleased to see the gains in carry distance from the hosel setting adjustments we made last week during my side by side comparison with the Razr-Fit.  CD has increased by almost 10 yards!!  This my longest with the data group averaging 237.  

This device is going to be great helping dial in the change in yardage when I get my G410 irons. As for course play, the new settings worked well.  I played a two drives, best ball (drive only) format as the course was wide open.  Of the 28 drives, 23 were in the fairway and only 3 outside of the second cut.  On hole 7, I drilled both drives to within a yard of each other and my Voice Caddy showed them to be 278 yards.

These were so good, I couldn't pick best ball - so I played both in (yellow made birdie).   One thing I noticed is that the several slight fade shots did not lose that much distance as compared to the straighter (even slight draw) flights.  I suspect the new hosel setting and weight in "draw" position is creating less side spin?  This driver continues to perform and confidence on the tee keeps getting better.  Who knows, with the addition of the G410 irons (ETA June 10), I might finally see that single digit handicap .

Wow I'm envious of your carry distance! I'm just over 200+ yds. Looks like I've got so work ahead of me to compete with you guys. 

[M. Parsons]

@PING Apologist #9 Great Stage 2 BTW.  I know that you talked about struggling with the slice at times, but I'm curious...if you remove the weight from the driver all together, what would that do to this driver?  Would it just make it a super light Plus, or would it really mess up the MOI & CG.  I'm asking you because I know that you also have the G400 SFT that doesn't have the removable weight in the same location.

Edited June 4, 2019 by M. Parsons

[sirchunksalot]

Hit the range tonight and after the requisite warm-up, I began to work on my take-away and transition with driver. I really learned something tonight for sure. Every time I kept my hands close to my right hip when I began transitioning to the back-swing (key), paused near the top and felt my wrists hinge, transitioned my weight to the left foot and began opening my hips a bit early, I could feel my wrists turn over as I threw my hands at the ball and tried to hit my left ear on the follow through...MAGIC! Just stroke after stroke (well, with some F-Ups) was as consistent of a session that I've ever been able to put together. My 20 best shots (3 deleted that were below 220) averaged 240 and I somehow can still squeeze a few shots out to 260 and even 270..!

Most of the shots were straight, but I had a 2 that I sliced away at, and had another pair mixed in that went dead straight left that both went for miles... The majority of these shots however (not all shown), were mostly right down range with maybe a slight fade at most. It was a fun session and weather permitting, I'll hit it again tomorrow.
Also of note, the sound this beast makes is starting to earn a place in my heart. Maybe it's not so bad after all...
FYI, the second column with the mph stats is calculated ball speed. This little LM is pretty basic and I have to do some hoop-jumping to translate those figures into clubhead speeds. My good and long hits register in with SS of around an average of 93-mph and top out nearer to 96 if I do the math right... I think my average SS with driver is more near the 90-92 range FYI.

It's been crazy here for the last couple of days and I'm sorry for the late comment on this, but that 270 and 264 on the screen made me smile. You are killing it! I'm glad to see you are seeing straight flight and I'm glad you had an epiphany with your swing. This game can be so confounding sometimes and when something just clicks, it's amazing.

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[PING Apologist #9]

2 minutes ago, M. Parsons said:

@PING Apologist #9 Great Stage 2 BTW.  I know that you talked about struggling with the slice at times, but I'm curious...if you remove the weight from the driver all together, what would that do to this driver?  Would it just make it a super light Plus, or would it really mess up the MOI & CG.  I'm asking you because I know that you also have the 400 SFT that doesn't have a removable weight.

Hey thanks! Removing the weight altogether would indeed make the head lighter by at least 13-grams, but by doing so, it would destroy what the tech of the club is supposed to do-which is to help rotate and help close the face on impact. Now the G400 SFT does have a removable weight, but it is attached on the sole right behind the "P" (see pic).

I have several different sizes of those weights I tried over time but always settled for the standard 7-gram it came with.

Now take a look at the G410 weight position...

It's a little hard to see but it's positioned on the back edge of the head and a lot closer to the heel and heavier. Mine weighs in at 13-grams (with the screw of course). This re-positioning of the weighting according to PING,  gives "50% more heel-side CG than G400" which "ensures straighter ball flights". I've only just come around to realize these benefits with recent tweaks to my swing on the range and it'll be up to me to continue and maintain this improved driver swing and allow the club to do its job which it really does so well. If I revert back to a steep take-away and come in from over-the-top like I had been, then no club alone is ever going to fix that.

No question that the "Straight Flight Tech" works in both of these models, and it is also no question (imho) that the G410 SFT is better than the G400 SFT, especially in the distance category. My head-to-head tests proved that out in spades. No matter what I tried, I simply couldn't get more out of the G400 than the G410 was giving me and believe you me, I need all the distance I can muster.

Also of note, I had weighed the heads alone with their respective weights in them and both were nearly identical. But the G410 head w/o the weight compared to the G400, also w/o it's weight, was lighter, which explains the heavier weight in the G410 which I believe also helps with the CG & MOI overall.

I hope this all answers your questions a bit. Keep them coming!

[PING Apologist #9]

18 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

It's been crazy here for the last couple of days and I'm sorry for the late comment on this, but that 270 and 264 on the screen made me smile. You are killing it! I'm glad to see you are seeing straight flight and I'm glad you had an epiphany with your swing. This game can be so confounding sometimes and when something just clicks, it's amazing.

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Yeah, I have never hit a golf ball so far ever before. It makes me smile too!!! I just gotta keep practicing my "driver" swing and continue to understand that it will be different than even a FW swing and definitely different than any iron swing. Indeed this game is hard. So many things to remember especially since most of out there are weekend warriors and don't really practice or play enough to make it all so you don't have to think about it.

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Interesting that you're making that adjustment. What is your normal grip position on the shaft - how far down from the butt of the grip? 

My usual grip position is fairly normal. The biggest thing for me is not all clubs feel the same even when the same length and swing weight. At least to me they don’t.

When I get a new driver like the TI M3 I have coming I will start at 44.5” as my beginning point. If I am hitting the heel more often then center I will choke down a half inch at a time until I find the center more often. The reason I start at 44.5” is due to the fact that I am only 5’6” tall and have never had luck with longer than that. A few years ago I started at 44” but found that with some drivers I ended up having to add an extension to get to the 44.5”. Once I know my length after choking down I will pull the grip and butt cut to the desired length.

With all this said, being fit for your clubs is by far an easier way of doing this. However I am one who enjoys the self fitting process and the tinkering at the range trying to dial in a new club. Also the ability to pull and reuse grips has made this way of doing it a lot more affordable!


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[tony@CIC]

23 minutes ago, blackngold_blood said:

My usual grip position is fairly normal. The biggest thing for me is not all clubs feel the same even when the same length and swing weight. At least to me they don’t.

When I get a new driver like the TI M3 I have coming I will start at 44.5” as my beginning point. If I am hitting the heel more often then center I will choke down a half inch at a time until I find the center more often. The reason I start at 44.5” is due to the fact that I am only 5’6” tall and have never had luck with longer than that. A few years ago I started at 44” but found that with some drivers I ended up having to add an extension to get to the 44.5”. Once I know my length after choking down I will pull the grip and butt cut to the desired length.

With all this said, being fit for your clubs is by far an easier way of doing this. However I am one who enjoys the self fitting process and the tinkering at the range trying to dial in a new club. Also the ability to pull and reuse grips has made this way of doing it a lot more affordable!


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Thanks - I did get fit for my 410 and it was ordered 1/2 shorter. However, given my inconsistent swing I am on occasion hitting it off the toe. 

[THEZIPR23]

9 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

Thanks - I did get fit for my 410 and it was ordered 1/2 shorter. However, given my inconsistent swing I am on occasion hitting it off the toe. 

How much if any did you see in ball speed drop off between the std length and 1/2 short? 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Thanks - I did get fit for my 410 and it was ordered 1/2 shorter. However, given my inconsistent swing I am on occasion hitting it off the toe. 

The biggest thing for me is where contact is most often. I also have an inconsistent swing and my misses are normally pushes and slices. So I prefer to have an occasional toe miss over the heel miss simply for the gear effect.

That said somebody that wants to eliminate one side or the other may want a different miss location.


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[tony@CIC]

1 hour ago, THEZIPR23 said:

How much if any did you see in ball speed drop off between the std length and 1/2 short? 

Saw virtually no loss of SS - but a gain in accuracy.

[THEZIPR23]

3 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

Saw virtually no loss of SS - but a gain in accuracy.

That's what I figured. Contact still is and always will be king. More people should consider this. Glad to hear.