Ping G430 LST

Blake Hopkins · August 13, 2023

Hi everyone, this is my first post on here, so I apologize in advance if I’m doing this wrong. I wanted to make this post here to say that I 10/10 recommend the Ping G430 LST model to golfers, especially those who spin it a bit much off the tee.
Background: I’m a high school golfer, aspiring to play in college, and a 2.8 handicap index currently. Tee shots and approach shots have always been my forte, while putting has usually been my bane. However, over the last year, as my swing speed improved dramatically, I started losing distance and consistency off the tee with my 3 year old TS2 Driver that I was fit for in 2020. I was getting very little roll, and at first thought that it might be the ball, I play a ProV1. So, I went to get a ball fitting at Golf Galaxy, and was told that the problem was my driver, and I was getting ~4300 rpm’s of spin off the tee. This blew my mind, but I didn’t want to do anything about it as that driver felt great and was simply what I was used to. However, at one point in April I was hitting on the range, and smoked one, and the crown cracked. Yes, the crown, the top of the club. I’ve never seen that before. Anyhow, that forced me to go in to get fit for a new driver.

The fitting: I started hitting some of the newer drivers, like the Stealth, Paradym, TSR2, and of course the Ping G430. I got fit into a tour flex shaft, a kai’li x stiff 60 gram std LNG. Instantly loved the look and the feel of the G430. From the first shot I knew it was a game changer for me. By the end of the fitting, I lost ~2000 rpms of spin, gained 15 yards of carry, and a whopping 38 yards of distance!!! According to the trackman, and subsequent on course testing, I went from hitting it 253 off the tee to an average of 291, with some shots going as far as 340!

Now: Since then I’ve lost some distance, but that is because I’ve taken a leaf out of Tommy Fleetwood’s book and sacrificed a bit of distance for accuracy. Now I average 284 off the tee according to Arccos data, which is still an improvement of 31 yards. Not only did I gain distance, but I also got a tighter dispersion. Out of a driver that isn’t really known to be forgiving, I’ve begun to hit over 50% of fairways, while before I was averaging around 43%. I attribute this to lower spin rates making huge slices or hooks a bit less prominent as there isn’t as much spin to take the ball off line, but I could be incorrect. I also love the look of the club, the workability is still amazing, and the “idiot-proof” adjustability is great. I only have two negatives, and both are pretty small. The first is that the sole of the club scratches really easily, even just from tees, and as I hit an absurd amount of golf balls per week this just doesn’t look the best, though it doesn’t impact performance at all, only aesthetics. The only other downside I have is the head cover. It just does not seem to be made out of very quality material, and is a little tight without being flexible whatsoever, so it can be a little frustrating to put on.

tldr: love the ping g430 LST, it took off a crazy amount of spin for me and added 38 yards of distance, great feel, sound, and looks. Only real downsides are a seeming lack of durability on the sole, and a head cover that isn’t nearly as premium as the club itself

GolfSpy_APH · August 13, 2023

Agree it's an amazing Club! Really regret selling mine

glad you found one that works for you and thanks for the writeup!

Shapotomous · August 13, 2023

Nice review and welcome to the forum. Keep us posted on the college golf journey!

russtopherb · August 13, 2023

Welcome aboard, and great writeup! Those drivers have definitely gotten a lot of love.

bens197 · August 13, 2023

The LST line has been phenomenal…glad you are happy with yours! Keep up the good work

dp79 · August 17, 2023

Exactly the reason I went back to Ping last year. I have the G425 now and love it. My misses aren't quite as wild, and toe or heel shots tend to fly further. I had switched from Ping to the Taylormade M2 years ago because I loved the more piercing ball flight I was getting with it and the shaft I was fitted for. However, when I wasn't hitting it well, the misses seemed like they didn't go anywhere and spun way more. I went back to get fitted again after a couple years and the results showed the Ping G425 was a way better driver for me after trying a handful of different ones.

Adamman84 · August 22, 2023

Fantastic results, glad that it worked out for you! I went through a fitting and bought a TSR2 driver about 8 months ago and the driver has been great, but recently I decided to do a full on fitting with the 430 line (both the Max and LST drivers) and ended up getting fitted for the Max over the TSR2 (which gave me 10+ yards AVERAGE of carry and overall distance plus a tighter landing with the Ping.

I wish I could have gotten the LST, but my overall performance with the Max was so much better for me that I couldnt say no...so of course I ordered a 430 Max haha.

vamosjackets · August 23, 2023

Very cool; glad you shared that experience. I have an interesting comparison of my own recent fitting with yours. I also previously gamed a TS2 that I got fit for in 2020 by Club Champion. I felt like I wasn't getting all the distance I should be getting but also still felt pretty "married" to that Driver because I knew it so well and it was fit for me. Well, I got a very inexpensive fitting at Mizuno Experience in which the ST-X 230 with an X-Stiff Hzrdus shaft got me at least an extra 10-12 yards, which then got my curiosity itching even more, so I bit the bullet and got fit at True Spec. Long story a little shorter, I found the 430 LST to be very spinny for me - just about the same spin as my old TS2 and the Mizuno ST-X 230. So, for me it was significantly shorter than the top 3 - Paradym, Aerojet LS, and Stealth 2 Plus ... and I found that I had less control with it than those as well. For me, Paradym was most forgiving/consistent, Aerojet LS was longest, and Stealth 2 Plus was best overall (almost as forgiving as Paradym and almost as long as Aerojet). I gained somewhere around 28 yards of average distance with any of those three over my old TS2. Now, I think I would also attribute just as much credit to the newly fitted shaft - a Ventus TR Black 6X (a lot more stiff and stable than the previously fitted one). Even my swing speed went up 3-5 mph just from switching shafts. Just shows that each one of us might have a different sword that comes alive in our hands, which, to me, just adds to the coolness of Golf.

On course, with the new club I started out pretty rough the first two rounds, but the new Driver and I have gotten to know each other a lot better with some extra practice over the last two weeks and I'm finding it to be close to what I hoped - longer and just as accurate (maybe even a little more).

RoverRick · August 25, 2023

Nicely done, and welcome Blake. I bought a G430 LST today. Practice day tomorrow and club championship this weekend. Very excited to make this change. I’ve been delaying it for sometime, but long game has been so bad I decided it couldn’t hurt.

I’m not sure the LST is better for my swing speed than the max. They were very close. 9° MAX or 10.5° LST were neck and next but I like the looks of the LST more and had a MAX in the 425, and I felt like I had to back up when hitting into the wind.