When you look up iterative in the dictionary, a picture of PING’s R&D team staff would be a fair companion picture. It’s not that other manufacturers don’t work towards continuous improvement (they do), but, with PING, seemingly small details become the meat of the story.
This brings us to the PING G440 roads and hybrids where everything remains largely the same as the G430 line. However, each update and change has a clear objective and compelling performance implications. Put another way, when PING changes something, there’s generally a good reason and an important context for golfers to consider.
PING G440 roadways
Because I’m in a math mood, let’s talk about constants and variables. As you look at the PING G440 line, most of it looks familiar. The models (SFT, MAX, LST) remain as the basic material construction of each model.
The G440 Max and SFT again use a high-strength C300 stainless steel material for the face and 17-4 stainless steel for the body. Additionally, PING engineers are sticking with a Facewrap structure along with its proprietary Spinsistency face curvature.
A quick refresher if you’re so inclined: Facewrap simply means that face material is wrapped around the crown and sole of the club to increase face flex (and ball speed) over a greater percentage of the face. Spinsistency is a modified spin profile, especially low on the face to help promote more consistent spin and increase ball speed.
Quick note: PING believes there’s more performance it can squeeze out of this plan, so I wouldn’t expect a complete redesign in the near future.
What’s new?
As with the G440’s drivers, perhaps the most important update is something you can’t see. It’s PING’s “free hose design.” When you think of a typical hose adapter, it is a single cylindrical metal sleeve. With the updated design, PING removes part of the middle section of the sleeve, leaving the upper and lower sections. If you’re picturing a game of Jenga at the kitchen table, I’m with you.
This sounds structurally questionable, but not to worry about. PING assures us that, even with less material, the integrity of the hose design is sound. Again, the main reason for the new clutch is to free up some weight (just over 11 grams in the fairway woods) which PING uses primarily to move the CG lower. This sounds easy enough. However, PING increased the face height on each fairway model by three to seven percent. In the absence of any change, doing so would pull the CG higher, hence the need to find a discretionary measure to reset lower in the head.
The net result is the same CG height relative to the ground as the G430’s open roads, but given the taller faces, the CG location is effectively lower and more in line with the center face influence.
It’s an easy detail to miss, but it’s worth noting that the sole weight in the G440 line is more embedded in the construction, which gives the golfer a more consistent face angle of rest and should help with cleaner field interaction. Subtle, but deep – potentially.
Let’s talk about models
The general theme across all models is longer faces and lower CG. In terms of face height, the G440 SFT has the shallowest face, given that it’s likely to be used mostly off-road. It is also the most biased model of the three and is designed with the goal of providing a higher overall flight and trajectory.
As expected, the G440 MAX sits in the middle of the bell curve in terms of trajectory, roll and face height. Compared to the G430 Max, ball speed is similar, but with more launch and less spin. The net result is eight percent tighter distribution according to PING player testing.
Then there’s the G440 LST, the one that impressed me the most during my range session at PING HQ. The Fly Wrap carbon crown, deeper overall profile and new HST 220 Ti face material suggest the LST’s advantage as a durable steering alternative. This is correct. However, for golfers with a driver swing speed of 100+ mph, it is quite capable off the fairway as well.
At address, the deeper face doesn’t easily suggest a club that will be easy to lift off the fairway. I didn’t find that to be the case, and I suspect a good part of that is due to the new face material and low CG location.
On the G440 LST, PING saved some weight from the looser hose design, thinner binding joints on the Fly Wrap carbon crown, and the HST 220 face material, which is eight percent thinner than the Beta Ti 2041 it replaces. A hefty 85-gram single weight is the beneficiary of this harvested weight, which helps create the lowest CG location.
Compared to the G430 LST, the G440 should be several steps longer from the top with similar launch and distribution. Off the field, it’s one mph faster with a slightly higher launch and similar delivery. Again, these numbers are based on PING player testing.
A fun piece of PING G440 info
PING explored HST 220 as a possible face material in the G440 drivers. One small problem: it was very hot. But because fairway woods have smaller faces, it was a better material path to follow for fairway woods.
Which G440 freeway model is right for you?
The PING approach to fitment is holistic in the sense that each new model is designed with a specific use case in mind, which is largely determined by what the other 13 clubs in the bag are intended to do. With that in mind, PING is adding a G440 LST 5-wood and G440 MAX 4-wood. The G440 SFT offerings will remain the same as the G430 line.
Utilizing several data sets, including the 3D motion capture system FOCAL, Arccos and PINGs, the R&D team has been able to draw some significant conclusions.
For example:
- If your driver’s swing speed is 85-90 mph, the lowest fairway height wood you should carry is a 4-wood.
- If your driver swing speed is around 100 mph, your optimal fairway wood setup is 3-wood, 7-wood, 4-iron.
- If your driver’s cruising speed is around 80 mph, the likely setup is 4-wood, 7-wood, 5-hybrid.
Before you get your torches and forks up, I’m aware that the fitment instructions aren’t absolute truths and some individuals may have success with alternate configurations.
That said, PING’s data is quite comprehensive and compelling.
Ping G440 hybrid
Instead of developing discrete hybrid models, PINGs approach was to create six lofts, (2-7) incorporating LST, MAX and SFT attributes where necessary. In terms of off-line bias, the G440 2-hybrid is LST (fade bias), 3 and 4 are neutral (MAX) and 5,6 and 7 have varying amounts of draw bias as SFT.
To achieve this, PING moves the CG from the toe to the middle to the light side of the heel.
Here is some interesting background information. On the LPGA, 90 percent of PING contracted players use a 4-hybrid and 60 percent a 5-hybrid. Given that the average LPGA swing speed is similar to the PING G Series target male player, the tournament staff serves as a perfect source of feedback and R&D on the course.
In terms of changes compared to the G430 hybrids, the G440 has slightly less face height (so more in line with fairway woods) which allows for a slightly thinner face (six percent). The overall shape is more balanced (less toe bias) and the CG is 12 percent lower, largely due to the loose hose design.
To create better spacing solutions, PING felt hybrids needed a higher trajectory (and better stopping power), but with a little more distance. The thinner face and lower CG provided increased speed and an increase in static loft increased flight. So mission accomplished there.
My $0.05
Sitting with PING engineers in a conference room discussing new hardware feels more like a symposium at a small liberal arts college than you might think. What is clear is that PING is content with a release that some might consider predictable, even boring.
But many golfers take comfort in this approach, one that inspires confidence because the technology story is based on substantive R&D without the need for creative storytelling or bold claims. It’s for good reason that in our annual brand surveys it’s clear that consumers trust PING’s approach and continue to support it.
If there’s one criticism of PING, it’s that the fairway woods haven’t always had the horsepower to keep up with the industry leaders, especially in the standard/core model (for PING that’s the MAX). I’ll let our most demanding testing provide a summary assessment, but my feeling is that the G440 line will more than hold its own.
And yet, focusing on the performance of each individual club largely ignores the benefit of PING’s Co-Pilot fitting ecosystem which works to optimize distance and trajectory gap for every club in the bag. The message here is that while we often evaluate a club based on its individual attributes, playing the best golf requires 14 clubs, each with optimized distance, trajectory and flight characteristics.
Price and availabilitythee
PING G440 Fairways are available in the following patterns/lofts: MAX – 3/15°, 4/17°, 5/19°, 7/21° and 9/24°, SFT – 3/16°, 5/19° and 7/22°, LST 3/15° and 5/19°
Stock shafts are PING Alta CB Blue 65 and PING Alta Quick 35/45
MSRP is $385 (MAX and SFT), $600 (LST)
The PING G440 hybrids are available in the following lofts: 2/17°, 3/20°, 4/23°, 5/26°, 6/30° and 7/34°
Stock shafts are PING Alta CB Blue 70 and PING Alta Quick 35/45
MSRP is $325
For more information, visit PING.com
Looking for a deal? Award-winning PING G430 Hybrid Now Big Discount!
Post Why I’m Intrigued by PING G440 Fairways and Hybrids appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
