Hannah Holden says it is Ping’s best looking range yet. But there is so much more to the G425 line-up. Here’s everything you need to know
Before it has even launched to the UK market the Ping G425 range has racked up some serious traction on tour. The driver has already featured in six wins across five tours, most recently with A Lim Kim‘s impressive victory in the US Women’s Open.
First Impressions
I don’t know what it is about an all-black finish that just makes a golf club extremely appealing. Ping have hit the nail on the head with this new slate and black colourway which even expands into the new stock shaft offerings.
Typically Ping are bold with their colourways and, although I don’t mind this, there are certain football fans at NCG HQ who squirm when you remind them they are using a golf club in the colours of a rival team. No problems in that department this year.
Right, I’m going to give you a quick rundown of everything in the new G425 range then you can catch my reviews on our YouTube channel in the coming days to see how I’ve been getting on with them.
Ping G425 drivers
The big story behind the drivers is distance from forgiveness. For the majority of players using a more forgiving club and creating a straighter shot shape is actually going to allow them to carry the ball further.
G425 Max: This is the main model that is likely to suit most golfers and has the highest MOI in Ping history – which also makes it their most forgiving. So how has this been done?
The crown, that’s the top of the club to you and me, has been made significantly lighter. This means Ping could add a much bigger weight at the back of the club, 26 grams of tungsten up from 16 grams in the G410 model.
This is still a moveable weight so it can be adjusted to make the driver more draw or fade bias.
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G425 LST (low spin technology): This model is designed to spin less than the other offerings infact on average it provides 200rpm less spin compared to the G410 LST and 500-700rpm compared to the G425 Max.
It has a smaller more compact 455cc head as well as being more pear shaped This has the lowest amount of tungsten in the range with 17 grams.
G425 SFT (straight flight technology): This is for all you slicers out there as it is designed to have 25 yards more draw bias than the Max model.
It has a fixed 23-gram tungsten weight on the back that shifts the CG closer to the heel to promote a right to left shot shape. It also has a lighter D1 swing weight to influence the ball flight.
Across the range all three models feature turbulators – those are the ridges on the crown – for reduced aerodynamic drag and a t9S+ forged face to accelerate face flexing for more speed. An internal rib structure improves acoustics. They also have a lightweight eight-position hosel for adjusting loft and lie angle to dial in ball flight.
Ping G425 fairway woods and hybrids
Here the technology gets a bit complicated – unless words like “spinsistency” were already on your radar. No? Me neither.
The two key technologies here are face wrap and spinsistency which combine to deliver more distance and spin predictability to ensure proper gapping throughout the bag.
Facewrap is a strong thin steel which makes up the club face and also extends up and over on to the crown. This allows the face to flex more and give you more ball speed which means more distance for all.
Spinsistency is – you guessed it – about spin and making it as consistent as possible.
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To do this Ping have worked on the clubface optimising the shape. While you may think these are completely flat they actually have a complex curve shape to them. This is most obvious at the bottom of the club face where the loft drops down to just 2.5°.
The reason for this is to create consistent spin across all shots no matter where you strike them on the face. This will also give you an increase in ball speed for more distance especially on strikes low on the face. So although launch direction will be more variable the spin will be very consistent.
The fairway woods are offered in Max (3-, 5-, 7- and 9-wood), LST (3-wood) and SFT (3-, 5- and 7-wood). The hybrids are available in 17°, 19°, 22°, 26°, 30° and a new 34° offering.
Ping G425 Crossover
The Crossover is designed to be a gap filler in your bag as a long iron replacement option.
A thinner face delivers higher ball speeds and forgiveness is supplied via toe and hosel weights that expand the perimeter weighting to increase MOI. This all results in higher flying longer shots.
The stealth hydropearl finish also helps to repel water and improve performance in all conditions.
The Crossover is available in 2 (18º), 3 (20º) and 4 (22.5º).
Ping G425 irons
Visually the G425 iron offering is smaller this year thanks to a shorter heel to toe length.
Ping have made this more forgiving by having more extreme weighting in the heel and toe. This gives these 3% more MOI than the G410 model for more forgiveness.
It also features a metal-wood style face with a variable thickness design. The advantage of this is it can flex more giving a boost in ball speed and launching shots higher and further. This is important to allow shots to land softly and hold greens.
There is also a new badge on the back of the club which is made up of numerous materials and covers more of the club face to dampen vibrations, improving sound and feel.
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Anything else?
All clubs now feature the Arccos Caddie Smart Grip and if you purchase a set of six or more G425 irons you can get eight free Arccos sensors as well as a free 30 day trial for the Arccos Caddie app so you track all your stats to your hearts content.
Details
Available: Fittings from January 11, 2021; In store February 4, 2021
Stock shafts: Ping Alta CB Slate, SR, R, S or X (drivers, fairway woods, hybrids and Crossover); AWT 2.0 (steel iron shaft); Alta CB Slate (graphite iron shaft)
Grips: Golf Pride Lite 360 Tour Velvet, Arccos Caddie Smart
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