What’s new? How much does it cost? And how does it perform? Hannah Holden brings you the low down on the new Ping G430 range
Ping launched their G430 range at the start of 2023. At the time, the line-up included three drivers, two fairway woods, a hybrid, and a set of game improvement irons.
Now they are back with a late addition, a new fairway wood, the Ping G430 LST fairway wood.
This shares a lot of technology with the rest of the Ping G430 fairway wood range. The difference is this is a low-spinning, tour-style design. It combines a 2041 Beta-Titanium face, and Titanium 8-1-1 body with an 80-gram tungsten sole plate to position the centre of gravity low and back. This increases ball speeds and reduces spin, producing seven yards more distance on average.
Specs:
Loft: 15° (Adjustable +- 1.5°)
Std length: 43”
Swingweight: D2
PING-engineered shafts: Ping Alta CB Black 65 (SR, R, S), PING Tour 2.0 Chrome 65/75 (R, S, X), PING Tour 2.0 Black 65/75 (S, X)
Optional custom shafts: Mitsubishi Kai’Li White 70 (S, X), PRJX HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX 60 (5.5, 6.0, 6.5), 70 (6.0, 6.5)
Stock grip: Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet in six sizes (Blue -1/16”, Red -1/32”, Aqua -1/64”, White-Std, Gold +1/32”, Orange +1/16”)
RRP: £550
Read about the rest of the Ping G430 range below:
Personally, I think the big new change in the Ping drivers comes from the acoustics. People were very hit and miss about if they liked the G425 sound so Ping did a lot of work on improving this in their latest driver models.
They increased the curvature and stiffness of the golf club’s crown, skirt and sole to improve the club’s natural frequency. They also positioned ribs inside the club head to change vibrations that affect the sound off the face.
Clubface
The face is forged and has variable face thickness to deliver more face flexing and more consistent ball speeds across the face. The G430 clubface is 6% thinner than we saw in the G425 to help drive up ball speeds. It is also 0.1″ shallower.
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Spinsistency
The club face of the drivers features a variable roll radius which delivers less loft lower on the face. This delivers more ball speed on low strikes and also allows for more consistent spin and carry distances.
Carbonfly Wrap
In the LST model, we see a new Carbonfly Wrap technology. Essentially the crown wraps into the heel and toe of the bottom of the club. Not only just this save weight, it also allows the CG to be repositioned lower to help bring down that spin.
LST stands for low-spin technology. This is designed to be a better players club that spins less and launches lower.
The G430 Max driver is aimed at delivering maximum distance and forgiveness. It sits in the middle of their driver line and will likely suit the vast majority of golfers.
SFT stands for straight flight technology. This model is about delivering distance and forgiveness in an anti-slice model that helps eliminate the right side of the golf course for good.
There are two fairway woods in this year’s G430 line-up – the Max and the SFT. Interestingly, Ping have made the decision not to have an LST model.
Carbonfly Wrap
Across the range, we see an eight-layer carbon crown that wraps onto the skirt of the stainless steel head. This saves 10 grams from the crown and allows a lower CG placement. The carbon crown is also designed to help improve acoustics.
Spincistency
As with drivers, this is a huge story in the rest of the metalwoods. There is a tighter roll radius across the clubface to maximise ball speed but also reduce spin and make the spin more consistent. This should result in more carry distance consistently especially on low face strikes.
The G430 Max fairway wood is the main most forgiving model that will suit the majority of golfers.
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The G430 SFT fairway wood aims to deliver distance and forgiveness in a draw bias package.
Hybrids are really designed to be gap fillers so Ping have provided lots of options to replace mid and long iron gaps. The Ping G430 Max hybrid is the only model in this range but it is offered from 2-hybrid down to 7-hybrid so you can optimise your golf bag set-up.
These are designed to suit all skill levels and have a blend of distance and forgiveness.
The adjustable hosel offers eight different settings including being able to tweak both loft and lie angle.
The back of the Ping G430 irons look radically different to the G425 model they are replacing. This is thanks to the new PurFlex technology on the back of the clubhead.
PurFlex
This zone features seven flex zones which restrict the club face less, allowing it to bend more and generate more ball speed. They also help reduce spin while improving sound and feel by dampening vibrations.
Lower CG
Ping have lowered the centre of gravity in the irons so it is more aligned with the force line of your shots. This will help increase ball speeds on shots low on the face.
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