Ping G430 Max Driver Review

• T9S+ Forged Face – Variable thickness and extreme flex at impact generate forgiveness and distance
• New Internal Rib Structure – Internal ribs create pleasing sound and improve overall strength of the crown and sole
• Spinsistency – A variable roll radius on the face design creates less loft lower in the face and produces consistent spin rates across the face
• Forgiveness – Highest MOI in Ping history and a movable 25 gram weight for repositioning the center of gravity

My Ping G430 Max Driver review consisted of me testing the newest Ping driver for a week, and had three range sessions and two rounds on the course with it.

I opted for the Mitsubishi Chemical Kai’li White 60 shaft in a stiff flex. I used my Rapsodo PLM to collect some data on my range sessions.

This Ping G430 Max Driver review was my first foray in the Ping world, and they brought the HEAT!

The moment I unboxed this beauty I knew we would get along swimmingly. The flat black crown, with accents of white and bright yellow, spoke to me and I couldn’t wait to take it for a spin.

It didn’t disappoint once I got out to the range. I was seeing drive totals 15-20 yards farther than my gamer! Part of it was carry distance, but the roll out was impressive too. That would be the handiwork of the new face design and what Ping calls “Spinsistency.”

I witnessed a much faster clubhead speed as well as more ball speed off the face compared to my current gamer.

One thing that really stood out was the left/draw bias. My general miss is right, and those were few and far between… much less than my gamer. However, all of my good strikes were finding their way left of center. Slight adjustments to my setup made for an easy fix though.

The G430 Max Driver comes with an adjustable hosel and movable rear weight. I tuned the 10.5° loft on driver down to 9° for a more penetrating ball flight, but I felt no need to move the rear weight.

Ping really delivered on the distance game. Looking at the launch monitor after my first few shots, I was shocked with the distance and faster ball speeds. I was expecting maybe a slight improvement over my gamer that is a couple years old, but not this much distance gains.

15-20 yards more changes everything on the course. An 8 iron into the green opposed to a 6 iron? What would you prefer?!

This has to be one of my favorite driver designs to date. The colors look great together, the flat color crown looks good at address, and even the head cover looks fantastic. Awesome job Ping!

I have heard people rave over the Ping driver sound, and the G430 Max Driver was supposed to improve on that. It may just not be for me, but I prefer a louder pop compared to the muted Ping thud.The feel left something to be desired too. I prefer a different feel on mishits compared to laying one on the screws. I found it difficult to discern which was which.

If you’re not sure what shaft or shaft length to get, check this article out here.

The difference between the Ping G430 Max, SFT, and LST is that the Max and SFT are the most forgiving, while the LST is the least forgiving.However, the LST will give you longer distance when you have center strikes on the club face, and the LST is better for those who like to shot shape.

The SFT and Max differ because the SFT (Straight Flight Tech) has a right to left biased shot correction built in to help with players who slice.

Max stands for maximum forgiveness on the Ping driver lineup. This means that if you don’t hit the ball with the exact center of the club face, you will still be able to get a relatively good distance from the shot, as well as the trajectory not going too far off center.This is in contrast to a lower forgiveness driver, like the Ping G430 LST, that sacrifices forgiveness for extra distance on center strikes.