PING G430 LST 3-Wood

When PING launched its G430 lineup (more specifically, its G430 fairway wood lineup) in January, the G430 LST 3-wood was notably absent.

At the time, we were told to expect the G430 LST fairway this summer and, well, I suppose late June qualifies as summer and so here you go.

What took so long?

Anyway …

About the PING G430 LST 3-Wood

Keeping in mind that all things are relative and philosophical approaches to R&D being what they are, a low-spin PING anything isn’t likely to be as low-spin as TaylorMade’s low-spin thing.

With that said, the G430 LST is designed to be PING’s high-launch, low-spin, long-distance bomber fairway wood.

That’s not to say it’s unforgiving. Again, this is PING we’re talking about and forgiveness is always part of the philosophy. So, while the G430 LST fairway isn’t as forgiving as the G430 MAX fairway, I’d wager it falls somewhere in the middle of the market for MOI.

Some of that comes from an 80-gram tungsten sole plate positioned low and back. That’s the core of your high-launch, low-spin story. And while it doesn’t come through in the MOI numbers, you’ll also get a bit of extra forgiveness from a face design that includes what PING calls Spinsistency.

Spinsistency, as you may recall, is PING-speak for a roll profile (the top-to-bottom curvature) of the club face. As a bit of an oversimplification, you can think of it as an egg-shaped design (more curve at the bottom) that helps maintain consistent spin performance across more of the face with minimal ball speed sacrifice.

When spin is more consistent, distance will be, too.

(Side note: While it’s not Spinsistency per se, typically lower-spinning, forward center of gravity drivers produce more consistent spin. That’s why, for high-spin golfers in particular, they can sometimes be more forgiving than high MOI offerings.)

PING G430 LST 3-Wood: Titanium Construction

Where the PING G430 LST fairway technology diverges from the rest of the G430 fairway wood lineup is with the materials that make up the design.

Like the G430 MAX and G430 SFT fairway woods, the G430 LST fairway offers a “Carbonfly Wrap” crown. With the LST design, that’s good for 5.5 grams of weight savings. Like the MAX and SFT fairways, the G430 LST also offers Facewrap Technology.

Instead of a welded face insert, the full face wraps around the sole and the crown. The design yields more face flex which results in more ball speed and higher launch, especially on low-face impact.

The rest of the materials story is unique to the LST fairway.

The other two offer steel bodies and maraging steel faces. The G430 LST features a Ti 8-1-1 body paired with a 2041 beta titanium face. It kind of sounds like what you’d expect from a driver, right?

Any lingering doubts about that will be cleared up when we get to the price.

PING G430 LST 3-Wood Shaping

As you’d expect from the lowest-spinning offering in any lineup, the G430 LST fairway wood is the most compact of the G430 lineup. PING describes it as a low-profile Tour-style design. It’s a 169cc design which on paper is just 6cc smaller than the MAX.

The finder details are in the shape and I suspect most would say the G430 LST looks quite a bit smaller than the MAX.

PING G430 LST Fairway: Specs and Pricing

The PING G430 LST fairway wood is available with 15 degrees of loft. As with other PING G430 fairway woods, it can be adjusted +/- 1.5 degrees.

Stock shafts include the PING Alta CB Black 65, PING Tour 2.0 Chrome and PING Tour 2.0 Black.

Optional (no upcharge) shafts include the Mitsubishi Kai’Li White 70 and the Project X HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX 60.

The stock grip is a Golf Pride Tour Velvet (available in six sizes).

MSRP for the PING G430 LST Fairway Wood is $600. Actual street price is $549.

In stores this weekend.

For more information, visit PING.com.