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PING G430 Fairway Woods and Hybrids

BY Chris Nickel
Jan 10th 2023
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PING has announced the G430 fairway wood and hybrid family in the U.S.A.
The lineup includes two fairway woods (G430 MAX, G430 SFT) and a single G430 hybrid.
MSRP price is $385 (fairway), $335 (hybrid). Pre-sale begins today.

From the G400 line forward, PING drivers have been excellent, if not category-leading. But the manufacturer doesn’t have the same track record of success with its fairway woods and hybrids as it does with drivers. Where the drivers are often been exceptional, the fairway woods and hybrids, while reasonably consistent, haven’t exhibited the same top-of-class performance.

With the PING G430 line, the manufacturer believes it’s addressed several shortcomings as evidenced by John K. Sohlheim’s (PING CEO and President) assertion, “The combined distance gains throughout the entire G430 family are like nothing we’ve seen from one generation of clubs to the next.” And if you’ve followed PING for any length of time, you’ll concede that this is a different tenor and one that PING loyalists likely welcome.

PING G430 Overview

The G430 line of fairway woods and hybrids feature the expected iterative, small tweaks alongside several major changes, one of which we’ll revisit sometime this summer.

For right now, PING is releasing two fairway wood models, G430 MAX and G430 SFT, in addition to an updated G430 hybrid. The two fairway woods contain the same basic technology suite. That said, the MAX should fit the widest range of golfers whereas the slightly larger and lighter SFT is designed to help golfers who need some assistance squaring the face at impact.

As far as total performance, PING discovered that more forgiveness (MOI) isn’t always a good thing. However, increased accuracy without any distance penalty presents an attractive combination.

PING G430 Fairway Woods – Tech

It’s a full-on carbon party at PING. Both G430 MAX and G430 SFT fairway woods feature a Carbonfly Wrap crown which weighs 8.5 grams but frees up 10 grams of discretionary weight. More accurately, the lightweight crown wraps around the heel and toe sections of the skirt where it connects to the rest of the body.

The benefit of the inclusion of carbon is two-fold. First, it helps produce a more acoustically pleasing sensation at impact. No doubt, feel and sound remain subjective elements but PING believes this version is more in line with what a larger percentage of players prefer.

Secondly, PING is using the 10 grams of saved weight to push the CG lower where it also increases ball speed. Again, the fact that PING is actively talking about ball speed as a selling point is both intriguing and unanticipated.

Beyond that, PING is sticking with a C300 maraging steel Facewrap and 17-4 stainless steel body. As the name suggests, the face material wraps around the leading edge, connecting to the sole. In addition to increased face flex (and ball speed) from low/center strikes, this face structure allows for the Spinsistency variable roll radius. Spinsistency is, in PING parlance, what happens when you create consistent performance across a larger percentage of the face. This is particularly true of thin shots which represent the most common off-center strike location on fairway woods and hybrids.

Effectively, by varying the roll radius from top to bottom, PING can increase the launch angle and ball speed while decreasing spin on thin shots. The opposite (lower launch, more spin) is true for shots struck high on the face.

Each model also includes PING’s Traajectory Tuning 2.0 with eight hosel positons, adjusting for loft (+/- 1.5°) and lie (up to 3° flatter than standard).

PING G430 Fairway SHAPING

Getting a bit more technical, PING made the G430 fairway woods slightly longer and more toe-biased. The purpose is to ensure the hottest part of the face is where players most often make contact. The priority is to align the CG closer to where impact is occurring and then allow the VFT (variable face thickness) to balance how stress is distributed across that section of the face.

PING isn’t asking you to swing the club any differently. But what the G430 fairway construction does is better align mass properties so the variables that impact ball speed are working for you, not against you.

PING G430 Fairway Woods Player Testing

In player testing, the PING 430 MAX produced + 0.3 mph ball speed, +0.2° launch and -200 rpm spin. This resulted in an additional four yards of carry but, most importantly, a shot area reduction of 14 percent.

The 430 SFT generated +2.3 mph ball speed, similar spin and +7 yards of carry distance with a shot area reduction of 22 percent.

We should note PING tested against the G425 series using players in line with the target demographics of each club.

PING G430 HYBRID

As expected, the G430 hybrids carry over the foundational technologies from the G430 fairway woods. Specifically, the CarbonFly wrap crown, FaceWrap structure with C300 maraging steel face material and the Spinsistency variable-roll radius. Even less shocking is that the purported benefits are also the same.

For those taking notes, the carbon crown on the hybrid saves eight grams of weight, two grams fewer than the G430 fairway. It makes sense given the hybrids have a smaller footprint.

Compared to the G425 hybrids, the G430 version is 0.7 mph faster with marginally lower launch and roughly 100 rpm less backspin. The net gain is about two yards of carry distance and similar downrange accuracy.

I should also note PING had the second most-purchased hybrid by MyGolfSpy readers in 2022. As such, it ranked ahead of TaylorMade and Titleist and only behind Callaway. Quietly, hybrids are becoming one of PING’s most successful categories. However, if 2023 is like 2022, that might no longer be the case—which I’m certain PING wouldn’t mind.