What a Difference

[NM Golf]

I ordered a PING G400 LST Driver with a Tour 65 x stiff shaft back in August. I was told that it wouldn't even ship until October. I had hit the regular G400 head with the x-stiff Project X HZRDUS Yellow shaft at a demo day and liked it even though I had to adjust the loft as low as it could go (8°) and I still launched it too high with too much spin. I was told the SLT head along with the Tour 65 shaft would correct the issues so I took a leap of faith and ordered it. While I waited for my driver to arrive I have been playing the demo because I hit it really straight even though I lost some distance due to launch and spin.

Fast forward to yesterday, my new G400 SLT driver arrives. I take it out to the range and the course to play a few holes. What a difference! Club designers must be geniuses. Now with the loft set at 8.5° I launch the ball on a great angle and it goes and goes without falling out of the air. I haven't hit it on the monitor yet but I can tell the spin rates are much better. I hit the new driver and the demo to side by side and the SLT goes a good 15-20 yards farther. I just find it amazing what they are able to do with these driver heads by just moving a little weight around here and there. It's also a huge reason to get fitting if you want to play your best.

[klineka]

I couldnt agree more. Thats crazy you gained 15-20 yards just from the regular to the LST version.

I had a Taylormade R1 driver that I bought from craigslist and set to 12 degrees to help me get the ball in the air, yet my drives were still pretty low and needed to be higher. I went to a Taylormade fitting and was fit with the 2017 M2 and a higher launching shaft, with the driver at a lower loft of 11.25 degrees, I am launching higher, further (10+ yds easily), and much more consistent in both left/right and front/back dispersion with the M2 that was properly fit for me.

Plus the added confidence I have standing over the ball knowing that this club was fit specifically for me is also nice. 

[saevel25]

Proper fitting matters. If you can take 500 rpm off the driver, but then launch it a few degrees higher, you'll see further distance.

Also, be wary of roll out numbers. If you are carrying them close to the same distance, and the LST is rolling out further due to lower entry angle and lower spin rate,  you might not see that big of an advantage on the course.

[NM Golf]

7 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Proper fitting matters. If you can take 500 rpm off the driver, but then launch it a few degrees higher, you'll see further distance.

Also, be wary of roll out numbers. If you are carrying them close to the same distance, and the LST is rolling out further due to lower entry angle and lower spin rate,  you might not see that big of an advantage on the course.

This was all on the course, I can't measure distance on the range. The distance numbers are in line with my old Callaway driver. I haven't just picked up 15 additional yards I picked up 15 yards I had lost with the regular G400 head.

Plus, for some stupid reason the superintendent at our course finds it necessary to keep it sopping wet all the time. I haven't seen a drive roll in years. 

Edited October 18, 2017 by NM Golf

[Lihu]

6 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

This was all on the course, I can't measure distance on the range. Plus, for some stupid reason the superintendent at our course finds it necessary to keep it sopping wet all the time. I haven't seen a drive roll in years. 

Where do you work? I'd definitely be interested in playing there if it's semi-private or public? Lush and green sounds nice for NM. I'm guessing you're no longer in drought conditions now either?

Last time I was in Santa Fe near Los Alamos, I played at Buffalo Thunder and other than the strong winds the course wasn't too bad and I had a ton of roll. The carry was super nice too!

BTW, I'm glad the new shaft works for you.

Edited October 18, 2017 by Lihu

[NM Golf]

2 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Where do you work? I'd definitely be interested in playing there if it's semi-private or public? Lush and green sounds nice for NM. I'm guessing you're no longer in drought conditions now either?

Last time I was in Santa Fe near Los Alamos, I played at Buffalo Thunder and other than the strong winds the course wasn't too bad and I had a ton of roll. The carry was super nice too!

BTW, I'm glad the new shaft works for you.

Not lush, Not green, in fact it's pretty embarrassing right now. Our last two "superintendents" have been terrible to say the least. 

[Lihu]

3 minutes ago, NM Golf said:

Not lush, Not green, in fact it's pretty embarrassing right now. Our last two "superintendents" have been terrible to say the least. 

Ouch, yeah NM is so high altitude. I'd guess it was tough to maintain any golf course.

There were some spots just outside of Los Alamos, where I played "mental golf" My wife and daughter both looked at me and in unison said, "It's not a golf course."

[p1n9183]

I think the difference it´s in the shaft and the face angle. The new one makes you hit the ball in better numbers than your previous driver. How much velocity a club head gives to a ball it´s pretty much the same than the previous version of the head of the same brand.

[NM Golf]

1 minute ago, p1n9183 said:

I think the difference it´s in the shaft and the face angle. The new one makes you hit the ball in better numbers than your previous driver. How much velocity a club head gives to a ball it´s pretty much the same than the previous version of the head of the same brand.

Shaft is definitely an improvement, but what PING did in the LST head was to move tungsten weight forward hence moving the CoG forward as well. This makes for a slightly less forgiving head but one that drops the spin rate as much as 500rpm over the regular head. 

[inthecup]

I have the regular Ping G400 and I agree I love that driver.  My story is the opposite.  I was hitting a G25 very well with low spin so I swapped to a G30 LS thinking drop a few hundred RPS less spin and it will be better (because I am a genius)!  That was not a good plan for me.  My miss hits on a G30 LS were high on the face the the spin would drop to nothing.  My good shots would spin in the 1700-1900 range which is dangerously low but OK.  Miss hits instead of ballooning would spin 1,000, 1300 and  the ball would drop from the sky.  Something that felt relatively well hit would drop 20-30 yards short.

I had to get out of that so I got a G400 head weighted correctly for my current shaft which I was fit for.  It has been a pleasure.  My spin numbers are from 1700 - 2200 (obviously I am all over the face) and it is the most forgiving driver.  I am driving the ball better than ever.

 

Good luck with the head, I'd love to hear some monitor numbers.

[NM Golf]

@inthecup I agree, using a low spin head for most players is the wrong move and can have a equally negative effect. Most players don't spin the ball enough to keep it in the air with a low spin head. I, on the other hand, spin the regular G400 around 3000 rpm and I need to get that down close to 2000 RPM. I did like the regular G400 head though I hit it so straight.

[Typhoon92]

Same here with spin...too much emphasis and misinformation about low spin being the cat's ass.  I picked up a G30LST a few years back.  Ball just fell out if the sky.  Spin rates of 1500-1700.Even at 110 mph and 10 degree launch, positive AOA...without enough spin it goes nowhere.

I got fitted for an M2/HZRDUS yellow and hit it a good 20+ yards further.  It carries further and rolls out with a better decent angle.  Spin rates are more around 2200-2300.

[billchao]

On 10/18/2017 at 12:35 PM, p1n9183 said:

How much velocity a club head gives to a ball it´s pretty much the same than the previous version of the head of the same brand.

Not necessarily. It can be in some cases, but it's not in the Ping G400. The new head is a definite step forward in technology.

[phillyk]

I ordered the LST G400 in Aug as well and took 2 months to ship because they ran out of heads.  I also have the Tour 65 shaft in it.  What I didn't plan for was the drop in swing weight.  I started out hooking a lot because of it, but I adjusted.

I can't speak too directly on how my distance has changed because I haven't used my ES14 on it yet.  But the one swing I made with @DeadMan's brand spanking new Flightscope Mevo showed an increase of 3mph in clubhead speed.  I was consistently swing at 118mph before and now it went to 121mph.  Can't say it 100% yet.  But it's looking good. 

A lot of people have said the G400 is giving them 5-10yds more distance than their G drivers.  

[DeadMan]

Here's @phillyk's numbers on the Mevo on the one driver shot he hit on it with the G400:

[phillyk]

16 minutes ago, DeadMan said:

Here's @phillyk's numbers on the Mevo on the one driver shot he hit on it with the G400:

This one was a toe-y overly drawing shot. But not bad numbers considering it was a miss-hit.