Equipment
Ping aims to make golf “more fun” with its new G400 irons
“We want to help every golfer hit it like Bubba,” Ping says. “We want them to hit it high and stop it near the pin.”
For golfers not named Bubba Watson, hitting high-flying iron shots that go at the target isn’t an everyday thing. That’s why Ping aims to create the highest-launching, easiest-hit-irons that it possibly can for golfers who may not hit the center of the club face on every shot.
Ping says these aren’t “game-improvement” irons, but rather game-enjoyment irons. So with its new G400 irons, compared to its G predecessors, Ping has increased launch, raised MOI (moment of inertia, a measure of forgiveness), added ball speed, and changed the looks, feel and sound to “make the game more enjoyable” for golfers.
Fair enough. But what exactly has changed?
For its G400 irons, which are made from Hyper 17-4 stainless steel, Ping says it has “enhanced the entire back cavity,” and it has also added an undercut behind the top rail for more face flex at impact. The top rail works by “relaxing” at impact, which helps to “catapult” the ball higher in the air. To support the flex of the face, Ping’s back cavity has its COR-Eye technology, identified by the circular structure at the center of the club head. The performance enhancements lead to a 4 percent higher launch, a 4 percent increase in MOI and 5 yards of more total distance.
You’ll also notice a large badge on the back cavity that overlays the COR-eye technology. The badging is made from elastomer and aluminum, a combination that Ping says will dampen the sound and enhance the feel quality.
At address, the club heads will also look a bit more compact, according to Ping. That’s because the flange has been smoothed out, and there’s a sharper face radius. This will also help to conceal the offset of the club. Ping says the iron may “look slimmer even though it’s a larger iron.”
For the first time in a G-Series iron, Ping has made the finish of the these irons out of HydroPearl Chrome, which you may recognize from its Glide 2.0 wedges and the G400 Crossover. This finish is said to increase face friction and better repel water to reduce fliers and produce a more consistent ball flight in a variety of turf conditions.
The stock shaft in the Ping G400 irons (4-PW, UW, SW, LW) is an Alta CB graphite shaft powered by Ping’s AWT (ascending weight technology). The shafts range from 85 grams in the short irons to 68 grams in the long irons — the lighter long irons will help golfer create speed, height and distance, while the heavier short irons will help maximize control. Other available shafts include Nippon Pro Modus3, True Temper XP95, Ping AWT 2.0, KBS, Project X and Dynamic Gold shafts.
For more distance, a lower trajectory or both, Ping will also offer its familiar Power Spec option, which means the lofts are bent strong; between 1.5 and 2.5 degrees depending on the loft (higher-lofted irons have less bend compared to the standard lofts).
Ping’s G400 irons will sell for $125 apiece with steel shafts, and $137.50 with graphite.
Related
- Ping claims smaller is better with its new G400 drivers
- Ping introduces new face material with its G400 fairways, hybrids and Crossover
Discussion: See what GolfWRX members are saying about Ping’s G400 irons
Cameron Young’s WITB from his win at the 2025 Wyndham Championship. Cameron is a Titleist staff player but his bag is definitely filled with some unique clubs. Here are the clubs he used to secure his first PGA Tour win!
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Black VeloCore+ 10 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Titleist T100 (5), Titleist 631.CY Prototype (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 52-12F, 56-14F @57), WedgeWorks (60-K* @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X7
Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 9.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Prototype
- Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist GT3 (10 degrees, C2 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist GT3 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7 X
7-wood: Titleist GT2 (21 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T150 (4, 5), Titleist T100 (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F, 56-08M @57, 60-04T @62)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Fastback 1.5 Tour Prototype
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Yellow
We’re proud to once again partner with 2nd Swing Golf to bring you GolfWRX Members Choice 2025! 2nd Swing has more than 150,000 new and pre-swung golf clubs available in six store locations and online. Check them out here.
What is the best driver in 2025? At GolfWRX, we take great pride in our online community and the cumulative knowledge and experience of our members. When it comes to the best driver of 2025, we want to know what our forum faithful think.
Since our founding in 2005, the bedrock of GolfWRX.com has been the community of passionate and knowledgeable golfers in our forums, and we put endless trust in the opinions of our GolfWRX members — the most knowledgeable community of golfers on the internet. No other group of golfers in the world tests golf clubs as frequently or as extensively, nor is armed with such in-depth information about the latest technology.
Below are the results of GolfWRX member voting for the 2025 best driver, along with the vote percentage for each club.
Best driver of 2025: The top 5
5. Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond: 6.02%
Callaway’s pitch: “For golfers looking for a fast, forgiving, yet workable driver, the Elyte Triple Diamond features a tour-inspired shape and is the preferred model by most Callaway tour players.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond here.
4. Ping G440 Max: 6.86%
Ping’s pitch: “The most forgiving G440 model, MAX has a hotter face to generate speed and distance, and a lighter overall system weight with a longer shaft (46″) for faster clubhead speed, higher launch and longer carries. The Free Hosel and Carbonfly Wrap crown save weight to create our lowest CG ever and increase forgiveness while contributing to a more muted, pleasing sound.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 Max here.
3. Ping G440 LST: 9.53%
Ping’s pitch: “LST is an especially good fit for faster swings, offering less spin and more control with a penetrating trajectory. A hotter face, lighter overall system weight and longer shaft (46″) deliver more speed and distance while maintaining tight dispersion.”
@phizzy30: “Not a fan of Ping drivers in general, but 440 LST takes the cake. It’s super forgiving across the face for a low spin head, looks and sounds good and the ability to make it play neutral or slightly fade biased through the hosel settings is very appealing.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Ping G440 LST here.
2. Titleist GT3: 16.55%
Titleist’s pitch: “The GT3 Driver offers Titleist’s boldest combination of power and personalization through adjustable performance. Dial in the CG Track to your frequent contact location to make your biggest drives even bigger while taking total control over flight and shaping.”
@mrmikeac: “I’ve been Anti-Titleist for years and years and years (outside of Vokey, of course). With that being said, HOLY BEGEEZUS the GT3 driver is an absolute NUCLEAR MONSTER! This thing blew my G430 10K Max out of the water in every single category. Forgiveness is the biggest thing that stands out of me, the 3 model has always been one of the less forgiving models in the past but this GT3 can take bad shot after bad shot and still end up in the fairway, I think a ton of that has to do with the adjustability, it’s actually effective. Feel and sound is perfect, that solid crack is so addicting to hear and when you hit it out the screws this thing can absolutely bomb it. Titleist, I’m sorry for doubting you. You have converted me.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT3 here.
1. Titleist GT2: 22.91%
Titleist’s pitch: “Delivering impressive distance from any impact point, the Titleist GT2 Driver extracts maximum performance through a forgiving design. Get the stability and added confidence of a high-MOI driver without sacrificing speed.”
@DTorres: “The Titleist GT2 has proven to be the best driver of the year. Packaged in a classic profile, GT2 perfectly balances performance and forgiveness while consistently being a high performer across all categories.”
You can read what other golfers are saying about the driver in the GolfWRX forums, and see our launch piece here. Shop the Titleist GT2 here.
Other drivers receiving >2% of the vote
| Driver | Vote percentage (%) |
|---|---|
| Cobra DS Adapt Max K | 4.85% |
| Ping G430 Max 10K | 3.85% |
| Callaway Elyte Triple Diamond | 3.68% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 | 3.51% |
| Callaway Elyte | 3.18% |
| Cobra DS Adapt X | 2.34% |
| Cobra DS Adapt LS | 2.17% |
| TaylorMade Qi35 LS | 2.17% |
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Peter Malnati WITB 2025 (August)
Peter Malnati what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Cameron Young’s winning WITB: 2025 Wyndham Championship
Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees, A1 SureFit setting) Buy here. Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Pro Orange 70 TX 3-wood: Titleist...
Camilo Villegas WITB 2025 (July)
Camilo Villegas WITB accurate as of the Wyndham Championship. Villegas was undecided on a 3-wood when we shot his bag. ...
WITB Time Machine: Brandt Snedeker’s winning WITB, 2018 Wyndham Championship
Brandt Snedeker fired a final-round 65 at the 2018 Wyndham Championship to outlast Webb Simpson and C.T. Pan. His 5-under...
Frank Peterson
Oct 28, 2017 at 7:37 pm
After 3 months of trying new clubs I have ordered a complete set of ping G400 clubs that have been custom fitted to me. In testing other brands including Calaway, Titleist, Cobra and TM, I settled on Ping G400 as they surpassed all of the other brands as far as feel, workability(for game improvement irons) sound and appearance. What a giant improvement over past Ping clubs and I have owned most of them. I find no one has the quality of fitting and ease of finding a fitter than Ping. Also their understanding of metallurgy is only equaled by Mizuno.
Scott
Aug 4, 2017 at 11:03 am
As a seasoned club fitter I must insist, stronger lofts don’t always equal more distance. Loft is just a number to gauge the angle of the club face. Stronger lofts would always equal more distance ONLY if every club were made the same, out of the same material(s).
Trajectory, not distance, should be closely examined when looking at lofts. If you have two irons, (both 8 irons for example) and one is 2 degrees stronger than the other, but both are flying the same height and trajectory, is loft really a factor?
example: 43 degree wedge flying higher than a 45 degree wedge and going 5 yards less. Shouldn’t the 43 fly lower and go 5 yards farther than the 45 degree wedge? Yes, ONLY if they are the same make, model, style, material etc etc etc.
It happens ALL the time.
The way clubs are made- what they are made of, how they are weighted and designed- help to determine the “loft” club companies must produce clubs with. Nowadays, club companies have to make them “stronger” (than standard) because if they didn’t, the ball flight would be much too high. Way higher than optimal.
Try this for yourself. Test a blade at your local golf shop on a monitor. Then try a newer game improvement iron (same iron ie. 8 iron to 8 iron) with a “stronger” loft. Try to keep the shaft flex and weight similar as well.
I guarantee the “stronger” lofted club goes higher.
Power Fade
Jul 15, 2017 at 8:03 pm
I recently had a club fitting and tried out the G400’s against Cobra F7’s and Mizuno JPX 900s. I did research in advance to understand their lofts, lengths and lie compared to my current Mizuno 825 Pros which are already +1″ and +2deg UP (I’m 6’6).
I wasn’t surprised by the lower lofts of each brand as they compete to say their clubs hit longer and straighter than other brands. If people fall for the gimmick, I feel sorry that they don’t do their research.
I was hitting the g400 slightly better than the other 2, I liked the sound and feel as well as the frosted look because it wasn’t glaring at me on the hot sunny day as was the case with the F7s.
I probably would have been happy with any of the 3 though. Aesthetically, the g400’s are a little “fatter” than the other brands I tried as well as my current set, but I can overlook that as it’s on the bottom of the club which I don’t see while hitting the ball. I decided to go with the G400’s as I also plan to get the new driver which I was hitting farther and straighter (see my name) than other drivers I’ve tried (Cobra F7, JPX-900 and 2017 M2 driver) and I like less club brands in my bag. I also like Bubba.
The other nice thing about their lofts being lower (and I’m one to tell people what degree loft I hit as opposed to a club number when they ask) is that I need to buy less clubs. My old set is 4-GW…8 irons. In the G400’s I only need 6-UW….2 clubs less and less money spent.
Appreciate everyone’s thoughts and comments on these. Buy em if you like em, avoid em if you don’t.
Rich Douglas
Jul 15, 2017 at 8:37 am
You want your irons to go 10 yards farther you say? No problem. Just paint new numbers on them. Now a 9I becomes an 8I and flies 10 yards farther than a 9I. See how simple that was?
Absurd, you might say? That’s EXACTLY what’s going on with irons. Stronger lofts and longer lengths are what define the next iron up in a set.
The higher COR brought about by slots (pioneered by TM, copied by a lot of others, including Ping now) add distance irrespective of changes in loft and length, certainly. But the rest is a con. Be sure you’re not being taken in by claims of longer lengths if the increase is due (in part or in full) to lengthening the shaft and/or strengthening the loft.
Oh, and if you DO go for longer lengths, be sure to get fit. Your lie angle just changed and you’re going to need flatter lies than usual. But I suspect most people suckered in by this stuff just grab ’em off the rack and go. (Ironic, since Ping pioneered the idea of pre-fit lie angles with their dot system).
These Ping G-400 look like great clubs and are a technical advancement over the Ping G. But if you already play the Ping G, don’t expect much (if any) real improvement. The distinctions do not necessarily add up to a real difference.
Dave R
Jul 10, 2017 at 9:52 pm
Really like the look finally a club that looks better than the last bunch they produced.
The Drop Zone
Jul 10, 2017 at 6:41 pm
g400max please
Rich Douglas
Jul 10, 2017 at 5:33 pm
Nice to see Ping decided to sell Taylormade PSi irons. Ho hum.
Higher launch angles mitigated by stronger lofts with higher COR. So they go a little farther, in part by fudging the specs so the 8 is really a 7, the 5 is really a 4, etc. The other part is the everyone-is-doing-it speed slots to increase COR.
None of this is bad. But none of it is new. Except for Ping, that is.
Still the 17-4 steel. Better get the dot color right, ’cause you ain’t bending them much.
Having a set add 5 yards, especially when part of those come from jacked-up lofts and longer graphite shafts, is a distinction without a difference. Your game won’t improve a bit with these compared to the previous G series.
There have been very few real leaps in irons over the past 5 decades:
— Cast irons (cheap)–Spaulding
— Cavity backs (forgiving)–Ping
— U grooves (spin, then banned, but really never left)–Ping
— Cavity backs with forged steel (forgiving and soft)–Hogan Edge
— Slots (higher MOI and COR)–Taylormade
— Single-length irons that actually work–Wishon, Cleveland, et al
That’s the list, I think. These new irons by Ping are a few years late.
JThunder
Jul 10, 2017 at 9:26 pm
And the point made is what? That every new iron release should have new, groundbreaking tech? Completely, absolutely literally impossible. That new irons should only be released when new tech has been developed? In modern capitalism, essentially impossible. Like every other golf company, they feel pressure to “introduce” new products once or twice every year, replacing their entire lineup more or less every two. If they don’t, they will be the easiest target in the world for competitors’ marketing; Ping has been left behind, Ping is standing still; Don’t play with 5 year old technology… And they would likely lose their tour presence.
The solution would be to dial back capitalism and increase education; smarter consumers with less hyaenas trying to tear all the money out of their pockets at every turn. Both of those goals would be moving further away currently – at least for the USA.
On the other hand – golf is a luxury to begin with, so it’s not the first place to show grave concern with hyped marketing and phantom tech. In this arena, there isn’t a shortage of choices, including an eBay full of enough clubs to last eternity, and last year’s models with significant discounts.
Rich Douglas
Jul 11, 2017 at 12:25 am
You’re looking at it from Ping’s perspective. I was commenting from a player’s perspective. And from that player’s perspective, this release offers nothing new. This is just Karsten catching up.
Guia
Jul 10, 2017 at 2:32 pm
Nice write up, a few more changes than I expected. I will check them on a launch monitor and compare them to the last model. I will purchase or not dependent upon the outcome.
Dat
Jul 10, 2017 at 11:28 am
5 yards more distance? Love to see a breakdown of that claim.
joro
Jul 10, 2017 at 11:47 am
Break it down this way, make you wedge 44 degrees instead of 47, simple. oh, and add a half inch while you are at it. Wow, is this Wedge long. As PT Barnum said, there is a sucker born every minute. But, PING is also is and has made the best clubs, they are just cheating to sell em.
Cory
Jul 10, 2017 at 12:47 pm
loft is always relative to the geometry of the head, tuning the trajectory. Old lofts would create a ballooning effect. PING uses a progressive length chance where the long irons a +1/2 – +1/4 longer and it transitions to the “old” standard in the control clubs like a 9, PW, etc. If you like the old lofts, PING is 100% custom and will accomodate!
Ted Thompson
Jul 10, 2017 at 11:20 am
These look like anyone with a 10+ hdcp would do well by giving them a try. No gimmicks like slots or cage bars. I tend to gravitate towards a shiny metal rather than the frost that these have. Ping will sell a lot of these if the distance is really there
Clubber Lover
Jul 10, 2017 at 10:21 am
I love the look of these new improved G400s. I particularly love the HydroPearl Chrome finish. I don’t want my clubs reflecting glare at address cause it’s too annoying. These are lovely awesome clubs and will find a place in my bag soon. Good job Ping.