Equipment
WRX Spotlight: 2019 Ping Hoofer Series golf bags
I once told a joke to a Ping rep while at a demo day and it went along the lines of this: There are three things on this planet that will survive both an ice age and nuclear fallout: cockroaches, alligators, and an original Ping Hoofer bag.
It sounds like a bit of a stretch, but if there is one bag model that continues to push the boundaries or comfort, functionality, and durability, it’s the Ping Hoofer. It’s one of those things that if you take a moment to look up and down the range on any busy day in the middle of the summer you are almost guaranteed to spot.
The tradition of quality and functionality continues with Ping’s most recent lineup, including the 2019 Hoofer, a bag that has everything you would come to expect from Ping along with some interesting tweaks to the designs that once again show that the golf bag designers at Ping never stop trying to innovate. They have also gone above and beyond in offering some of their boldest color options to date including this “Multicam.”
One of the other highlights of the new design is the re-engineered strap system. It was always a point of contention for golfers when I used to work in big box golf retail many moons ago. The double strap system – essentially pioneered by Ping was made up of two completely separate straps that would cris-cross the golfer’s back to perfectly centre the mass of the bag, but because the straps were separate from each other many golfers not familiar with the system weren’t sure which one to grab first – leading to people choosing a different option. With the new strap connector, any possible confusion has been eliminated.
Another brilliant, although not completely new feature is hiding the rain hood in the hip/back pad on the bag — this is still a Ping exclusive in the industry and one of the absolutely smartest things I have ever seen when it comes to golf bag design.
Depending on the bag you pick in the Hoofer series, there are up to 12 pockets that do everything from holding your rangefinder to making sure you don’t lose your keys, all while being easy to access even on a cart. Speaking of carts, all versions of the bags easily sit on a standard pushcart or even fit easily on the back of a riding cart, because of the system used to optionally hold the legs in the closed position, and because of the squared-off shape of the bottom of the bag.
Whether it’s a full 14-way divided top Hoofer 14, or the more sleek and simplified Hoofer Lite, there is an option for any golfer looking for a new bag to carry or cart clubs around.
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...
happy golfer
Feb 12, 2019 at 4:18 pm
Don’t know why all the emotion on here, over a new colorway… Anyway, I’m glad to see new and exciting patterns/colors making their way onto shelves, even if I have no combat history or connection to the military.
ben
Feb 10, 2019 at 4:50 pm
camouflage is over
Mark M
Feb 9, 2019 at 9:27 am
Just a reminder that Izzo was the pioneer/inventor of the dual strap concept.
Judge Smeills
Feb 11, 2019 at 10:50 am
H to the Izzo?
Benny
Feb 9, 2019 at 8:08 am
Haha, nice JP. Hands down best bag ever. I am on my 3rd and first 2 are still in use, just handed down to a friend and step bro. Cannot go wrong with Hoofer!
X
Feb 9, 2019 at 2:45 am
I guess Ping has gone the way of Parsons and only want to sell to the military and leave out the rest of the civilized world
BJ
Feb 9, 2019 at 9:04 am
And thats a bad thing? I hope your kidding
Y
Feb 9, 2019 at 6:27 pm
We can’t all be haters, killers and murderers like the military.
Russ DeChambeauner
Feb 9, 2019 at 12:00 am
Ordered! Just wish the multi cam was available in the hoofer 14
JP
Feb 8, 2019 at 9:29 pm
Do you like that golf bag, maggot?
.
Sir, Yes Sir!