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What to know about PING’s new G440 club line

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PING's new family of G440 clubs is now available. (Credit PING)

PING's new family of G440 clubs is now available. (Credit PING)

Written by Alistair Cameron @ACameronPGATOUR

Already out on the PGA TOUR in the bags of TOUR winners such as Sahith Theegala, Corey Conners and Austin Eckroat, PING has now released the new G440 lineup for all. The G440 family consists of three driver models (MAX, LST, SFT), three fairway wood designs (MAX, SFT, LST), six hybrid designs and an iron set.

Here’s what to know about the PING G440 launch.

Lighter, longer drivers

The G440 driver lineup sees a redesigned shallower face, a lightweight “Carbonfly Wrap” crown and new internal technology, called the “Free Hosel,” to help save weight and lower the center of gravity (CG). The lower club height results in a thinner but more energetic face that sees more flexing, especially in the high heel region which is a common mishit for golfers. This helps optimize performance across the face. Also, by saving four grams in the hosel with the “Free Hosel” the weight is redistributed in the head to improve the CG location.

“They [PING engineers] did an excellent job of identifying weight savings with advancements like the Free Hosel to achieve our all-time lowest CG position while optimizing the face structure to produce more consistent ball speed results across the face,” said John K. Solheim, PING CEO and president. “Golfers can expect to hit straighter drives with the G440 drivers and with the higher launch they can also play less loft and enjoy faster ball speeds.”

A look at the new PING G440 driver with “Carbonfly Wrap” crown and "Free Hosel" internal technology. (Credit PING)

A look at the new PING G440 driver with “Carbonfly Wrap” crown and "Free Hosel" internal technology. (Credit PING)

With weight removed from the head, PING decided on a longer shaft length that comes standard which has increased by a ¼-inch to 46 inches in the PING ALTA CB Blue, and 45.5 inches in the PING Tour 2.0 and stock aftermarket options. With the lower shaft length comes increased club head speed and distance.

The G440 MAX, built at 460cc, is the PING’s more forgiving model, made for most golfers. The MAX head is created with a 29-gram, three-position adjustable back weight for added shot control. The G440 LST (low spin option) is a smaller head at 450cc, featuring the same adjustable back weight and made for players with faster swing speeds to provide lower spin. The final model, a 460cc G440 SFT (straight flight), is a draw-bias head for golfers looking to fix a slice. Designed with two-position settings (Draw and Draw+), the adjustable 23-gram back weight can be changed to help promote more or less of a draw shot. All three models feature the eight-setting “Trajectory Tuning 2.0 hosel” with up to 1.5 degrees of loft adjustment and the ability to up-lie by 3 degrees flat from standard.

Across aided fairway wood design

The G440 fairway wood family features the same models: MAX, LST and SFT, all designed using data provided by Arccos, which is a shot-tracking technology.

“Utilizing data from Arccos, we discovered golfers use fairway woods a lot off the tee, so we focused on giving them more confidence in that situation with a slightly taller face,” Solheim said. “At the same time, we were able to optimize the CG location and maintain high performance off the ground, due in large part to weight savings of 11 grams from the Free Hosel. The G440 fairway woods are extremely long, and now even more versatile.”

The face of G440 woods is taller helping the CG location favor higher-launching performance off the ground. The face is also designed to be thicker in the heel and toe for more consistent performance on off-center strikes.

The contoured sole shape and slimmed back-weight profile ensures that the club sits naturally to the ground with the face angle remaining consistent no matter the loft and lie angle.

Higher launching hybrids and irons

Available from a 2-hybrid to a 7-hybrid, the G440 hybrids are engineered to deliver different ball-flights depending on loft. The 2-hybrid is slightly fade-biased for off-the-tee usage where as the 5- to 6-hybrids are designed with a draw-bias that helps optimize gapping. The 3- and 4-hybrids are designed with straighter ball flights.

Each build features a shallow, thin face design, that improves face contact for more ball speed and higher-launching shots.

The G440 irons, like the hybrid lineup, create increased ball speed from a shallower, thinner face while also seeing a lower CG location helping higher-launching, longer-carrying shots.

A look at the new PING G440 irons built for higher-launching, longer-carrying shots. (Credit PING)

A look at the new PING G440 irons built for higher-launching, longer-carrying shots. (Credit PING)

The G440 4-, 5- and 6-irons are ⅛-inch longer than the predecessor G430 irons, to increase ball speed. Through the set, the four-piece molded cavity badge is more flexible than previous designs which helps support the thinner face while contributing to more ball speed and enhancing feel and sound.

For slower-swing-speed golfers, all the clubs except the LST driver can be custom-built with lighter head weights, the ultralight PING Alta Quick shaft and a lighter grip as part of the G440 high launch (HL) option.

Alistair is a senior staff member at the PGA TOUR covering equipment. Born and raised in England, he played golf professionally on the European Alps Tour before joining the PGA TOUR. Follow Alistair Cameron on Twitter.

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