Ping G30 Driver

peterlav

peterlav

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I was lucky enough to try out the G30 at Ping GM yesterday.

The turbulators on the crown of the head, whilst noticeable, are not distracting at address. The head sits well and has a nice sleek, matt finish.

I currently use a G15 10.5 degree with stock stiff shaft, I've always been happy with this Driver, not overly long but can get it 'out there', when swinging well, always had quite a low ball flight.
After a couple of swings, fitter suggested a 12 degree SF TEC (slightly more weight in heel) with stock stiff shaft.

Figures are from Trackman with range balls:

Swing Speed- same with both 95-96mph
Ball Speed- same with both 127.5mph
Spin Rate- Same with both 2500
Launch Angle- G15 8.5 degrees, G30 12.1 degrees
Carry- G15 219yds, G30 241 yds
Total- G15 251yds, G30 262yds

So, higher launch angle with same amount of spin has meant higher ball flight, more carry, more overall yards, I'm not too sure what, if anything, the turbulators contribute to this (seems to be a slight gimmick), but it certainly looks good and definitely works (for me it did).
Would I buy one? Definitely yes, but I want to test it against a SLDR before taking the plunge
 
Turbulators are meant to improve swing speed and ball speed which hasn't happened for you, but who cares? That is a fair difference you got! Personally, I don't care what a club looks like. I look at the ball at address so the turbulators wouldn't bother me at all. If you get such a good result as this however, you've got to consider the G30 Went for SLDR fitting myself. It was ok, and did improve my results, but I got even better results from a Jetspeed so went with that. Personally not a fan of the look of the Jetspeed, but as I say, I look at the ball!
 
Nice improvements, seem to have come from improving your launch angle, expect when trying the SLDR they will try and increase it further (with a small reduction in spin too). That said carryinhg it over 250 yards with a 95mph swing looks pretty damn good to me!!!
 
fundy said:
Nice improvements, seem to have come from improving your launch angle, expect when trying the SLDR they will try and increase it further (with a small reduction in spin too). That said carryinhg it over 250 yards with a 95mph swing looks pretty damn good to me!!!
Click to expand...

This....^^^^^



Anything with something called turbulators deserves to be in a Barbarella movie.
 
fundy said:
Nice improvements, seem to have come from improving your launch angle, expect when trying the SLDR they will try and increase it further (with a small reduction in spin too). That said carryinhg it over 250 yards with a 95mph swing looks pretty damn good to me!!!
Click to expand...

As has been said in another post, turbulators are supposed to increase club head speed, which hasn't happened for me at all, which is why I think it may be a bit of a gimmick. The increase is purely down to increase launch angle and keeping spin down. Increase in carry from 219yds to 241yds. I think Ping thought they couldn't release a new Driver purely with increased loft and have added the turbulators later (or am I just a cynic?)
Interested to see how it compares to other increased loft drivers
 
Even Bubba says the Turbulators only increase his swing speed by a couple of miles an hour - personally I don't see that an average golfer is going to get more than that, probably not even half as much....but willing to be proved wrong.
 
peterlav said:
As has been said in another post, turbulators are supposed to increase club head speed, which hasn't happened for me at all, which is why I think it may be a bit of a gimmick. The increase is purely down to increase launch angle and keeping spin down. Increase in carry from 219yds to 241yds. I think Ping thought they couldn't release a new Driver purely with increased loft and have added the turbulators later (or am I just a cynic?)
Interested to see how it compares to other increased loft drivers
Click to expand...

The G30 isn't an "increased loft driver" it's just that the OP was fitted with a driver with more loft than his own. Most people who haven't been fitted are playing with a driver with too little loft as they still equate less loft with more distance but that hasn't been the case for years as the modern ball is designed to be hit high with low spin.
 
peterlav said:
As has been said in another post, turbulators are supposed to increase club head speed, which hasn't happened for me at all, which is why I think it may be a bit of a gimmick. The increase is purely down to increase launch angle and keeping spin down. Increase in carry from 219yds to 241yds. I think Ping thought they couldn't release a new Driver purely with increased loft and have added the turbulators later (or am I just a cynic?)
Interested to see how it compares to other increased loft drivers
Click to expand...

I've posted before that I think they put them on to create some 'market buzz' in the face of the SLDR and the actual difference they make is negligible at best for most amateurs. As the SLDR has got a hell of a lot of coverage and mostly positive comments, so if other companies just release a slight improvement on the old driver that was out a few months ago then I imagine it will get a bit lost in the market place at the moment.

But hey, if it works then who cares if it has turbulators or not?
 
If you are only getting 8.5* launch angle from a 10.5* head, then there's much more to be gained from looking at you swing before hardware!

Different Ball Position, Angle of Attack and Tee height (can be inter-related) are likely to have a dramatic effect on Launch - and likely Spin too. I get 18* and 1700-2000 spin from a 9.5*! And around 8* gives me the optimum 17/1700! Shame the speed is a tad wimpy at 86-90!

G15 head is also rather more deep-faced than G30 (I believe). It's often advisable to use a head that is more forgiving for your misses than 'generally'. As a high/low misser, I certainly, and unexpectedly, found the G15 a great head - the stock low-torque shaft felt fine for me too (Aldila Serrano).
 
Interesting to see that the gain from the increased loft, which is wot Mark Crossfield showed in his Youtube video yesterday about shaft selection and the benefits of a custom fit
 
apj0524 said:
Interesting to see that the gain from the increased loft, which is wot Mark Crossfield showed in his Youtube video yesterday about shaft selection and the benefits of a custom fit
Click to expand...

Clearly that is going to be subject to the players input and the OP said low launch was something he knew about. Mark Crossfield was simply countering some feedback about shaft fitting and that "custom fitting" is not just about shafts.
 
I had a look at one in our shop this afternoon, great looking club.

10.5 sits lovely and looks really good at address

Test drive will be happening within the next 24hrs
 
CMAC said:
doing a fitting Friday alongside SLDR, Adams and X2Hot
Click to expand...

My guess is that you'll like the Ping the best as it sits better and exudes confidence. But you'll end up with the SLDR as it will give you a few extra yards, which few can resist.;)

Will be interesting to see the comparison of the SLDR with others assuming the fitter has no hidden agenda. Just to see if these claims of all the extra yards do stack up when compared with the latest models from other manufacturers.
 
Hacker Khan said:
My guess is that you'll like the Ping the best as it sits better and exudes confidence. But you'll end up with the SLDR as it will give you a few extra yards, which few can resist.;)

Will be interesting to see the comparison of the SLDR with others assuming the fitter has no hidden agenda. Just to see if these claims of all the extra yards do stack up when compared with the latest models from other manufacturers.
Click to expand...

I think the SLDR will come out well on distance but the G25 and now G30 are (I am lead to believe) so stable that for anyone whos not good at hitting the center the G range and other high MOI drivers are still a great option.
 
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