REVIEW: New Ping G430 drivers

Ping has always made fantastic golf clubs. Just look at the G425 driver, which was a prime example of that.

The new Ping G430 LST driver, however, is even better, offering even more distance down to its changes on the face and crown.

In terms of looks, it’s not going to be suit everyone’s eye at address with the turbulators. Some like them, some don’t. They absolutely don’t bother me. But the biggest change is the crown with the Carbon Fly Wrap, which is slightly different in colour than the turbulators but blends nicely and isn’t much of an eye sore. I think it looks pretty good.

The shaping looks fantastic with it being a slightly smaller head at 440c, 5cc smaller than the G425. At address, it looks sturdy and reliable behind the ball, giving you the feeling that it’s a driver that will definitely fill you with confidence on the tee box. Hard to explain, but this is a driver that just feels good in the hands. 

The sound is so solid coming off the forged face, you really do feel when you’ve caught one out the middle. It’s very forgiving across the whole face but feels better on mishits towards the toe rather than the heel.

You cannot argue with the distance gains, either. Ping says that it’s seven yards longer through the air – and they’re not wrong. The distance is really impressive and low spinning characteristics of the LST is brilliant especially when striking it low in the face.

The VFT Forged face design is thinner and shallower, which helps with the distance gains. Ping haven’t reinvented the wheel, they’ve just made it better, something that the brand do better than most brands.

You know you can trust Ping to bring out a new model that will deliver on all requirements: looks, feel, sound, performance, the lot. Making the face thinner allows it to flex, which propels the ball off the face giving you amazing ball speed gains.

There is variable roll on the face designed for mishits low of the club, less loft low on the face, making it lower spinning on thinner shots, giving you more ball speed and distance. The new Carbonfly Wrap has allowed weight to be saved and redistributed, increasing the MOI and lowering the spin.

This driver is for your faster swing speeds and lower handicappers. With a smaller head profile, you will see incredible distances and speeds with the new forged face and Carbonfly Wrap. The 22g Tungsten weight allows you to dial in the fade and draw bias options to tighten up that ball flight as well as the adjustable hosel for loft and lie.

Conclusion

The PING G430 is a brilliant new driver option for 2023 and, in my opinion, the advancements they have made with the Carbonfly Wrap and VFT face is just amazing.

At address, it may not suit everyone’s eye thanks to the turbulators, but that’s subjective, and I happen to like the look behind the ball. In a nutshell, I really do think the performance of this driver is a game changer. The distance, forgiveness and dispersion really is impressive.

This new model is going to turn heads with those in the market for a new driver.

Available: January 27, 2023

RRP: £525