April 26th, 2012 – After having enjoyed watching Bubba Watson win the Masters 2012, it is a privilege to test not his personal driver, which is pink and left-handed, but the same model of the Ping G20 driver, with a 10,5º lofted driver with TFC169D shaft and flex Regular.

The clubface seems a bit closed. It has no offset, but the toe leans a little to the left. Of all its technologies we visual focus on the sole because it has an external weighting, pushing back and lowering the centre of gravity, which will help the height of the shot, and this is combined with a shaft with a high balance point, a bit higher than normal. We assume that this original combination of head and shaft will make it easier to hit for the amateur and remove a few revolutions from the ball, so that it won’t lose flight nor fly too high.

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  Indeed, after a few strokes, with a 10.5º lofted and Regular shafted driver, the ball has come out with little spin. Unlike other drivers, I feel the hit but I don’t notice where I hit it. I’m not clear about whether I hit it from the centre, the toe or the heel, and curiously the ball doesn’t responds differently either. That means it’s launching very straight, because the ball does not pick up many effects, which is very good for an amateur. The ball flight is also very nice. I like it because the ball takes a flight with a very regular trajectory.

• In the second set of balls from the practice tee, having hit a straight ball, a fade ball and a draw ball, the shaft reaction is very good. It’s hard to exaggerate the effects, but this is OK, because for an amateur who doesn’t control a fade or slightly controls a draw, the tendency of the ball is going to be quite neutral. There is little variation between the centre, the toe and the heel. There aren’t surprises of sometimes very high, too low, too much fade or too much draw. This means that amateurs will quite easily produce a good ball flight.

• Then I’ve tried to force a fade and a draw, and I’ve had a deviation of about 15 or 20 meters, no more! That means that in an unwanted hook or slice, the negative effect will be fairly corrected. In this sense, it is a good club for the amateur who doesn’t seek to play draw or fade, and on the other hand, it conveys little to the professional who is looking for feel when hitting a draw or a fade. The very low handicaps and expert golfers will notice that there is little feeling; which at an amateur level is not a bad thing, because hitting a little off the centre you are going to put the ball in the fairway. And its worth bearing in mind that Ping can do a fitting for you and give you customized clubs.

• When trying to make a golf club that can help you to arrive to the ball as squarely as posible with the clubhead, it’s normal that the external weight is placed as far back as posible in the sole. But this tends to put many revolutions on the ball, launching it too high. Ping’s engineers have compensated this with a shaft that has quite a high point of maximum bending, which is very well thought out.

• I would recommend this driver to amateurs of many levels, to all the public in general, and even for handicaps 6 and 5.

PING G20 DRIVER

• Club reviwed: 10,5º, TFC 169D shaft , flex R, grip Ping.
• Testes: Toni Alcázar (33). Pro of El Doctor Golf.

DESIGN	[rating: level=”4″]
DISTANCE	[rating: level=”4″]
ACCURACY	[rating: level=”5″]
FORGIVENESS	[rating: level=”5″]
FEELING	[rating: level=”3.5″]
OPTIONS	[rating: level=”5″]
VALUE	[rating: level=”5″]
FOR…	Low, middle and high handicaps
AVERAGE	[rating: level=”4.5″]

An easy, fast, very forgiving golf club, whose combination of technology offers a long, straight, very regular and not too high trajectory.

Those who like to feel what part of the clubface they are hitting with, when they line-up the fairways with stronger fades and draws, will have difficulties with this driver.

TECHNICAL FEATURES

For all ability levels, the external weighting of the large, forgiving G20 driver helps launch the ball high with low spin for maximum distance and accuracy by optimising the CG location. Ping’s proprietary high-balance-point TFC 169D shaft enables the golfer to swing a clubhead with more mass at the same speed, creating a higher MOI and generating faster ball speeds for long, straight drives. A large, variable-thickness face generates faster ball speeds and increases MOI across the hitting surface for power and forgiveness. The 460cc clubhead is made from Ti 8-1-1, a lighter, lower-density alloy. Ti 8-1-1’s high strength-to-weight ratio allowed for additional weight to be strategically placed, increasing the MOI on both the vertical and horizontal axes.

Specs

Head size: 460 cc. Lofts: 8.5º, 9.5º, 10.5º, 12º. Standard Length: 45,75”. Lie Angle: 58º. Head Weight: 208g. Swing Weight: D3. Shafts, TFC 169D: Flexes L, Soft R, R, S, X; TFC 169D Tour: flexes R, S, X. Fitting variables: Shaft length; shaft flex; shaft type; loft; grip size and type. RRP: €292.

Toni Alcázar is a golf professional in El Doctor Golf.

More information at www.ping.com and www.eldoctorgolf.com.

Pictures: MyGolfWay y Ping.

Por Toni Alcazar