Today we are going to have a look at the big dog of the bag, the Ping G15 Driver. I have seen a lot of G15 and G10 drivers in the bags of random playing partners over the years, and have been looking forward to getting my hands on a G15 driver for quite a while now. As always, we will start with a little background information and club specifications and then get on to the detailed review. Enjoy!
Among the giants of the golf industry, PING has always remained one of the quietest in the business. You never see commercials on TV. They only have a select number of pros which they endorse. They rarely even release new clubs. It seems like the word "hype" just isn't a part of PING's vocabulary.
But something felt different when PING announced it would release two entirely new lines of clubs. PING actually seemed excited. In fact, PING was going out of their way to tell anyone and everyone that would listen that its new clubs had monumental improvements. Even if you didn't like PINGs in the past, you start to wonder, what did they come up with?
After putting the driver through a full battery of tests it has certainly made an impression on you.
The Ping G15 Driver is engineered for golfers seeking
a maximum forgiveness driver that delivers distance and accuracy. Its 460cc titanium head is longer front to back and features PING's patented ultra thin crown technology. Weight savings from the thin crown are positioned as an external sole weight to optimize the center of gravity for higher trajectories and reduced spin.
A larger face is designed to increase
ball speed and provide consistency across the entire hitting surface. The new PING-designed TFC 149D high balance point shaft allows for a five gram increase in head mass (without increasing swingweight or overall weight) which results in higher ball speeds and an increased moment of inertia
Performance
The day UPS dropped the G15 off at my door, I headed right over to my home course and took the driver out for a spin. I did not even bother to hit up the range, just took it right on the course. Little crazy perhaps, but it worked out pretty well. Lucky for me, the loft and shaft seemed to fit my swing pretty decently. I ended up hitting about 70% fairways, which is well above average for me.
With my swing, the ball launched quite high and seemed to have a pretty good spin rate, as the ball seemed to hang in the air forever and then roll out quite nicely. My driver was fitted with the PING TFC 149D shaft in stiff flex. It seemed to be quite stable and worked well with my particular swing. Nonetheless, you would probably want to be fitted by an authorized PING club fitter to help set you up with the right shaft/head combination to optimize the driver for your game.
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I purchased these to have something more forgiving since I was playing Ping I3 blades. Since I don't play as often I decided to buy something that would dampen mishit. I have a personal driving range and I found that my swing fault followed me, go figure :) Anyway, my 1st round was a disaster, but it wasn't the clubs. After the disaster I practiced all week with them, along with a major revision in my setup and shot 73 in my second round with them. So, they were redeemed. One thing I've noticed is that the offset is hidden well in the design of the club. I have never cared for offset, but it's almost invisible in this club. They feel really good in my hands and the thicker sole from the Ping's now seem normal.