Ping G400 Vs. Titleist 718 AP1 Irons Comparison Overview

The Titleist 718 AP1 irons are ones that sit very comfortably in the distance category. They were made to go far and launch high. Not only that, they were built to be more usable by higher handicap players – a demographic that Titleist hasn’t traditionally catered to.

Naturally, we were very excited to go out and test these irons. But as always, we needed a control. For the control, we brought in the Ping G400 irons which have a similar loft profile to the Titleist 718 AP1’s. Let’s have a look at them both.

Ping G400 Irons Overview

The Ping G400 irons sports a 17-4 stainless steel face which Ping has shaved down to be as thin as possible.

In all honesty though, we would like to have seen a more premium material used for the face of these irons as 17-4 stainless steel is usually used for iron bodies. Nevertheless, the Ping G400 irons produced really nice launch throughout the set which includes a really impressive 39.5 degree 9-iron.

The 9 iron in this set will make your ball come down with snow. It’s great for holding onto fast greens even with the relatively low amount of spin we were getting from our testing. The G400 irons also yield really nice turf interaction thanks to the hydropearl finish.

Titleist 718 AP1 Irons Overview

While the G400 irons had the better turf interaction, we really liked the forgiveness factor of the Titleist 718 AP1 irons.

In particular, the 5 iron in this set produced some shockingly straight shots when hit from the toe. The Titleist 718 AP1 irons also have a lot of offset which is great news for beginners and high handicappers. Behind the ball, they look quite nice except for the dull face.

The face hasn’t been polished like some other Titleist irons but that won’t affect performance. Titleist 718 AP1’s also have wide soles so they look great at point of address for high handicappers and makes them launch as high as the G400’s. Spin rates were low in these irons as well, but that didn’t affect their stopping power.

In fact, we would say that the Titleist 718 AP1’s actually had more stopping power than the Ping G400 irons. The Titleist 718 AP1’s were also more forgiving so we think they would be better for beginners and high handicappers than the G400’s.

Ping G400 Irons

Category – Game Improvement Irons

Titleist 718 AP1 Irons

Category: Game/Improvement

Ping G400 First Impressions

We were a bit wary of the Ping G400’s at first because they didn’t have the size of traditional game-improvement irons.

While you are looking at a shorter distance from heel to toe with the Ping G400 irons, the COR-Eye technology ensures that if you make contact with the sweet spot, your ball is gonna go far. Almost immediately, our testers were nailing shots in the 160 yard range with the 5 iron in this set.

We also really liked the way these irons sounded – particularly the long irons. The cavity badge really works to enhance sound when you hit the sweet spots of these irons. It didn’t take us very long to get the hang of these irons and start sending missiles down the fairway.

Titleist 718 AP1 First Impressions

We were expecting a lot from these irons before we ever hit the course with them simply because they were Titleist irons and we know Titleist to make awesome clubs no matter the category.

We can honestly say that we were impressed with these irons at the end of the day. What struck us the most was the fact that our high handicap testers were able to land more greens.

The Titleist 718 AP1 irons do an amazing job of launching high and landing soft. They produce an ideal descent angle no matter what your skill level is. In short, the Titleist 718 AP1 will help you perform above your handicap.

Our high handicap testers noted better short game control as opposed to the irons they typically use. We honestly weren’t expecting such accuracy around the pin from these game-improvement irons but of course, we were happy to have it.

Ping G400 – Selling Points

Hydropearl finish
Co-molded, 3-piece cavity badge
Good stock shaft choices
Very easy to achieve adequate launch
They produce easy distance

Titleist 718 AP1 Selling Points

Hollow body design in the long irons
Undercut design in the short irons
Pre-worn leading edge
Custom tungsten weighting in each iron
Fairly thin top line for irons in this category

Who Are The Ping G400 Irons for?

The Ping G400 irons are certainly for players still in the high handicap range. However, after our testing we felt that the kind of player who would get the best use out of these irons is the player who is primed to make the leap into the mid handicap range as they offer better short game performance than you might expect from a game-improvement set of irons.

These are great irons for anyone who is just learning how to work the ball from side-to-side. They allow for such workability but flatten the learning curve at the same time with their mid-size heads.

The G Family of Irons

The G series of irons from Ping also includes the G425 which features variable face thickness architecture which makes it forgiving enough for mid handicappers. The G425 has more of a players performance iron profile though.

Like the G400 irons, the G425 irons have a 14-4 grade stainless steel face design. This material also helps to launch the ball high in the air and produces adequate distance for high to mid handicap players.

Then there are the Ping G710 which are exceptionally forgiving with a longer blade length than the G400’s. The G710’s also feature variable face thickness and a nice maraging steel face. The maraging steel is an incredibly thin yet strong type of steel that allows the faces of these irons to flex and rebound.

The Ping G710 irons would also be a great fit for anyone with slow to moderate swings speeds. Plus, the black finish looks really cool.

Distance: 97/100

Accuracy: 96/100

Forgiveness: 95/100

Feel and Control: 96/100

Overall Score: 96/100

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Who are the Titleist 718 AP1 Irons for?

We don’t want to say that these irons are best for high handicappers and beginners because that would be less accurate than saying they are best for high handicappers who are serious about their game.

If you are casual about the game, play a few times a year or aren’t particularly concerned about breaking 100, don’t get these clubs. There are plenty of cheaper irons that would suit you better.

If however you are committed to getting better, the Titleist 718 AP1 irons will work great for you. They provide great distance and surprising short-game control.

The AP1 Family

If you are looking for even more forgiveness then the Titleist 716 AP1 irons would be a good choice. They too feature an undercut cavity but have more perimeter weighting than the Titleist 718 AP1 irons.

This will help preserve ball speed when you hit near the perimeter of the face as opposed to the sweet spot. The 716 AP1 irons also have a more noticeable cavity in the back at point of address.

You can actually see the sole jut out a bit more with the 716 irons which may be a welcome sight to beginners and high handicappers. However, in terms of distance the 716’s come up short of the Titleist 718 AP1 irons.

The lack of a hollow body design in the long irons make the 716’s consistently shorter than the Titleist 718 AP1’s.