Ping G430 Driver Review 2023 – How Much Better is it? Who is it for?

“It’s 2023 and with the brand new year comes a brand new line of drivers from Ping.

The Ping G430 comes in three different options to meet the needs of a wide variety of golfers.”

The Ping G430 Driver Family

“The new G430’s come in SFT, LST and Max versions. It should be noted that all of these new drivers feature adjustable weights.”

The Ping G430 LST is the low-spinning member of the family. It features a 22 gram moveable tungsten weight that can be positioned in the draw, neutral and fade positions. It also features a 440cc head and a carbon fiber crown that extends down to the heel and toe.

The Ping G430 Max is certainly the most forgiving of these drivers. It features a heavier 25 gram moveable weight and a larger overall profile. The Ping G430 SFT has a 22 gram movable tungsten weight and is designed to help you drive the ball straighter.

Is it Good for High Handicappers?

“All of the Ping G430 drivers were designed to increase forgiveness while also adopting specific and unique performance profiles.”

All of the Ping G430 drivers feature thin, variable thickness faces. Overall, they all play very hot off the face. While the sound and feel certainly leave something to be desired, high handicappers should feel very comfortable with any of these drivers.

That all being said, the Ping G430 Max was certainly the most forgiving of the three. It sports a 460cc head and comes in three loft options: 9, 10.5 and 12 degrees. You get a bit higher launch with the Ping G430 Max driver and club head speed is high. If you are a high handicapper, you really can’t go wrong with any of these drivers; but if you are looking for the most forgiveness, the Ping G430 Max is the way to go.

Is it Forgiving?

“The Ping G430 drivers are certainly forgiving. The thin variable thickness face is consistent from side to side.”

So even if you tend to mis-hit inward, the Ping G430 drivers will help you preserve ball speed. They all feature adjustable weighting so they will meet the demands of a wide array of high handicap players.

However, our testers did notice that the face profile of these drivers is a bit more shallow than previous Ping driver models. So while lateral forgiveness is enhanced, you lose some distance if on low-face strikes. The movable CG weight will do a bit to make up for that; but overall, you get way more lateral forgiveness than you do up and down forgiveness.

Difference Between the Ping G430 LST and Ping G430 SFT

“The main difference between these two drivers is head size. The Ping G430 LST has a 440cc head while the Ping G430 SFT has an oversized 460cc head.”

Right off the bat, the difference in volume may make the Ping G430 SFT a more appealing play to beginners and high handicappers. We liked the fact that the Ping G430 LST had a profile that was more evocative of a player’s performance driver. We also liked that the LST does what it’s advertised to do: produce low spin rates.

Both of these drivers have a 22-gram movable weight though so you can experiment with CG. If we had to choose, we would say that the most significant difference between these two drivers is that the Ping G430 SFT is a bit better for players struggling with accuracy off the tee.

Available Shafts

• Ping ALTA CB 55 Black
• Ping Tour 2.0 Chrome 65
• Ping Tour 2.0 Black 65
• Mitsubishi Kai’li White 60
• HZRDUS Smoke red RDX 50
• HZRDUS Smoke Red RDX 60
• Ping Alta Quick

Is the Ping G430 Worth it?

“The new Ping G430 drivers are certainly an improvement from previous models in terms of versatility and face design.”

The new Ping G430 drivers play noticeably hotter off the face than previous models. The thinner, variable thickness design alone is worth it if you are a mid to high handicapper. The great thing is that there are three different models to choose from. Overall we would say that this new Ping line is definitely worth it if you are in the market for a premium driver that will also help improve your accuracy and overall distance.