Ping G430 Vs Ping G400 Driver Comparison Overview

Ping G430 Vs Ping G400 Driver

If you are looking for forgiving golf clubs, the Ping G series is an excellent place to start your shopping.

But the G series of clubs is massive. Even if you are looking specifically at the drivers, there are still a ton of options.

To help put your best drive forward, I tested a couple of the best G series drivers: the Ping G430 and Ping G400 drivers.

The Ping G430 is the latest addition to the G series of drivers; but is it really the greatest? Let’s find out.

Ping G430 Driver Overview

“The Ping G430 driver features a forged titanium face and comes in 9, 10.5 and 12 degree loft versions.”

Right off the bat, the Ping G430 driver has something that the G400 doesn’t: a moveable rear weight.

So if you want the ability to shape your shots differently without altering your swing, the Ping G430 driver would be a good choice for you.

The Ping G430 driver also has a bigger head volume at 460cc. Still, the shallow face profile makes it look more compact than that.

But let’s talk distance. The crisp, reactive forged titanium face boosted my ball speed and helped me average 257.6 yards of carry.

My launch angles weren’t too shabby either – typically in the 13-15 degree range.

A bit high for me but objectively, a nice, middling window that should suit a wide swath of players.

Ping G400 Driver Overview

“The Ping G400 is only available in 9 and 10.5 degree loft versions.”

It also has a smaller 445cc head volume. But it’s odd because the G400 has the opposite visual effect as the Ping G430.

It’s truly smaller; but the deep face profile makes it look bigger.

Like the Ping G430 driver, the G400 has a forged titanium face that delivers a crisp, metallic “thwack” at impact.

Amazingly, the G400 produced similar distance numbers as the Ping G430. On average, I carried the ball 256.3 yards.

And even though the G400 technically played shorter for me, I preferred the shallower launch angles it was producing.

I think with more time, I could actually get more distance from the G400.

“In terms of pure forgiveness, the Ping G430 is the decidedly better driver. But I think mid and low handicappers will get along better with the Ping G400 driver.”

Ping G430 Driver – First Impressions

“The Ping G430 drivers have a noticeably different design than previous Ping G drivers.”

The face has a more shallow profile yet the crown and sole have a more rounded design. Overall the Ping G430 drivers look really unique. They also have the signature “ping” sound at impact which is really satisfying and lets you know when you’ve struck the ball perfectly.

We were also impressed that all three drivers in the new line come with movable weights. This will help a wide array of players who are struggling against a draw or a fade. It’ll also help you put more power behind the area of the face that you tend to make contact with.

The adjustable loft sleeve will also help you dial these drivers in during fittings. Ping did a good job of upping the adjustability element of the new Ping G430 so that they appeal to a wider array of players. Unless you have a handicap in the 0-5 range, the new Ping G430 driver can benefit your long game in one way or another.

The Ping G430 Family

If you are a better player looking to squeeze more yards out of your drive with muted spin, the Ping G430 LST is definitely the driver for you. If you are a high handicapper, go with the Ping G430 Max. If you are struggling with accuracy off the tee, the Ping G430 SFT would benefit you most.

Ping G400 Driver – First Impressions

The first thing we noticed about the Ping G400 is that it looks really nice at point of address.

Looking down at this driver will make you fall in love with it. It has a clean, smooth and fast look at point of address which is really encouraging when you are grinding out a practice session at the range. And it’s not all about looks either.

Ping claims that the Ping G400’s head was designed to reduce drag and our testers found (using a launch monitor) that it did indeed increase their average swing speed by 3MPH.

The G400 Family

Aside from the Ping G400 and the G400 LST, the G400 family also includes the G400 SFT.

The Ping G400 SFT has all the same features of the standard G400 and the LST version but with the added bonus of heel-side weighting. This will help players struggling with a slice. The G400 SFT also has a slightly lower swing weight which is helps you square up to the ball at impact.

Ping G430 Selling Points

Adjustable CG weights
Forged faces
All three models play hot
Titanium face
Adjustable hosels

Ping G400 Driver Selling Points

Adjustable tungsten weight
Dragonfly internal ribbing
Forged titanium face
445CC head
Aerodynamic turbulators
9,000 MOI

Who is the Ping G430 Driver for?

“With three unique models, the Ping G430 drivers will appeal to a wide variety of players.”

It would seem that the overarching goal for these drivers was to make them viable for all skill levels. For the most part, Ping succeeded at this. The only type of player that we can imagine that wouldn’t benefit from these drivers are scratch players. The Ping G430 drivers launch high and don’t allow for a whole lot of workability.

So if you are a really good player, you’re better off looking elsewhere for a new driver. That being said, the Ping G430 drivers are ideal for both mid and high handicappers looking for a good mixture of forgiveness and accuracy.

We love the new forged face design because it will help virtually any kind of player achieve better ball speeds. The Ping G430 drivers will be especially beneficial to players who need more lateral forgiveness from their driver.

Distance: 96/100

Accuracy: 95/100

Forgiveness: 94/100

Feel & Control: 95/100

Overall Score: 95/100

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Ping G400 – Who is it for?

The Ping G400 would work best for players in the 18-25 handicap range.

So it’s a great choice for mid to high handicappers. It’s forgiving enough to be viable for beginners and offers better players the workability they’ve come to expect. One thing we should mention though is that in order to get optimal distance with the Ping G400 driver, you will need a moderate swing speed.

As long as you have a swing speed above about 85mph, you should do very well with the Ping G400 driver. The one thing you can surely count on is better ball speed and faster club head speed – you just have to make sure that you are square to the ball and on target.

That’s not to say that people with slow swing speeds won’t enjoy the Ping G400 driver or get any use out of it; it just means that there are definitely better drivers out there for slow swing speed players to use.