Poor service from Ping - Broken Driver - Know before you buy

[mneumann]

 

Have to call out Ping for their poor service and not standing behind their product.

 

Bought a G LS tec driver 3 years and 3 months ago. Was hitting it on the range yesterday and it cracked right down the center of the crown perpendicular to the face.

 

Apparently Ping only guarantees their clubs wont break for 3 years, unlike every other manufacturer I've seen in a cracked driver story, so I'm sol. Best they can do is have me send it back to them so they can inspect it and then give me some kind of discount on a new club, but their CS reps refuse to tell me what the discount is until they inspect it. This is after yesterday telling me to go to golf galaxy and get it inspected, but apparently they dont trust the golf galaxy guys to do anything so that was a waste of a trip.

 

Best part is I have US am 4 ball qualifying coming up in 10 days, so no time to send the driver back, have them look at it, come up with whatever special price on a new club, and get it to me, so I'm either without a driver or have to buy a new one in the interim.

 

I offered to buy a new g410 on the spot at golf galaxy if they could tell me what it would cost, switch to my shaft, and send them back my head, and they wouldnt give me the price, and also said they cant do that and would have to ship it to me after they got mine.

 

Cant believe a company cant guarantee for longer than 3 years that their club wont crack in half from normal use. And also cant make an accommodation for someone that needs a driver in a short time frame. Buyer beware.

[kdog25]

Thanks. This wouldn’t dissuade me from buying a Ping club in the future. Not a second thought. I think it was good of them to offer a discount since it was outside the warranty period. They could have told you to get bent. Bad luck, nothing more.

[DFS PFD]

Could be wrong but I don't think any OEM has an infinite/unlimited warranty. Offering you a discount on a modern offering was generous of them. Ping has always taken care of me, I understand the 3 year warranty means 3 years.

[straightshot7]

It's a tough problem for both sides. If Ping offers an endless warranty or a longer warranty, they might not stay in business. People could just hit the club until it cracked and then get a replacement and never have to buy a new driver. So obviously Ping has to limit the warranty period.

However, as a buyer, you'd also expect the driver to last longer than 3 years however if you have an above average swing speed and play a lot of golf that's not that bad.

I would suggest just buying a slightly used TaylorMade or Ping on eBay or BST and call it a day. You can find a nice driver for $150.

Especially if you keep your existing shaft - -you can find a nice head for $100.

If that doesn't work for you then I'm sure there's a friend or proshop that would loan you a head for the tournament.

[mneumann]

Problem is they didnt offer a discount. They offered to have me send it back so they can look at it and decide if I get a discount and how much it will be. Cant just trust their retailer or look at pictures. Theres 30 g410s at golf galaxy right now and if they would give me whatever discount it is and it was reasonable I'd pay in a second, but they absolutely refuse to work outside their procedure, which is the real issue for me.

 

Callaway and taylor made both have been known to replace really old clubs with new models. I'm not even looking for a free lunch, I just want them to try to work it out faster, but theres no flexibility at all, so if I want to work with them I essentially have to buy another used driver for a week and then buy a discounted driver from them later, really doesn't help much.

[Therealpatgiles]

I cannot imagine complaining about a company not fixing a 3 year old driver. It's 3 years old. You got your money's worth, especially saying you have a us am 4 ball in 10 days. You play a lot of golf. Most companies would tell you you're sol, no discount.

[Drudersh]

TM Driver Warranty - 2 years

Callaway Driver Warranty - 2 years

Titleist Driver Warranty - 1 year

 

They are already extedning themselves beyond the other 3 major OEM's in terms of their warranty. Did you buy the club new from Golf Galaxy? I had an issue with a set of Ping S55's delaminating and handled the return through Morton's golf where I'd purchased the clubs and Ping sent me a new set of irons before they even received mine back. I think the level of service you get sometimes comes down to who you are dealing with and, in this case Morton's was excellent in dealing with Ping.

 

I'm sure you weren't trying to get something for nothing, but can you imagine how many goobers go into a Golf Galaxy every day with a broken club trying to get a new one for free? It's got to be exhausting for everyone to deal with and I assume helps explain why they want to see the club first.

[KC13]

Really sucks your head cracked but that is life. 3 years on a driver is a great warranty and as far as flexibility/turn around time from Ping for us peons, don't take it personally.

 

Also, true WRX'ers don't play a driver for more than 2 years. Maybe this will be your first step towards the art of "club ho'ing". (Joking, hope you find a new driver. Hit'm straight!)

 

KC

[kdog25]

So they may be willing to offer you something even though it’s outside the warranty period and that’s not enough. They have to just take your word for it (I don’t doubt it FWIW) and do it on your timeline. The situation sucks. And the timings sucks even worse. But you just had a bad break. They don’t need to bend to your will, sorry.

[Bad9]

You might accuse me of being a bit of a homer but go ahead. You driver was out their warranty period, by quite a lot, and as other have pointed out is more generous than other companies. Your driver is cracked and of no use so why not send it in? They are probably even going to cover the shipping. Hard to take issue with their stance when you refuse to give them half a chance. Its out of their warranty period and you expect them to give you some kind of deal sight unseen. Not to mention that you also seem to expect shaft tip swapping included. The fact that they would even consider it gives them high marks in my book.

Here's my story. I bought a used G400 a couple of years ago and used it for the better part of two seasons. Sold it to a guy who hit one ball with it and he noticed the hosel had split. I gave him his money back and called Ping. They arranged shipping for me and I sent the club back. They inspected it and sent me a new ping G410+ at no charge. I don't doubt they might have done the same for you if you had given them the chance.

[alexdub]

I know it doesn't work with your time frame — but being told to "send it in" is just how Ping does business. I've had several Ping items with warranty-related issues and they never say anything other than "send it in". They take an in-hand look, call you back, and (in my experience) offer a replacement or significant discount on current line.

Is the vagueness frustrating? Yes. Would you prefer them to take you at your word and overnight a replacement? Obviously. But that's not how they take care of things. They won't draw conclusions or commit to a replacement without having it in-hand.

[Unteachable]

I had a callaway driver break 2 years and a month or 2 after I bought it several years back (cracked face on a Razr Hawk). Took it to my pro shop who was a big callaway account and they tried to warranty it-the pro suggested it after we talked about why I was buying a new driver- no dice from callaway. He did offer me a discount on a new driver because I bought the original from him. It happens and the warranty length is there for a reason.

Just send the head in and see what ping does BEFORE complaining about them on the internet

[bigmoneyp]

Tour Edge has a lifetime warranty.

[Speltz14]

Could be worse, I'd rather be in your situation than having to wait 6 months to play golf because of winter...

[SubaruWRX]

Isn’t that already 2 generations old?

[rynobucket]

Stating that TM and Callaway normally replace really old heads with new models is absolutely false. There may be a few instances of a couple of people getting a new replacement on a model that is a few generations old, but we don't know all the details. I will go out on a limb and say that more than likely those transactions that ended in replacement didn't start with the customer demanding to have the company go out their typical warranty policy to fix their issue without sending in the head. I have a cracked 580 head I can send you if you want to call TM and have them send you a replacement M5.

[JasonPetermann]

i feel for you, but this is hardly poor service from Ping. I think it is great service to offer to look at an out of warranty item with a possibility of a discount.

[GoIrish17]

OP, could you please provide your opinion on how you think this should have gone this should have gone? It's clear that you aren't happy with how it was handled. In your opinion, what should Ping have done differently in your situation to avoid having you post your terrible experience on GolfWRX?

[straightshot7]

Yeah one of those replacement episodes was because the 2016 m1 or m2 was developing a spider web crack on the crown.

It was considered a defect, not normal wear and tear.

Cracking the head after hitting it for 3 years 3 months is not generally considered a defect.

[brew4eagle]

If anything I'll be more likely to stick with PING now that I know they have a 3 year+ warranty. Thanks OP

[I'_rather_be_golfing]

I honestly don’t see any issue with Ping customer service In your situation. I’ve dealt with them on multiple occasions. Though not all worked out in the end for me. Just because you didn’t get what you wanted. Doesn’t mean they have poor service. You sound very entitled and seem to think you were expected something out of it. It was obvious how this was gonna end once you stated it was over 3 years old. And you can easily purchase a new driver with over a week left before your tourney.

[spartanglfr]

Ping has great customer service. The way they handled this is more than good service, and is what I have come to expect from them. The driver is over 3 years old, and a 3 year warranty is exceptionally fair. The timing of the break is unfortunate, but unless you're a Ping staff player, expecting immediate action at no charge to you is unreasonable.

[RodrigoNicely]

Simply amazes me that you think a company should warranty a driver that is three plus years old.

its less like poor customer service and more likely a piss poor customer

[dethman]

Don't see anything wrong with what ping did.

[blackngold_blood]

I look at this situation like this.

OP, would you give a refund on something you sold before getting said item back in return? I'm betting the answer is NO. You wouldn't take the buyers word for it and neither should any OEM. This doesn't even count the fact that the club is over 3 years old and outside of their warranty.

A little more common sense and a little less entitlement would have kept this thread from existing.

[SubaruWRX]

I don’t think this turned out how the OP had hoped...

 

[Steele47]

Good luck in the 4-Ball Qualifier!

[AzSuperHack76]

This thread makes me want to buy more Ping clubs. Looks like they did everything right!

 

If you're in that much of a pinch, buy a new driver from Golf Galaxy, send your old one in. See what Ping can do in terms of discount and or replacement and sell the one you get back from Ping.

[mktrout]

Wow, I didnt know they had a three year warranty, thats better than any of the other big companies. Your driver is old, it broke, its out of warranty... its not their problem. Do you go on car forums and complain you dont get your car fixed for free after the warranty is expired? Good luck with that. Sounds like they tried to take good care of you and you are just complaining.

[johngalt312]

While I have had issues with Ping, I wouldn’t expect them to warranty a club that I used - presumably significantly - for more than three years.

That said, if it helps: https://www.golfdiscount.com/ping-g-ls-tec-driver?hand=15138&loft=15868&flex=15397&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIj9Kfp6mE5gIVBsZkCh3IegZgEAUYAyABEgJvFPD_BwE