G400 Max...Holy Cow!!!

[sfdoddsy]

This is the best looking, best feeling driver I’ve ever hit in my life but I just can’t get the spin down. It’s 20 yards shorter than my old sub zero and that’s being generous. It is a big time fairway finder though. I’ve played 7 rounds with it and it’s almost scary how straight it goes. I’ll look up after a bad strike expecting the ball to be left of cart path and it ends up left center fairway. But I just can’t get by how much it spins. It’s one of those situations where I’ll get to my ball and it will be sitting about 4 feet behind it’s ballmark. I am looking forward to the new lst though. I’ll be very interested to see how it performs. For what it’s worth, I’ve got a 9 degree set to the lowest setting with the ping tour 75x shaft 44.5 in. with a d4 sw. SS is 118+/-.

 

Have you tried a low spin ball. I get 500+ RPM difference between a Taylormade Project A and a Callaway Supersoft.

[Argonne69]

I had some flashes of brilliance, as well as some major inconsistency, with my G400 Max this past season. And there I was out on a freezing course the other day in NJ, and I decided to choke down at least an inch, and lo and behold, much more consistent with the Max. This was almost too obvious, that I never really did this during an actual round. So off I went to have my Tour (65 R) and Alta (55 S) each cut down to 44.25" (1" off the Tour, 1.5" off the Alta), and I think I'll be back on track.

 

The G400 Max is a phenomenal driver, and any issues I was having was me and my swing (taking into account that I don't get along with long shafts). And I still have my G400 SFT around, which I think might also come to life now with the shorter shaft. I had success (and failure) with each of the Tour and Alta shafts, so I look forward to giving them each a run in their now shorter configuration. I do definitely love the Tour shaft though, so I suspect that will still prevail.

 

P.S., I know it has been discussed before, but when I removed the grip on the Tour 65 shaft, it is still in fact a UST Mamiya shaft.

 

I was a bit surprised to see that Bubba Watson plays with only a 44.5" shaft.

[LaymanM]

Went back to store and got on gc2. Hit a few different shafts and really liked the tour 65 stiff. Good flight and spin. Just ordered a shaft on ebay to go in my G400 Max. Numbers looked good. Will be fun test verse my 2 other shafts (alta cb and aldila rogue max)

[Tylerjames80112]

Gave in and have 9* max in the mail. Will be stiff competition against my LTD pro so we'll see how the dispersion and distances compare but am worried the higher trajectory reported from the max will be an issue. Will report back in a week or two.

[LaymanM]

Gave in and have 9* max in the mail. Will be stiff competition against my LTD pro so we'll see how the dispersion and distances compare but am worried the higher trajectory reported from the max will be an issue. Will report back in a week or two.

 

If the spin is right, height is good thing

[Galanga]

I am still hitting a lot of fairways with the G400. Love the driver. It started to look a little closed to my eye at setup, but, I was hitting nice draws into the fairway. Sometimes harder draws, and, I started to struggle with alignment. So, I took my 10.5 down to the big minus and it looks more square to me and alignment is easier. Still hitting high draws but more controlled and easier to align. Did the same with my G400 5w and 3w and same result. Looks better at setup and is even better with on-target shots. More worried about face angle appearance than loft. Worked.

[ckates7]

Gave in and have 9* max in the mail. Will be stiff competition against my LTD pro so we'll see how the dispersion and distances compare but am worried the higher trajectory reported from the max will be an issue. Will report back in a week or two.

 

Please do. I have the LTD Pro as well, and looking at this exact switch

[jeffrey r]

I love 45 degree days in December, as I get to go out on an empty course, and test and try things out at my convenience. I believe I had mentioned above that I was having some consistency problems with my G400 Max, and that choking down seemed to be doing the trick. So I had both my Tour R flex and Alta 55 S flex shafts cut down to play at 44.25”.

 

Spent a few hours on the course yesterday and today with those two shafts, and my G400 Max 10.5* and G400 SFT 10* heads. A few observations, all for my game and in my humble opinion.

 

The G400 Max is a vastly superior head compared to the G400 SFT. It is significantly more forgiving, and simply a much straighter driver. Whatever purported draw bias is built into the SFT doesn’t really cause you to hit better or straighter drives. At least compared to the G400 Max, which is an exceptional head.

 

The Tour R flex shaft works much better for my game compared to the Alta 55 S flex. I tried both shafts in both heads, and the Tour shaft is simply a better shaft for me.

 

Cutting an inch off of the Tour shaft seems to be a game-changer for me. I had thought that simply playing it stock at the shorter length compared to the Alta would be good enough, but it wasn’t. Playing at 45.25” was still too long for me. Even in this cold weather, and with layers on, I was hitting the ball off the tee much more consistently. Really a significant improvement with the shorter shaft.

 

Bottom line—I feel very good going into next season with the G400 Max 10.5* with Tour R flex shaft, playing at 44.25”. The G400 Max is really an incredible driver once you get it dialed in. YMMV.

[bladehunter]

I had some flashes of brilliance, as well as some major inconsistency, with my G400 Max this past season. And there I was out on a freezing course the other day in NJ, and I decided to choke down at least an inch, and lo and behold, much more consistent with the Max. This was almost too obvious, that I never really did this during an actual round. So off I went to have my Tour (65 R) and Alta (55 S) each cut down to 44.25" (1" off the Tour, 1.5" off the Alta), and I think I'll be back on track.

 

The G400 Max is a phenomenal driver, and any issues I was having was me and my swing (taking into account that I don't get along with long shafts). And I still have my G400 SFT around, which I think might also come to life now with the shorter shaft. I had success (and failure) with each of the Tour and Alta shafts, so I look forward to giving them each a run in their now shorter configuration. I do definitely love the Tour shaft though, so I suspect that will still prevail.

 

P.S., I know it has been discussed before, but when I removed the grip on the Tour 65 shaft, it is still in fact a UST Mamiya shaft.

 

I was a bit surprised to see that Bubba Watson plays with only a 44.5" shaft.

 

Why ? When you swing 120 plus a half inch shaft length is worth some control. But very little speed if any. Not to mention his total leverage counting arms and all is likely more than a 5ft 9 person with a 47 inch driver.

[flip flappy]

I love 45 degree days in December, as I get to go out on an empty course, and test and try things out at my convenience. I believe I had mentioned above that I was having some consistency problems with my G400 Max, and that choking down seemed to be doing the trick. So I had both my Tour R flex and Alta 55 S flex shafts cut down to play at 44.25".

 

Spent a few hours on the course yesterday and today with those two shafts, and my G400 Max 10.5* and G400 SFT 10* heads. A few observations, all for my game and in my humble opinion.

 

The G400 Max is a vastly superior head compared to the G400 SFT. It is significantly more forgiving, and simply a much straighter driver. Whatever purported draw bias is built into the SFT doesn't really cause you to hit better or straighter drives. At least compared to the G400 Max, which is an exceptional head.

 

The Tour R flex shaft works much better for my game compared to the Alta 55 S flex. I tried both shafts in both heads, and the Tour shaft is simply a better shaft for me.

 

Cutting an inch off of the Tour shaft seems to be a game-changer for me. I had thought that simply playing it stock at the shorter length compared to the Alta would be good enough, but it wasn't. Playing at 45.25" was still too long for me. Even in this cold weather, and with layers on, I was hitting the ball off the tee much more consistently. Really a significant improvement with the shorter shaft.

 

Bottom line—I feel very good going into next season with the G400 Max 10.5* with Tour R flex shaft, playing at 44.25". The G400 Max is really an incredible driver once you get it dialed in. YMMV.

I was not hitting my G400 Max very good at all with the Alta 55 S either. I have played Titleist drivers for a few years and have really became partial to the shorter length stock shafts. I had 2 Diamana Kai'li shafts so I decided to pull the Titleist adapter and put on a Ping adapter on one of them and I love the results. There is a great thread going if you have not seen it about shorter shafts and the Max.

http://www.golfwrx.c...t-would-i-need/

 

Edit: I also like cold days where only us nuts are on the course. Hot days as well!

[C_rad]

Can anyone compare the 915d2 ( which i game) versus the standard g400?

 

Might be the time to treat myself with a new driver....

[bladehunter]

Can anyone compare the 915d2 ( which i game) versus the standard g400?

 

Might be the time to treat myself with a new driver....

 

Hit the max. I dare you.

[C_rad]

Can anyone compare the 915d2 ( which i game) versus the standard g400?

 

Might be the time to treat myself with a new driver....

 

Hit the max. I dare you.

this sound like a challenge. I am always up for a challenge.

[bladehunter]

Can anyone compare the 915d2 ( which i game) versus the standard g400?

 

Might be the time to treat myself with a new driver....

 

Hit the max. I dare you.

this sound like a challenge. I am always up for a challenge.

 

Hype is real. Straightest thing I’ve ever hit. I got in a groove and started a 20 ball string that faded less than 5 yards and flew inside a 10 yard window. That was out of the middle. But hit several stinkers that just went straight. Shaft dependent though of course. I hit it with a familiar friend. The synergy proto , that shaft just likes me. Also hit it with a Kuro kage silver 60 and just couldn’t get it reigned in. Flew high and much more fade biased. Felt counter balanced.

 

I guess point is I don’t see much difference between it and the regular 400 as far as looks. But the max just wants to climb straight. And fall right a hair.

[nsxguy]

Can anyone compare the 915d2 ( which i game) versus the standard g400?

 

Might be the time to treat myself with a new driver....

 

Hit the max. I dare you.

this sound like a challenge. I am always up for a challenge.

 

Send me a dozen Titleist AVX. I dare you. :lol:

[dpb5031]

I had shop credit to burn so ordered a G Max 9 degree with Hzrdus Yellow in stiff. My regular driver is an M3 with Tour AD IZ in X.

 

So far the Max has performed as advertised. It's very confidence inspiring and easy to hit straight or with a slight draw. I'm finding a reliable fade a touch more difficult as I've experienced some pulled double crossers but it may be the shaft is a touch softer than what I'm accustomed to?

 

About twice per round I absolutely pound this thing out there much longer than normal with no extra effort. I've had it happen both downwind and into, but I'm guessing it's coming off the face with lower spin than normal for me. Anyone else experience this? Is there a spot on the face that produces a hot flight/ lower spin? The damned thing is so forgiving and stable across the face it doesnt provide a ton of feedback so i cant tell...lol!

[nsxguy]

I had shop credit to burn so ordered a G Max 9 degree with Hzrdus Yellow in stiff. My regular driver is an M3 with Tour AD IZ in X.

 

So far the Max has performed as advertised. It's very confidence inspiring and easy to hit straight or with a slight draw. I'm finding a reliable fade a touch more difficult as I've experienced some pulled double crossers but it may be the shaft is a touch softer than what I'm accustomed to?

 

About twice per round I absolutely pound this thing out there much longer than normal with no extra effort. I've had it happen both downwind and into, but I'm guessing it's coming off the face with lower spin than normal for me. Anyone else experience this? Is there a spot on the face that produces a hot flight/ lower spin? The damned thing is so forgiving and stable across the face it doesnt provide a ton of feedback so i cant tell...lol!

 

:D . I just posted about this "phenomenon(?)" the other day - Extra CHS ? in a Titleist thread.

 

"Theory" being we often don't have our moving parts moving perfectly. Moving very well ? Yes, but not perfectly.

[bladehunter]

I had shop credit to burn so ordered a G Max 9 degree with Hzrdus Yellow in stiff. My regular driver is an M3 with Tour AD IZ in X.

 

So far the Max has performed as advertised. It's very confidence inspiring and easy to hit straight or with a slight draw. I'm finding a reliable fade a touch more difficult as I've experienced some pulled double crossers but it may be the shaft is a touch softer than what I'm accustomed to?

 

About twice per round I absolutely pound this thing out there much longer than normal with no extra effort. I've had it happen both downwind and into, but I'm guessing it's coming off the face with lower spin than normal for me. Anyone else experience this? Is there a spot on the face that produces a hot flight/ lower spin? The damned thing is so forgiving and stable across the face it doesnt provide a ton of feedback so i cant tell...lol!

 

I have had the same. It’s not a “ high spin” head. If you middle one just a touch toe side you can get a really low spin ball.

[dpb5031]

I had shop credit to burn so ordered a G Max 9 degree with Hzrdus Yellow in stiff. My regular driver is an M3 with Tour AD IZ in X.

 

So far the Max has performed as advertised. It's very confidence inspiring and easy to hit straight or with a slight draw. I'm finding a reliable fade a touch more difficult as I've experienced some pulled double crossers but it may be the shaft is a touch softer than what I'm accustomed to?

 

About twice per round I absolutely pound this thing out there much longer than normal with no extra effort. I've had it happen both downwind and into, but I'm guessing it's coming off the face with lower spin than normal for me. Anyone else experience this? Is there a spot on the face that produces a hot flight/ lower spin? The damned thing is so forgiving and stable across the face it doesnt provide a ton of feedback so i cant tell...lol!

 

I have had the same. It’s not a “ high spin” head. If you middle one just a touch toe side you can get a really low spin ball.

 

I figured that might be the deal

[ago33]

Quick question.....anyone try their Max with a HZRDUS T1100 ???

 

I’m interested as well... love my T1100 but too low of spin in my epic sub zero

[J9293]

For the folks that swing around 105 mph what loft and shaft did you go with?

[nofxnate28]

For the folks that swing around 105 mph what loft and shaft did you go with?

 

I'm about at 105. I have a lst 10 degree adjusted to 9 degrees. Ping tour 75 stiff shaft.

[getgolfed]

For the folks that swing around 105 mph what loft and shaft did you go with?

 

You should consider a lot of other variables as well to decide on a shaft

[MI517]

For the folks that swing around 105 mph what loft and shaft did you go with?

 

9 (+0.6) w/ tour XS gave me best numbers. Been a great addition to bag.

[nsxguy]

For the folks that swing around 105 mph what loft and shaft did you go with?

 

Surely you realize that the right shaft for YOU revolves around a LOT more factors than swing speed, yes ?

[MtlJeff]

I finally got mine on a decent LM with the black Tie shaft. I didn't have my best day swinging the club but on well struck balls it was a bit higher spin than I'd hoped. This was expected somewhat.

 

This definitely won't be the longest driver I've played, both my Epic SZ and F8+ are a good 5-10 yards longer at least in an LM setting, they come out lower and are flatter ballflights. I'd probably need to play the MAX at like 7.5 degrees to get the most out of it

 

It's stupid easy to hit straight though. It had the cleanest dispersion pattern I've had in practice in a while and I wasn't even swinging well

[caniac6]

Traded a TS3 for a G400 Max on Friday. Just had my first range session, and it was a good swap. Better feel and ball flight. Looking forward to getting it on the course.

[driveandputtmachine]

I am a little late to the G400 MAX party, but I was in a funk with my driver(yes I know a new driver won't fix it). The PGA SS near me has old GC2's in most of their bays, but since I knew my numbers with my F8+, I took it in to get a baseline to compare to. I get some of the best launch numbers I have ever gotten(outside of the F85 from Srixon) with the F8+, So I did not expect to get as good numbers with the Max, but it was close.

 

Clubhead - Speed (within 1 MPH of each other)

Ballspeed - (Max better by 4MPH on average) Best hits the F8+ was 3 ahead

Spin - F8+ was better by 600 RPM's

Launch - Max was a better launch window while maintaining a square look at address(this has always been my number on issue with drivers.

 

Best hits with each - F8+ won here(of course it does have a custom shaft in it. Ping has a Tour 65 in it right now), but only by a few yards. However factoring in bad swings, the Ping's average was better.

 

Dispersion - Um, not even close. The Max just wants to go into the fairway.

 

Bought it and played on Saturday. My ball position is still my major issue with the driver, but I hit it 7 times and all but the worst swings went where they were supposed to. Even as wet as it is on our Par5 -16th hole I hit a drive that went further than any I have hit since summer time(It was 52* and super wet on Saturday)

[just plain bill]

Amazing how choking down brings accuracy, and sometimes distance. On 18 (flat til you get 100yds out) saturday I went full length on the 12° rapture and hooked the heck out of it. Choked all the way down and hit it left side of fairway 235yds, which is long for me these days. (Bad shoulder...) had been swinging the 16° all day (180-200) which is straight down the middle.

I envy you younger/healthier golfers that can get benefit from the max. It is a beautiful club!

[dpb5031]

Ok, I'm replying to my own post to provide an update. The Max is now permanently in my bag and has dethroned my M3. It is not as long best for best, but it finds fairways and is very confidence inspiring.

 

My only issue is that it flies a bit too high and spins quite a bit even with the HZRDUS Yellow 76g 6.0 which is supposed to be low launch and spin. Maybe should have gone 6.5?

 

Today I'm going to get a Ping adapter installed on my Tour AD IZ X flex to see if it will help flatten the flight and lower spin. I was professionally fitted for this shaft so I'm hopeful.

 

All in all this club is incredible though...

 

 

I had shop credit to burn so ordered a G Max 9 degree with Hzrdus Yellow in stiff. My regular driver is an M3 with Tour AD IZ in X.

 

So far the Max has performed as advertised. It's very confidence inspiring and easy to hit straight or with a slight draw. I'm finding a reliable fade a touch more difficult as I've experienced some pulled double crossers but it may be the shaft is a touch softer than what I'm accustomed to?

 

About twice per round I absolutely pound this thing out there much longer than normal with no extra effort. I've had it happen both downwind and into, but I'm guessing it's coming off the face with lower spin than normal for me. Anyone else experience this? Is there a spot on the face that produces a hot flight/ lower spin? The damned thing is so forgiving and stable across the face it doesnt provide a ton of feedback so i cant tell...lol!