2016 M2 Vs. Ping G400 Max

[reider69]

Is everyone satisfied with Ping stock shaft options or do most get aftermarket shafts?

[Hookasaurus Rex]

I would say they may both be better in their own way, but that's not to say that a properly fit RBZ can't hang. If it's working for you, probably no need to change it but comparing the 16 M2 to the Max is ridiculous IMO. The M2 can be long, yes, but there is NO comparison when it comes to forgiveness and the Max is no slouch when it comes to distance in its own right. I can see where the looks of the Ping could turn people off for sure, I like the TM white/carbon look but for me, the performance of the Ping is on a whole other level above the M2. If you're looking for more accuracy than your Rbz but similar or more distance, the Max will not let you down. I play the regular G400 9* and find it way more accurate than the M2 as well, fwiw.

 

^This. Couldn't have said it better myself. Max is the best of both worlds -- forgiving and long.

 

You really have to test them to know for sure. Ball.speed between 16 m2, g400 lst, and g400 max were identical for me. Max was shorter by nearly 10 yards because of spin. Lst and 16 m2 were nearly identical.

 

Exactly my findings as well. 15 yds longer with my M2 when compared to my Max. Ended up selling the Max and keeping my 16 and 17 M2s and my g400LST. I like the LST better than the Max. The LST is very close in distance to the 2016 M2, but a little more forgiving. I have a high CT tour issue 2017 M2 that may be better than both of those. I was hitting it in 45* weather the other day and it was long. Also appeared to be more forgiving than the 2016 M2.

[Nixhex524]

Is everyone satisfied with Ping stock shaft options or do most get aftermarket shafts?

 

I ordered mine with the HZRDUS yellow 76g 6.0. I sold the MAX head and am playing that shaft in my regular G400 head now. Good thing about the Max is you can pair it with a lower launching/spinning shaft and it performs very well. The Tour 65 is good, but the HZRDUS spins a little less and offers better dispersion for me. It was like a $75 uncharge.

 

I find it interesting that some say the Max spins too much for them.... I just never found it to be more than 2700 rpm and that was with the higher lofted head and ALTA shaft. With the Tour 65s and 9* head it was spinning around 1800-2000 for me according to GC2 and so much easier to hit straight than the M2.

[ALIF]

Is everyone satisfied with Ping stock shaft options or do most get aftermarket shafts?

 

I ordered mine with the HZRDUS yellow 76g 6.0. I sold the MAX head and am playing that shaft in my regular G400 head now. Good thing about the Max is you can pair it with a lower launching/spinning shaft and it performs very well. The Tour 65 is good, but the HZRDUS spins a little less and offers better dispersion for me. It was like a $75 uncharge.

 

I find it interesting that some say the Max spins too much for them.... I just never found it to be more than 2700 rpm and that was with the higher lofted head and ALTA shaft. With the Tour 65s and 9* head it was spinning around 1800-2000 for me according to GC2 and so much easier to hit straight than the M2.

 

Sincere question, can you really play on the course with 1800-2000 rpm spin? Does the ball stay on the property? It seems like somewhere in the area of 2500 would be much more accurate?

[Nixhex524]

Is everyone satisfied with Ping stock shaft options or do most get aftermarket shafts?

 

I ordered mine with the HZRDUS yellow 76g 6.0. I sold the MAX head and am playing that shaft in my regular G400 head now. Good thing about the Max is you can pair it with a lower launching/spinning shaft and it performs very well. The Tour 65 is good, but the HZRDUS spins a little less and offers better dispersion for me. It was like a $75 uncharge.

 

I find it interesting that some say the Max spins too much for them.... I just never found it to be more than 2700 rpm and that was with the higher lofted head and ALTA shaft. With the Tour 65s and 9* head it was spinning around 1800-2000 for me according to GC2 and so much easier to hit straight than the M2.

 

Sincere question, can you really play on the course with 1800-2000 rpm spin? Does the ball stay on the property? It seems like somewhere in the area of 2500 would be much more accurate?

 

Most drivers do not work for me in that range, yes, I like the 2200-2400 range. BUT, the Max DID work for me on the course. It launches high and would hit the ground running, but it was just easy to hit straight.

[joliver233]

I have the 2016 M2 in the bag currently with a Tour-AD GP7x. I have hit the MAX and my M2 on a simulator. The difference in forgiveness that I've seen mentioned was negligible for me--with either driver if I made a good swing with a good center strike, they went where I expected, if not, they were both offline. The MAX may have had a slightly tighter dispersion but not by much. The biggest difference was in spin and distance. I had some drives with the MAX that spun close to 4000 RPM, and it was a good 10-15 yards shorter because of this. I tried each against the LST and even the LST spun more for me that the M2.

[DLev45]

I dove in on the G400 Max because I saw a great deal at $240 today.

 

My current gamer is the 16 M2 with the Fujikura Pro 50 Regular that came stock.

 

The G400 Max has the Alta CB 55 Regular stock shaft as well.

 

I haven’t gotten a chance to hit a ball yet, but the Alta shaft seems much softer than the Fujikura. I know there is no industry flex standard, but it was a noticeable difference swinging on air. Swing speed in the 95-100 range.

 

Anyone else get that from the Alta shaft?

[cardoustie]

My twin has your speed and loves the Alta 55r

[mosesgolf]

I recently put a 9* G400 Max into play with an Aldila 125MSI Rogue and it’s the best driver I have ever played. It kicked my 2017 M1 to the curb. I pretty try most of the new drivers every year and the G400 Max is the most forgiving and most accurate driver I have ever played. Distance wise it’s up there with the best of them.

[DLev45]

> @cardoustie said:

> My twin has your speed and loves the Alta 55r

 

It’s going to be hard to unseat the 2016 M2, but I have read these threads raving about this thing and wanted to try it myself, especially for $240. It’d still selling for well-above that on the used market.

 

I’m obviously premature being as I haven’t hit a ball. I am pretty new to shafts and what not, but just observed the Alta CB 55-R seeming soft to flex. Aside from my gamer M2 with the Fujikura Pro 50-R, my previous driver was the R1 with the Aldila Rip Phenom 55 R, which also seemed much less flexible.

 

[DLev45]

> @mosesgolf said:

> I recently put a 9* G400 Max into play with an Aldila 125MSI Rogue and it’s the best driver I have ever played. It kicked my 2017 M1 to the curb. I pretty try most of the new drivers every year and the G400 Max is the most forgiving and most accurate driver I have ever played. Distance wise it’s up there with the best of them.

 

It’s this kind of talk that made me want to give it a whirl. The 2016 M2 is going to be hard to kick out, but I want to believe. Might take a couple of different shaft combinations, though. I’ve always played R-flex and nothing has ever felt “whippy” to me before like my first impression with this ALTA CB 55 Regular.

 

[PopeofTexas]

> @DLev45 said:

> > @mosesgolf said:

> > I recently put a 9* G400 Max into play with an Aldila 125MSI Rogue and it’s the best driver I have ever played. It kicked my 2017 M1 to the curb. I pretty try most of the new drivers every year and the G400 Max is the most forgiving and most accurate driver I have ever played. Distance wise it’s up there with the best of them.

>

> It’s this kind of talk that made me want to give it a whirl. The 2016 M2 is going to be hard to kick out, but I want to believe. Might take a couple of different shaft combinations, though. I’ve always played R-flex and nothing has ever felt “whippy” to me before like my first impression with this ALTA CB 55 Regular.

>

 

I’ve recently gone down the shaft rabbit hole for the first time myself with the G400 Max and here are my findings so far at least. My SS is around 105-110 and I have a high launch swing. Played the Alta CB Stiff in it first. When I squared it up I’ve never hit the ball as far as I did with that combo but it was too hard to control for me. I agree that it plays soft to flex but that could also be a function of a softer midsection (I think). I’ve since tried the Ping Tour 65 Stiff and it may be on the opposite end of the spectrum from the Alta. Low launch, very stable and firm feeling but I didn’t hit as many bombs with it but also didn’t hit as many high spinny OBs. Today I tested the Tensei CK Orange Stiff and it may be a happy medium. It’s counterbalanced but not to the degree of the Alta and it was more of a mid launch for me. I’m gonna game it for a bit and decide between it and the Tour 65.

 

[DLev45]

Looks like more than a handful of people over at THP who have always played R-flex shafts found the Alta CB 55 Regular a little soft as well and ended up in stiff. Hopefully the PGASS near me still has the G400 stock shaft options in the demo cart. The G410 uses a different adapter, so it’s dicey.

[DLev45]

> @DLev45 said:

> Looks like more than a handful of people over at THP who have always played R-flex shafts found the Alta CB 55 Regular a little soft as well and ended up in stiff. Hopefully the PGASS near me still has the G400 stock shaft options in the demo cart. The G410 uses a different adapter, so it’s dicey.

 

I actually got to hit the G400 Max on a launch monitor today with a couple of different shafts, and the results were certainly surprising.

 

10 shots with the Alta CB 55 R that I thought was too whippy for me got the best results:

 

Clubhead: 98.5 mph

Smash: 1.49

Ball: 147 mph

Launch: 14 degrees

Spin: 2400

Carry: 241

Total: 267

Offline: 7 yards ® - Only one ball crossed the line left by 11 yards.

 

10 shots of my gamer 2016 M2 had carry of 234 and total of 255 with similar dispersion. The surprising stat was that my smash was only 1.41 with the M2.

 

The Tour 65 shaft was either too stiff or too heavy, or both, because I was pushing nearly every drive despite some decent numbers.

 

The only thing was I didn't get to hit the Alta CB 55 Stiff, as they didn't have one with a G400 adapter, just the G410.

[DLev45]

> @DLev45 said:

> > @DLev45 said:

> > Looks like more than a handful of people over at THP who have always played R-flex shafts found the Alta CB 55 Regular a little soft as well and ended up in stiff. Hopefully the PGASS near me still has the G400 stock shaft options in the demo cart. The G410 uses a different adapter, so it’s dicey.

>

> I actually got to hit the G400 Max on a launch monitor today with a couple of different shafts, and the results were certainly surprising.

>

> 10 shots with the Alta CB 55 R that I thought was too whippy for me got the best results:

>

> Clubhead: 98.5 mph

> Smash: 1.49

> Ball: 147 mph

> Launch: 14 degrees

> Spin: 2400

> Carry: 241

> Total: 267

> Offline: 7 yards ® - Only one ball crossed the line left by 11 yards.

>

> 10 shots of my gamer 2016 M2 had carry of 234 and total of 255 with similar dispersion. The surprising stat was that my smash was only 1.41 with the M2.

>

> The Tour 65 shaft was either too stiff or too heavy, or both, because I was pushing nearly every drive despite some decent numbers.

>

> The only thing was I didn't get to hit the Alta CB 55 Stiff, as they didn't have one with a G400 adapter, just the G410.

 

Played 27 holes today and was 16/18 on fairways with the G400 Max. Replaced the 2016 M2 and I don’t think there is any going back. Added a consistent 10 yards with better accuracy to boot.