Ping G425 SFT Driver - First Impressions

[chasdr]

Picked up the new G425 SFT with the stock Alta stiff shaft and played my first round with it today.  FYI - I am a typical lower swing speed player and have been fighting the “weak fade” forever.  I spent last season playing the Sim MAX D Driver with generally good results in finding fairways, but I still ended up playing the right side almost every hole.  Before that played the G400 SFT and this really didn’t do anything for me at all.  Well...I am here too tell you that the G425 SFT is the real deal...very first swing was a gentle draw and no matter how hard I tried the thing would not go right..AT ALL.  Basically start this thing down the right side of fairway and watch it draw back to the center almost every time.  Miss was a a block left, but did not hook once.  Will play it again tomorrow and I am hoping this will not be a “one round wonder”.

Edited February 15, 2021 by chasdr
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[JAM01]

I have the G425 SFT also. Haven’t had a chance to swing it yet due to weather. Tensei Orange regular flex. I’m coming from a Ping G410 plus, 9 degrees. My concern is that the SFT comes only in 10.5 degrees. 
 

[JB lefty]

There has been a bit of chatter on how good the SFT model is. It seems to have so help for those perky push sliders that no one likes or wants.  I do think the SFT could really benefit from having a 9 degree head also.  Although for the op i would not rules out the shaft is helping you a little and you may be better suited to the stock alta then what you were playing in your gamer before.  Give it a few more rounds before deciding if it is the bee knee's or not. 

[4cowboys]

Do you think the g410+ would play the same as the g425 sft, if you put say a 20gm weight in the heal?

[pgatw]

The SFT will still be more draw biased.

[4cowboys]

1 hour ago, pgatw said:

The SFT will still be more draw biased.

Is that because the sft weight is slightly more(3gms), or just positioned further down in the heal?

[pgatw]

Because of the weights position. The SFT is designed to help the golfer who struggles to get the face square through impact. With a stationary weight it allows the designer to focus more on what will get the face back to square.

[JAM01]

6 hours ago, 4cowboys said:

Do you think the g410+ would play the same as the g425 sft, if you put say a 20gm weight in the heal?

I experimented with different weight configurations in the G410 +. Bought a bunch of different weights and at different times had 18 grams in the draw/heel, two 6 gram weights, one in the fade/toe, one in the draw/heel, an 8 gram in the draw and a 6 in the fade, and 8 in the draw and 6 in the rear. 
 

The head is already one of the heavier ones and the 18 gram weight seem less stable than the weights opposite each other. My best drives were the stock 14 gram in the rear (the way it was bought), but with me purposefully playing a fade. 
 

Part of the reason I went SFT it to crawl out of the weight changing rabbit hole. 

[chasdr]

Ok...2nd round in the books and the G425 SFT continues to impress with its "ease of use".  One thing I learned early in the round was that I needed to back off all of the swing mechanics I had been using to fight the weak fade and just setup square to the ball and put a good swing on it.  The SFT did the rest and I must have hit the fairway at least 10 out of 14 times.  If I missed, it was always just in the left rough except for one drive I yanked left into a hazard...but this was an over swing on my part, not the clubs fault (even then I actually found the ball but had to drop).  So confidence is high heading towards round 3...  Of note, I regripped the driver (not a fan of Arccos) and discovered an 8 gram butt weight which is responsible for the counterweighting of the head.  The driver certainly seems to benefit from the counterweighting as it has a nice balanced feel in hand.

[Sons_of_Pitches]

@chasdr - 100% concur that the G425 SFT is the real deal from keeping the ball going right.  I am currently in the process of testing it through GlobalGolf's U-Try program.  That said, out of the gate, it was overly corrective for me and everything I hit went to the left. So, what I had to do to quiet things down a bit was to open the face by turning down the loft 1.5* from 10.5* to 9* and this really straighten things out for me.  Now everything is a slight draw to a straight shot and is becoming a point and shoot driver for me.  It's only been a few days, but if it stays this way, this will be my best driver purchase ever.  Prior to testing the G425 SFT my miss is a big fade and I really dislike the ball going to the right when the shot doesn't require it.  

 

However, the G425 Max has me thinking about it by putting the weight in the heel to see if I can gain the same effect as the SFT.  Decisions, decisions..... hrmmmmmmm....  

[sshadow2]

@Sons_of_Pitches IMO, I find this year's SFT to be more corrective than the 410 version. That being said, I think the 425 Max with the weight in the heel is comparable to the corrective-ness of the 410 SFT.

 

Best of luck!

Edited March 24, 2021 by sshadow2

[Sons_of_Pitches]

7 minutes ago, sshadow2 said:

@Sons_of_Pitches IMO, I find this year's SFT to be more corrective than the 410 version. That being said, I think the 425 Max with the weight in the heel is comparable to the corrective-ness of the 410 SFT.

 

Best of luck!

@sshadow2 - Thanks for the reply.  Do you think what I have done to fix the over correction for my swing with the G425 SFT (by lowering the loft by 1.5*) to straighten me out would have the same effect has the G425 Max with the weight in the heel?   

[mmacdon3]

I have the SFT and have played around 6 rounds with it so far. Super happy about the purchase as results have been impressive. Have been hitting them straight and hitting way more fairways than before with my M3. Once in a while I'll pull one to the left but for the most part those are just mishits. This thing is super forgiving.

 

I tested both the SFT and MAX with weight toward the heel at PGA superstore and the results were overwhelmingly in favor of the SFT with my swing. I've got the stock counterbalanced Alta shaft...tested a few others but that one worked the best.

 

Highly recommend trying it!

[sshadow2]

15 minutes ago, Sons_of_Pitches said:

@sshadow2 - Thanks for the reply.  Do you think what I have done to fix the over correction for my swing with the G425 SFT (by lowering the loft by 1.5*) to straighten me out would have the same effect has the G425 Max with the weight in the heel?   

I wouldn’t go that route.
 

I think you will increase how uncontrollable your ball flight will be. Lowering loft lessens backspin and increases side spin on bad hits. 
 

If the SFT is too much, I’d get the Max. I would try one of those free store fittings to be sure though. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by sshadow2

[dmeeksDC]

On 3/24/2021 at 4:51 PM, Sons_of_Pitches said:

@sshadow2 - Thanks for the reply.  Do you think what I have done to fix the over correction for my swing with the G425 SFT (by lowering the loft by 1.5*) to straighten me out would have the same effect has the G425 Max with the weight in the heel?   

I think they would be close but I’ll bet the SFT still offers a little more correction. I like the thinking in what you did in lowering the loft of your SFT to bring a little fade bias to a heel weighted club AND probably more distance and less spin from the lower loft. I played the 400 SFT for a season and I’ve always liked Ping’s SFT lineup. It was not hook prone at all, I could hit a draw or fade with it. 

[Sons_of_Pitches]

@dmeeksDC - thanks for the info.  I still need to do some more testing with the SFT to make sure the lefts are tamed enough to game.  But if it stays like this, I will be super happy.

[John whitworth]

Ok..Just bought the G42 SFT and have to say for the most part I am happy.  Initially I was hitting everything left..and after minor swing adjustment I was hitting everything straight. I do have a question for others..Has anyone tried using anything other then the stock .23 gram weight ?  Anyone use a lighter or Heavier weight and what were the results ?  Thanks in advance .. 

[Sons_of_Pitches]

1 hour ago, John whitworth said:

Ok..Just bought the G42 SFT and have to say for the most part I am happy.  Initially I was hitting everything left..and after minor swing adjustment I was hitting everything straight. I do have a question for others..Has anyone tried using anything other then the stock .23 gram weight ?  Anyone use a lighter or Heavier weight and what were the results ?  Thanks in advance .. 

That is exactly what I did.  To help a bit with the over correction --- I took the 23g stock weight out and replaced it with a 17g weight.  I then had @J13 (here from GolfWRX) add about 6g-7g of hotmelt to a neutral spot (to get the headweight back to normal) and this thing has been the best driver I have ever owned.  I also turned down the loft a 1.5* from 10.5* to 9* which opens up the face a bit, which also helps with the over correction. I don't even worry about the right side of the fairway anymore. It is a point and shoot driver for me.  Only thing I need to worry about now is the occasional overcook. I have mitigated most of those by putting on a midsize grip to slow my hands down.  I have not driven the ball this well my entire golf career and hitting tons of fairways and any misses are now still in bounds. I loved the SFT driver so much I actually purchased a 3W and loving that as well.  The 3W works just fine for my swing w/o any weight changes.  I only changed the loft from 16* to 14.5* to open the face a bit and she has been golden.  Will be purchasing the 5W next.  I put a Ventus Blue 6S in my driver and the Ventus Red 7s in the fairway wood and they have been awesome shafts for me.  Shot my all time lowest score at Whiskey Creek this week with a 73 and a lot had to do with the driver and 3W.  Best of luck....