Anyone planning on trying the G430 irons?

[Naptime]

I was fitted earlier this month and have played 4 rounds.  Happy with them.  Still grooving my early season swing in the cold season.  Previous set was Nike VRS-X.

[starrman77]

On 3/15/2023 at 1:46 PM, pmang said:

Looks-wise they are fine. Loft-wise they are goofy. Just went and bought G425’s instead.

 

Me too, went with the 425's.

[bifftaco]

5 hours ago, benz5521 said:

I don’t get why everyone is so concerned about the gapping thing. It’s just a number on the club. So instead of starting at 4 Iron you are starting at 5. Or instead of 5 starting at 6 or whatever. I guess the club lengths are shorter compared to more traditional lofted clubs though. 

Not in this case. The 430 7 iron is only 1 degree stronger than the 425 and the SW's are both 54. Yet you have an extra club in the set with the 430's. They basically went to 4* loft gaps and the PW-45.5-50 are all the same length. That is overkill for who these clubs are designed for.

 

I am sure Ping has their reasons and have the numbers to back it up, but this configuration is not for me.

[benz5521]

2 hours ago, bifftaco said:

Not in this case. The 430 7 iron is only 1 degree stronger than the 425 and the SW's are both 54. Yet you have an extra club in the set with the 430's. They basically went to 4* loft gaps and the PW-45.5-50 are all the same length. That is overkill for who these clubs are designed for.

 

I am sure Ping has their reasons and have the numbers to back it up, but this configuration is not for me.

Ok, then this makes more sense for a GI club. More scoring irons/wedges is better than taking a 22 degree 5 iron. So start at 6 iron and it’s the same number of clubs as starting at 5 iron in G425. Who’s really going to be hitting the 22 degree club well anyway? I’d rather have a 21 degree 7 wood but that’s me. Either way, don’t think it’s much of an issue. Those 3 clubs being the same length does seem odd though. 

[ZipinZ]

I ordered my G430's all +1/2" Blue Dot, mine play 36" and I like them all the same length, if I need to I can grip down a bit .... easy peasy to hit.

 

D.

 

Ping Website Spec's ....

[SollyinGA]

I hit them today at the PGASS. Coming from 223s with 120 gram x flex shafts, they felt like a toy.

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by SollyinGA

[Ripken08]

11 minutes ago, SollyinGA said:

I got them today at the PGASS. Coming from 223s with 120 gram x flex shafts, they felt like a toy.

 

Nice passive brag lol

 

[SollyinGA]

Just now, Ripken08 said:

Nice passive brag lol

 

Not at all, I’m getting up there in age and was thinking it would be nice to use these jacked lofts and swing easier to ease the wear and tear on my body. It did not work for me.

[benz5521]

2 hours ago, ZipinZ said:

I ordered my G430's all +1/2" Blue Dot, mine play 36" and I like them all the same length, if I need to I can grip down a bit .... easy peasy to hit.

 

D.

 

Ping Website Spec's ....

That’s basically my exact spec as well. Black or blue would work I think but + 1/2”. 

[bifftaco]

15 hours ago, benz5521 said:

Ok, then this makes more sense for a GI club. More scoring irons/wedges is better than taking a 22 degree 5 iron. So start at 6 iron and it’s the same number of clubs as starting at 5 iron in G425. Who’s really going to be hitting the 22 degree club well anyway? I’d rather have a 21 degree 7 wood but that’s me. Either way, don’t think it’s much of an issue. Those 3 clubs being the same length does seem odd though. 

Agreed at the top end of the bag- I have a 7 wood and 2 hybrids and start my irons @ 7. I prefer to walk and carry, so like to keep it @ 12 clubs. Too many options can be bad as well, the PW, UW, SW, LW of the 425 and earlier is plenty versatile for me, the extra 430 stick is unnecessary. Heck, at one point this seemed like overkill, but is necessary with the stronger modern GI lofts. I'm glad Ping hasn't gone crazy strong on the lofts yet. 

[benz5521]

I was looking at pics from the Valspar and there’s a player, forget his name, and he’s playing i230s but using a g430 6 iron. And still has an i230 5 iron in the bag. Guy is also using a 9 wood which is cool. 

[ZipinZ]

On 3/16/2023 at 2:13 PM, SollyinGA said:

I’m curious if there are some large gaps once you get to the wedges.

 

A 41 degree pitching wedge would probably go about 150 to 160 for me (107 driver ss) from looking at some of the YT videos distances and swing speeds. I know Ping makes a gap wedge that would be in the 140-150 range. Then it would fall off to a standard 50 degree wedge which goes about 110-120 for me. 
 

a 20-30 yard gap is huge at part of the bag.

 

Any thoughts or am I missing something?

 

My Driver S/S = 98-102 mph, based on your Driver S/S with the right shaft you should hit the G430 50* at least 125/135 yds maybe more & the 45* in the order of 145/150+ yds.

 

I finished my testing of the G430 45* today, have a read my last post on Club Techs thread & see the pic's, I was hitting the 45* 130 to 145 & if I stepped on it up to 150 straight to the White flag.

 

Cheers

 

D.

 

 

[Ripken08]

8 minutes ago, ZipinZ said:

 

My Driver S/S = 98-102 mph, based on your Driver S/S with the right shaft you should hit the G430 50* at least 125/135 yds maybe more & the 45* in the order of 145/150+ yds.

 

I finished my testing of the G430 45* today, have a read my last post on Club Techs thread & see the pic's, I was hitting the 45* 130 to 145 & if I stepped on it up to 150 straight to the White flag.

 

Cheers

 

D.

 

 

So what do you think?  You going to bench your AP2 for the 430s full time?

[ZipinZ]

1 hour ago, Ripken08 said:

So what do you think?  You going to bench your AP2 for the 430s full time?

 

Yup .... while I'm in Palm Springs the 718 Ap2's are on vacation in the closet.

 

I'm back in Alberta, Canada at the end of April, my home track doesn't open until early May. Then the real testing will begin, elevation there is 3100 ft above sea level, here in P.S. it's like 490 ft,  My distance gain may be a problem, balls go farther back home, I may have to revisit my wedge gaping, time will tell. But one thing is for certain, I'm not getting any younger, so swinging easy to achieve the same distance and increased forgiveness is a bonus. This is the best investment I made in a set of irons in the past 15 years, the G430's are keepers. That said, wonder what Ping's plans are in 2 years when the G435's are released & improved further.

 

Cheers

 

D.

Edited March 20, 2023 by ZipinZ

[ZipinZ]

15 minutes ago, Ripken08 said:

So what do you think?  You going to bench your AP2 for the 430s full time?

 

You getting close to getting a fitting & pulling the trigger ?

 

D.

[Ripken08]

32 minutes ago, ZipinZ said:

 

You getting close to getting a fitting & pulling the trigger ?

 

D.

I know what shafts I need.  Thinking about it.  I just ordered Glide wedges the other day.  Trying to decide on which Ping irons though.

[Ripken08]

Are ping iron heads heavier than typical like their drivers?  Just wondering since they put counterbalanced graphite shafts as stock.  Just wondering if they'd "feel" heavier using a non-counterbalanced graphite shaft?

 

@ZipinZ

[ZipinZ]

1 hour ago, Ripken08 said:

Are ping iron heads heavier than typical like their drivers?  Just wondering since they put counterbalanced graphite shafts as stock.  Just wondering if they'd "feel" heavier using a non-counterbalanced graphite shaft?

 

@ZipinZ

 

When I first hit the G430 7i on the range it was with the Alta CB Black Stiff graphite which is a counter balanced shaft, the Ping website says it's D0 s/w.  I could feel the head it wasn't heavy, it felt much lighter than my 718 AP2 7 iron.  When I had my fitting I was having my best results with the Recoils ES 780's F4 Stiff +1/2". I don't believe they're counter balanced, again the s/w was around C9-D0 with the mid-size grips. I could feel the head but I like a little more head weight that's why I ordered/got mine built to D2, which I love. In other words no ... they didn't feel heavier with the CB shaft. Hope this helps.

 

David

 

[bellairemi]

Hit the 430s for the first time yesterday and was able to grab a 425 7 iron to compare.  For me at least, the 430 felt worlds better than the 425.  In fact, the feel reminded me of my old G25s - very solid and even somewhat soft.  This may sound strange but I liked the feel better than the ZX5s I also hit.

 

Performance was very consistent.  Launch and spin had very low deviations and had a 6 yard front to back dispersion on 15 shots.  Could not turn the 430 over at all which does concern me some.

 

 

Still debating them but not thrilled that they would be $180 per club with my shaft and grip.

 

[Ripken08]

4 hours ago, ZipinZ said:

 

When I first hit the G430 7i on the range it was with the Alta CB Black Stiff graphite which is a counter balanced shaft, the Ping website says it's D0 s/w.  I could feel the head it wasn't heavy, it felt much lighter than my 718 AP2 7 iron.  When I had my fitting I was having my best results with the Recoils ES 780's F4 Stiff +1/2". I don't believe they're counter balanced, again the s/w was around C9-D0 with the mid-size grips. I could feel the head but I like a little more head weight that's why I ordered/got mine built to D2, which I love. In other words no ... they didn't feel heavier with the CB shaft. Hope this helps.

 

David

 

Thanks!  I was just wondering if the felt heavier with the recoils as they are not CB so should feel heavier.  So they can get get D2 with midsized grips?  That's awesome as that is my preferred setup.

[pt71658]

Have 45 holes on mine.

Changed over to stock graphite shafts to reduce pain in left hand and elbow.

Haven't dialed in yardages yet since every hole has been in 10-15 mph wind but I am pleased so far coming from i20s.

[ZipinZ]

On 3/25/2023 at 6:24 PM, Ripken08 said:

Thanks!  I was just wondering if the felt heavier with the recoils as they are not CB so should feel heavier.  So they can get get D2 with midsized grips?  That's awesome as that is my preferred setup.

 

Yes .... Ping will custom build your set to your desired S/W. They have heavier heads and will install the correct tungsten hosel weight & appropriate toe weight to ensure the club face is properly balanced to your spec. See pic of i230 head, they do the same with the G430 heads etc .... 

 

I went to a local golf shop today just to check the s/w again, the club builder confirmed my G430 irons were all D2 except for my P/W it's D3 ... Yes, with Midsize TV Align grips..

 

My AP2's & S.F. i95's had standard grips, I changed them to midsize they all have a bunch of lead tape on the back to get them back up to D2.

 

Included is a pic of the Ping Pink Build Card that came with my irons, if your custom order spec's are clear, they will deliver as promised or you will get a do-over at no charge.

 

D.

 

G430 head is same to achieve your desired S/W spec's.

 

 

Note: Special instructions on S/W & shaft graphics down.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by ZipinZ

[kiwihacker]

Just to continue the loft discussion what I find really weird with the 430's vs the 400, 410, 425 is that even if you opt for power lofts or retro lofts you still end up with the 41° PW. That seems crazy to me. 41° a 'retro' PW loft? Yeah right! When I was in the market for new irons 18 months ago I looked very closely at the 410's and the idea of a 44.5° PW with a 49.5° UW made perfect sense and rounded out the set nicely with the 5 iron starting at 23.5°. Now the 5 iron is 22° and the 6 iron 25.5° so a sort of halfway house. If you wanted to play the same number of clubs you'd have to start at the 6 iron but you'd have to opt for power lofts to get a 24° 6 iron as your lowest lofted iron but it's still almost an inch shorter club so not like for like replacement. I'd be annoyed if I was happily playing the G400s and just wanted to upgrade to the new 430s in 5-UW. 

 

 

[barnum1]

On 3/27/2023 at 1:21 AM, pt71658 said:

Have 45 holes on mine.

Changed over to stock graphite shafts to reduce pain in left hand and elbow.

Haven't dialed in yardages yet since every hole has been in 10-15 mph wind but I am pleased so far coming from i20s.

 

I went from i20s to G425s. Stock grahite regular shafts in both sets.

How would you describe the differences? Just curious.

For me the switch gave me much better misses (especially when leaking to the right) both in distance and left-right.

And surprisingly, I got more spin and (not surprisingly) more height.

[scott406]

12 hours ago, kiwihacker said:

Just to continue the loft discussion what I find really weird with the 430's vs the 400, 410, 425 is that even if you opt for power lofts or retro lofts you still end up with the 41° PW. That seems crazy to me. 41° a 'retro' PW loft? Yeah right! When I was in the market for new irons 18 months ago I looked very closely at the 410's and the idea of a 44.5° PW with a 49.5° UW made perfect sense and rounded out the set nicely with the 5 iron starting at 23.5°. Now the 5 iron is 22° and the 6 iron 25.5° so a sort of halfway house. If you wanted to play the same number of clubs you'd have to start at the 6 iron but you'd have to opt for power lofts to get a 24° 6 iron as your lowest lofted iron but it's still almost an inch shorter club so not like for like replacement. I'd be annoyed if I was happily playing the G400s and just wanted to upgrade to the new 430s in 5-UW. 

 

 

I am playing the G400 and have been trying to find a good configuration in the G430

I was going to go with the 6 - 50* then hoping my 6 iron would bridge the distance between my irons and my hybrids

The 430's are 1* stronger so I will have to see how that translates to distance when I hit them

I do play with 13 clubs so I have room for another club if I need one, but then that would be another decision to go with a 5 iron that I use to punch out of the trees(my home course is lined with trees) or another Hybrid that I would not hit that often.

 

Or I may just go with the Mizuno JPX 923

 

At some point, I think they will just print the lofts on the clubs instead of numbering the irons

 

 

 

[Ripken08]

On 3/18/2023 at 10:21 AM, benz5521 said:

I don’t get why everyone is so concerned about the gapping thing. It’s just a number on the club. So instead of starting at 4 Iron you are starting at 5. Or instead of 5 starting at 6 or whatever. I guess the club lengths are shorter compared to more traditional lofted clubs though. 

Yup I'm with ya and don't know why all the complaining...

 

old set 4-W,50,54,58 (10 clubs)

vs

G430s 5-W,45,50,54,58 (10 clubs)

 

it's just 5-W = old 4-9

Edited March 28, 2023 by Ripken08

[kiwihacker]

2 hours ago, Ripken08 said:

Yup I'm with ya and don't know why all the complaining...

 

old set 4-W,50,54,58 (10 clubs)

vs

G430s 5-W,45,50,54,58 (10 clubs)

 

it's just 5-W = old 4-9

Except they're not.

 

Old lofts       New lofts

4 iron 20.5° 5 iron  22°

5 iron 23.5° 6 iron 25.5°

6 iron 26.5° 7 iron 29°

7 iron 30.0° 8 iron 33°

8 iron 34.5° 9 iron 37°

9 iron 39.5° PW 41°

PW 44.5°     W 45.5°

UW 49.5°     W 50.0°

 

The last two wedges are about the same but every other club is 2.0-3.0° different. 

[RacineBoxer]

As a G400, G425 user I think the tighter loft gaps is smart and will help people score better. 

[Ripken08]

1 hour ago, kiwihacker said:

Except they're not.

 

Old lofts       New lofts

4 iron 20.5° 5 iron  22°

5 iron 23.5° 6 iron 25.5°

6 iron 26.5° 7 iron 29°

7 iron 30.0° 8 iron 33°

8 iron 34.5° 9 iron 37°

9 iron 39.5° PW 41°

PW 44.5°     W 45.5°

UW 49.5°     W 50.0°

 

The last two wedges are about the same but every other club is 2.0-3.0° different. 

Yep a whopping 4-6 yards difference🙄

[mantan]

2 hours ago, kiwihacker said:

Except they're not.

 

Old lofts       New lofts

4 iron 20.5° 5 iron  22°

5 iron 23.5° 6 iron 25.5°

6 iron 26.5° 7 iron 29°

7 iron 30.0° 8 iron 33°

8 iron 34.5° 9 iron 37°

9 iron 39.5° PW 41°

PW 44.5°     W 45.5°

UW 49.5°     W 50.0°

 

The last two wedges are about the same but every other club is 2.0-3.0° different. 

 

I love PING. I've probably bought more PING clubs over the year than any other brand. But they essentially are selling a 6-W set as a 5-PW set. Most golfers are not going to be able to hit a 22* 5-iron.