G425 Max forgiveness, but longer. Suggestions please!!

[kekoa]

I've been playing the Max since it came out and it has to be the most forgiving driver that I've ever played.  This is the main reason I have stuck with it so long since driving is probably my biggest weakness.  From my experience, the driver is not the longest for me as I've tried the Stealth 2 and it beats the max by 15-20 yards but I wasn't able to get fully comfortable with it.  I also tried the 430 Max, but distance was essentially the same as the 425.

 

Has anyone moved on from the Max to something similar in forgiveness with good results?  If so, I'm all ears.

[Rob_shields]

I went from a G425 max to a mizuno stz-220 and i found them about the same for forgiveness just the mizuno sounded alot nicer not to mention cheaper. 

 

This year I moved onto the PXG Gen 6 0311. I hit it longer but don't feel as I've lost any forgiveness. Sounds and looks better imo and has the adustable weights to get it dialed in. 

[philly2kuk]

I tested all of the new drivers and the g430 max and tsr2 were most forgiving. The tsr2 was slightly longer whilst being only slightly less forgiving. So would suggest trying the titleist range.

[Ghostwedge]

Why am I the only one that hits a Ping driver longer than the other OEM offerings ?

[grochol17]

2 hours ago, kekoa said:

I've been playing the Max since it came out and it has to be the most forgiving driver that I've ever played.  This is the main reason I have stuck with it so long since driving is probably my biggest weakness.  From my experience, the driver is not the longest for me as I've tried the Stealth 2 and it beats the max by 15-20 yards but I wasn't able to get fully comfortable with it.  I also tried the 430 Max, but distance was essentially the same as the 425.

 

Has anyone moved on from the Max to something similar in forgiveness with good results?  If so, I'm all ears.

 

The rule of thumb is that, all things being equal, 1 mph of ball speed equates to 2 yards of distance with the driver.  So if your 15-20 yards number is carry for two shots hit on the screws, then you're basically saying that you're getting up to 10 mph more ball speed with the Stealth 2 over the 425 Max.  Since all drivers are pushing up against the legal COR for driver faces, I highly doubt that that is what is happening.  More likely is the Stealth 2 is a better fit for you in some way than the 425 max... could be something about the overall weight, swing weight, or feel of the shaft that is helping you swing more freely and thus faster.  Or your launch conditions with the 425 might not be right, so you're losing distance in flight. 

 

Before buying a new driver it would be a good idea to get on a reliable launch monitor with both drivers and compare stats to see if you can figure out what the differences are between the two.

[kekoa]

39 minutes ago, grochol17 said:

 

The rule of thumb is that, all things being equal, 1 mph of ball speed equates to 2 yards of distance with the driver.  So if your 15-20 yards number is carry for two shots hit on the screws, then you're basically saying that you're getting up to 10 mph more ball speed with the Stealth 2 over the 425 Max.  Since all drivers are pushing up against the legal COR for driver faces, I highly doubt that that is what is happening.  More likely is the Stealth 2 is a better fit for you in some way than the 425 max... could be something about the overall weight, swing weight, or feel of the shaft that is helping you swing more freely and thus faster.  Or your launch conditions with the 425 might not be right, so you're losing distance in flight. 

 

Before buying a new driver it would be a good idea to get on a reliable launch monitor with both drivers and compare stats to see if you can figure out what the differences are between the two.

Sorry about that.  the distance gain was with roll out and that is really where I noticed where the Stealth out performed the Ping.  I play the ping cranked up to 10.5* not so much because I was fit like that but because I like the face to sit slightly shut at address.  The ball obviously launches a bit high because of this.  I should have done this a while ago, but looks like a real fitting is my only option at this point  Previously I basically just went with whatever I had the most confidence with.

 

thank you.

[Duffman57]

8 hours ago, kekoa said:

I've been playing the Max since it came out and it has to be the most forgiving driver that I've ever played.  This is the main reason I have stuck with it so long since driving is probably my biggest weakness.  From my experience, the driver is not the longest for me as I've tried the Stealth 2 and it beats the max by 15-20 yards but I wasn't able to get fully comfortable with it.  I also tried the 430 Max, but distance was essentially the same as the 425.

 

Has anyone moved on from the Max to something similar in forgiveness with good results?  If so, I'm all ears.

I’ll say the same thing I’ve said on a few other threads. One of the ping tour said in a fully equipt article about the g430 max that they found a little bit of a magic setting for tour players for huge ballspeed. They took the max, turned it down to 14 (opening the face a few deg) and threw I think it was 4-6g of hot melt (or lead tape for the diy people) in the toe to further avoid the left miss. Seems like that’s almost exactly what you’re after, just if you don’t have the left miss and are worried about a slice don’t put the hot melt/lead tape in the toe.  

[boggyman]

I went from my 425 LST back to a m5 Tour again. M5 Tour was awesome when new and I found another in like new condition and put it in play. The OG Stealth or even further back, I’d say the m6 would be an option I’d say to look at! 

[boggyman]

39 minutes ago, Duffman57 said:

I’ll say the same thing I’ve said on a few other threads. One of the ping tour said in a fully equipt article about the g430 max that they found a little bit of a magic setting for tour players for huge ballspeed. They took the max, turned it down to 14 (opening the face a few deg) and threw I think it was 4-6g of hot melt (or lead tape for the diy people) in the toe to further avoid the left miss. Seems like that’s almost exactly what you’re after, just if you don’t have the left miss and are worried about a slice don’t put the hot melt/lead tape in the toe.  

Turned down to 14, sounds like you’re describing a fairway, not driver. 

[hammergolf]

9 hours ago, kekoa said:

I've been playing the Max since it came out and it has to be the most forgiving driver that I've ever played.  This is the main reason I have stuck with it so long since driving is probably my biggest weakness.  From my experience, the driver is not the longest for me as I've tried the Stealth 2 and it beats the max by 15-20 yards but I wasn't able to get fully comfortable with it.  I also tried the 430 Max, but distance was essentially the same as the 425.

 

Has anyone moved on from the Max to something similar in forgiveness with good results?  If so, I'm all ears.

You’re not going find a driver that hits it further than the Max AND is as forgiving. The only one that I think may give you the best balance is the g430 LST. Most of the testing I’ve seen has the LST as one of the longest/straightest drivers.

[GrandStranded]

7 hours ago, Ghostwedge said:

Why am I the only one that hits a Ping driver longer than the other OEM offerings ?

You’re not. 😉

[agood3putt]

G430 LST is the answer 

[PlatinumNike]

G430 LST has been the longest for me, Ping forgiveness is built in. 
 

Made me change my mind from building a Cobra LTDX LS

[eric61]

Another vote for the G430 LST. Dropped the weight from stock 22g to 19g and I love it. Feel and sound are so much better, and forgiveness is still high. On Trackman I’ve found that even poor strikes, like low heel, rarely spin above 3000 for me. It’s not G425 Max-level forgiving, but it’s as close as you can get in a driver that also offers the “but longer” part.

[black bnr32]

Could always try the old school

solution of less loft and a longer shaft.

[Duffman57]

9 hours ago, boggyman said:

Turned down to 14, sounds like you’re describing a fairway, not driver. 

Oops. Had too much talk of the ping fairways going around. 
 

Like others have said there’s a lot of overlap between the max and LST lines when you really get into real life results. The g430 has probably the biggest gap between LST and Max, but previous iterations were creeping closer and closer to each other. 
 

but I’ve also seen a lot of people move from Ping to the TSi/TSr lines for driver stability. Specifically LST to TSr3 but max to the 2 driver would work equally well.  I think TSr2 would be a good stable and forgiving driver with a jump in ballspeed for you if you’re worried about moving to the smaller head of the LST. 

[belh22]

For low spin and distance I think Aerojet ls is on the forgiving side as well. Not max like forgiveness but nothing really is. 

[Qegurezi]

The standard LTDX is pretty underrated on this front. It's a little lower spin and still very forgiving.  

[cn34]

I made the mistake of moving away from a G400 a few years ago in search of more distance. I would give up quite a lot to go back to being able to trust my driver that much again. My advice, think score, not distance. The gains you are going to get with another driver are most likely not going to be enough to offset the loss in accuracy. Having the ball in play, even if it's a club shorter goes a long way to lower scores. 

[CROUSE99]

I went from the 425 Max to the 430 Max and am getting an extra 10 yards without any loss of forgiveness.  However, they have different shafts so not really an apples to apples comparison.

[flognut]

22 hours ago, Ghostwedge said:

Why am I the only one that hits a Ping driver longer than the other OEM offerings ?

i am with you on this too. 

[Ghostwedge]

1 hour ago, flognut said:

i am with you on this too. 

Just get a little tired of reading " well I love the Ping driver but I hit ( insert other OEM driver) 10 to 15 yds further " nonsense so I went with it.

 

[JAM01]

Went G425 to G430 to Paradym X, the X is pretty forgiving and the sound to me is better. Sorry, but the X is about 5-10 yards longer with more consistent dispersion. 

[Ghostwedge]

14 hours ago, JAM01 said:

Went G425 to G430 to Paradym X, the X is pretty forgiving and the sound to me is better. Sorry, but the X is about 5-10 yards longer with more consistent dispersion. 

No need for "sorry" if you did a fair and objective evaluation of all the drivers that interest you the Paradym was the winner. It came in 5th for me behind the G430, Stealth 2, Cobra AeroJet and Titleist. Thinking that bulbous adapter cost me a few yds...... jk. ; )

[gator022]

I know this started as a driver conversation, but does anyone have insight to a "hotter" 3/4 wood than the G425 Max that's as straight and as forgiving?  I've heard the Cobra Aerojet or Cally Paradym are similarly forgiving and longer.  Any insights?

[Ripken08]

Had G430 and maybe a couple yards longer?  Going back to G425 and save some $$$

[MitchCumstein]

G430 MAX 10K coming soon is the answer!

[ShortSticks]

On 8/11/2023 at 12:06 PM, cn34 said:

I made the mistake of moving away from a G400 a few years ago in search of more distance. I would give up quite a lot to go back to being able to trust my driver that much again. My advice, think score, not distance. The gains you are going to get with another driver are most likely not going to be enough to offset the loss in accuracy. Having the ball in play, even if it's a club shorter goes a long way to lower scores. 

Same here, I went away from the G400 MAX chasing distance and although I found a few more yards (including backyards) I lost that confidence I once had. I learned my lesson and had to go crawling back to the G400 MAX.

 

Now that the GOAT is back I am living the good life in the fairway again.

[Jeffinplano]

On 8/10/2023 at 3:01 PM, grochol17 said:

 

The rule of thumb is that, all things being equal, 1 mph of ball speed equates to 2 yards of distance with the driver.  So if your 15-20 yards number is carry for two shots hit on the screws, then you're basically saying that you're getting up to 10 mph more ball speed with the Stealth 2 over the 425 Max.  Since all drivers are pushing up against the legal COR for driver faces, I highly doubt that that is what is happening.  More likely is the Stealth 2 is a better fit for you in some way than the 425 max... could be something about the overall weight, swing weight, or feel of the shaft that is helping you swing more freely and thus faster.  Or your launch conditions with the 425 might not be right, so you're losing distance in flight. 

 

Before buying a new driver it would be a good idea to get on a reliable launch monitor with both drivers and compare stats to see if you can figure out what the differences are between the two.

WHat's your thought on on regular vs stiff shafts? At what point do you switch to stiff? 100mph plus swing speed minimum?

[iNeedMoreGolf]

I have g430 lst. Feels great looks great sounds great. Point and shoot. Cant seem to hit it past 230 and it does its like a miracle.  Not the case with my other drivers... some shots with it are going 200 210! Very confused but dont want to give up on it too soon since i love the driver overall besides the yardage.