Ping G440 K driver: What you need to know

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Ping expands the G440 line to feature the G440 K, and like the name implies, it will push the boundaries of stability on off-center hits (moment of inertia). The new model, the fourth in the G440 lineup, sets a new record for its combined measurement of heel-toe MOI and crown-sole MOI (well over 10,000 in some setups). It also adds a heavier back weight, and in an upgrade from the previous high-stability G430 Max 10K, that weight can be adjusted between draw, fade and neutral arrangements.

PRICE: $650 (9, 10.5, 12 degrees, with an eight-way adjustable hosel, +/- 1.5 degrees). Also offered in lighter weight HL version. 

3 Cool Things

1. Forgiveness frontier. While Ping’s drivers have long pursued how much more forgiving they can get, the G430 Max 10K of two years ago stretched toward a new limit of stability on off-center hits (MOI). By combining the heel-toe stability with the crown-sole stabililty, the G430 Max 10K reached a new MOI standard at over 10,000 grams-centimeters squared. The new G440 K driver sets an even higher mark, but if anything, it’s also emphasizing an ideal level of forgiveness based on player type that now includes greater adjustability.

The weight savings of a carbon composite wraparound crown and sole piece along with the weight savings from a redesigned internal hosel (first seen in the previously introduced G440 lineup), makes room for a 32-gram rear weight that can slide between draw (heel side), fade (toe side) and neutral positions. That’s four grams heavier than the fixed rear weight on the G430 Max 10K.

“One of the important facets for us is that while MOI is extremely important, it's MOI and other aspects of the product that leads to the utmost performance potential,”
said Ping’s Ryan Stokke, director of product design. “You need to have high MOI, but it needs to be coupled with a proper [center of gravity] location for a certain player. When you pair that location with someone who does need to be in a fade position or needs to be in a draw position, that really is the defining element that'll deliver the best product for that player.

“It’s not just about chasing the highest MOI because that may not be the best position for all players. But now we can get a player in a higher MOI product when that player, for example, needs to be in a fade position.”

Stokke further made the point that having that adjustability allows fitters to get more elite-level golfers into a super-forgiving driver like G440 K. “Our ability to continue to raise MOI but also refine and optimize the CG, those two together, are what really lead to pretty significant dispersion improvements,” he said.

“The titanium is really becoming a chassis within the design for very high strength, high flexibility to the face, and the ability to position high density and a high percentage of mass of the total driver into the back weight design,” Stokke said.

2. Shape shifting. Gone are the days when you can make a driver occupy as large a footprint as possible just in pursuit of more forgiveness. The G440 K refines its shape in an effort to make the head look more symmetrical, Stokke said.

“It's just a little bit more balanced shape,” he said. “There’s a little bit more balancing of toe and heel, not as toe-biased. This shaping actually is more similar to the shape of the Max. as if we just scaled it up overall in size.”

One other improvement in shaping is the way the variable thicknesses are managed on T9S+ titanium alloy face insert. By freeing up more internal space around the hosel (and saving additional mass to lower the CG), the design also allowed engineers to rethink face thicknesses around the hosel area, Stokke said.

“Through our simulations, we really are able to understand what that face needs to look like to deliver extremely good durability plus great balancing, so that the face is hot and consistent all over,” he said. “With the free-hosel design, we were able to find a great way for us to un-restrict the heel section, and better balance our overall ball speed.”

3. Sound barrier. Part of the effort to make super-forgiving drivers appeal to a broader audience is to enhance the sound experience. The bigger you make a club, the easier it is to increase its MOI, but that also reduces the amount of interior mass available to control sound and feel. But with G440 K, Ping engineers have further refined how thin they can get the carbon composite sections and how selectively stiffer regions no longer require as much titanium as in past versions. Those include crown and sole acoustic ribs (carbon composite on the crown, titanium on the sole) to stiffen the body. “We want to save mass, but we also want to make sure the structure of the crown is rigid,” said Travis Milleman, senior manager of design engineering. “It helps us save mass while still maintaining conformance, and then also that stiffer crown ultimately helps it sound better as well. The stiffer you can make a structure, the better it is. The stiffer it is, the harder it is to vibrate, and the harder it is to vibrate, the harder it is for you to hear it.”

He said the benefits of the carbon composite crown rib are two-fold: the sound change and the weight savings. Notably, he said to expect a slightly lower volume with a slightly higher pitch.