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Review: Ping Anser Driver

Ping's ans(w)er for fitting today & tomorrow!
Ping has been leading the industry in custom fitting for years.  They offer some of the easiest and best custom fitting options in the industry.  They have always wanted their customers to buy what fits them, not just clubs off the rack.  I think that all golfers should get fit for their clubs too, everyone has a different swing.  But what happens when you go in for a fitting and after a few weeks with a club your swing changes slightly, it would be nice to be able to alter the club to fit the new swing.  Ping finally jumped into the adjustable driver game with the Anser driver.  It fits very nicely with their push to be custom fit, yet allows the owner to tweak the club as needed down the road.

The Anser driver looks like the offspring of the G20 and i20.  It has a similar shape to the G20 and the stealthy aesthetics of the i20.  In my opinion it is the perfect marriage of the two and might be the best driver of 2012. (not to many days left in 2012)  I thought that it was going to be hard to top the Ping i20 (which by the way is a great driver; review here), but the Anser just edges it out.

The combo is rounded out with a multi-directional Ping Id8 grip and a standard Ping headcover with a nice handle on the top along with a long sock to protect the shaft.  The specs came in right at D3 at 45″.

 

The Ping Anser driver comes available with 4 stock shafts, which I think is awesome, better than other companies offer stock.  They range in weight and trajectory.  I went with the heaviest weight and lowest launching shaft because I’ve typically found plenty of launch with previous Ping drivers.  The Diamana A’hina(new whiteboard) in 70g stiff flex is going to be the lowest launching, lowest spinning stock shaft.  The Ping TFC 800, Fujikura Blur 005, and Aldila Phenom 50 shafts offer different weights, spin, and launch: going from lowest to highest; heaviest to lightest. I also appreciate the fact that these are the real deal shafts, not a shaft just painted like the real one or some watered down version.  So once you get custom fit to one of these shafts, then you can tweak your face angle by .5*.  While that isn’t as much as some other adjustable drivers, Ping wanted to keep the look at address as close to square as possible, yet raising or lowering the launch slightly.  I found that at straight neutral I had a really low, penetrating ball flight.  I adjusted mine to the + setting and it now launched just a little bit higher, but still very penetrating.  The on course visual trajectory of this club was perfect after the adjustment. 

The marriage between a G20 and i20 driver which produced this Anser driver means that you get most of the forgiveness of the G20 and most of the solid sound/feel of the i20.  On the course I really had great control of this driver.  It mostly wanted to go straight like the G20, thus my percentage of fairways hit with this driver went up a few points.  The sound and feel are really great too.  Not quite as pure as the i20 which might be the best feeling driver ever, but very solid with a great metallic pop with just a tiny hint of hollow.

The head and shaft combo made this driver #FilthyLong.  It is very low spin, which I found great for the firm fall conditions we have in MN.  I think carry was about normal for me right around 250, but roll-out was long.  I hit one in the middle of a firm fairway that rolled out to 340yards (GPS verified), my longest driver of 2012.   I also played on a number of very windy days and this low spin canon is the best I’ve ever had in play into the wind.  I did lose a few yards, but most were still very close to normal distances.

If only Ping would release shaft tips to the public, then a great variety of shafts could be in play. But I think their desire to get you fit with what is best and then leave it alone is probably what drives them to withhold tips from the public.  But even without extra tips, there are so many custom fitting options, you should be able to find a head and shaft combo to fit your needs perfectly, it might even be one of the 4 stock shafts.  I found the A’hina paired with a 9.5* loft head is perfect for me.

The Ping Anser is a great club that will fit your swing the day you buy it and can be adjusted to fit your swing tomorrow if you need to. 

Check the price online here

For more information: www.ping.com

Quick Hits
+Blends G20 + i20
+4 (real deal) stock shaft choices
+FilthyLong
+Excellent looks, sound and feel
+Adjustable

–Additional tips not available
–Minimal adjustments

Ping Anser Driver Review Discussion
 
R. Wille — Thanks for your review.  So is the Ping Anser better than the Callaway RAZR Fit?
       —- iGolfReviews — They are both very good drivers, I would say the Anser is a little more forgiving and 
                        lower spin.  It also comes with a much better stock shafts.  However RAZR Fit tips can be purchased 
                        so swapping shafts is easy.
R. Hunter — I have the 9.5 Anser driver with Diamana 70g shaft. This is by far the longest, best feeling driver I have ever hit.. My distance off the tee increased by a minimum of 20 yards. I think the I20 driver has greater feel, but it’s not in the same area code when distance is the conversation.
PSG — Great, thanks for sharing this review. Will read on…
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