- Updated: June 16, 2023
Ping G430 LST Driver Review
LOW Spin + Low Launch + Lots of Forgiveness = Long Drives
Ryan Heiman
Founder and head author at Independent Golf Reviews
I gamed the Ping G430 LST Driver for 6 rounds of golf this spring. I also tested it on the range and in the Office by Carl’s Place DIY Simulators. The combination of on course testing and FlightScope numbers proved this driver can go Low: Spin and Launch while having plenty of forgiveness and lots of distance.
This is my definitive review of the Ping G430 LST Driver for 2023.
What are the ideal launch parameters of a driver? There are lots of charts that show ideal launch and spin for swing speeds. Realistically what we really want is to hit the driver as far and as straight as possible. Sometimes giving up straight for far. How do you get the most out of a driver fitting is figuring out which specs match your swing to create the best launch data? If it goes too high, we lose distance, if it goes too low we lose distance. There is sweet spot that squeezes out the greatest distance for our swing. Depending on the courses and conditions you play, you might be able to eek a few more yards out with some adjustments. While the longest carry often seems best, sometimes lowering a little launch and a little spin can give you even longer drives. The Ping G430 LST Driver is a low launching, low spinning driver that might just be perfect for getting a few extra yards.
Launch
The Ping G430 LST Driver is one of the lower launching drivers I’ve tested. While virtually all drivers I test are around 9*/9.5*, how the ball launches off the face varies from driver to driver based on CG, Internal weighting and actual face angle. The Ping G430 LST driver has a 9* face angle and has one of the most penetrating flights for 2023. This means you are going to see the ball peirce the sky towards the fairway. Even into the wind, this driver launches the ball strong with flat flight. By low I mean low but still in that ideal window. It is still plenty high to reach over a forced carry. If you eye has an ideal launch window, it will be on the bottom edge of that. This will certainly benefit the faster swingers who are trying to control high launch to keep the ball from floating or ballooning, along with getting some extra roll once it hits the ground.
Spin
The Ping G430 LST Driver is one of the lower spinning drivers for 2023. While spin is particular to each person’s swing, the amount of swing spin compared to the amount of spin from the driver head correlates into overall spin. Faster swing speeds tend to have high spin so lower the spin helps get us into ideal launch numbers. I’m not “high” swing speed, but I do swing faster than most and get still get the ball out there 3 bills sometimes. I have always had a high spin swing so anything to reduce spin is going to help me.
Forgiveness
The Ping G430 LST Driver is surprisingly forgiving. The face big, wide and has fast ball speeds everywhere. If you look closely at the ball marks on the face above, you can see I missed the center, yet all of those drives found the fairway with really good distance; that to me is forgiveness. Ping calls their face “Optimized T9S+ Forged Face which is a shallower, variable-thickness face with transition designed to create more deflection which generates faster ball speed for our biggest distance gains to date.” hin Basically a better face to keep ball speed high and forgiveness wide and optimized spin or “Spinsistency” as they call it. Overall I am impressed with this low spin, higher swing speed driver, yet lots of forgiveness.
Carry
The Ping G430 LST Driver has excellent carry distance. The Tungsten weight on the back edge of the driver head can be adjust for direction, but it also optimized CG and MOI along with creating weight up and through the ball. All of this creates drives that hang in the air for a long time and really get down the fairway. I’ve been impressed with the carry distance which also translates into overall distance because of the low spin and lower launch. It goes in the sky and then goes on the ground for very long drives.
Sound, Feel, Appearance
The Ping G430 LST Driver has a whole lot happening on the crown. It is a Carbonfly wrap which means the most amount has been saved from the crown to be used in other place. The crown itself has turbulators near the face and then kind of a t-shape towards the back. These help generate more speed during swings, keeps the size at 440cc and visually points straight ahead. Ping also worked with sound engineering to create a beautiful thwack at impact that is muted but powerful. The sensation at impact is excellent.
Shaft
The Ping G430 LST Driver has 6 stock shaft options. I went with the Ping Tour 2.0 Black 65 shaft which is their low launch, low spin shaft which paired with this head is a perfect partner for low spin and launch . The feel is outstanding and very stable. If you like their counterbalanced shafts, Ping is one of the companies to offer that stock. (however my swing doesn’t get along with CB shafts) They come stock with Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet shaft. There is QR code tag in the grip that allows you get Arccos tags for your Ping clubs. Since I already have them, I didn’t sign up for more, but I highly recommend Arccos if you haven’t.
Ping G430 LST Driver 9* Stats
Data from Flightscope Xi Tour Launch Monitor
➜ Spin: 2018 rpms
➜ Launch Angle: 12.1*
➜ Dispersion: 4.2 yds
➜ Club Head Speed: 105.3 mph
➜ Ball Speed: 156.9 mph
➜ Total Distance: 298.1 yds
➜ Carry Distance: 274.6 yds
Summary
The Ping G430 LST Driver offers Low spin, Low launch and Long carry with plenty of forgiveness. It is combo for higher swing speed golfers that are looking to get the most out of each drive. I’m impressed by both the numbers and the results on the course. I had some of my best driving days this spring with the Ping G430 LST Driver in the bag. If you are looking to upgrade your driver in 2023, this one should be at the top of your list to demo. There is a good chance this might be my gamer for the rest of the season.
For more information: Ping Website
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About The Author
Ryan Heiman – Founder and Head Author of Independent Golf Reviews
Ryan has over 10 years of experience testing and writing golf reviews of nearly every brand out there.
HCP: 3
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