Pulling the (driver) trigger

It’s not that kind of trigger, but I finally replaced my 8-year-old driver. I know I’ve written about current drivers in the market and just last week, the drivers to be launched this 2025.

If you read my article on upcoming drivers this year, the last paragraph hints at my plans for new equipment.

It reads: “The start of the year looks promising for those in the market for a driver upgrade. And for those wanting to spend a little less, new models coming out mean that 2024 models are now starting to go for a little less.”

“If you were eyeing a new driver last year, it may just be the perfect time to get it for a discount.” So there you can see me justifying my planned purchase of new clubs.

Everyone loves a discount, myself included. And as a married golfer with a family, I think it’s already in my subconscious to question golf-related purchases.

Aside from the effort it takes to try to hide, and then underprice new golf equipment when noticed by the wife, golf purchases are admittedly unnecessary luxuries that do not guarantee better scores.

But after eight years, I think this upgrade is deserved, and getting it at a discount lessens the guilt.

So now that I finally got myself a new driver, a Ping G430 Max 10K, am I driving it better? Is it better than my trusty 2017 M1 440? Before I give my verdict, let me first explain how I arrived at my decision.

The driver is one of the most important clubs in the bag for me. A good driving day almost guarantees that I shoot sub-80.

Hitting fairways and the occasional bomb down the fairway on a short par 5 means low scores for me. But admittedly, driving is only part of a good round, and if I’m honest, a good putting day beats a good driving day for me.

Just last year, I had one of my best-putting rounds and even if I drove it horrendous that day (only hitting 4 fairways), I managed to score a 74.

So good drives aren’t everything, but it does matter. A good driving day reduces the round to a par 3 course. If I hit good drives on every hole and have mid to short iron approaches all day, I am scoring close to or even one or two under par.

So in choosing a new driver, I tried to be as objective as possible, in the hopes of lowering my scores. In the question of distance vs forgiveness, as much as I need as many added yards as possible, I leaned towards forgiveness. There’s simply no substitute for hitting more fairways. So that settled what type of driver to get — maximum forgiveness models.

So, drivers like the TM Qi10 LS, Ping G430 LS, Callaway AI Smoke Triple Diamond, and others were immediately ruled out.

I’ve always preferred smaller heads, which is why I went with the TM M1 440 instead of the standard version, the Callaway FT9 Tour before that, the TM R7 TP 425 before that, and so on. If there’s a fade-biased driver smaller than standard, I’d choose it.

But since max forgiveness is what I’m after now, then I need to go full 460cc. That narrowed my choices down to the Qi10 Max, Ai Smoke Max and G430 Max 10K — 2024 models that are now available at a slight discount.

I’ve tested all three at demos and through friends who use them, and my basis for choosing Ping was down to looks.

While reviews also put Ping on top, I didn’t notice a huge difference while testing. What I did notice is that I disliked the shape of both the TaylorMade and Callaway max forgiveness models.

The Ping looked the best to me, so I went with it.

Ping G430 Max 10K

In my 32 years of playing golf, this is my first Ping driver. We are still in the getting-to-know phase, but so far, I have no regrets.

After my first range session, I feel I made the right decision. Compared to my old driver, the dispersion seems much tighter.

As for distance, I can’t tell yet and will need to see how it compares in actual fairway rounds. So far, I think I made the right choice and hope for better scores being in play more.