The Ping G410 LST expands the company’s G410 driver lineup by offering a low-spin option, but it does not move away from the company’s focus on stability on off-center hits, or what’s known as high moment of inertia (MOI).
Ping G410 LST driver expands the company’s G410 lineup to include low-spin option while improving forgiveness
The two ideas—a driver with low-spin and high MOI—sometimes work at cross purposes because to get spin low often means the head’s center of gravity needs to shift so far forward that off-center hit performance gets sacrificed. That wasn’t an option on G410 LST.
“We think that’s the competitive advantage of our low spin driver—a very high MOI with low spin,” said Ryan Stokke, Ping design engineer. “What that combination accomplishes is having very stable spin.” Stokke made the point that off-center hits in some low-spin drivers can produce an erratic ball flight. The problem, he said, is because shots that impact the face a little high or toward the toe, which because of gear effect might naturally launch with less spin, could launch with not enough spin to keep the ball flying ideally. “So you can end up with a ball flight that is great on solid well-struck shots, but on the mis-hits you get punished,” he said, noting the MOI on the G410 LST is three percent higher than its predecessor, the G400 LST.
The G410 LST, which debuted on the USGA list of conforming drivers last month, features a slightly more compact volume at 450cc vs. the company’s standard G410 Plus driver, but its actual measurements are less than a tenth of an inch shorter front to back and narrower heel to toe. But like the G410 Plus, the G410 LST features a movable weight in the rear perimeter that allows for a neutral, draw or fade setting.
The G410 LST, which features a D4 swingweight compared to the G410 Plus’s D3 swingweight and the G410 LST’s D1 swingweight, also continues the aerodynamic turbulators on the crown that have been part of Ping drivers since the introduction of the G30 driver in 2014. Like the other G410 drivers, the G410 LST features a forged T9S+ titanium face insert and a Ti 8-1-1 body. The crown, which uses a variable thickness design called “dragonfly” technology, gets as thin as .43 millimeters.
Stokke said adding __the G410 LST__to Ping’s family of drivers gives the company a broader range of fitting options. It joins the standard G410 Plus and the slice-fighting G410 SFT. At the most basic level and in a neutral loft setting, the three heads would produce seven different ball flights just by moving the adjustable weight. Add in the eight-way adjustable hosel setting and an array of shafts and the G410 family gives a fitter a full array of solutions, Stokke said.
“This driver unlocks a lot of potential,” he said, noting that the G410 LST offers approximately 200-400 rpm spin reduction. “It still really meets our tour requirements, but on the consumer side it’s unlocking a whole degree of playability. The consumer is actually seeing more spin reduction with the adjustable weight setting. A lot of golfers needed the lower spin of certain drivers, but when they couldn’t deliver them to the ball appropriately, it wasn’t the best fit. This technology is really going to be a home run for them to really dial in that ball flight, see lower spin and higher ball speeds.”
There are four shaft options on the G410 LST, including the Ping Tour and Ping Alta CB, as well as well as the Mitsubishi Tensei Orange and the Project X Evenflow Black.
The G410 LST (9, 10.5 degrees) is available for pre-order now ($500).
Technology Ping G410 LST driver
Source: golfdigest.com
