PING Launches G30 Fairways and Hybrids

Written By: Tony Covey

Cutting to the chase once again, just like the driver, the PING G30 fairway woods also feature Turbulators on the crown.

Because the head is already relatively small, unlike the driver, the Turbulators don’t provide much in the way of aerodynamic advantage.

While some may see a fractional increase in clubhead speed, it’s certainly not enough to justify any sort of performance claim – and PING is happy to acknowledge as much.

Instead, the Turbulators work as an alignment aid, help promote confidence at address, and just kinda look badass in a general sort of way.

So if not Turbulators, what’s the story worth telling about the G30 fairway woods?

Distance.

I know…most of you are plenty sick and tired of distance gains, but in the case of PING’s G series, there is legitimate room for improvement.

When we tested the G25 as part of our 2014 Most Wanted Fairway Wood test we found it to be exceptionally straight, and amazingly forgiving. We also found it to be measurably shorter than a good portion of the field.

For the G30, PING switched to a uniform-thickness Carpenter 475 face. The new material offers substantially improved bending and deflection (compared to the G25). The end result is a club that improves CT by 65 points over its predecessors, leading to upwards of 2MPH in ball speed gains.

Because it’s almost mandatory at PING, MOI has been increased above that of the G25 as well, and that too plays a role in increasing average ball speed.

Progressive CG Positioning

PING’s G30 fairway woods were designed with progressive CG placement. As loft increases the CG position of the G30 fairways is gradually shifted forward. While PING generally believes in low/rear CG placement, the progressive design helps optimize ball flight by offsetting the spin gains that occur as a byproduct of increased loft.

Team PING is unquestionably excited about the G30 drivers, but it’s the fairway woods that they believe will bring the most noticeable performance gains to golfers.

The G30 fairway woods feature the same 2° adjustable hosel as the drivers and also come stock with PING’s High Balance Point Shafts.

Vs. The G25 Fairway

As we did with the drivers we put the new G30 fairway to the test against the G25. In this case, we raised the loft on the 14.5 by .6° to get us as close as we could to an apples to apples comparison. For the fairway wood test we leveraged our slower swing speed testers in order to obtain our preliminary results.

Obviously the most important number here is the improvement in ball speed over the G25. 2 MPH is fairly significant.

What is interesting is that despite moving between clubs fairly often, the G30 consistently launched lower (~2.5° on average) than the G25. The other numbers basically mirror what we found with the drivers. The G30 is longer (when roll out is considered), slightly more accurate, and slightly more consistent.

G30 Fairway Specifications

G30 Fairway Stock Shaft Specifications

Weight is calculated assuming 43″ finished length.

G30 Fairway Tour Shaft Specifications

*The Tour Fairway ($30 upcharge) Shaft is designed by PING. It has lower torque than the stock shaft and has a stiffer tip to promote a lower trajectory. Finally, it offers what PING describes as a “Tour” look and feel (including a PVD finish). 

Pricing and Availability

PING G30 Series Fairway Woods will be hit retail sometime in late July or early August. MSRP for the fairways is $275. As previously noted, a Tour shaft is available for a $30 upcharge.

PING G30 Hybrids

Cutting to the chase for the final time…there are no Turbulators on the hybrids.

It’s disappointing, right?

From a performance perspective, Turbulators offer zero performance gains in a hybrid-sized head. Toss in the extra mass required to Turbulate…and well, there’s no reason to have them, and so the G30 hybrid doesn’t.

Danger Zone Play

Mark Broadie’s Every Shot Counts is all the range among golf stat heads, and I suppose anyone seeking to play the percentages to his advantage on the golf course.

I’m not going to dig into the meat and potatoes of the book right now (mostly because I haven’t read it…yet), but the applicable bit is that, what stats guys are calling Danger Zone Play (not putting), is the most significant contributor to your scoring average.

For Tour Pros the Danger Zone is defined as those shots from 175-225 yards. For our purposes we can think of the Danger Zone as anything that forces us to hit something between a 6 iron and a 5 wood (give or take).

Basically, those long shots…the ones that often require us to hit uncomfortable long irons or hybrids (can you see where this is going?) are the difference makers, and so I suppose you could say that PING’s motivation to make a difference where the biggest difference is made was the impetus behind the new G30 hybrids.

As far as the construction of the hybrids go, the faces are constructed from 17-4 (also uniform thickness). Like the fairways, PING has improved bending and deflection. The end result is 20 points of CT over its predecessors.

Basically, it’s longer than the G25, although admittedly only slightly (less than a yard for most).

The more significant story is the increase in MOI (3% top/bottom, and 2% toe/heel) over the G25. That’s not earth-shattering, by any means, but it’s true to the PING way. Small performance improvements from release to release yield significant gains over time.

Other subtle design tweaks include a more square appearance (it’s a much more refined hybrid overall), progressive offset, and like the fairways, progressive CG positioning as well.

G30 Hybrid Specifications

G30 Hybrid Stock Shaft Specifications

Weight is calculated assuming 40.75″ finished length

G30 Hybrid Tour Shaft Specifications

*The Tour Hybrid ($30 upcharge) shaft is designed by PING. It has lower torque than the stock shaft and has a stiffer tip to promote a lower trajectory. Finally, it offers what PING describes as a “Tour” look and feel (including a PVD finish). 

Pricing and Availability

PING G30 Series Hybrids will be hit retail sometime in late July or early August. MSRP for the hybrids is $242.50. As previously noted, a Tour shaft is available for a $30 upcharge.

Wrapping It Up

The case for upgrading fairway wood is strong. Our preliminary tests showed unquestionable gains in ball speed without any loss of accuracy or forgiveness. PING finally has a G-series fairway that’s distance competitive.

If you loved the G25, but just wished it was a bit longer…problem solved. You want the G30.

As they often do, the G30 hybrids will almost certainly be overshadowed by the Drivers and Fairway Woods, but the refinements are certainly enough for someone who has shied away from G-series hybrids in the past to take another look.

More PING G30 Coverage

G30 & G30 SF Tec Drivers
G30 Irons