SPY PICS! – PING G30 Driver and G30 Fairway

The first pics of PING’s apparently upcoming G30 Driver and Fairway are hitting the virtual airwaves, and damn…this one has an unusual design feature that’s certain to get you guys talking.

Turbulators – The Most Un-PING Thing PING has ever Done

PING doesn’t do gimmicks right? That’s their rep, and yet it would appear they’re about to release a driver with spikey, horn things on the leading edge of the crown. That’s odd, right? Who ever thought PING would be the first to offer the Rhino driver?

Aignment aid? Who needs ’em…not when you’ve got Turbulators?

I really can’t say how these Turbulator things came to be, but I can tell you that, according to Wikipedia anyway, horned lizards are indigenous to Arizona so I suppose it’s entirely possible that Marty Jertson and the rest of the PING design crew saw one of those lizards basking on a rock behind their R&D facility, and maybe pulled some inspiration from it.

It’s hot in Phoenix, and strange things happen to the mind when it overheats.

Is that actually where the Turbulators came from? I doubt it, but it’s what I can give you right now.

Did I mention the Turbulators?

PING? Turbulators?

Not unlike the Team at Titleist, Team PING won’t have word one too say until the G30 becomes officially official, but I’m absolutely certain that if this driver had a TaylorMade logo on it some of you would be screaming BULLSHIT! at the top of your lungs without taking a moment’s breath to find out if there’s an actual and legitimate performance story behind this Turbulator thing.

But this is PING, so I’m cautiously optimistic you’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, at least until they’re ready to explain it.

Turbulators – The Most PING Thing PING has Ever Done

In reality, PING is no stranger to unconventional designs. They’ve basically succeeded through outside-the-box thinking and a Function-First approach to design. If that means the end product is a little different, then so be it. Once upon a time there was nothing like the PING Anser putter. Eye 2 irons with perimeter weighting…What about the PING ZING 2 irons? Odd at best, right?

The Doc series putters are bizarre by any conventional standard, and the K15 series of metalwoods is about as far off the beaten path as a mainstream manufacturer is likely going to venture. At least that was the case before the G30 series and this whole Turbulator thing.

You also can’t totally discount the target market either. While Turbulators might not fly on the i-series, the G-series crowd is likely more receptive to a less than traditional approach to product design.

Short story…the G-series crowd won’t care that G30 looks a little different if it performs as well or better than the G25.

Greater Adjustability

While the pics don’t provide details, it would appear that PING has stepped up its ajustability game. Degree increments aren’t labeled (just plus signs and rectangles), but there are more of them than on previous PING hosels, so it looks like PING may be catching up to the rest of the industry.

Have Your Say

Actual details not withstanding, what do you think of the new G30 series? More to the point, would you consider playing a driver with Turbulators or would you discount it immediately because of that feature alone? What’s your read on this…disinterested, mildly curious, or totally excited?