PING G10

Recently, during my travels for work, I had a chance to stop by a Golfsmith store in Indianapolis. My goal was to do some research on drivers and putters, since I am in the market for both. The driver I currently play with is the Ping Si3, which came out a few years ago. I am very pleased with its performance, and it has become my favorite driver The putter in my bag is the Dunlop Black Hole, which I have also enjoyed with reasonable success over the last couple years. I also carry a brass putter named "chippy," but that's a story for another time. My reason for changing these clubs is simple, they are both a bit worn out. Plus, who doesn't want to buy a new driver and new putter every few years? It has to help your game, right?

After a few minutes browsing around, I got down to business. I quickly found the putting section and began trying out putters. I starting testing some things, trying different styles, and comparing some prices. But my attention was soon drawn to the practice range they had set up not very far from the putting area. Customers were wailing away on golf balls, just like at the driving range. Golfsmith's mini driving range consisted of 5 or 6 tee boxes, with a couple computerized swing analyzers. Very Cool! It's not the first time I have seen these in the stores. But, the great part about it, they had all the newest drivers and irons right there for anyone to pick up and try out.

Lucky for me, they had one tee box open with the swing analyzer hooked up. Next to the tee was a box full of demo drivers and woods. Because I was in a bit of a time crunch and I am a big fan of Ping drivers, I quickly found the new PING G10. I grabbed a 10.5 degree regular flex, strapped on a golf glove, and began taking some swings.

My experience began almost exactly like it did when I first tested the Si3. I absolutely loved the feel of this club. The G10 is a 460cc, which is a little bigger than I am use to, but it felt great. I've tried some of the larger heads in the past, but many times I'd get distracted because of the odd shape or the huge size. The G10 has a very traditional look that I really like. The mental part of my game is a distraction enough, I don't need anything else to think about while I am swinging a club.

After about a dozen swings, I began to crank it up a notch. I started utilizing the swing analyzer and was tracking my shots accordingly. My shots were improving with every swing and I was becoming very comfortable with this club. Couple things I noticed on the swing analyzer: My side spin rate was not quite as high that I thought it would be. For the most part, my ball was flying fairly straight with little draw or slice. My launch angle was a little high on average, but that is probably because I was using a 10.5 degree as opposed to my 8 degree Si3. The regular flex graphite shaft was creating a little inconsistency off the face with ball direction, but with a stiff shaft, that should correct itself.

Overall, I give this club two thumbs up! I know that my bias towards Ping drivers played a part in this test, but I think you would agree that this club is one of the best. If you're in the market for a new driver, you should definitely give it a try. The price for the PING G10 is $299 just about everywhere you look. Click the link below for more information.

PING G10


As far as my putter goes, I'll have to go back to the drawing board. It's just not as fun testing out putters than it is testing out drivers!