It’s that time of year again: the USGA conforming list is filling up with new additions, in this case with much of the gear we’ll see players gaming on the major tours in 2027.
On Monday, four new models from the Ping G450 family hit the list, which is where any new club needs to live before it’s officially approved. My personal hunch? We might see the likes of Neal Shipley or Austin Eckroat putting this line into play, but we’ll wait and see.
USGA
Three drivers in the new line follow Ping’s typical framework with the LST (Low Spin Tech), MAX (their more forgiving model) and SFT (Straight Flight Technology – Draw Biased). But there’s a also new G450 MINIMAX mini driver, for which golfers have been clamoring since prototypes hit the tour.
MINIMAX might be the best name yet for a mini driver, and it’s very Ping., leaning into the MAX name for which the brand is known. It’s the perfect way to say we’re still the serious buttoned-up Ping we’ve always been, but we’re here to party, too.
USGA
The one big change for the entire family that we can see from the conforming list photos is something called FASTFLEX. This appears to be Ping’s version of something like the TaylorMade Speed Pocket or Mizuno’s Coretech Chamber. Typically this is a technology that allows the face of the driver to flex a bit more, providing more ball speed regardless of swing speed.
Knowing Ping, there’s probably a forgiveness story built in as well. Often, this support allows for the face to be more consistent on mis-hits, which means that speed out of the middle is going to be faster, but performance on off-center hits is also going to keep up.
It also looks like there is going to be a 7.5º offering in the LST right off the bat, although that might just be for tour-level players, and the MINIMAX is only available in 13º of loft. That’s mildly disappointing to me as I really enjoy a 15.5º mini, but the 13º segment makes sense. Ping has taken its time with this mini driver so I’m certain they have a great reason for the 13º.
USGA
If this means that Ping is chasing speed with the new lineup, the driver market is about to feel a real shake up.
Today on Tour there’s about a 70/25/5 split, respectively, between LST/K/MAX heads in play, but I’m wondering what’s going to happen to that K percentage once a new MAX is introduced.
We’re looking forward to getting our hands on the product for some upcoming testing. In the meantime, make sure to keep an eye out on our social channels for the latest information as we have it! Ping’s new fairways and hybrid will be exciting addtions, too, but no word on those just yet.
