As one of the most popular brands in golf, when Ping releases a new driver range the golfing public wants to know about it! So in this review, I will be putting the new Ping G440 Max driver through its paces to see if it can carry on from the incredibly popular G430 Max and sit amongst the best golf drivers of 2025.
WATCH - Joe Ferguson puts the Ping G440 Max driver up against the TaylorMade Qi35!
The tech story is an interesting one and is centered around CG location, or more specifically lowering the CG location. Ping has done this through multiple weight-saving advancements higher up on the head. A combination of a shallower face, lightweight carbon crown, and a technology Ping is referring to as Free Hosel design, which helps save significant weight in an attempt to align the CG closer to what Ping calls the 'force line' for faster ball speed, optimal spin and higher launch.
Essentially lowering the CG will give you more chance to hit those high-launching, low-spinning flights that we know offer maximum distance - it's a theme that was also covered with the launch of the TaylorMade Qi35 driver.
The G440 Max comes in at 460cc and is the most forgiving model of the G440 range. It is engineered with a 29-gram, three-position adjustable back weight for dialing in your ball flight requirements.
In terms of the looks from the sole perspective, I am a little undecided, and asking around, it seems the general opinion is also divided. The blue colorway harks back to the original ‘G’ range and some people love it. However, for me, it dates the look a little and the rest of the sole is a touch on the basic side to my eye at least. As I often say though, that perspective is nearly irrelevant to me personally, as I am more concerned with how a driver looks in the playing position, and from here I think it is excellent.
The new Carbonfly Wrap crown has upped the visual significantly from the G430 Max in my opinion and for some reason, it seems to have a slightly neater footprint although this is likely an optical illusion from the new crown. The somewhat divisive turbulators remain, but I have to say I have become totally desensitized to them over the years and barely notice them nowadays.
Performance-wise, I found the G440 Max to be predictably strong, gobbling up mishits with ease and producing some really nice numbers on my FullSwing KIT launch monitor. To be honest, the only noticeable change in data from G430 Max was in the launch angle category where the G440 produced around a degree more for me. This is to be expected from the CG location change, and Ping is cleverly using this to its advantage by suggesting that players may well be able to drop down in loft a touch from what they are used to, thus producing higher ball speed without compromising height.
I found the feel to have improved a touch also. The G430 range was very good in this regard but did notice a bit of vibration at impact throughout the models, whereas with G440 strike feels a little smoother and stable. The back weight works nicely in terms of dialing in flight and has been executed fairly discreetly from a visual point of view.
One other observation that I had was that, if like me, you are someone whose miss tends to be low on the face, you will likely love the entire G440 range. Similar to the Qi35 range, because the CG has been moved so much lower, there is simply more mass behind strike now and I was seeing much less drop off in ball speed when I caught one a little on the thin side.
No surprises here, Ping has done what it always does, methodically and sensibly made incremental improvements to its technology to make it easier for us to play better golf. It is not my favorite aesthetic of the past few years from the sole, but in the playing position, it is excellent. This will be a very popular model in fitting studios across the world in 2025.
Head weight: 203 grams
Lofts(adjustable +-1.5°):(9°, 10.5°, 12°)
Stock shafts: PING Alta CB (counter-balanced) Blue 55 (SR, R, S), PING Alta Quick 35/45 (HLbuild only)
Optional stock shafts: PING Tour 2.0 Chrome 65 (R, S, X), PING Tour 2.0 Black 65 (S, X), Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 65 (S, X), PRJX Denali Red 50 (5.5, 6.0), PRJX Denali Red 60 (5.5,6.0, 6.5), PRJX Denali Red 70 (6.0, 6.5)
Stock grip: Golf Pride 360 Tour Velvet in six sizes
RRP: $650 each with stock shaft
