Ping G400 Crossover Review
Published: Last updated:
-
At a glance
- TG Rating
- Owner Rating
- RRP £200.00
What we say...
The Ping G400 Crossover promises better feel and improvement in ball speed, stability and a higher trajectory.
Details: Ping G400 Crossover £200. Lofts: #3-19°, #4-22°, #5 25°. Stock shaft: Ping Alta CB /Ping Tour / Ping AWT 2.0. Adjustable hosel: No
No new golf equipment family launch is complete nowadays without either a matching hybrid or hybrid iron to get you bridge the gap between your longest iron and your fairway woods.
So just like Ping’s G400 driver, irons and fairway woods, the new Ping G400 crossover has undergone a makeover, too. It invented a new club category last year – and Ping say that their second generation crossover the precision and control of an iron with the ball speed and forgiveness of a hybrid, making it a versatile option for golfers of all skill levels.
Ping’s G400 crossover has also been upgraded with new a new maraging steel face and a different hydropearl finish is impressive, producing 30% more stopping power. The addition of a 20-gram tungsten toe weight increases forgiveness, resulting in 17% tighter dispersion. The turf interaction is greatly improved with a thinner sole and Hydropearl Chrome finish, which reduces friction 40%.
Ping G400
Ping G400 Driver Review
Ping G400 Irons Review
Ping G400 Hybrid Review
Ping G400 Fairway Wood Review
Ping G400 Crossover: Video Review
Ping G400 Crossover Review: You Should Know
Definitely not a driving iron say Ping. The Crossover’s top and leading edges have been designed to flex at impact and catapult shots off higher and further. 33% less roll out increases distance control at the top end of your bag, thanks to 20g of tungsten in the toe the G400 can boast of delivering 45% less shot bend, which means you’ll be more accurate too.
When and how to replace your 5-iron
Ping G400 Crossover Review: We say
A massive improvement over the original G Crossover in our opinion. We reckon the G400 is a decent option for golfers who aren’t particularly fond of hybrids but are on the look-out for more forgiving long irons. There’s no getting away from the Crossover being a big butch head, but it’s because of the size both forgiveness and face flex are improved over a traditional long iron.
And because the Crossover face flexes more than its own thickness it’s a powerful beast in the right hands. Our test pro was the biggest fan even if he wasn’t particularly keen on the head shape. Like Ping promised the G400 launched and peaked shots out higher than the test average (1.5 deg more launch and 3 yards higher) meaning the Crossover can credibly get long approach shots to stop on a green too.
Ping G400 Crossover Review: Verdict
With hybrids so entrenched in the modern club golfers bag utility long irons appeal to a limited number of golfers. If you’re lucky enough to own a swing speed high enough to launch long irons from the turf, the Crossover is a multi-function utility, driving and forgiving long iron replacement.
Need help choosing hybrids? Wide body vs Narrow body vs Utility irons here
Ping G400 Crossover Review: Key Features
➤ Improved Stability
Ping really wanted to improve the stability of the G400 Crossover in both left-to-right dispersion and distance control, despite having a slightly thinner sole design on the new club.
To do that, Ping developed a new technology in their innovation department where they are able to join 17-specific high density tungsten from the outside of the club in, and join this to the body.
Marty Jertson, Director of Product Development at Ping, says “This allowed us to place that mass to optimise the inertia properties. The end result, along with changes to the CG position, is that we’ve improved the shot-bend characteristics for impacts heel-toe by 45% compared to the Ping G”
“It’s even better for distance control, 40% more consistent spin high and low on the face and a lot of it is a result of the high density tungsten that we’ve placed from the outside of the club in”
➤ New Sole Design
The Ping G400 club head is slightly thinner than the previous model, which allowed the designers to move the center of gravity slightly closer to the face, which Ping say will really improve the quality of off-center hits and the interaction between the golf club and the ground.
Marty Jertson says “The G400 Crossover goes through the turf very nicely, which is a result of the thinner sole, producing less camber on the sole so we get more of the force from the ground pushing back on the club distributed over a larger surface area.”
“The Crossover sole design is actually more like a hybrid, we’ve taken some of the bounce and the camber out of the sole design. Pair that with the hydro-pearl finish, which reduces the friction between the sole and the turf by 40%, all those things add up to a lot better turf interaction through the ground”
➤ Higher, Longer, Faster
One of the key goals Ping targeted with the new Ping G400 Crossover was more stopping power, and in doing so Ping claim they achieved a 20% higher peak trajectory or max height with their latest club. They also increased the loft by 1 degree, which they say affects the trajectory by about 5%.
Marty Jertson says “The other 15% comes from more exotic flexing from the face, so we get a little bit of the diving board flexing mechanics that we get with the core-eye technology in the G400 iron paired with a little bit of drum like flexing mechanics like we get with the G400 fairway wood and hybrids”
“The end result is a launch additive face response that contributes to the that higher max height. What you get as a golfer is more stopping power, and more versatility in the crossover”
Watch Marty Jertson, Director of Product Development at Ping, explain everything you need to know the Ping G400 Crossover
Ping G400 Crossover in numbers
35% The maraging steel face in the G400 hybrid offers over a third more face flex than the G.
5% Shots with the G400 hybrid fly 5% higher, increasing your shot stopping power.
5 yards Compared to G Ping reckon the G400 hybrid increases ball speed by 2mph which equates to 5 yards of extra carry.
20% You can expect to hit the G400 Crossover 20% higher than the G, and get 33% less roll out.
20g A tungsten weight in the toe of the Crossover raises MOI, and means 45% less shot bend so you hit shots straighter.
Ping G400 Crossover Vs Ping G
We went to Ping HQ in Phoenix, Arizona, to challenge Ping to show us just how much better the new G400 Crossover was in comparison to their previous G Model.
Teaming up with Director Marty Jertson, we testing the Ping G Crossover against the Ping G400 Crossover on a trackman, and this is what happened…
