What Year Did the Ping G15 Driver Come Out

Ping G15 Driver Review by Tatz

We sent TSG club tester Tatsuro Oshimoto who recently moved from Las Vegas over to Japan to a huge Ping G15 Demo demo day held in Tokyo.  Tatz ( nickname ) was able to put the the entire new Ping line up through some serious testing.  A little feedback on the club tester:

Height: 5″8
Weight: 150lbs
Swing Speed: 114 mph
Tempo: Medium Smooth
Handicap +2 from the tips

Feel: 3/5 Points
The feel was considered average against most drivers found in the U.S but sub par against true players clubs from brands like TourStage, Epon, Titleist or Yamaha. The assumption is that Ping's main focus was on producing a club geared toward the average player and to satisfy the masses. The sound and feel was a somewhat soft empty sensation, not as hollow or empty as say the new Nike Dymo yet not as solid as the Taylormade R9. It would fit in right between the two of them in Tatsuro's opinion.  This was the low point for the club especially the G15 model.

Forgiveness: 4.5/5 Points
This club shines in the forgiveness department, although Tatsuro did not notice  if there was any new technology in it that actually gave it a clear advantage over others he did find it very forgiving and equal to many game improvement drivers currently on the market. When put through its paces and purposly hit off center he compared it to the Nike SQ except with better feel. That's a good remark considering that the SQ is a square high MOI driver and the Ping G15 isnt exactly.  Tatz also made the comment that the odd shape of the face in his opinion made center  line high especially forgiving but toe shots a little less.

Accuracy: 3.5/5 Points
Given a decent score in this category Tatsuro commented that the spin did not seem as low as he would expect while the launch was much higher than average. There was nowhere to test the true loft of the demo's on site but we do suspect the 9.5 would come  in around 11* based on his results. Tatz is also a very accurate driver of the ball and also has experienced many high end JDM drivers especially the ones suited to top players and pro's. When comparing it to his current gamer the X-Drive 701R he said the G15 was less accurate, didnt feel nearly as good, and had a substantially higher flight and wider dispersion considering his X-Drive has the same stated loft.

Distance & Workability: 3.5/5 Points
The distance was good, nothing special he noted but the driver did excel " a little bit " in the area of workability when compared to other large sized big looking drivers that he has hit over the last year working with TSG. He wasnt able to bring his bag into the demo area to compare the distance of his driver against the G15 and this was a new driving range for him so he had no way to really reference where the ball was landing.  The Ping staff of course oooh'd and ahhh'd over his 290+ yard drives as its very rare to see such a small guy pound it out there like that but based on the yardage markers he was slightly dissapointed in his distance and owe's it to the higher launch of the 9.5

Aesthetics: 3/5 Points
Not Pretty, I know this is sounding like a pretty negative review so far but lets face it Tatsuro hit's the best clubs on earth, attached to the hottest shafts and very often clubs sent to him from Tour Van's as he begins his quest for a spot on the JPGA tour. The G15 simply looked big to him, the shape was not even close to pear, and the face was sorta deep at it's center yet near the toe and heel tapered off to an almost shallow effect.  He warned that this is not a club for the traditionalist top level golfer who desires a deep face with pear shape view from above.

Overall: 3.75/5 Points
Based on all the hype for this club I think everyone expected it to perform and have a much higher overall score. Let's be real here not many brands produce true players drivers that would appeal to the scratch level or better golfer. We all kinda know that those pear shaped, deep face clubs with a minimal footprint usually dont have the forgiveness that the larger more akward looking clubs do.  So when I asked Tatz if he would buy this club and try to work with the shaft and specs as his personal gamer he said only if the head and shaft were free and even if so he wouldnt put it into play on a money game or qualifier. Call him picky but again he does hit only the best.

On Monday we will follow up with his i15 Driver Review,  G15 Irons Review & Hybrid Review…

What Year Did the Ping G15 Driver Come Out

Source: http://blog.tourspecgolf.com/ping-g15-driver-review-gti-exclusive/

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