PING G430 Max Fairway Wood Review: "Unreal forgiveness, improved looks"

PING G430 Fairway Wood - Key Features

• Carbonfly Wrap Technology: a lightweight composite material that covers the crown and wraps into the heel/toe sections of the skirt; this lighter structure dramatically saves 10g of weight and lowers the centre of gravity position for more ball speed performance
• FaceWrap Technology: variable-thickness, high-strength maraging steel face wraps into the sole and crown of the stainless steel head, generating more flexing for faster ball speed and a higher launch for greater distance
• Variable Role Radius with Spinsistency: improves performance across the face (especially on thin shots) by reducing spin to increase ball speed from the maraging steel face
• Tungsten Sole Weight: features a tungsten back weight that further expands perimeter weighting to ensure even more forgiveness for increased confidence in the tee box or on the fairway
• Trajectory Tuning 2.0 Hosel: adjusts to eight different positions to customise your trajectory for maximum distance and accuracy

When it comes to ease of launch, forgiveness and improved looks and feel with your fairway woods this season, you quite simply want to head straight to PING and its awesome new G430 range. 

We were so taken by the new PING G430 Max Fairway Wood that it went straight into our Best Fairway Woods buyer guide for 2023. 

Available in three different models of Max, SFT (Straight Flight Tech) and HL (High Launch), there really is something for every golfing ability out there with the new G430 fairway woods. 

In this review, we have tested out the majestic Max version, which is readily available in 3W, 5W, 7W and 9W.

The PING G430 Max 3-wood was just as impressive as the G430 LST Driver, which recently earned a place in our Best Golf Drivers guide for 2023.

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PING G430 Fairway Wood - Looks and Feel

A real looker. Really impressive. 

While we enjoyed the previous look of the PING G425 fairway wood, the G430 appealed even more with its new carbon crown in a beautiful matte finish that eradicates any unwanted glare when standing over the ball. 

It's got a lovely shape down at address, and it offers tremendous shelf appeal. 

The new neon green accents around the back of the crown gives it much more of a modern vibe, and we love that. You could argue it's a bit different from PING, which has typically favoured very traditional colours and styles with its golf clubs. 

A new Carbonfly Wrap, which saves 10g of weight and lowers the CG to give you more ball speed performance, is also visible on the crown. 

We also admire how the clubhead sits fairly shallow to the ground. It gives the club that rocket-launcher type look and feel about it on shots off a tee peg and also off the deck. 

In terms of feel, we believe it's greatly improved to the old generation. The feel on squiffy mis-hits struck low on the face was really impressive. 

The FaceWrap Technology provided us with a very stable connection between the sole and the crown, which resulted in improved ball speed and an even easier ease of launch. 

We also feel the sound at impact of this club has been somewhat improved. 

A huge tick for looks and feel. 

PING G430 Fairway Wood - Forgiveness and Performance

Thankfully forgiveness and performance is just as strong as the club's appearance. 

The PING G430 Max Fairway Wood is incredibly easy to hit, so we really think this club will suit a range of different handicaps. 

Squiffy hits were rewarded more often than not during our testing on the range and out on the course, with a very pleasing offline dispersion.

We often find hitting fairway woods quite tough to hit cleanly and accurately off the deck, but there were no such problems with the PING G430 Max.

It felt just as easy to strike purely off the fairway as it did off a tee peg.

We also noted how impressive it was to gouge balls out the first cut of rough.

As we say, it's got that rocket-launcher style look about it and it very much exudes confidence standing over the ball no matter the lie in front of you. 

In terms of cons, they are few and far between. If we had to pick out one niggle it would be the ball flight was quite hard to keep down, which would only really be a concern for us out on a links course. 

But a custom fitting session can sort that out. 

What we loved most about this fairway wood is its consistency in terms of forgiveness. It saves you just about every time no matter what swing you put on it. 

It wasn't the longest fairway wood we have tested this season, certainly compared to the Cobra AeroJet Fairway Wood, but it's certainly up there. 

Consistent forgiveness is without doubt this club's greatest strength. 

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Should you buy the PING G430 Fairway Wood?

Absolutely, it should be right towards the top of your list if you are in the market for a new fairway wood this season. 

It's got the looks, it's got the forgiveness and it's got plenty of firepower, too. 

While not the cheapest fairway wood out there this season at over £300, can you really put a price on finding more fairways and getting closer to the pin on those long par-4s and reachable par-5s? 

For more information about PING G430 fairway woods, head to their website.

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