Tom’s personal go-to driver review: The PING G425 MAX Driver review.
Have you ever felt nervous standing on the tee box with a driver in your hand? If you have even a little bit of unconfidence with the longest and fastest club in your bag, it can lead to frustrating and anxious rounds of golf that ultimately aren’t as fun as they should be!
The PING G425 MAX driver still stands as one of the best drivers to date. It’s one of the straightest drivers ever made and definitely one of the most forgiving. It developed a stellar reputation in the golfing community when competing driver manufacturers described the G425 MAX as a “Unicorn Club” since it’s equally as forgiving as it is long off the tee.
I’ve been using the PING G425 MAX for over a full golf season and more than 70 complete rounds, so I am confident in my ability to share my findings with you!
This driver has entirely eliminated any “Tee Box Anxiety” I used to feel prior to putting it in my bag, and we’re so excited to share why we feel this club is a godsend for people who struggle off the tee and why this driver still stands as one of the greatest drivers of all time!
Let’s begin!
Purchase the PING G425 MAX Driver HERE while you still can!
PING G425 MAX Driver Review: What To Expect Out Of The Bag
Key Features
- Record-setting forgiveness rating for a PING driver (Independent testing confirmed.)
- We gained club head speed through the G425 MAX’s highly aerodynamic head shape/design.
- Forged driver face results in faster ball speeds and more distance.
- Optional “no-upcharge” premium shafts available at purchase.
Best For These Golfers
- Players seeking more distance/ball speed/club head speed.
- Players wanting forgiveness on mis-hits and a slight draw bias off the tee.
- Golfers looking for a great mid handicap driver.
- Any golfer really, especially high handicap and mid handicap golfers.
Reconsider If
- Forgiveness isn’t what you’re looking for in a driver.
- Acoustic feedback is very important to you in your driver.
- You don’t like Matte finish driver heads.
About PING and the G425 MAX
PING is an American-based golf equipment and accessory manufacturer with headquarters located in Phoenix, Arizona. The company was founded by Karsten Solheim, who also founded the Solheim Cup (Professional Female golfer’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup.)
On top of being one of the few major golf equipment manufacturers that’s still family-owned and operated in the USA, PING were also the first club-makers to offer “custom fittings” to ensure users are getting the most out of their equipment.
PING’s love for club innovation and personalization is well-known and respected in the golfing community, and PING now sponsors many professional golfers playing on leading tours, including Viktor Hovland, Sahith Theegala, and Tyrrell Hatton.
Performance & Features
The PING G425 MAX driver looked a little “foreign” to my eye upon first impressions. Coming from a shiny finish, “tear-drop” shaped Titleist driver head, the G425 MAX looked wild with its “Turbulators” and Matte Black finish. That feeling quickly vanished as I hit fairway after fairway.
These “Refined Crown Turbulators” were specially designed to reduce aerodynamic drag during the golf swing. They aim to generate more club head speed and act as useful alignment cues when taking your setup behind a teed-up ball. This design clearly works, as I was able to gain 5 mph of club head speed over my previous daily-use driver.
Underneath the Turbulators in the PING G425 MAX’s head sits “Dragonfly Technology.” This internal skeleton in the driver’s head allows PING club engineers to save weight in their design process and reposition that weight in different areas of the club for greater “Moment of Inertia” and forgiveness. (Moment of Inertia, referred to most commonly as “MOI,” is a club’s ability to resist twisting during impact from shots missing the sweet spot and is a synonym for “forgiveness.”)
A new Forged Face creates more flexing at impact, delivering faster ball speeds and more distance than previous PING drivers. We love the White and Gray accent markings on the G425 MAX’s face. These markings work in unison with the Crown Turbulators and are particularly helpful to “frame” the golf ball at address for increased confidence.
The “crown jewel” of the PING G425 MAX (and what truly brought it a level of “Unicorn” in the equipment world) is its Rear Movable Weight System, A.K.A the “Center of Gravity Shifter.” When placed at its “Neutral Setting” this 26-gram Tungsten weight increases forgiveness by 7%. Move it to the “Draw Setting” and increase your MOI by 20%. If you want to see a fade off the tee, you can move it to the “Fade Setting,” and you’ll receive a 16% MOI increase.
Other standout features within the PING G425 MAX include:
- An 8-Way Adjustable Hosel with an included “Trajectory Tuning Chart” for those that love to tinker with their adjustable clubs on the driving range.
- Multiple “No-Upcharge” premium shafts available at purchase.
Spec Check for the PING G425 MAX
| LOFT | LOFT ADJUSTABILITY | LENGTH | AVERAGE LIE ANGLE | HEAD WEIGHT | HEAD SIZE | SWINGWEIGHT |
| 9.0°degrees | ±1.5°degrees | 45 3/4″ | 58.50°degrees | 206.0g | 460cc | D3 |
| 10.5°degrees | ±1.5°degrees | 45 3/4″ | 58.50°degrees | 206.0g | 460cc | D3 |
| 12.0°degrees | ±1.5°degrees | 45 3/4″ | 58.50°degrees | 206.0g | 460cc | D3 |
The stock shaft with the G425 MAX is the visually stunning “Alta CB Slate” that continues PING’s strong belief in counterbalanced driver shafts. This shaft includes an 8-gram weight in the butt end of the grip that creates more momentum and forgiveness for slower-swinging players.
As we mentioned previously, the optional “No-Upcharge” premium shafts include the “Aldila Rogue White MSI 70” (a lower launching/lower spinning shaft) and “Mitsubishi Tensei AV RAW Orange” (a mid launch/mid trajectory shaft).
Driver Category: A highly forgiving and adjustable driver that doesn’t sacrifice distance.
Sound and Feel
PING golf clubs are known for sounding “different” off the club face. PING actually got its name when the owner heard the “Ping!” sound of his new metal putter hitting a golf ball back in the 1960s.
While PING has worked hard to improve the sound of their clubs, they will be the first to admit they don’t have the resources to hire a team of 12 “Sound Engineers” to tweak how their equipment sounds at impact like TaylorMade. PING ultimately cares about their clubs performing great for their users, and they have accomplished that goal for over half a century.
The sound off the face is a little muted and almost “dead” sounding. Imagine hitting a rock with a metal baseball bat and then turning the sound down significantly. While this doesn’t bother me personally, many users have reported wanting better “Acoustic Feedback,” and PING is working on this.
The feel, on the other hand, is amazing. You know exactly where you hit the face before you look at the club. We love the fact the G425’s Forged Face leaves a clear outline of your golf ball for review.
Overall Looks
While I didn’t know how to feel initially about the Matte Black finish, I’ve grown to love how unique this club looks. My golfing friends have nicknamed it “Darth Vader” (I’m still unsure if that’s off its looks alone or the fact I am a villain of the group when I hit all my fairways.)
The Turbulators on the top of the club head now signify the center of the driver’s head to my eye. I’m unsure how that will affect my performance if I decide to make a switch in the future, but with how well this club performs, its job isn’t in jeopardy any time soon.
While the sound at impact isn’t similar to other drivers, the sounds during the backswing and downswing are fantastic. These sounds actually come from a combination of the Turbulators and the club’s refined/more aerodynamic head shaping. This club sounds fast, and playing partners will comment on it.
2 Alternatives
- PING’s newest driver that’s nearly a carbon copy of the G425 MAX.
- More expensive.
- Titleist’s newest game-improvement style driver.
- Much more expensive and less customizable.
3. Callaway Rogue ST MAX Driver
- Another great beginner driver to consider
- Much newer but heavier
PING G425 MAX Driver FAQ
Do any pros use the PING G425 MAX?
Many professional golfers have used or currently use the PING G425 MAX driver. These include players like Sebastian Munoz, Cameron Champ, Mito Pereira, Tyrell Hatton, Sahith Theegala, and Viktor Hovland.
Viktor Hovland is quoted saying, “For me, I instantly fell in love with it.” His first time hitting it, he gained 4 mph of club head speed (the equivalent of 10 yards of distance.)
Is the PING G425 MAX good for high handicappers?
The PING G425 MAX is the most forgiving driver that we’ve ever tested, but if you’re an exceedingly high handicapper, you might not need a driver that’s so adjustable.
These adjustability features are fantastic for a golfer or professional fitter that knows when and how to use them. Still, they can simultaneously become confusing and lead to too much tinkering by many recreational golfers.
In fact, it’s our number 1 choice for players looking for one of the best drivers for a 10 to 20-handicap.
Is the PING G425 MAX the most forgiving driver?
From PING: “In the G425 MAX, total MOI pushes a record-setting 10,000, largely due to a 26-gram tungsten movable weight.”
MyGolfSpy also rated the PING G425 MAX as the “Most Wanted Driver of 2022,” largely due to its incredible forgiveness on off-center strikes and downrange accuracy.
The Verdict: Should You Get the PING G425 MAX Driver
The PING G425 MAX is the ideal driver for golfers that don’t want to sacrifice distance for more forgiveness. PING isn’t as “flashy” of a company from a marketing standpoint as TaylorMade, Titleist, or Callaway, but where they lack in advertising, they make up for in the performance of their products. If you’re looking for a weapon off the tee that’s incredibly forgiving, long, adjustable, and consistent, the PING G425 MAX driver is for you.
Are you a TaylorMade fan? Check out our reviews on their newer drivers specifically our Stealth 1 Driver review and Stealth 2 Driver,
Buy The PING G425 MAX Driver
