subject: Revolutionary Success Made By Ping G15 Fairway Wood [print this page] Revolutionary Success Made By Ping G15 Fairway Wood
The folks at PING have been quite busy as they celebrate their 50th Anniversary and as a gift to you, they released two new lines of clubs. One of those is the G15 fairway wood which has the unenviable position of following the wildly successful and much praised G10 model.
Constructed of 17-4 stainless steel, the G15 features an "elongated, low profile" design for additional forgiveness and to make it easier to use on a variety of lies. That larger head gives you more confidence when standing over your next shot.
Even though the G15 boasts an elongated head, I never felt that I was looking down at a mini-driver. It seems pretty subtle and based upon performance really isn't an issue at all.
As far as color combinations go, red and black have seemed to be the rave for the past few years and PING joins in with their offering on the G15. (Ping G15 Fairway Wood) The sole mixes in a nice amount of black, red and silver to make the G15 esthetically pleasing to the eye for the rare instances you are actually looking at the sole.
As far has head size goes, the G15 falls in line with your typical modern fairway wood. Not quite mini-driver size (which is nice), the G15 oozes confidence as you really get the sense that it would be quite difficult to screw up your next shot with it. Operator error is all that can get in the way.
The G15 pulls off that shot quite easily as the ball is launched quickly and effortlessly. Regardless of being in the light rough or the fairway, the sole interacts with the ground smoothly and the distance was pretty impressive. The G15 makes going for par five's in two a whole lot more entertaining.
Even with my swing, I had to work pretty hard to really screw it up badly. The G15 isn't a miracle worker for your swing but it's pretty close. Put a decent swing into it and you will be rewarded. A not-so-decent swing will be at least playable (a horrible swing, it doesn't matter what club you're using). The lower handicapper might have more discernment for the subtle difference in hitting it flush versus just missing it but I couldn't and quite frankly, wasn't a big concern for me. (PING G15 Driver)Making golf a bit easier is much higher on the list and the G15 scored high marks.
The snazzy color scheme is easy on the eyes and the weight pad puts the center-of-gravity lower and farther back to give you more trajectory and distance. And we know all golfers love more distance.
One thing that I had to get used to was the "PING sound" which was quite different from what I was accustomed to. Rather than the softer/muted sound I've experienced with other fairway woods, the G15 exudes an audible and deeper "crack" when struck that gives one the impression of hitting the ball quite hard. Much more authoritative in the sound department, which I found to be quite pleasing on the ears. It's not obnoxious by any means, you just know your hitting a very solid club.
The standard grip is the PING ID8, which is a rubber grip with a "dog-bone" texture. Overall, its a nice grip and one that is comparable to what's on the rest of my clubs so I didn't feel the urge to change it. It feels comfortable and the alignment marking is a nice aid to use to ensure your hands are where they should be.
I do have one issue with G15 and that's with the headcover. Oh, it looks nice and fits the club snugly and isn't difficult to take off but I found it to be a pain to put back on. (Ping G15 Iron Set)The opening seemed a bit small for the head and I found myself wishing for the much easier to use sock-style headcover on my other fairway wood. In the grand scheme of things, not a huge issue but I would prefer not to have to wrestle with the headcover to get it on the club.
I've been using the same three-wood for the past three years and though I've tested out my fair share since then, I hadn't found one that made me want to make a change until now. With the Serrano shaft, the G15 works out very nicely for my swing and with as forgiving as the head is, it was a no-brainer to make the switch.
I've been quite impressed with the results I got with the G15 and if you're in the market for a new fairway wood, I would highly recommend adding it to your list.
