Pulling Off The Shot Easily With Ping G15 Fairway Wood

by Llima

After Playing with Ping G15 Fairway Wood for several years, I am deeply impressed by its good performance.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.

The sole features an external weight pad which allowed the PING engineers to move the center of gravity low and and farther back to give you a higher trajectory and increased that ever so important increased distance. High launch and more distance is quite fine with me.

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.

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.

The G15 ’s forgiveness factor is rated as Extreme and I could not agree more. There is some workability in it to be sure but I found the G15 primarily wants to go straight. The sweet spot seemed to be most of the face (not quite but pretty close) and shots where you nailed it felt pretty much the same as those where you just missed it.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. Making golf a bit easier is much higher on the list and the G15  scored high marks.

Off the tee, the G15  was equally admirable and fun to use. Normally my game is to hit my driver as often as possible and suffer the consequences and the G15  forced me to change that up. It’s not a mini-driver or a driver replacement but it will send the ball quite a ways down the fairway (the right shaft/head combo helps, more on that later).

As with all the newer fairway woods, tee it low or you might be faced with the dreaded balloon ball. PING lists the trajectory as High although that can change some based on the shaft you get with it.

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 thesofter/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.

Speaking of shafts, you have two standard options when it comes to graphite shafts with the G15 , the PING TFC149F and the Aldila Serrano 75. My G15  came with the Serrano and I found one of the best head/shaft combos for my swing in a fairway wood. Your mileage may differ but it’s a pretty impressive combination.

With a little less spin and a lower trajectory thanks to the Serrano, the G15  can bore through the wind nicely and the weight wasn’t such that I had to dramatically alter my swing in order to accommodate the almost too-light shafts that seem prevalent in today’s fairway wood market. I like a heavier shaft to give me more control and the Serrano fit the bill perfectly. Kudos to PING for offering that up as a standard option.

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.

PING offers up an extensive options list of custom shafts and grips so if one of the two stock offering don’t work out for you, rest assured that PING has a shaft that will. Go get fitted and find the best head/shaft combo for your swing.

I’ve been using the same three-wood for the past several 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.