South African pro uses driver that might just help your amateur game

Analysis of the equipment used by the professionals often comes with a disclaimer that emulating elite player’s equipment choices isn’t always the best idea for the average golfer.

However, the driver deployed by South African professional Thriston Lawrence at the 152nd Open is the exception to that.

Lawrence uses the extremely forgiving PING G430 Max driver and led the field in shots gained off the tee during the fourth Major of the year.

Golf.com say of the club: “The Ping G430 Max driver he wielded is already considered one of the most forgiving and consistent drivers in the marketplace. But did you know it’s fast as well? During our last round of robotic testing with Golf Laboratories, G430 Max was a mere 0.3 mph behind the fastest driver in our 95 mph robot test — a difference that’s within the noise. It should also be noted the driver had an impressive single-digit carry distance loss of 8.3 yards across all 9 points tested.”

The club’s styling and aesthetics are not to everyone’s taste but PING did go all out to pack this driver with helpful tech.

PING’s G430 Max is a technological marvel

The Max is an evolution of PING’s already very good G430 line which has now spawned several offshoots.

PING took one of the game’s most forgiving drivers (and one of the longest) and made it even longer, while also going to special care to ensure that it produced a more pleasing sound.

The innovative face-design optimization leads to increased flexing for a big distance gain. It sports a shallower, variable-thickness face and the transition design creates more deflection to generate faster ball speed for PING’s biggest distance gains.

A variable roll radius creates less loft low on the face to improve performance by reducing spin, resulting in faster speeds that generate consistently longer drives. The result is a club that hits gun-barrel straight.

To optimize ball flight and maximize distance while retaining a high MOI, a 25-gram high-density tungsten backweight can be moved to position the CG for delivering ±8 yards change between the Draw, Neutral and Fade settings.

Is the G430 Max the best driver for accuracy?

This is a yes and no answer. PING’s 2024 launched G430 Max 10K has been rated as the most forgiving and accurate driver currently on the market surpassing the club that inspired it.

The standout feature of the 10K is the enlarged club head.

PING’s biggest head profile yet maximizes the USGA-allowable heel-toe and front-back dimensions while staying within the 460cc volume limit. It has an eye-pleasing shape that helps square the golfer to the target and inspires the confidence to hit longer and straighter tee shots.

READ MORE: The five drivers everyone wants to get their hands on in 2024