fairway wood review Fairway Woods G440 fairway wood ping PING G440 MAX Fairway Wood PING G440 MAX Fairway Wood review Reviews

PING G440 MAX Fairway Wood Review

admin

April 2, 2025

[ad_1]

50 Words or Less

The PING G440 MAX fairway wood is long and consistent. A mini version of the G440 MAX driver with its tremendous forgiveness. Taller face makes it appealing to hit off the tee.

Introduction

There’s nothing better than pulling a club out of your bag with confidence. I’ve had that feeling about my driver at times, my irons often, and my putter pretty regularly, but a fairway wood? That’s a rare bird. The PING G440 MAX fairway wood, however, promises to give you that feeling more often. I tested it to see if it’s true.

Looks

I’ve reviewed a lot of fairway woods in 2025. When it comes to the look at address, the PING G440 MAX fairway wood might be the exact middle of the bell curve. The footprint is symmetrical and mostly round. It’s just long enough from front to back that the shape hints at triangular. From heel-to-toe, the G440 MAX is just a hair under average, and the face sits square in the neutral setting.

The one dimension that is not average is the face height. The PING G440 MAX fairway wood was designed with a taller face, which makes it much more appealing to hit off the tee. It also features PING’s trademark matte black crown which reveals the Carbonfly Wrap crown at the trailing edge.

In the bag, the sole looks more streamlined than the G430 MAX FW [review HERE]. I also like the slashes of blue, calling back to classic models like the G2 and G5. From all angles, this is a stately club that wants to get to work, not cry out for attention.

Sound & Feel

In keeping with the understated look, the PING G440 MAX fairway wood is quieter than average at impact. The sound is low pitched and unobtrusive. There is excellent audio feedback, however, as centered shots have an exciting whip crack sound and mishits are a less rewarding “thud.”

Your hands get a similar mix of sensations from this club. On center, there’s a noticeable poppy, almost explosive feel. When you miss the center, the club feels solid and stable, but there’s no sense of power or speed. There’s also excellent feedback on strike location – an unexpected bonus from a club this forgiving.

Performance

Regular readers know that I’ve always regarded myself as a below average fairway wood player. That’s improved a lot over the last couple years, but it’s still not a strength of my game. When I was testing the PING G440 MAX fairway wood, however, I started to wonder if I wasn’t giving myself enough credit. Then I realized I was just testing the miniature version of the G440 MAX driver [review HERE].

For me, the biggest concern with a fairway wood – particularly a 3W – is launch angle. The G440 MAX FW launched my best strikes on a medium trajectory that’s about as close to optimal as I’ve ever been. More importantly, there was minimal drop off when I struck the ball thin. This is thanks to the low CG that’s made by possible by the weight savings from the Carbonfly Wrap crown and PING’s new Free Hosel design.

On that theme of consistency, the ball speed from this club is extremely reliable. PING notes that the face has been “optimized in the heel and toe regions for more ball speed…on off-center strikes,” and that was evident in my testing. Like the G440 MAX driver, I only lost a few MPH of ball speed on a mishit – a drop off that might not be noticeable without a launch monitor.

The final performance piece is the dispersion which is similarly excellent. I wrote “No big curves” as I made some poor swings that pushed or pulled the ball but didn’t hook or slice it. After a stretch of “B” or better swings, I noted, “Everything goes straight.” Skilled players will certainly be able to coax fades and draws from the PING G440 MAX fairway wood, but it’s more than happy to simply send the ball straight down the fairway.

Turning to fitting options, something new for the PING G440 MAX fairway wood is the 4W loft of 17 degrees. This joins the four traditional options – 15, 19, 21, and 24 degrees – to give players more ways to get what they need in their long game. These clubs also feature PING’s adjustable hosel for tuning the loft up or down 1.5 degrees.

For players who need more help getting the ball airborne, PING also offers the G440 High Launch build. This features an ultralight shaft and grip along with a lighter weight in the head. This all adds up to a club that has a lower swing weight and overall weight, which should lead to more swing speed, higher launch angles, and improved carry distance.

Finally, PING offers a great range of shaft options for their fairway woods. There are four excellent PING-specific options plus the Denali Red and Mitsubishi TENSEI 1K Black [review HERE]. I tested the G440 MAX FW with the TENSEI 1K Black. On paper, a low launching shaft may not be the obvious choice for a low launch, low spin player, but this is the shaft that gives me the most confidence which leads to the best contact and best results.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a long game club to give you a boost of confidence, the PING G440 MAX fairway wood is a great choice. This club has tremendous forgiveness and consistency, so you’ll feel great pulling it out of the bag to hit a tight fairway or take on a long approach shot.