A South African professional uses a driver that just might help your fantasy game

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Analysis of the equipment used by professionals often comes with the disclaimer that imitating the equipment choices of an elite player is not always a good idea for the average golfer.

However, the driver commissioned by South African professional Thriston Lawrence in the 152nd Open is different from that.

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

Golf.com says of the club: “The Ping G430 Max driver is already considered one of the most forgiving and consistent drivers on the market. But did you know it’s faster too? In our last round of putt testing with Golf Laboratories, the G430 Max was just 0.3 mph behind the fastest driver in our 95 mph putt test — a difference within noise. It should also be noted that the driver had a single digit loss of 8.3 yards on every 9 points tested.”

The style of the club and its aesthetics are not to everyone’s taste but PING has gone all out to pack this driver with useful technology.

PING’s G430 Max is a technological marvel

The Max is an evolution of PING’s already excellent G430 line that has seen a few shoots.

PING has taken one of the most forgiving drivers in the game (and one of the longest) and made it even longer, while also taking special care to ensure it produces a more enjoyable sound.

The optimization of the face design leads to increased flexibility for greater distance gain. It sports a shallower, thicker dynamic face and revolutionary design creates more deflection to produce faster ball speeds for greater PING distance benefits.

The variable roll radius creates less loft in the face to improve performance by reducing spin, resulting in faster speeds that produce longer consistent drives. The result is a club that hits the shot straight.

To improve ball flight and increase distance while maintaining a high MOI, the top 25-gram tungsten backweight can be moved to position the CG to deliver a ±8-yard change between Draw, Neutral and Fade settings.

Is the G430 Max the best precision driver?

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

A prominent feature of the 10K is the enlarged clubhead.

PING’s larger head profile however maximizes the USGA’s permitted heel and toe dimensions while staying within the 460cc volume limit. It has an attractive shape that helps the golfer square on target and inspires confidence to hit long and straight shots.

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