Ping G Crossover review

Golf Monthly's Ping G Crossover review, a new category of club said to offer the spin and flight of a long iron with the distance and forgiveness of a hybrid

Ping G Crossover review

The new Ping G Crossover has been designed to offer the ball speed and distance of a hybrid along with the penetrating flight and spin of a long iron.

Ping are keen to stress it’s not a driving iron but it certainly looks similar to one behind the ball at address due to the amount of the rear of the clubhead you can see. There’s significant offset and a thick topline as you would expect from a club of this type and it comes in a dark finish.

Where this club differs significantly from a driving iron is the height of the trajectory. Driving irons tend to fly quite low whereas the Crossover offers a much higher ball flight, slightly lower than a hybrid of the same loft.

It also differs in the forgiveness it offer. The Crossover offers much higher levels of forgiveness than a long iron or driving iron and as a result there’s arguably more abilities of golfer that could potentially put one in the bag.

A case can be made that the Crossover solves the problem for golfers who don’t hit their long irons long or straight consistently, perhaps their four irons goes a similar distance to their five iron, and the Crossover therefore offers the extra distance and stopping power as well as less of a tendency to miss to the left.

Distance was certainly impressive. We tested the 21° 4 Crossover and experienced distances totaling 235 yards. So if you want to replace your 4-iron, the 5-Crossover should still give you the extra distance, while fitting in nicely between your 5-iron and hybrid or fairway wood.

The versatility of the Crossover is also worth mentioning. It’s much easier to hit than a long iron off the tee and the larger face makes it a viable option on tight par fours and long par threes. The relative low spin also makes it a strong option in windy conditions.

The Crossover iron will come with either the Alta High Balance Point graphite shaft or the Ping AWT 2.0 steel shaft and with loft options at 18° (3), 21° (4) and 24° (5). The RRP is £180 and it will go on sale from February 11^th.