How PING G440’s innovations gave Sahith Theegala more speed
When Sahith Theegala first started hitting the new PING G440 driver, he quite literally could immediately hear the difference.
The biggest change for Theegala, one of the PGA TOUR’s rising stars, when he swapped out the G430 for this year’s new G440 was how the sound from the face gave him better feedback with respect to where he hit it.
“If I hit it a little bit higher in the face, towards the heel, it was a little bit louder. And then off the center, you can tell the feel and the sound of it right away when you hit it away from the center. Just having immediate feedback is great,” Theegala says. “It’s one of the reasons I love the PING drivers.”
PING’S VP of Fitting and Performance, Marty Jertson, described the sound of the G440 as “muted” and “crunchy.” It was a pitch they found players preferred, one that inspired confidence that allowed them to swing the driver even faster. That isn’t the only way the G440 is helping players increase their ball speed.
PING found new ways to remove weight from the driver head and move the center of gravity into a more optimal location. Improved aerodynamics and a hotter face also help in the continued quest for increased speed.
Theegala has quickly become one of the TOUR’s top young talents, finishing third in last year’s FedExCup and representing the United States in last year’s Presidents Cup. His nine top-10s were the third most on TOUR in 2024, behind only the top two players in the world ranking at the end of the year.
PING TOUR player Sahith Theegala pictured with the new PING G440 driver. (PING)
So far in 2025, Theegala has continued his steady play, having missed just one cut and averaging an impressive 303 yards off the tee.
A long-time PING TOUR player, Theegala was quick to say that, looking at the metrics, the new G440 has been the most forgiving and the straightest driver he’s put in the bag. He’s also added another mile per hour of speed.
“The name of the game is just try to get faster without giving up that accuracy,” Theegala says. “Just to see that ball fly more consistently was huge and not having to work as hard.”
There are three versions of the new PING G440 driver – the Max, the LST, and the SFT. The engineering team at PING was able to achieve the lowest-ever center of gravity in a PING driver which resulted in distance-adding ball speed plus higher launch across the face. There were multiple ways PING managed to save weight, including the addition of a Carbonfly Wrap crown technology on all three models.
A look at the PING G440 driver lineup, including the Max, the LST, and the SFT. (PING)
A look at the PING G440 LST driver. (PING)
When PING combined a shallower face, lightweight carbon crown, and a new internal technology called “Free Hosel,” there was significant weight saved. The “Free Hosel” design not only took unnecessary weight out of the hosel, but also made the club more forgiving on heel strikes.
It also aligned the center of gravity closer to the driver’s force line, which means faster ball speed, optimal spin, and higher launch. A lower face height means the face will flex more, especially in the high heel region (a common spot for a mis-hit for most weekend warriors).
On TOUR, the adoption of the G440 drivers – and fairway woods – has been “exceptional” according to PING CEO and President, John K. Solheim.
“The G440 LST driver was used to win its first official week out on the tours and we’re seeing more in play around the world every week. Our TOUR players appreciate the added ball speeds and continually comment on the great sound and look. Like all golfers, they are in search of more speed and optimized launch conditions, and they are happy to find it in new equipment,” Solheim said on the product release day.
A look at the PING G440 driver’s “Free Hosel” design to save weight. (PING)
The G440 Max, at 460cc, is the most forgiving model and fits most golfers, while the LST (Low Spin) is 10cc smaller but also boasts the same 29-gram back weight, appealing to golfers with faster swing speeds. The final piece of the driver trio is the G440 SFT (Straight Flight), which appeals to golfers who need slice-correcting technology. It has a two-position (Draw and Draw-plus) adjustable 23-gram back weight. All three models, meanwhile, have an eight-setting adjustable hosel. Solheim says that one of the key themes throughout the G440 driver family is “optimization.”
Dr. Erik Henrikson, PING’s director of golf science, said that the fact that PING waits two years between driver releases allows them more time to innovate between club releases. It also allows his team to really dig deep into new ways to improve driver performance.
Innovation in the PING G440 came down to implementing the principles of momentum and the conservation of energy, Henrikson said on a recent episode of the PING ‘Proving Grounds’ podcast.
“You’re trying to deliver as much energy to the ball as possible, increasing the ball speed as well as thinking about launch conditions,” he explained. “So, we talk about being in the business of ‘moving mass around.’ That was something I first heard at my first sales meeting (Henrikson has been with PING for 15 years) where John Solheim got up and said, ‘We’ve been doing this for 51 years – moving mass around in the most efficient way possible.’”
PING has continued to lean onto that exact principle for the new G440 and TOUR players like Theegala are reaping the benefits.
Although Theegala was quick to admit that TOUR players “make it look easy” in terms of hitting a driver long and straight, it’s still a tricky thing to do consistently.
Even TOUR winners can benefit from beefed-up technology that helps with exactly that.
“Just to see the ball fly more consistently was huge – and not having to work as hard,” Theegala says with a smile. “I’ve already seen improvements, especially with my start line, which is maybe the most important thing.”
And no matter if you’re an occasional divot digger or a TOUR winner like Theegala, having a driver that can immediately help is something that sounds awfully good.