This comparative review is probably going to make you say wow a few times. I was certainly surprised at some of the things I found taking these two drivers head to head. In the one corner you have the low spin bomber Ping G440 LST. In the other corner you have the high MOI fairway splitter Ping G440 K.
For example there were times G440 LST was more forgiving than the G440 K. And there were other times when G440 K was longer than G440 LST. However by the time you're done reading this review I think you'll find each driver has its own strengths that clearly delivers specific performance you want for your particular driver game and swing.
Testing Notes
I tested both the Ping G440 LST and Ping G440 K with 9 degree heads, in standard settings, with the same Fujikura Ventus TR Blue VeloCore+ shafts. Like we've done in other head to head reviews I'm going to distinguish good center contact from misses by referring to good center contact as an area about the size of a thumbprint. And misses will be areas another thumbprint up, down, toe, and heel (which is basically about 10 mm in any direction from the center thumbprint).
Appearance and Feel
The Ping G440 LST is more compact heel to toe, and even more compact face to back than the Ping G440 K. Interestingly however the face height/depth of the G440 LST and G440 K are quite similar. LST is a 450 cc head and K is a 460 cc head. And while K is obviously larger, to my eye they are more similar in shape than dissimilar especially compared to other OEM low spin vs. high MOI driver heads.
There is a bigger and more noticeable difference in sound and feel. G440 LST sounds and feels more solid, dense, and muted at impact. G440 K however sounds and feels more hollow. explosive, and higher pitched. LST feels like a freight train through impact. K feels like a trampoline with a bang.
Note: In the next three categories of performance metrics I'm talking about shots hit pretty well, in that thumbprint size center impact area. In the last section on forgiveness we'll revisit these categories for mishits further out in all directions.
Ball Speed and Launch Metrics
With my swing speed and smash factor for both drivers within decimal points of each other the Ping G440 LST ball speed was just 1 mph faster on average than the Ping G440 K. G440 K launched just 1 degree higher on average than G 440 LST.
Spin and Distance Metrics
I didn't expect ball speed and launch numbers to be so similar between the two drivers but things started to separate with spin and distance. The Ping G440 LST spun about 350 rpm less on average than the Ping G440 K. G440 LST carried 3.5 yards longer on average than G440 K and 9 yards longer on average for total distance.
Dispersion Metrics
Before getting into dispersion I want to point out that the Ping G440 K has a larger sweet spot than the Ping G440 LST. It's not significantly larger, maybe 2 or 3 mm larger (or think about that thumbprint and rolling it back and forth and up and down a bit to make it a tad bigger). But the point it you have a little more face area with G440 K to hit shots that perform consistently good before performance (ball speed, spin, launch) starts to deteriorate on mishits.
G440 LST had tighter downrange dispersion than G440 K by an average of 6 yards, However G440 K had tighter left-to-right dispersion by an average of 8 yards. G440 K overall dispersion was more neutral, equally left and right of center. Whereas G440 LST overall dispersion was more right-biased by almost 5 yards.
The Road So Far
If this was as far as we go there are some obvious differences between the Ping G440 LST and Ping G440 K (on thumbprint size center impact contact). G440 LST has greater overall distance than G440 K. G440 LST also has slightly better downrange dispersion than G440 K. But G440 K has slightly better left-to-right dispersion than G440 LST. And G440 K has a slightly larger sweet spot than G440 LST. At this point it would really be about what you value more in your driver game, the extra distance and tighter downrange dispersion of the G440 LST or the bigger sweet spot and tighter left-to-right dispersion of the G440 K. And of course the overall shape and size of each driver will appeal more or less to different players which I believe always helps us all hit certain clubs better than others.
Forgivness
This is the performance category where the Ping G440 LST and Ping G440 K become more distinguishable. And remember I'm now talking about shots hit up, down, toe, and heel another thumbprint impact area (or about 10 mm) out from that good center contact thumbprint area. As we revisit the previously discussed performance metrics now for misses I'm breaking these down into two forgiveness sub-categories: downrange (vertical) forgiveness and left-to-right (horizontal) forgiveness.
Vertical Forgivness
On high misses the Ping G440 LST and Ping G440 K do an equally good job retaining ball speed, launch, and spin with only negligible differences. On high misses the G440 K loses about 8 yards on average while the G440 LST loses about 9 yards on average. On low misses however G440 K performs much better than G440 LST. G440 K loses about 10 yards on average while G440 LST nosedives and loses about 19 yards on average.
Horizontal Forgivness
Toe and heel misses were the most fascinating things about these two drivers to me because each driver did things I expected them to do and at the same time each driver did things I did not expect them to do. And honestly I think it's this category that matters most in deciding between the two drivers.
On toe misses the Ping G440 LST was better (in retaining distance) than the Ping G440 K. Ball speed and spin with G440 LST was maintained enough to lose only 6 yards on average. On the same toe misses G440 K lost 9 yards on average. But here's where it gets crazier. On these same toe misses G440 K left-to-right dispersion was almost 13 yards closer to center on average than G440 LST. If you miss far out on the toe with G440 LST don't expect it to fade and hold on, you're looking at a potential full-blown fairway evacuation (especially if your face angle tends to be open at impact). To be fair G440 LST is not designed to be forgiving above all else. But I can promise you G440 K is night-and-day more stable on toe misses.
On heel misses the roles were reversed with G440 K performing better (in retaining distance) than G440 LST. G440 K lost about 14 yards on average. These same heel misses with G440 LST lost about 21 yards on average. And left-to-right dispersion with G440 K was almost 16 yards closer to center on average than G440 LST.
Final Thoughts
I think the Ping G440 LST is going to be a moderately longer driver than the Ping G440 K for many players who live near center impact. Even for slower swing players I'd say just go up to the next loft to get spin and launch where you need it. And while the G440 LST is incredibly forgiving for a low spin driver (particularly in maintaining ball speed on misses), it's not as forgiving as the G440 K in left-to-right dispersion when you start missing on the toe or heel third of the face.
And therein lies the difference. G440 LST is Formula 1 racing with an airbag. G440 K is IndyCar racing with a seatbelt.
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