Ping’s new star has very cool setup | Tour Report

Welcome to Fully Equipped’s weekly Tour equipment report. Every Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if news warrants), The Fully Equipped Team runs you through some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks and launches.

As we head into the final stretch of the PGA Tour season, the prevailing theory is that, from an equipment standpoint, things slow down. That is true in regard to what happens at a tournament site, but the off-site OEM Tour testing is moving at a rapid pace. If you happen to live in West Palm Beach, Vegas, Arizona, Carlsbad or any haven for Tour players, you just might get a glimpse at a Tour Truck rolling through your neighborhood. No, that’s not for community fitting; it most likely means Tour Teams are pre-testing for 2027. If trucks were ever under serious lock and key, it would be right now.

Inside those trucks is new product for next season, and it’s all hands on deck.

It goes down in a few different ways; the headline players (IE Top 20 in the OWGR, Rolex Rankings) typically will get a team of Tour reps, data gatherers and R&D at their home range and do workups over the course of one or two days. The teams show up with fully spec’d out product in hand to accomplish a few things. First, they introduce players to the final product. Then they test it and get it in a good place with the player, hoping it shows up in a bag come January. The last part, which is essential, is to leave the player with a “gamer” and an identical backup. No stone goes unturned, folks. When you’re playing for that much money, every detail matters.

The other version of this is what I call a fish-in-a-barrel scenario. That’s where the actual Tour Truck rolls up to a central location in, say, West Palm, and any PGA Tour player looking for new sticks gets scheduled for a testing with two to three reps on hand to work them through. This, in my opinion, was always my favorite scenario because you never know who is going to roll through.

It’s not uncommon for a session like this to take place at The Bears Club or Isleworth, and it’s also not uncommon for literally anyone (PGA Tour player) practicing that day to wander over and window browse, watch and hang out, whether it’s their staff’s truck or not. That’s where you see the best players in the world in a really relaxed state, just being curious fans of what’s to come and admiring the process. Some of the most interesting back-and-forths come out of these sessions.

The final version of this isn’t as cloak-and-dagger, but it still has some mystery to it — that would be off-site at a tournament venue. Think the upcoming Austin event or RSM. The OEMs will set up a testing zone away from the main range and out of sight of any media. If you go to my Instagram and scroll way down to 2023, you would find vids of players like Si Woo Kim, Akshay Bhatia and Thomas Detry testing Ai-Smoke. That was one of those sessions. For gear nerds, it’s the ultimate scenario because not only is the new product on display but you see the excitement of new performance and potential opportunity for the season ahead. Does it all make it in the bag? No. We know that, but beyond that being the ultimate goal, it’s also serious recon for the reps going into the next season. They have real-time feedback on launch data, start lines, down-range integrity, acoustics, flight bias and, of course, curb appeal.

So if you ever wondered how all this stuff gets put to the test, that’s how.

Ping’s rising star Kihei Akina looks more like a Tour veteran than a college sophomore

Kihei Akina is making the sponsor exemption circuit look relatively easy. In just his fifth event, Akina, the BYU standout, has made all five cuts with a top-10 and two other top-25s. If he continues his efficient play this weekend, that would be four top-25s in five starts. That’s not normal for the record.

His gear setup may look relatively stock on paper, but if you dig a little deeper, there’s quite a bit of nuance. Akina is a predominant drawer of the golf ball and typically fights a right miss when it goes south. With help from Player Development rep Brad Millard. Akina has a setup built to accommodate his patterns, mitigate a right miss and ultimately keep it all in a manageable flight window. I’ve watched this kid all summer, and I would say he’s far more efficient than a ton of premier college players in his class. That’s not a knock on any of the players, but I see Akina as someone who uses the speed he has and pairs it with a really solid short game.

Not hyper fast in terms of speed, Akina cruises at an efficient 118 mph/178 mph with a driver (per PGA Tour Stats). Combine that with statistical accuracy (65.71% fairways hit), and you have a player that has a driver he can consider a scoring club more than most. His 440 LST setup has some draw-biased set into it, but it’s also flat (3 degrees) in terms of lie angle. So when I say draw-biased, that’s only half the story. It’s optimized to the nth degree.

This week it’s the putter that has been the killer (in a good way). After 36 holes, Kihei and his Ping PLD Alley 4 have amassed a whopping 7.101 Strokes Gained: Putting, making 137 feet in putts total and 1.46 per GIR.

Play Your Best Kid.

See below for the rest of his sticks.

Kihei Akina

Here is his full bag set up this week in Mexico

Driver:

Kihei Akina teeing off with is Ping G440 LST

Ping G440 LST (9) (Flat Standard), 45.25″
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Velo+ Black 6X Tip 1″, D4. 32g CG Shifter in draw setting

PING G440 LST Custom Driver

The G440 driver family (MAX, LST, SFT) is optimized to deliver more ball speed through multiple advancements, including PING’s deepest CG in a driver to date and a shallower, thinner face, while continuing to ensure the game-changing forgiveness expected from a PING driver. The G440 LST (Low Spin) design appeals to players with faster swing speeds, providing lower spin and more control in 9° and 10.5° lofts with the three-position back weight. HIGHLY FORGIVING Lighter head weight allows for heavier back weight. FASTER FACE Shallow, thinner, face increases ball speed for more distance, higher launch. SOUND DESIGN New shaping, carbon crown and internal ribs produce muted impact experience. FREE-HOSEL DESIGN Saves weight to lower CG, increase forgiveness. Allows for more heel-side face flexing for consistent ball speed across face.

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Mini-Driver:
Ping Mini Proto (13, Std setting), 43″,
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Velo+ Black 7X tip 1.5″, D3, CG shifter in draw setting

Fujikura Ventus Black Wood Shaft (Velocore+)

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Utility Iron
Ping iDi (3/19.25°), 39.25″, 58.0° lie, Fujikura Ventus Velo+ Blue 9X Hybrid D2

Irons (4-PW):

Kihei plays Pings i240 in the 4 and 5-irons and Blueprint S 6-PW

4: i240, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 120 shaft, 38.25″ length, Red lie, Std loft, D1
5: i240, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 120 shaft, 37.75″ length, Red lie, Std loft, D1
6: Blueprint S, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 120, 37.25″ length, Red lie, Std loft, D1
7: Blueprint S, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 120, 36.75″ length, Red lie, Std loft, D1
8: Blueprint S, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 120, 36.25″ length, Red lie, Std loft, D1
9: Blueprint S, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 120, 35.75″ length, Red lie, Std loft, D1+
PW: Blueprint S, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 120, 35.5″ length, Red lie, Std loft, D2+

PING i240 Custom Irons

The Tour-inspired i240 advances our popular Players technology, providing added forgiveness along with the control, look and feel that will appeal to a wide range of skill levels. It’s PING’s highest-launching Players model, giving golfers more control and the ability to consistently hit their distance numbers and stop the ball close to the hole. A new ABS badge in the true cavity-back design is 8.5g lighter, and combined with an elastomer insert allows for more perimeter weighting to increase the MOI in the mid and long irons. This helps achieve an 11% reduction in dispersion. The badge and insert contribute to a more desirable sound and a softer, responsive feel from the 431 stainless steel cast head.

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Wedges:

50/5: S259 RAW, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shaft, 35.5″ length, 63° lie, 50° loft, D3
54/H: S259 RAW, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shaft, 35.25″ length, 63° lie, 54° loft, D4
60/T: S259 RAW, Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shaft, 35″ length, 63° lie, 60° loft, D5

Putter:

Kihei Akina scorched the greens in Mexico ranking 2nd in total feet made and 1st in Putt per GIR

Model: PLD Ally Blue 4
Finish: Black
Shaft: Black
Length: 34″
Loft: 4°
Lie: 19°
Grip: PP58 Tour L

PING Scottsdale TEC Ketsch 4 Custom Putter

Designed to fit a strong-arc player, the Scottsdale TEC Ketsch 4 features greater toe hang due to the Anser 4-style hosel, a common request from Tour pros. Together with Eye Q Technology (a new alignment-aid feature designed to promote more consistent gaze patterns), a long line and two short ball-width lines make aiming the Ketsch 4 even easier. The PEBAX insert delivers a softer feel and consistent distance control.