Ping G10 4-wood Draw

G10 4-wood has 17 degree face loft

I've always been a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to fairway metals. I'd never before considered putting anything other than a 3- or 5-wood in my bag until the 7-wood - the gentleman's persuader - came along in the late 1980s and convinced me I needed something as an alternative to long irons.

As for the 4- and 6-wood, my view was that they were only for poseurs who wanted you to know they could afford the whole set!

Then I spotted Lee Westwood on the range at Wentworth during a European Tour event and he was crunching his 4-wood with incredible accuracy.

Dave Renwick, his caddie at the time told me it fitted the gap in his bag between 3-wood and 4-iron for high, floating approaches to par-5s like the third, 12th and 18th and delivered a penetrating second shot at 17th to leave him an appropriate yardage to set up a birdie opportunity.

When I had a recent fitting with Nick Boulton at Ping's Gainsborough facility, I remembered Westwood's philosophy (he's been a loyal Ping player since he was at school) and I took little convincing that a 4-wood might prove a versatile alternative to 3- or 5-wood and compliment the 18 and 21-degree G10 hybrids.

It was wise advice. The G10 4-wood Draw - which has enabled me not only to straighten a fade but also given me confidence to play for a draw in a right to left breeze - has proved a real asset in my bag.

Weight positioned farther back and closer to the heel to help correct a left-to-right ball flight.

You know immediately you've caught one flush enough to penetrate almost any stiff winter breeze.

I also like the way it sits at address, imploring you to put your best swing on it.

The shaft I chose was the distinctive orange, grey and black UST ProForce V2 high launch (reg). It gave me both loft and distance over my old 3-wood.

	The Golfmagic Verdict
Rating: 8.5/10 Summary: At £165 it's not the cheapest in its class but with its high quality bronze and silver headcover, it encourages you to reach for it without hesitation when the situation demands a solid accurate strike to play for position. It will also deliver a high floating trajectory from a tee peg at longer par-3s. My indecision as to carry 3- or 5-wood or both, has just been solved. The answer is neither... because now I'm a 4-wood man. .

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