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In this review, I’ll be taking a look at the PING G440 SFT driver.
The G440 SFT (‘Straight Flight Technology’) is the draw bias option in PING’s G440 line, with a moveable 23g tungsten backweight promoting a right-to-left shot correction of up to 20 yards.
Compared to the G430 SFT, the G440 is designed to improve on distance, forgiveness and sound.
How does the G440 SFT driver actually perform when put to the test? How does it compare to the G430 SFT and G440 MAX? Who is it best suited for? Is it worth putting in the bag?
Here’s what will be covered in the review:
Read on to learn what you need to know to make an informed purchase.
Note: Unless otherwise stated, stock shafts and stock grips are used when evaluating this club. In most cases, the golf clubs reviewed on Golfstead are acquired temporarily for testing purposes and are not purchased. The review that follows is based on the personal experience and research of the author. Because everyone’s swing and body are different, results with a particular club may differ from person to person.
What are the reviews like?
The PING G440 SFT driver won a gold medal on the Golf Digest 2025 Hot List. It enjoys a 5/5 customer rating on the PING website, a 5/5 (100% recommended) rating on Golf Galaxy, and has also been rated highly by critics.
What People Like
- stronger slice correction than the G430 SFT
- very forgiving
- optimal lauch
- sets up nicely behind the ball
What People Don’t Like
- aesthetic is not to everyone’s tastes
The Features
The key technologies of the G440 SFT are more or less the same as the G440 MAX:
- Carbonfly Wrap Crown: this saves discretionary weight which is reallocated to lower the CG, leading to increased forgiveness and a more muted, pleasant impact sound.
- Free Hosel: weight is removed from a section of the hosel and reallocated to lower the CG to record levels — the result is more distance and forgiveness.
- Low Face: the height of the G440 SFT’s face is lower than previous models, which enables it to be thinner and hotter for higher ball speeds across the face.
- Trajectory Tuning 2.0 Hosel: this lightweight, aerodynamic, adjustable hosel offers eight loft and lie combinations to fine-tune your trajectory.
The main differentiating factor with the G440 SFT is the tungsten backweight. It’s 23g (instead of 29g) and can be moved into Draw or Draw+ positions for a moderate 13 yards or strong 20 yards of slice correction.
Stock Info
The G440 SFT driver is available in 9° and 10.5° standard lofts at 460cc.
Also available is the G440 SFT High Launch (HL) driver. This custom option combines a lighter backweight with a lighter stock shaft and grip; it’s designed so that golfers with slower swing speeds can boost their clubhead speed and distance.
There are many stock shaft options offered at no upcharge including the PING Tour 2.0 Chrome 65, Mitsubishi TENSEI 1K Black 65, and Project X Denali Red.
The stock grips are the Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360, Tour Velvet Cord, and Lamkin UTx Lite, all of which are compatible with Arccos sensors.
Below are the specs of the PING G440 SFT driver. Click or zoom to enlarge.
The Performance
In the sections that follow, I’ll talk about my experience with the G440 SFT driver. Let’s jump right in.
Distance
In my review of the G430 SFT driver, I noted that it was the shortest driver in the G430 family.
With the G440 SFT, distance is comparable to the G440 MAX. This was a pleasant discovery for me because length is often a casualty of built-in draw bias.
If you typically struggle with cuts or slices, you could stand to see a significant distance gain with the G440 SFT. Even for me, as someone who doesn’t have a natural cut shape, I wasn’t seeing a substantial distance reduction compared to the MAX model.
Forgiveness
The G440 SFT is very forgiving for a draw-biased driver. Based on my testing, there seems to be a small but noticeable improvement in off-center performance compared to the G430 SFT, particularly low on the face.
There’s certainly a game-improvement level of forgiveness here — enough to satisfy most high handicappers.
Playability/Trajectory
The G440 SFT driver tends to launch a bit higher than the G440 MAX; in my field test, the launch angle was around 0.5-1° higher. Spin, however, is around 100-150 RPMs lower, leading to a slightly shallower descent angle.
One of the things that stood out most to me during my session was how robust the draw bias is. Similar to what other users of the G440 SFT have said, it feels like the draw bias is even stronger than last year’s model.
In most cases, I would get more than 20 yards of shot shape correction with the weight in the Draw+ position. So, if you’re looking for as much draw help as possible off the tee, you can’t do much better than this driver.
The Look
The G440 SFT driver looks very similar to the G440 MAX in terms of shape and aesthetic. The footprint is large and confidence-inspiring.
The main difference is the weight track at the back of the sole. With the SFT, the track is positioned more towards the heel, reflecting the draw-bias design.
Like the G440 MAX, the G440 SFT boasts a Carbonfly Wrap and Crown Turbulators, the latter of which help to focus the ball at address.
Blue accents replace the yellow accents of the G430, and the sole design is more streamlined overall.
The Sound & Feel
In my opinion, the G440 SFT driver has the best sound of any SFT driver yet.
It has come a long way from the old days of that very metallic, high-pitched “clang” — it’s considerably softer and more muted, and it’s about average on the loudness scale.
The feel is powerful and solid, yet it’s controlled and smooth. Off-center strikes lose some of the solidness but still feel responsive. Consistent with what other testers have noted, I found there to be less vibrations at impact compared to the G430 SFT, which is terrific.
Hit feedback is similar to the G430 SFT in that it’s not very distinct. You can discern the general area of the strike (towards the heel or toe), but not much more than that.
Where To Buy This Driver Online
Online availability of PING golf clubs is more limited than other manufacturers.
One of the best places to customize and order a G440 SFT driver is Golf Galaxy. They are one of the largest golf retailers in the world, offering a club trade-in program, a 90-day Play Guarantee, and other benefits.
You can also check the stock at Global Golf and PGA TOUR Superstore. These merchants may offer club trade-ins, points programs, or other perks to enhance your shopping experience. Check out the HL version here.
Another place to check out the G440 SFT driver (new or used) is eBay. You can typically find deals here that you can’t find anywhere else.
Final Thoughts
PING’s G440 SFT driver delivers modern performance and a draw bias in a cutting-edge aesthetic. Distance, forgiveness, sound and feel all see some marginal gains over the previous generation G430 SFT, making it the most playable draw-biased driver from PING yet.
And the draw bias isn’t small; depending on the position of the sole weight, it can be very substantial.
If you consistently lose distance or miss fairways because of a cut or slice off the tee, the G440 SFT could be a game-changer for you and should be a top consideration for your next driver. Its user base will mostly consist of high and mid handicappers.
Are you interested in the G440 SFT driver? Have you played it? What’s your experience? Tell us about it in the comments below.
