Ping G5 Driver Golf Club

I have been playing golf for about 15 years and up until about 2 weeks ago was a solid 13 handicap. I purchased a Ping G5 Driver and in my last four rounds have consistently shot 80 and under. Does the club go 25 yards farther? No...I have always hit the ball an average of 240 off the tee. The best part about this driver is how straight the ball flight is. Many times I would keep distance but end up in the rough, under a tree, behind that favorite bush (or least favorite ) and the difference now is how straight my ball flight is. The club has a great feel and because of the straightness has added a lot of confidence to my iron play as well. I am more comfortable attacking narrower fairways than pulling out a long iron. I am totally satisfied with this club and would recommend it to anyone looking to shave a few strokes and get a great pop in their swing.

I bought a supposed new Ping G5 Driver from eBay. As soon as I paid for it through PayPal eBay sends me a message that the seller was "TKO", removed from eBay and I should be able to get my money back from PayPal. I sent my claim to PayPal and it was denied because I received my counterfeit driver from China. I spent $192 for a fake and cannot get eBay or PayPal to do anything about it.

Be sure and get a serial number from the seller. The serial number is located near where the club shows what degree it is (toward the heel of the club).

Do not buy any one day auctions with low buy-it-now prices. You will likely get a fake ping driver from China that isn't worth $5.00.

Know your seller. Paypal sided with me, but it was because eBay caught the seller and ended his other auctions and I caught him with the $$$$ still in his account.

These drivers are good, but be sure you're buying an original from a trusted seller.

EBay,

1. Was very pleased with EBay for giving me heads up on the possibility of
an issue developing with the "seller" of this item, I promptly attempted
to cancel payment through my bank and with Ebay, was not successful as
one party was not allowing the cancellation and recoup of payment. Thus,
we went into arbitration and now I await repayment until the item
has been received back to the seller.

2. The item in question was a "bad" copy of the authentic product and was
found to be a "bad" copy by a reputable (Edwin Watts Golf) company after
I physically received and inspected the item myself. So it does hold
that "if it's too good to be true, it isn't".

3. I feel that a reverse of exchange of merchandise and monies should be
practiced with EBay, seller, and buyer. By this I mean, the merchandise
should be shipped to the prospective buyer for physical inspection,
whereby upon confirmation of receipt of item by the buyer is
accomplished (via EBay), the buyer now has let's say 10 days to give
confirmation of acceptance of the merchandise via EBay and then charged
to their credit card, or return the item with confirmation of a tracking
number as required on returns. But "charge" to the credit card is only
done after these confirmations, or EBay as "Mediator" holds the charge
until these confirmations are accomplished and then "release" the funds
to the seller. Why should the CUSTOMER (buyer) have to pay additional
fees (e.g. interest, shipping, time) after not being pleased or duped on
an item purchased ?? Correct, should not.

3. It will be some time before I make another purchase via EBay unless I
have made purchases in the past with a known, by me, "reputable" seller.
My story here of course will be shared with others with a "BEWARE"
beginning and ending to this story.

4. I am still awaiting restitution to the purchase I made and returned in
good faith. Thanx.

c,

IER

Again it was a knock off being sold under the pretense of an original Ping driver. Not purchasing again from e-bay.

I have reecently, Oct 30, 2006, bought a golf club on e Bay, and it turn out to be fake. The only help I got from eBay was to inform me that I need to resolve this matter myself with PayPal or seller. Again, the seller is nowhere to be found, and all e mail address of seller, provided by eBay, was fake or no responses.
Tell me how do I recover my money. The PayPal is accepting seller shipping receipt as prove the item is shipped, but does not examing the fact it is fake Ping club. Thus I was charged $178.00 for a worthless club.
Another thing, why was purchase cancelled by eBay as soon as I pay the merchantise through PayPal. The transection was void according to message I got from eBay on Oct 31, 2006. Is eBay palying the game?

Okay, so I'm playing golf last week on an upscale Championship style course for the first time in a while (been playing P&P and Par 3 with the kids) and this guy that's about half my size is destroying perfectly struck fades and draws with his driver and getting it by me. I was taken back a bit because I am used to being the longest off the tee. But the thing that got me was the guy wasn't even swinging very hard - just very smooth and mechanically sound.

I then noticed his driver had a HUGE head on it and I started thinking about mine. I've been using a Titleist 975D driver I purchased about seven years ago. At the time the 975D with a V65 shaft was the hottest thing on the market. But after viewing what's out there these days, technology seems to have come a loooong way in recent years.

I was at a local Sports store and I noticed that a lot of the Drivers are selling for $200 or less and they're all HUGE (400+ cc)! I had resisted these in the past because I just feel like Bozo the clown holding one in my hands and also because I still like my 975D (which cost $500 new way back when). But I couldn't shake the memory of the guy that was killing it straight almost effortlessly.

I then headed to an Edwin Watts nearby to take a look around. I noticed a line of Ping Drivers that looked appealing to me. I picked out a G5 Driver (9* with a stiff Aldila shaft) and hit a few into the net. I have always used and enjoyed Ping irons and thought to myself, "What the heck?". The club felt solid and strong, so I signed it out as a demo. The first thing I noticed is that the club is designed such so that it doesn't look as big as it really is. I think it's due to the fact that the face is so tall that a lot of the size comes in the height, which is very appealing to me. Some of the other companies (e.g. Titleist) have gone to really weird looking shapes (like the long, flat look .. eww!) and this club looks quite "traditional", if that's possible for a "metal" wood. ;)

I took the club to the range and started warming up thoroughly with all my clubs in succession (as is my routine) before ending with the big stick(s). I was convinced I'd see negligible differences and just return the club to EW - no big deal. Well, I hit a few with my Titleist and then switched to the Ping off and on and slowly I began to realize how this little guy had driven the ball as he had. The G5 is SOOOOO easy to hit. The giant head filled me with confidence to swing as hard as I wanted and slight mis-hits were not penalized nearly as much as the ones that come off my 975D. And despite the face having almost no grooves, I could work it both directions with ease. The bottom line is this Ping G5 Driver was so much easier to hit than anything I've used before! Average hits were landing on the fly where my 975D shots stopped rolling. And hits on the sweet spot were just absolute bombs!

I am looking to purchase a similar club to the one I demoed here on Ebay, but with less loft (7.5*) and a heavier, extra stiff Aldila shaft (75 or 85X) as I swing very hard and the stiff 9* model tended to produce blocks instead of draws, unless I really slowed my swing down.

I'd like to thank those who have warned others about the knock-off clubs. I am new to Ebay and will make sure the seller has a good reputation and provides the serial #. The low ratings obscure the reality that this is a tremendous club, but I'm also glad that folks are looking out for the welfare of others. :)

The presumed Ping G5 Driver was a bootleg. This was confirmed by a club pro. who then contacted a Ping Rep. I have sent the product back and am waiting for what I hope to be a full refund from PayPal.

Take it from me I learned the hard way. I received a fake PING G5 driver from a seller and I have not gotten my money back yet. The seller showed up to me in the USA and he/she was actually in China. This has been almost two months ago and no compensation after all of this.

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION BELOW:
BE SURE TO GET THE SERIAL NUMBERS. ALL PING CLUBS HAVE THEM. WHEN YOU ARE BUYING, MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A SERIAL NUMBER. ALSO ASK THE SELLER QUESTIONS IF HE OR SHE ANSWERS ODD ARE YOU WONT GET STIFFED AND LAST BUT NO LEAST IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT PROBABLY IS.

I hope that this information will help others in catching LIARS and Theives!

I am a novice at this and had done some bidding before for about three months off and on and was very close to winning the bid several times. One day I saw a deal that was probably too good to be true. A BRAND NEW PING G5 DRIVER for $150 on a buy it now price. the dealer had several so I went for it. The next day I got a notice that the seller was removed and ebay couldnt tell me why due to data practices laws. I received the driver in the mail several days later and it was an obvious fake/knockoff. should have known better but i was lured by the good deal. not sure if I will do this again. I did receive a partial refund but it took 45 days for that to occur. I will probable just drive over to a used golf club place in the future.

Intended on purchasing what appeared to be advertised as a genuine Ping Driver.
Turns out the item was a counterfeit.
Buyer beware when buying items off eBay.

I had all good experinces until I bought what was described as a real Ping G5 even with photo of club. Now I doudt I will ever use Ebay again, because they have no protection. They make you feel good about business on the site and once you get ripped off the do nothing. Yeah they will email you a few times but do nothing. They will TKO notice a persons auction after you pay then remove all the criminal info from your grasp. Protect the criminal at all cost because they are the seller who pays their bills. The dispute console takes way too long, so don't email me and ask me to go there. Been there and nothing happens, except after you escallate to a claim all the previous info goes away and you have nothing. This has been the most impossible place to deal with when you get ripped off. So buyers Know that there is no such thing as buyer protection.

Unfortunately the G5 I bought was fake and never got compensated for it...
I have been buying most of my stuff from EBAY and I think I should get my
money back but instead Im stuck with a useless club...anyway it was a bad experience for me I am sorry to say that this is the last transaction for me...

Best Regards,
Rjpogi

Although I enjoyed my Callaway Big Bertha for years, I got tired of getting blown past by fellow players using one of the new "high-tech" drivers. I field tested the 3 better selling large drivers, the TaylorMade, Ping, and Nike and felt that I had better control using the Ping - after all it's no good if you keep hitting it out of bounds.So I pretty much knew exactly what I was looking for, was fortunate to find it on auction (used, but in very good condition), and was successful in bidding. After two sessions on the driving range to get used to it, it went in my bag and is already making a difference - solid extra distance and it usually stays in the fairway! This was the best fit for me, but like all clubs, do the research, try a few, and pick the one you are comfortable with.

Like several other buyers. I too was taken by a fraudulent seller of a fake Ping (a Fing) Driver. I received a TKO from Ebay and promptly stopped payment through my bank. However, Pay Pal still charged my credit card and after a month or so of emails and phone calls, I finally got a response from Pay Pal --They cancelled my claim in support of a fraudulent seller. Why? I am also out $191.00 for a fake and worthless golf club.Where is the security and assistance from Pay Pal when you need them? Please be careful when purchasing and using Pay Pal. Think before you agree to pay. Research the seller before you buy.

I bought what I tought was a ping g5 driver, instead ebay came on said the sell was viod,due to some pirate that offered the club under another meber name and walk away, I howevver had already paid for it by paypal and now i left the holding the bag. I have to contact paypal I am the one that has to jump through all the hoops to staighten this out where was ebay, very poor in my opion

I bought the driver with mixed feelings, I am a Taylor Made user. I only had the chance to play 1 round with the G5 so far but ny feelings are far from mixed any more. This driver is awesome. There are no other words to describe it, the ball went straighter and farther thatn I have ever hit.

The product looked and was represented as a real brand name. I had great luck in the past with the right products on Ebay. It is hard to judge a product that is not what is stated. I believe in the honesty of the sellers and so does Ebay.

Just took my recent Ping G5 purchase to the range, and was consistantly hitting garbage range balls 180+ yards. Doesn't sound like much, but this is a good 30 yards better than my range drives with my old driver and a good 10 yards better than I was hittng with 'real' balls on the course! I can't wait for this Colorado weather to warm up and I can get out and play with this thing!

I got a 12 degree/offset, with soft regular shaft. (Yes, I'm vain, and I prefer the terminology "soft regular" to "senior" flex!! I think Ping caught on about that!)

I just wish more folks who have gotten ripped off on ebay would stop writng to this review forum/board. Sorry you got a bum deal, folks, but what does your problem have to do with a review about real Ping G5 drivers? BTW - got mine from fourseasongolf, who replied with the serial number of the club when I wrote and asked. I called Ping's 800 number prior to buying, and the configuration matched. Paid $209 via 'buy it now' - a tad high, but I didn't have to hassle with the auction stuff.

I bought the driver after trying out various drivers and lofts from various retailers. This driver turned out to be the exact fit and practically brand new. I have gained an additional 20 yards in distance off the tee with no sacrifice of accuracy.

I have played Callaway drivers for over 10 years. I went to buy another larger head Callaway driver to replace my Callaway VFT Pro Series firm flex. I tested the X460 and the 454. I hit about 10 other drivers and then took those two Callaways with the Ping G5 10.5 to the driving range. The Ping driver was much straighter and longer. While this isn't the only reason for my handicap dropping from 15 to under 10 this year, it helped, especially playing from the back tees in the IBM A league that my partner and I won. This driver is tops. While sometimes I may hit a little off center and it will fade off the heel or draw out on the toe, the ball is long and stays in play. My swing speed is around 100mph and my average distance is about 265 yards (varies 220 to 350 depending on wind and roll). Highly recommend.

I think the club was defective. Tiger couldn't hit this thing consistently. I'm thinking it was counterfeit.

When I received this club something about it didn't seem right. I took it to a club maker and he confirm that it was a fake. The only thing real about it was the grip. Complain about it to Ebay and found that they wern't any help. Though they did say that they would reimburse me if I shipped it back to the seller and showed them proof. Well, that sounds good but if you pay $202 for an item and it cost you $154 to ship it back to China and Ebay takes $25 there really nothing left. So I decided to take the lost and lesson learned.