As you probably know Viktor Hovland recently signed with Ping upon turning professional. 2019 is the first year we have stocked Ping Golf at Oppegård and it has been a phenomenal success so far for us. Lets hear a little more from Viktor about why he chose Ping over all the other manufacturers who sought him out.
WHY JOIN PING?
“JOINING THE PING STAFF IS REALLY EXCITING FOR ME AS I'VE ALWAYS HAD TREMENDOUS RESPECT FOR THE COMPANY AND WHAT IT REPRESENTS. THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE EQUIPMENT AND THE SERVICE THEY PROVIDE ALLOWS ME TO FOCUS ON GETTING BETTER AND NOT WORRYING ABOUT MY EQUIPMENT. THE NORWEGIAN CONNECTION IS ALSO REALLY COOL. KARSTEN SOLHEIM AND HIS FAMILY HAVE DONE SO MUCH FOR THE GAME OF GOLF. THEIR SUPPORT OF OKLAHOMA STATE'S TEAM AND THEIR ROLE IN DEVELOPING KARSTEN CREEK ARE JUST A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS THEY DO FOR GOLF. I'M HONORED TO BE PART OF THEIR GOLFING FAMILY AND LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THEM AS I BEGIN MY PROFESSIONAL CAREER.”
WHY SWITCH TO THE G410 DRIVER?
AT THE U.S. OPEN, HOVLAND SWITCHED TO PING'S NEW G410 LST DRIVER AND SAW TREMENDOUS RESULTS – LEADING THE FIELD IN STROKES GAINED: OFF THE TEE BY NEARLY TWO FULL SHOTS.
“THE G410 LST DRIVER IS A GREAT FIT FOR MY GAME,” HOVLAND ADDED. “I DON'T USUALLY MAKE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO MY EQUIPMENT BEFORE SUCH A BIG TOURNAMENT, BUT AFTER TESTING IT DURING THE WEEK WITH THE PING TOUR REPS, IT WAS CLEAR THE G410 LST DRIVER WAS THE BEST CHOICE FOR ME. IT LOOKS REALLY GOOD AND I KNOW I'M GOING TO HIT THE CENTER OF THE FACE. IT FLIES IN THE WINDOW I LIKE AND THE SPIN IS RIGHT FOR MY GAME. I CAN SWING WITH CONFIDENCE OFF THE TEE KNOWING THE RESULTS WILL BE LONG AND STRAIGHT.”
Driver: Ping G410 LST (draw setting, 9 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS 6.5-flex 62 grams
Hovland says: “I just put this in the bag on Thursday morning of the U.S. Open. I drove it really nice and it was a big part of my success last week… I’ve been messing around with the different kind of heads and I felt like this was a great fit for me. I was struggling with a bigger left-to-right curve. I put it on draw [setting] and it keeps it neutralized a bit. I was able to hit a lot of fairways with it at the U.S. Open.”
3 Wood: Ping G410 LST (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke 6.5TX 80 grams
Hovland says: “I really like [the way it] sits down because it looks like it has a lot of loft and it sits real tight to the ground, so for me it’s real easy to launch. I’m a guy who hits a lot of drivers off the tee, I don’t really like to hit a lot of 3 woods [off the tee]. So for me it’s key to have something I can launch up in the air and get it to stop on the greens, [such as going for] par 5’s in two. That’s been a great help for me.”
Hovland says: “I’ve actually only had [the i210] irons for about a week or so. I used to have a full bag of iBlades, and last week I got the Ping i210s. I noticed that I actually got a lower ball flight because I was spinning it a little too much with the iBlades that I had… Last week at the US Open I felt like I was hitting my irons from 7-PW just a little high – they were launching a little too high and spinning a little too much for what I like to see. The greens were firm out there [at the U.S. Open] so you want them to land softly and spin, but they were just [spinning and launching] a little too much, and especially with the wind coming they were hard to control. I just happened to test out some i210s and immediately on the range I just saw them launch a little lower and they weren’t spinning as much. And they were flying in a way that’s normal to my eye. So they were in the bag immediately.
It’s opposite on the longer clubs (4-6 iron). You want to be able to launch them higher and I thought the iBlades were perfect for that. I can always launch it low with the longer irons, but if you can hit them high, you can attack any pin you want to. The iBlades have been really great for me so far.”
Interested in trying out Ping with us on Trackman 4? Get in touch below to arrange a free custom fitting session with Magnus or Malcolm (members only)!
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