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Ping G440 Max & LST driver review – Club Junkie Reviews

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Ping has long been known for making some of the most forgiving and straightest drivers in the game. But with the past few versions of driver, Ping has looked to improve every performance attribute, including speed, to ensure they are in right in the mix with the powerhouse driver manufacturers.

A new face design that is thinner and faster is also helped by Ping’s new Free Hosel that removes material from inside the head near the hosel. This allows the face to flex a little more and helps maintain better ball speed on those heel shots .You can listen to the full review on the Club Junkie podcast, streaming on YouTube or any podcast platform — and be sure to follow on Instagram.

Ping G440 LST

Low Spin Technology is what the LST stands for on the G440 driver, which is geared towards players who generate spin due to club head speed or swing mechanics. Ping’s latest generation of the LST driver is improved everywhere, including the looks. Out of the package, the LST has a cleaner, more compact look compared to the G430 LST from the previous two years. The rear weight is more hidden and gives the driver a more traditional, rounded look at address compared to the slightly stretched and triangular look of the G430 LST. Ping has never been known for having the best-sounding drivers, but the new G440 LST (and Max) are going to really blow your mind with how good they sound. In fact, I am going to say that they are the best-sounding drivers of 2025.

While the G440 LST is built to be lower spin, it doesn’t get rid of stability in order to do that. The LST was 250 rpm lower spin than the Max, and I noticed that shots low on the face and on the heel didn’t make the spin number go way up. The consistency of the spin number is pretty impressive when you see the number not drop drastically when you get a shot high on the toe, and it doesn’t spin like a top when you strike it down on the heel. Ball speed is also very consistent across the face as well from center strikes to shots a little further out. Good strikes provide a piercing and boring trajectory that doesn’t have much movement or curve to it. The ball starts out straight at the target and then maybe falls to the right as the descent starts. This LST doesn’t really want to go left, but I wouldn’t consider it a fade bias driver. Misses are very straight for a low spin head, and I was very impressed with how easily it was to keep the ball in the fairway, or just slightly off.

Ping G440 Max

I am a big fan of the new shaping Ping did with the new G440 Max driver. It has a more rounded look at the back since you don’t see the structure of the movable weight system. The head looks larger when it sits next to the LST, but overall it is a good shape that should be pleasing to most golfers’ eyes. Like the LST, Ping nailed the sound and feel with the Max as it has the same muted sound that can be appreciated indoors as well as outside. The face height on the new G400 is a little shallower compared to last year, but nothing so drastic where it would affect your shots.

The G440 Max definitely launched higher than the LST for me, and I feel like the 1.5 degrees that the launch monitor averages show is a little conservative. On the screen and into the nets, I was hitting into you could visually see the Max making contact higher up than the LST. This driver just wants to go straight no matter what kind of swing you put on it. When the ball makes contact out on the toe, you will still see a draw ball flight, but the curvature will be much less than expected. Same thing with heel strikes, you just won’t see the massive right shot you were expecting. Where the LST driver might fall to the right, the Max ball started just left of center and was much easier to turn over. I wouldn’t classify the Max as a draw driver, but it does feel easier to square up compared to the LST. It is just repeatable and easy to hit high, straight drives down the fairway.

Overall, I think these are some of the best drivers Ping has ever put out. The engineering team pulled out a lot of stops to make sure that the G440 line has the best sound and performance compared to previous drivers. If you are a golfer who values forgiveness and wants straighter shots, without giving up distance, then the new Ping G440 drivers should be on your list to try this year.

I have been an employee at GolfWRX since 2016. In that time I have been helping create content on GolfWRX Radio, GolfWRX YouTube, as well as writing for the front page. Self-proclaimed gear junkie who loves all sorts of golf equipment as well as building golf clubs!

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Deacon

    Mar 28, 2025 at 5:55 pm

    Great review. I tried several of the new drivers and found the 440max to be the one which performed best for me.

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Equipment

Bettinardi The Antidote SB3 and SB5 putter review – Club Junkie Reviews

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Bettinardi launched The Antidote putters at the end of 2024 with the SB1 & SB2 models. It was their first jump into zero-torque putters and brought that solid Bettinardi feel to the hottest trend in putters. So at the end of 2025, Bettinardi expanded the line with two more models, the SB3 and SB5 putters, in order to appeal to more golfers. I have gotten to roll both models and think they are great in their own ways.

You can listen to the full review on the Club Junkie podcast, streaming on YouTube or any podcast platform — and be sure to follow on Instagram.

Both Antidote putters have faces milled from 303 stainless steel for a soft, solid feel. The faces feature Bettinardi’s signature F.I.T. Face milling, which removes 55 percent of the face material for a soft, responsive feel. Bettinardi then uses its Diamond Blast to finish the face, reducing glare and creating a durable, great-looking finish. The shafts are installed into the center of gravity of the putter head and feature a small amount of forward shaft lean. This gives each Antidote putter Simply Balanced Zero Torque to keep the face square to the target during the stroke.

The Antidote SB3

When I got the box with both putters, this was the one I was most excited for. Being a long-time fan of “fang” style putters, this one just jumped out to me as the one I need to try. Personally, the silver face and Sapphire Blue as the contrast between the two is another way to make sure the putter is aligned towards the target. This putter frames the ball really well between the fangs, or wings, on the back of the putter and the twin white sight lines that run down them. Getting this SB3 lined up to your target is easy and quick, so you can feel more confident as you are about to get that putt rolling.

The feel of the F.I.T. Face is nice and soft with just enough click to let you know the quality of your contact. While it isn’t something Bettinardi claims, I feel like the F.I.T. Face puts a nice roll on the ball, and you don’t ever encounter hopping or skipping as the ball starts out. My favorite way of explaining the feel of a zero torque putter going through the stroke is the feeling of the face pulling itself through impact. To me, the SB3 has a really stable feel, and it doesn’t want to be manipulated through the stroke. The SB1 might be the most stable feeling, to me, out of all The Antidote putters but the SB3 would be a very close 2nd place. If, and when, you strike the ball out on the toe or in the heel, you will have a feeling of the SB3 not wanting to twist and keeping the ball on line. If you are looking for a zero torque, high-MOI mallet, with great feel and sound, then The Antidote SB3 could be a great option to try.

The Antidote SB5

There are a lot of golfers who would love to try a ZT putter but just don’t love mallet putters. Thankfully, there are some really cool options out there, like The Antidote SB5 putter. To me, this is a really classic-looking putter from address with clean lines and a familiar look that should appeal to the more traditional golfer. Just like the SB3, you get a phenomenal-feeling putter, with both pieces precisely milled from 303 stainless steel. The triple site lines, one on the topline and two on the flange, again work better than I expected with this head shape, and I got comfortable with them fairly quickly.

I typically like ZT putters that feel super stable, but this SB5 seemed to fit my stroke right out of the gate. Players with more arc in their stroke might find the SB5 as something that feels more natural to them, as it will allow you to rotate it just a little more than you can with a traditional blade putter. Even with that, I feel the SB5 was really easy to square up, and I was never searching to find consistency in that. Miss hits with the SB5 were also pretty good. Shots off the heel stayed very straight and had a good, soft feel, while shots struck on the toe felt a little more vibration. Interestingly, when I did miss putts, I noticed that I missed more putts left with the SB3 and more right with the SB5. As I have spent more time with each putter, I have fallen more in love with the SB5, which is a little surprising to me. It has just become a comfortable option to use after a few years of gaming.

Bettinardi continues to excel in its ability to engineer and mill some of the finest putters you can get your hands on. With the SB3 & SB5 additions to the zero torque line, I think they have really widened who can and will play these style putters. If you have tried ZT putters in the past but haven’t found the right one due to the fact that they don’t live up to expectations, then maybe one of these Bettinardi putters can be The Antodote!

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Equipment

SeeMore SBx & SKx zero-torque putter review – Club Junkie Reviews

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SeeMore has had a long history of making precision putters. The company gained worldwide fame after Payne Stewart won the 1999 U.S. Open with one. SeeMore’s most famous putter is the FGP Blade, which Zach Johnson used to win the Masters and the Open Championship.

SeeMore is also the creator of a unique, simple, and very effective alignment aid in their Rifle Scope Technology. RST is the use of a red oval and two white lines on the heel of the putter. When the putter shaft, or hosel, covers the red dot and you can only see the white lines on either side of the shaft, then you know the putter is lined up square. SeeMore is now adding another technology to its putter lineup, zero torque.

You can listen to the full review on the Club Junkie podcast, streaming on YouTube or any podcast platform — and be sure to follow on Instagram.

The SBx and SKx putters are the latest additions to SeeMore’s lineup. Zero-torque putters are probably the most significant and hottest segment in golf right now. The design is based on installing the shaft into the putter head’s center of gravity so the toe points up when you set the putter on a table to hold it without restriction. That balance keeps the face square to the target throughout the entire stroke, eliminating the need to square the putter face like you have to do with traditional putters. Now, this isn’t going to turn you into a tour pro, but for many golfers, it can help them consistently get the ball started on the intended line.

SeeMore did a great job with the putter’s looks, keeping it simple without straying from what they do best. The platinum color face is milled from stainless steel for a solid feel and feedback to the golfer, while the body is precision-milled from a block of aluminum. I like the contrast of silver and black as that divide gives my eye an additional alignment aid to make sure I am putting the ball at the hole, or target.

The SBx is going to have a boxier, more straight and sharp look from address with straight wings that extend back from the body. Some golfers will like that look for framing the ball in combination with the single white sight line on the flange. If you like a little softer and more rounded look, then the SKx fits the bill with more rounded fangs that taper inward to give a more compact look at address.

SKx also uses a single alignment line on the stainless topline, and if you look closely, there are two milled sight lines on the back flange that aren’t painted. If you want a little more to look down at, then you could probably fill them in with white paint pretty easily.

Both putters use SeeMore’s RST alignment, and I do have to say it is a simple yet effective way to ensure the putter is lined up correctly. Usually, if I am testing out two zero-torque putters at the same time, one of them stands out as easier to line up or get rolling on the right start line, but these two were equally matched. Lining up putts and starting them on the intended line are easy and repeatable.

Sound and feel are very important when it comes to finding the putter, as it is the voice that speaks to you. I was really impressed, and so was another WRX staff member, by how soft both the SBx and SKx putters are. The first putts were right out of the box on the office carpet, and we both looked at each other with big smiles! The horizontal milling lines on the face provide a soft feel at impact, and the sound is excellent and low-pitched. Not clicky at all, but you still get a good sound with it that is easy to recognize where you hit it on the face.

Being zero torque, the putters have a good feeling of the face staying square through the stroke. They both are a good mix of highly stable feeling and have the ability to move with an arching putting stroke, also. While they may not have the strongest feeling of the face pulling the head through impact, they should be more versatile, as many golfers find success with them.

I still feel very confident when putting with these that the ball is going to come out on its intended line. I have found that with some zero-torque putters, I tend to have a ball that misses left of the hole or target, and I didn’t find that the case with either the SBx or SKx models. I was really impressed with how consistently I was rolling the ball at the target, and I think the heavy focus on the RST allowed me to avoid overthinking other putting thoughts and swing freely.

 

Overall the SeeMore SBx and SKx are just solid zero torque putters with a more classic shape to them for players who find zero torque hard to look at. The milling and finish work from SeeMore are fantastic and it shows through the performance.

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Equipment

Sugarloaf Social Club x Makino Tour 3 putter review – Club Junkie Reviews

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Most of us know Sugarloaf Social Club (SSC) as a clothing and accessory brand that has been leading the way in golf fashion and lifestyle since 2011. Ian Gilley is the founder of the brand and has created some amazing products, primarily in the soft goods category. While clubs have not been the focus of SSC, there have been some limited collabs in the space before working on the Tour 3 putter with Makino.

Makino is a Japanese golf brand founded by Shohei Nomura, an industrial designer based in Tokyo. All Makino’s products are made in small batches where precision and craftsmanship are the most important factors.

To be completely honest, I saw the putter on the Sugarloaf website and wasn’t blown away. When taking the putter out of the box, my mind changed, as the quality of the putter and classic look don’t come through with online pictures.

At first glance, the putter appears a little chunky, with larger shoulders that are very defined near the back cavity area. The bumpers are clean and a good blend of rectangular with softened edges. The topline is definitely on the thicker side, but for some golfers, like myself, it can be used as an additional alignment aid to ensure the face is square to the target.

A single sightline is machined into the flange and filled with white paint, creating a simple and traditional look. A shallow milling pattern is used on the face, featuring the model name and the “S” of Sugarloaf on the heel. The little details like the “Play or Perish” motto on the L-neck are excellent touches that let you know this isn’t a mass-produced putter. 

On the grip wrapping, I was surprised to see there is a sticker that says this is an un-plated putter and could rust…but the putter is made from stainless steel? Now I am not a metallurgist, but a search on the old Google machine told me that SUS303 stainless steel uses materials in the alloy, like sulphur, that make it a little more susceptible to corrosion if you aren’t careful. No rust has shown up yet, but I guess that explains it.

On the green, this putter offers a much softer feel than I and a coworker expected from the face milling. SUS303 and the thick face create a really nice feel and sound! The putter is still responsive, however, and you will get good feedback on putts that you don’t hit on the center of the face.

The putter’s sound is also softer, with not really a click but a more gentle knock as the ball leaves the face, even with a firmer ball like the Pro V1x. Ball speed is consistent and repeatable, and while there is no real high-tech engineering in this head, it performs well enough on mishits. Distance drop off from putts off the toe and heel aren’t massive, and there is still a decent chance you get that ball to the hole.

At the end of the day, this putter is much more than I thought it was going to be. The shaping and quality of the finish are phenomenal, showcasing the skill of Makino and the creativity of Sugarloaf. Traditionalists will love the classic look, while feel players will be impressed by the softness and responsiveness the Sugarloaf Social Club x Makino Tour 3 provides.

See more in-hand photos and read what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.

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