Gear: Ping G440 Max, G440 LST, G440 SFT fairway woods

Price: $385 (Max, SFT) and $600 (LST) with Alta CG Blue, Ping Tour 2.0, Project X Denali Red or Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet grip.

Specs: Maraging stainless steel face with 17-4 stainless steel chassis, carbon fiber crown and adjustable hosel (Max, SFT); titanium body and face with carbon fiber crown (LST).

Available: Jan. 30

Who They're For: Golfers seeking more stability and ball speed off the tee and from the fairway.

What You Should Know: Ping made the G440 fairway woods taller to make them perform better and be more confidence-inspiring off the tee but kept the center of gravity low so the clubs work equally effectively from the fairway as they do off the tee.

The Deep Dive: Ping believed the prior-generation G430 fairway woods – the Max, low-spinning LST and slice-fighting SFT – gave a variety of players the blend of distance and forgiveness they needed. There was, however, one complaint that the brand heard loud and clear. While the low profile of the G430 fairway woods made them especially easy to hit from the turf, that low profile made them appear harder to use off the tee, where more and more golfers are using their fairway woods.

Knowing that, designers set about making the new G440 fairway woods better off the tee while maintaining the versatility players like when attacking long par 4s and par 5s with their second shots.

Two technologies made Ping’s aspirations possible. First is a new Free Hosel design. While the eight-position hosel remains adjustable, allowing players and fitters to tweak loft and lie angles, Ping removed material from the hosel inside the head. This removed weight.

The second element that helped Ping was the addition of a CarbonFly Wrap crown to each of the three fairway woods. The carbon fiber crown extends around the top of the club and into the toe and heel areas, and it weighs less than the steel it replaces. Previously, only the G430 LST had a carbon fiber crown.

By removing weight from the top of the G440 fairway woods and making the adjustable hosel light, Ping designers can make the clubs taller from the leading edge to the topline, so they should perform better off the tee. And they were able to keep the center of gravity down, so the clubs are still easy to hit from the fairway.

The G440 Max should fit the widest variety of golfers and should be the most stable of the tee on mis-hits. It has a large weight in the back that pulls the center of gravity down and back, which boosts the moment of inertia. The G440 Max will be offered as a 3-, 4-, 5-, 7- and 9-wood. The 4-wood is a new offering, and it will come standard at 17 degrees and 43-inches in length, which is the same length as a standard Ping 3-wood. The company wants the 4-wood to be easier to hit off the tee than a 3-wood, but longer than a 5-wood.

The G440 SFT has extra weight in the heel area to help golfers who struggle with a slice square the face more easily and hit straighter shots.

Both the Max and the SFT have been made with a thin stainless steel face that features Spinsistency, a Ping face design that promotes more consistent spin numbers on shots hit either high or low in the face, which should result in more consistent trajectories.

For faster-swinging golfers who need a lower-spinning fairway wood, Ping is offering the G440 LST. Unlike the Max and the SFT, the LST is made with a titanium body and a titanium face that features Spinsistency. The LST also has a heavy sole plate that drives the center of gravity down even more.

The LST will be able as a 3-wood (15-degrees) and 5-wood (19-degrees).

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Ping G440 Max, G440 LST, G440 SFT fairway woods