2027 off-site Tour testing is in full swing, and Ping's new star has very cool set-up | Tour Report | Gear | GOLF.com

How Tour testing works

Tour trucks are preparing new equipment for next season, even as the fall schedule might suggest a slowdown. Testing can happen at a central location, where players book sessions with equipment representatives, or at tournament venues in zones set away from the main range and media.

Those sessions let players assess new products while representatives collect feedback on launch data, start lines, down-range performance, sound and flight bias. Not every club tested makes it into a player’s bag, but the process helps teams prepare for the next season.

Akina’s steady start

BYU standout Kihei Akina has made the cut in each of his first five events while playing on sponsor exemptions. He has recorded one top-10 finish and two additional top-25 results; another top-25 this weekend would give him four in five starts.

Akina’s driver speed is listed at 118 mph, with ball speed of 178 mph, according to PGA Tour Stats. He has hit 65.71% of fairways, and his Ping G440 LST driver is configured with a draw bias and a lie angle three degrees flat.

Inside Akina’s equipment setup

Akina’s driver is a 9-degree Ping G440 LST with a Fujikura Ventus Velo+ Black 6X shaft, tipped one inch, at 45.25 inches and D4 swing weight. Its 32-gram CG shifter is set to draw. His 13-degree Ping Mini Proto mini-driver is 43 inches long, with a Ventus Velo+ Black 7X shaft tipped 1.5 inches and a draw-setting CG shifter.

His utility iron is a Ping iDi 3 at 19.25 degrees, paired with a Ventus Velo+ Blue 9X hybrid shaft. The 4- and 5-irons are Ping i240 models; the 6- through pitching-wedge irons are Blueprint S models. They have Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 120 shafts, with listed lengths ranging from 38.25 inches to 35.5 inches.

The putter is a black Ping PLD Ally Blue 4, measuring 34 inches, with four degrees of loft and a 19-degree lie. It has a PP58 Tour L grip.