The Ping G400 Crossover hybrid is the successor to the previous G Crossover, but unlike the other G400 successors it is a completely different style of club.
Whilst the original crossover was well received, the wide sole and wood style appearance gave it a tendency to be a little erratic through the turf and a bit keen to draw the ball too much.
The G400 Crossover aims to resolve these issues by going towards a more iron style of hybrid that once again aims to sit at the crossover point between your hybrids and irons, hence the name.
The sole has less camber on it that before and is now shaped more like a long iron in order to get it going through the turf more easily and this it certainly does well.
Visually it looks from like an iron with the same Hydropearl chrome finish to reduce friction and improve spin in wet conditions.
At address it also looks a lot less bulky with a more compact backside and a more defined top line.
The G400 Crossover face is also a lot shallower than before and whilst this gives it a little bit of a boxy look, it does give you the confidence that this is a forgiving club that is still going to hit it more like an iron than a hybrid and therefore, hopefully straighter.
The face is now made from Maraging Steel that is stronger than normal steel and can therefore be made thinner to increase ball speed. It can also then flex more and the top half of the face does this at impact to give a higher launch and therefore a steeper descent to increase what Ping call 'stopping power' by 30%.
Comparing the 22 ° #4 G400 Crossover on GC2 with Pro V1x balls illustrates this well as I got an extra 2° of launch and 4.3° descent angle with a peak height of an extra 4 yards.
This was also higher than the equivalent Ping G400 #4 hybrid so if you are someone who struggles getting your clubs in the 19° to 25° range airborne, then the G400 Crossover could be the answer as its three head lofts cover this range.
As might be expected, the G400 Crossover also seemed to spin more and with the extra height I was not gaining much distance over the previous model, but that is not really what this club is about. It is about more consistency and a high flight to hit approach shots into greens that will stop and this it does well.
Each head has a 20g Tungsten weight in the toe to keep the MOI up and whilst my numbers didn't show it, it did feel more consistent to strike and the narrower sole was better through the turf.
The impact gives a solid, higher pitched sound than before, so it sounds more like an iron too and I think better players will be more likely to go for the G400 Crossover than before, provided the flight is not too high for them.
It comes with a Ping Alta CB graphite shaft that is counterbalanced to help with forgiveness and changes colour from copper to an almost black finish when you move the club from vertical into the address position, which is pretty cool.
Overall the Ping G400 Crossover is another good hybrid club from a manufacturer that has been innovating a lot over the years with iron/hybrid replacements that don't look like woods. Not many of them have been lookers, but the G400 at least looks more like a traditional iron and that shouldn't put any one off.
It is really going to come down to whether the G400 Crossover or the G400 iron or G400 hybrid is going to suit your game best as in that low 20° club range, they all have options. .
Each of them produce different flights, distances and levels of forgiveness so it would be worth spending time with a Ping fitter to work out which combination is going to work best for your game.