Ping Golf Clubs
January 16, 2008 by admin
Karstan Solheim had an unusual arrival on the golf scene when the putter he was building had a ring to it every time the ball was struck. Soleheim, at the time a General Electric mechanical engineer, stroked putts with his newly designed putter which had a distinct ring whenever the ball was struck and that is where the name “Ping” came from. Ping Golf has been an industry leader ever since those first few “pings” took place in Solheim’s garage in 1959.
Soon after, Karstan moved from his home in Redwood, California to Phoenix, Arizona where he started Ping Golf Corporation. At this time one of his first developments was the Ping Anser putter which is still in use in Today’s PGA Tour events. The Anser putter was named by his wife. She asked Karsten what the name of his new putter was and he said he “did not have an answer”. His wife said “the name for your new putter will be anser without the W”!….and so it was.
In the 1970’s Ping Golf acquired a casting foundry and heat treating plant which allowed Solheim to control the entire club making process. This was a major step towards having the kind of built in quality that he desired in his golf clubs. Giant strides were made in building custom fitted clubs for everyone that ordered Ping golf clubs with the Ping Eye fitting system. There were a series of color codes which corresponded to a slight difference in the clubs (lie, loft, flex etc.). A golfer was measured at a Ping dealer and from those measurements a color code was assigned to the player.
In the 1980’s the Eye 2 irons, the L-Wedge and lightweight carry bags were developed. During this period the “square grooves” were also incorporated in the Ping golf club design. There was much controversy with the U.S.G.A. and the PGA over the square grooves but eventually the debate was resolved in Ping’s favor. In the 80’s Ping putters dominated the majors by winning 26 out of 40 grand slam events, including all four in 1988.
Solheim’s youngest son John Solheim assumed control of Ping Golf in 1995. At that time he introduced the TiSL driver, Isopur putter, i3 irons and Hoofer carry bag. John operates the company differently than his father because he invites key customers to his factory whereas his father was much more secretive. In 1999 Ping Golf celebrated it’s 40th Anniversary in the golf industry. Ping Golf, in every way, is truly an American success story.
