| Nearly 50 years ago in 1959, Karsten Solheim founded | | | | putter to continue quality. These same principles and |
| his family owned company, PING, out of his garage. He | | | | tolerances are still heavily enforced today. |
| did what just about every passionate golfer has | | | | To keep in line with naming his clubs in a simple but |
| thought of doing; making their golf clubs better! | | | | effective way he named his new irons 69. He believed |
| Specifically Karsten was very frustrated with his | | | | that a score of 69 was a good round of golf. The 69 |
| putting. I think all golfers can relate to this. I know I can! | | | | irons were further modified on the heel-to-toe |
| Now Karsten was not a golf pro nor did he work in | | | | weightings and a cavity of placed in the pack of the |
| research and design for a golf manufacturer. He | | | | club face to help improve shots. |
| honed his skills from his education as a mechanical | | | | In 1966, the United States Golf Association decided |
| engineer and through his employment through the | | | | that nearly all PING putters were to be banned from |
| aerospace and computer industries. These skills are | | | | tournament play. The biggest reason was PING's |
| what provided Karsten the foundation to design and | | | | superior quality was seen as an unfair advantage to |
| grow one of the best golf manufacturing companies in | | | | the players whom used them. However, there was |
| the world! | | | | one PING putter that would be allowed for tournament |
| Being frustrated at his putting game he began to tinker | | | | play. The Anser putter would revolutionize the putter in |
| with designing a better putter and eventually he came | | | | golf. It was the first putter to have a cavity in back and |
| up with the idea to make the putter 'ping' when striking | | | | a low center of gravity. This provided a superior feel |
| the golf ball. This 'pinging' sound is why he gave the | | | | to all golfers. It was these characteristics that has lead |
| club the name of PING. | | | | the Anser putter to more tournament wins than any |
| Besides the attraction of the 'pinging' sound, the putter | | | | other. |
| attracted a lot of attention because of its heel-to-toe | | | | Today, Karsten's PING Golf company he built from out |
| weighting design. In fact one of the worlds premier | | | | of his garage is a huge corporation that produces a full |
| sports magazines, Sports Illustrated, commented on | | | | line of premier golf clubs and golf equipment. Although |
| the new Ping 1A putter as the 'musical putter' from the | | | | Karsten passed away in 2000 the company still |
| sweet sound it gave when striking the ball. | | | | operates as family owned. Many golf professionals |
| Within 2 years of introducing the Ping putter, Karsten | | | | frequently use PING golf clubs in tournaments. If you |
| designed and built his first set of irons based on the | | | | are looking to purchase any PING golf clubs you can |
| same strict engineering principles and tight | | | | rest assured that PING produces unmatched quality |
| manufacturing tolerances he had put in place from his | | | | that would make anyone smarter for buying them. |