What is the history of PING golf clubs?
Ping Golf Clubs History. Karsten Solheim started Ping in his garage in Redwood City, California. He built his first putter in 1959 and noticed it made a "ping" sound when it struck the ball, a discovery that inspired the name of his company. By 1962, a Ping putter was used to win a PGA Tour event for the first time.
What does Ping golf do?
Ping Golf Clubs History. By Denise Sullivan. Ping began as one man's hobby in 1959 and became one of the leading manufacturers of golf equipment. Ping …
Who invented the PING putter?
Karsten Solheim founded Ping in 1959 with the desire to satisfy the need for a good quality putter in the golf industry. He believed one hadn’t been invented yet so far. So he did just that in Redwood, California… making Ping’s first ever golf club and …
Where do Ping golf bags come from?
Dec 03, 2021 · John K. thought he was ready to start running Ping a decade ago. His father had another idea: Go to Japan, where Ping had been struggling.
Who invented Ping golf clubs?
Who is the owner of PING?
Is PING family owned?
Where did Ping golf clubs originate?
Where is PING manufactured?
How much is an original Ping Anser putter worth?
What was the first PING putter?
When was PING founded?
What were the first PING irons?
Ping started in a garage in 1959, making putters, but it wasn't until a decade later, in 1969, when the K1 irons were first made. For most of that decade, Ping was experimenting with milling a cavity back, and perimeter weighting for forgiveness, to make a revolutionary iron.
When did PING start making clubs?
Where did PING get its name?
What is Ping golf known for?
Where are ping golf clubs made?
Ping is a company that manufactures high-quality golf equipment. They make golf clubs, golf bags, gloves and apparel. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, the company is one of the leading innovators of golf equipment.
Where was the first ping putter made?
Karsten Solheim started the company in his garage in Redwood City, California. He built his first putter in 1959, and noticed that it made a "ping" sound when it struck the ball. The name of his company was inspired by that moment. In 1962, a Ping putter was used to win a PGA Tour event for the first time. Since then, Ping equipment has been ...
Where is Ping made?
Ping is a company that manufactures high-quality golf equipment. They make golf clubs, golf bags, gloves and apparel. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, the company is one of the leading innovators of golf equipment. Ping is celebrating its 50-year anniversary in 2009.
What year did Ping come out with the color code?
In 1972 , Ping was the first company to come out with a color-code fitting system for their clubs. The colored dot on each Ping club tells the customer the lie angle of the club. With this system, golfers could now buy clubs that fit their height and swing.
What is a Ping Eye 2 iron?
Designed with square groove technology, the Ping Eye 2 irons impart more spin on the ball. In 2009, Ping is promoting its release of the G15 driver and irons. The G 15 irons are designed with a lower center of gravity, which allows golfers to hit the ball higher.
What is anser putter?
Golf Clubs. The Anser is the most popular putter Ping has designed. It has been used in over 500 professional golf wins. The Anser was designed with an offset hosel to give golfers a clear view of the putter face. In 1982, Ping developed the Ping Eye 2 irons, which have been the best-selling irons in its history.
Who is John Wagner?
John Wagner is a certified golf instructor and professional golfer with over eight years of experience. As a certified GolfTEC and Chuck Cook golf instructor, he has given over 3,000 golf lessons. John writes for GolfLink.com and has over 40 articles published.
The Beginning
In 1959, a General Electric engineer named Karsten Solheim was dissatisfied with the putters available on the market.
Founding the Company
Demand for Solheim's new design increased during the early part of the 1960s, spurred on in part by John Barnum winning the 1962 Cajun Classic with a Ping putter and a subsequent "Sports Illustrated" article. In 1966, Solheim developed the Anser putter, which has been used in more than 500 PGA Tour victories.
Ping Irons
Solheim expanded his product line in 1969, adding a set of irons that used the patented Ping heel-toe weighting. Solheim's irons were also custom-fitted to each golfer, which was unusual at the time.
Trouble in the 1980s
Karsten Manufacturing was involved in legal battles with the U.S. Golf Association and the PGA Tour throughout the 1980s. The controversy started in 1984, when the USGA changed its rules to allow irons with U-shaped grooves.
The Comeback
Karsten's son John took over as the company's president in 1995 and reorganized player sponsorship deals and marketing plan. Instead of offering bonuses to professionals who won tournaments using Ping equipment, the company signed several players to contracts that paid a full salary regardless of performance.
Who is the founder of Ping Golf?
Ping Golf has revolutionized not just an industry but also a sport played by nearly 29 million Americans. The innovative product designs of company founder Karsten Solheim made a difficult game easier—and ...
Who invented the ping golf club?
But his biggest challenge was getting his father to loosen his grip. Ping Golf has revolutionized not just an industry but also a sport played by nearly 29 million Americans. The innovative product designs of company founder Karsten Solheim made ...
Who made the ping putter?
Solheim began making Ping putters in his garage. In 1959, a man working in his California garage changed the face of the golf industry. Karsten Solheim, then an engineer with GE, designed and built a putter based on a new idea--heel-toe weighting. The popularity of this putter led to a new company called Ping Golf and allowed Solheim ...
Who is the most famous player to use a ping putter?
Perhaps the most well-known player to use a Ping putter in his prime was Tom Watson, who won all eight of his major championships with the club in his bag.
Who is Lyle Smith?
Lyle Smith is an award-winning copywriter with a widely varied background. He has completed work for individuals, small businesses and fortune 1000 corporate clients all over the country. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Villanova University.
What is PING Golf all about?
I think that many of us have impressions of what the major companies in golf are all about.
Dawn in the Desert
As you can see from the schedule below, our day at PING was going to start very early in the morning. My workday normally starts early, but 7:00 was even a little early for me to get the gears rolling. We rallied though. Lots to see, lots to do, and only one day to see and do it.
7:00 AM – 7:45 AM: Travel to PING HQ & Breakfast
When we drove into the PING HQ lot, the size of the golf operation at the Phoenix plant became impressively apparent.
7:45 AM – 8:20 AM: Iron Assembly Tour
In the assembly area, I suppose I expected to see people gluing clubs together and then throwing them in boxes. Nothing fancy. Sort of like the assembly line that makes fast-food burgers. Like some of you, I viewed the Made in China, assembled in the USA product model as inherently low precision, and low quality.
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM: Engineering Discussion
After the morning tour of the facilities, Tim and I sat down with one of the PING engineers to learn what the club designing process at PING is all about.
CASE STUDY: Adjustable Drivers
PING was one of the last companies to feature adjustability in their driver. It wasn’t due to some resistance to new technologies, PING engineers are all about the new. Instead, the engineers worked on designs for adjustability until they came up with an adjustable hosel that didn’t negatively impact performance.
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM: PING Man
For all of you who have ever demanded that our club testing be performed by robots, PING Man is your guy. This little mechanical dude is able to put a swing on the ball in seemingly any way that you, or more importantly a PING engineer could think of.
Overview
PING is an American sports equipment manufacturing company based in Phoenix, Arizona. It focuses on golf equipment, producing golf clubs and golf bags. The company was founded by Karsten Solheim, following a career as an engineer at the General Electric company. In 1959, he started making putters in his garage in Redwood City, California. In 1967, he resigned from his job at Gen…
History
Solheim began PING golf as a garage business in 1959. His frustration during the game of golf resulted from his difficulty putting with the equipment of the era. The engineer from General Electricinvented a new putter in his garage known as the "PING 1A". Instead of attaching the shaft at the heel of the blade, he attached it in the center. He applied scientific principles to golf club design, which had previously been based largely on trial and error, transferring much of the weig…
Legacy
During a White House meeting between US President Donald Trump and Norwegian Prime minister Erna Solberg on January 10, 2018, Solberg gave Trump a Ping "Bergen" Putter as a gift as a symbol of the close ties between Norway and the United States, and the history of Norwegian immigration to the US. Karsten Solheim, Ping's founder, was originally from Austrheim, outside Bergen, Norway.
Fitting innovation
Ping was the first manufacturer to offer high-quality cast clubs using investment casting which both reduced costs, allowed better quality control for high tech features, and set the stage for manufactured fitting.
Ping was also the first to offer factory fitting, via a variety of clubheads in different lies and offsets. Beginning about 1980, Ping began offering their fitting program based on a checklist of …
Sponsorships
Ping has maintained endorsement deals with many professional golfers playing on the leading tours, including Ángel Cabrera, Louis Oosthuizen, Bubba Watson, Lee Westwood and Brooke Henderson.
External links
• Official website
• Official website