A Brief History Of The Ping Golf Club

Posted on March 8th, 2010 by admin

For golfers who want to play the best golf game possible, the design features of the clubs they choose is an important matter to consider because according to many experts, poor club designs are among the reasons that many golfers aren’t hitting the ball as well as they’d like to. This is the reason the Ping golf club was born.

Karsten Solheim is the Ping golf club’s inventor. The story has it that Karsten was unhappy with his progress as a golfer, and with the way he was hitting the ball. So he began experimenting with his own putter design, hoping he’d be able to putt better than he had been up to that point. He had no idea that his design would eventually be known worldwide!

By 1959, his putter experiments had evolved into his first available design. He came up with his brand name after listening to the sound it made when hitting the ball, hence the name “Ping”. Later the same year, Sports Illustrated published an article in their August issue regarding the Ping putter, dubbing it the “musical” putter.

This was the beginning of success for the Ping golf club. At present, the clubs are manufactured in Phoenix, Arizona by Karsten Manufacturing Corporation. There are more than 400 patents registered for the Ping clubs, and each of their designs are innovative and original, creating clubs that are beneficial to every golfer. Here are some of their key patents and products:

In 1962, the ‘Heel-Toe Weighted‘ Ping club was granted patent. This design revolutionized golf club design and had an influence on many clubs available in the market today.

In 1969, the ‘Perimeter-Weighted, Investment-Cast‘ irons were introduced. The significance of these irons is that the perimeter weighting is able to increase the moment of inertia – the tiny space of time between contact and flight – making the Ping iron more ‘forgiving’ if the club face isn’t quite square to the ball when striking it.

The Cushion Selective Filtering Insert is another piece of patented technology found in Ping clubs. This insert reduces and disperses the unwanted frequencies of vibration that can affect the muscle, bone, and connective tissue in the golfer’s hands, arms and shoulders. Through this invention, the golfer receives less vibration with greater feel on each shot.

These design innovations – and the game-improving results they provide – are the reason for the popularity of Ping clubs. These clubs are widely used because of their ever-changing yet reliable design. Furthermore, the improvements they can make to your game are likely the reason for occasional ‘battles’ between PGA pros who want to use them and those who consider them an unfair advantage!

If you do buy a set, or individual Ping clubs, record the serial numbers. If you ever need one replaced, its serial number can be used to identify the specs used in the manufacture of your club, no matter how many times its design may have been changed since you bought yours. The company can make you a new one to those original specs, so your set will be complete and fully compatible again.