Golf Equipment – Why an Engineer Created PING Golf Clubs

How did the PING line of Golf Clubs come to being? Mr. Karsten Solheim, was a mechanical engineer working at General Electric. He was working predominantly in the aerospace and computer industries. He was also an amateur golfer who was not satisfied with his putting skills. So, he designed his own putter.

Today, the PING Golf Corporation makes a full line of premier golf clubs and a host other golf improvement products. PING continues to operate as a family owned company. Their products are sold worldwide in over 70 countries. Today, golf professionals frequently use PING golf clubs in tournament play.

Where did the name come from? The name PING comes from the pinging tones that you can hear when the PING golf club hits the golf ball. PING putters helped to dramatically alter the golf putter market with their heel-to-toe weighting design. Sports Illustrated magazine called the PING 1A putter, the musical putter from the sweet sound that it emitted.

After creating a new putter, in 1961 Solheim designed and built his first set of irons. He called the irons 69. He felt that a score of 69 was a good round of golf. He made further modifications to the heel-toe weightings. A cavity was placed in the back portion of the irons to help improve shots.

In 1966, the USGA decided that nearly all of the PING putters were disallowed from tournament play. The only PING putter that would still be allowed for tournament play was the recently design Anser putter. The Anser would revolutionize the putter in golf. It had a cavity back and low center of gravity. It offered a superior feeling for golfers of all abilities. It set the mark for what is now considered the conventional putter. PING clubs have over 500 professional tournament victories to their name. The PING Anser putter has more tournament wins than any other.

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