If you really want a putter that's exactly suited to your game, you really need to consider Ping.
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| Ping's JAS series features increased weight in the putter head.(Provided to SportsLine) |
The new putters will be shipping soon to retail stores and golf shops, and will be available throughout next season.
There are three separate families of putters now joining the Ping portfolio: G2, Specify and JAS. Because of the different clubhead types and hosel configurations available, nearly 60 individual putters are being offered. In addition to all the existing putters that Ping will continue to make, the company now manufactures more than 150 different putters, by far the largest selection of flat sticks in the golf industry.
This large selection, and its popularity, is clearly reflected among golfers everywhere. Go to any course in the world and you can easily find a foursome in which every player is using a Ping putter. More than 70 tour players worldwide use Ping equipment, including Mark Calcavecchia, Chris DiMarco, Jeff Maggert, Bob May, Pat Hurst, Carin Koch, Bob Gilder, Angel Cabrera, Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Since they began making them, Ping putters have led the way to more than 2,000 tour victories, including nearly 50 major championships.
In capsule, the latest lineup of Ping putters represents: G2, a project that took the most popular Ping models and enhanced the inertia weighting by as much as 20 percent to help better square the clubface; Specify, an innovative concept geared to the fitting-conscious golfer; JAS, a high-tech design that adds considerable weight to the putter head and dramatically increases the speed, force and stability of the stroke at impact.
In addition to varying characteristics, the new putters vary in cost. Suggested retail prices range as low as $110 for the G2 models ($135 for the C10 long putter), to $175 for the Specify line, to $425 for the JAS series.
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Information: • Check out the specs on Ping |
The most noticeable common trait among the new putters is that none of the models is being made with any sort of face insert, such as those offered by Ping's popular Isopur and IsoForce lines. All of the new putters, which come with head covers, will be serialized with individual numbers to aid in security and replacement, if needed.
Here's a closer look at the new putters from Ping.
G2
Not only did John K. Solheim -- son of chairman John A. Solheim and grandson of the late Ping founder, Karsten Solheim -- direct the develop of this new putter line, he named the series G2 to represent "the second generation of Ping's winning models."
There are 16 models of steelheaded G2 putters, including the tried-and-true Anser, PAL, B60 and Zing styles. New models include the center-shafted C67, straight-back ZSB, mallet style Piper and Piper C, traditional blade style Tess, double-bend shafted Anser C, mid-length Anser B and long-shafted C10.
In brief, the various styles are designed with differing clubhead shapes, hosel configurations, technologically optimized weighting and alignment aids.
"Every factor that we deem important in the design of a putter has been greatly improved in the G2 family," said John K. Solheim, who serves as vice president of engineering. "We've increased the inertia by design, as well as adding mass to the G2 putters. We've also lowered the center of gravity, creating more forgiveness and better roll."
SPECIFY
Feel and custom-fitting are the features most emphasized in conjunction with the new Specify putters.
Golfers will be able to completely custom fit each putter to their preferences and playing characteristics. With three body styles (Anser, Ally, Zing), four different hosels and three putter weights, Specify offers 36 different combinations.
The most striking aspect of the new putter series is what John A. Solheim called the "optigraphic effect" presented by the color contrast of the two parallel materials used front and back to construct the putterhead.
"(The optigraphic effect) definitely promotes squareness to simplify putting alignment," said Solheim.
The head weights offered comprise light, standard and heavy, ranging from 310 to 370 grams. Overall head weight is determined by the weight of the rear flange, which is made from a dark-colored polymer injected with heavy tungsten powder. The face and flange of the putter are joined by two screws that seat into the flange.
Customization includes being able to "specify" the shaft length, head lie, face loft and grip desired. Standard loft is three degrees.
Because of the customization involved, would-be purchasers should be fitted by a professional at a golf store or on-course shop. These are not "off-the-rack" putters, but Ping promises the wait for delivery won't be long, with shipping within a few days of ordering.
In testing several demo models among a group of amateur golfers assembled by GolfWeb, there was considerable praise for the look, feel and performance of both the G2 and Specify putters, and a strong consensus that custom-ordering any of the putters would be worth the brief wait for delivery.
JAS
"We are maximizing putter weighting to achieve extremely high inertia with our new family of JAS putters," said John A. Solheim, who lent his initials to the naming of the new line.
What this means is that Ping is significantly moving the weighting more toward the heel and toe, and lower in the clubface, to provide up to 40 percent improvement in stability at impact, according to company figures. A prime benefit is maximized forgiveness on off-center hits.
Forged from a soft-feeling grade of titanium, tungsten insert are brazed into the heel and toe areas, and then machine-finished to exacting tolerances. A new high-step shaft was designed by Ping and manufactured by True Temper especially for the JAS putters.
The five initial models available in the JAS series are Anser, Ally, Ally Max, Piper and Tess.
"The Anser is my father's most famous putter, and we have taken its design to new weighting extreme, giving it never-before-seen forgiveness," said chairman Solheim.
The most interesting of the models may be the new Tess, a traditional blade style without a cavity but augmented by tungsten heel and toe weighting.
"For the first time, Ping is making a true blade putter with modern weighting technology," said Solheim.
Editor's note: Look for Chuck Stogel's equipment columns each week on GolfWeb and PGATOUR.COM.
