Ping (golf) facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Sports equipment |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder | Karsten Solheim |
| Headquarters | , |
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Key people
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John A. Solheim, Chairman and CEO |
| Products | Golf clubs, bags |
Ping, Inc. (also known as PING) is an American company that makes sports equipment. It is located in Phoenix, Arizona. PING is famous for making golf clubs and golf bags. The company was started by Karsten Solheim. He used to be an engineer at General Electric. In 1959, he began making golf putters in his garage. By 1967, he left his engineering job to focus on PING full-time.
Contents
How PING Started
The First Golf Clubs
Karsten Solheim started PING in his garage in 1959. He loved golf but found it hard to putt with the clubs available then. As an engineer, he decided to create a better putter himself. He invented the "PING 1A" putter. Instead of attaching the club's shaft at the side, he put it in the middle. He used science to design golf clubs. Before him, most clubs were made by just trying things out.
The name "PING" came from the sound the club made when it hit the golf ball. A musician named Murray Arnold said in 1960 that the sound was like a piano's tuning note. By the end of 1960, Solheim had six designs. He had even made the "ping" sound quieter. He built over 2,000 putters in his garage.
In 1961, the Solheim family moved from Redwood City, California to Phoenix, Arizona. This became the permanent home for the company. Even though PING putter sales grew, Solheim kept making them by hand.
That same year, he made his first set of irons. He called them "69" because he thought that was a good golf score. Solheim kept trying new ways to make irons better. He even carved a hollow space into the back of the irons. This made them more forgiving if a golfer didn't hit the ball perfectly.
PING's First Big Wins
The first time a PING club won a PGA Tour event was in 1962. Golfer John Barnum won the Cajun Classic Open Invitational using a PING putter. As more golfers used PING, sales went up. The Golf World Cup in 1965 helped even more. Many top players used PING putters during the televised event in Japan. This made the garage-made putters even more popular.
The Famous Anser Putter
In 1966, Solheim had an idea for a new putter. He quickly sketched the design on a record cover. When the design was ready, he needed a name. His wife, Louise, suggested "Answer." She said it was "an answer for the vexing problems in putting." The name "Answer" was too long for the putter. So, it was shortened to "Anser." Also, without the "W," it could be easily trademarked.
PING faced a challenge in late 1966. The USGA, which sets golf rules, banned most PING putters. Only the Anser was allowed for tournaments. This was because other PING models had a special bend in the shaft. The USGA thought this gave players an unfair advantage.
But PING gained acceptance when Julius Boros won the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open in early 1967. He used Solheim's "Anser" putter. Later that year, Solheim left General Electric. He moved his business from his garage to a factory. He started Karsten Manufacturing Corporation (KMC) in Phoenix, Arizona. The patent for the PING Anser putter was granted on March 21, 1967. The first major golf championship won with a PING putter was the Masters in 1969.
In 1969, PING also introduced irons. These irons used the same idea of putting weight around the edges of the club. They quickly became very successful. Other golf companies soon started using PING's ideas. These ideas became standard in the golf industry. PING's last big invention in the 1960s was the K1 stainless steel iron set.
PING's Impact on Golf
PING changed how golf clubs were made. They were the first to offer high-quality clubs made by a process called investment casting. This method made clubs cheaper to make. It also allowed for better quality control. This set the stage for custom-fitting golf clubs.
PING was also the first company to offer factory fitting. This meant golfers could get clubs made just for them. Around 1980, PING started a fitting program. It used a checklist of a player's physical traits and common golf problems.
Today, PING still offers custom fitting. They make some iron clubheads with a small notch. This notch allows the clubhead to be bent to fit a player's needs. This helps avoid breaking the clubhead, which was a problem with older designs.
PING and Famous Golfers
PING has sponsorship deals with many professional golfers. These golfers play on the top golf tours. Some famous golfers who use PING clubs include Tony Finau, Viktor Hovland, Louis Oosthuizen, Sahith Theegala, Bubba Watson, and Lee Westwood.
A Special Gift
On January 10, 2018, the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, met with President Donald Trump at the White House. She gave him a PING "Bergen" Putter as a gift. This gift showed the strong connection between Norway and the United States. It also honored the history of Norwegian immigration to the U.S. PING's founder, Karsten Solheim, was born in Norway. He was from a town near Bergen. When he was a toddler, his family moved to Seattle, Washington.
