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 golf equipment. They produce golf clubs and golf bags. The company is based in Phoenix, Arizona.
PING 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
History of PING
How it All Started
Karsten Solheim began PING golf in his garage in 1959. He was frustrated with how hard it was to putt with the golf clubs back then. As an engineer, he decided to invent a new putter himself.
He called his first invention the "PING 1A." Instead of attaching the club's shaft at the side, he put it in the center. He used science to design golf clubs. Before this, most clubs were made by just trying things out. Karsten moved most of the club's weight to its edges.
The name "PING" came from the sound the metal made when it hit the golf ball. A musician named Murray Arnold said in 1960 that the sound was like a piano tuning fork. By the end of 1960, Karsten had six designs. He had made over 2,000 putters in his garage.
In 1961, the Solheim family moved to Phoenix, Arizona. This is where the company would stay. Even though PING putter sales grew, Karsten kept making them by himself.
That same year, he made his first set of irons. He named them "69," because that was a good golf score to him. Karsten kept trying new ways to balance the weight in his irons. He also carved a hollow space in the back of the irons. This made them more forgiving if you didn't hit the ball perfectly.
Growing Success
The first time a PING club won a major tournament was in 1962. John Barnum won the Cajun Classic Open Invitational using a PING putter. PING putter sales grew as more people learned about them. The Golf World Cup in 1965 made PING even more popular. Many top players used PING putters during the televised event in Japan.
In 1966, Karsten Solheim had an idea for a new putter. He quickly sketched the design on a record cover. After he finished the design, 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 to fit on the putter. So, it was shortened to "Anser." Also, without the "W," it could be officially protected as a brand name.
PING faced a challenge in late 1966. The USGA (the group that makes golf rules) said most PING putters were not allowed. They thought a special bend in the shaft gave players an unfair advantage. Only the Anser putter was still allowed.
Things changed when Julius Boros won the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open in 1967. He used Karsten's "Anser" putter. Later that year, Karsten left General Electric. He moved his business from his garage to a factory. This new company was called Karsten Manufacturing Corporation (KMC).
The official approval for the PING Anser putter came on March 21, 1967. The first major golf championship won with a PING putter was the Masters in 1969. That same year, Ping made irons using the same weight-balancing idea. These irons quickly became popular. Other golf companies soon started using Ping's ideas, which became standard for the industry.
Ping's Impact
In 2018, the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, met with President Donald Trump. She gave him a Ping "Bergen" Putter as a gift. This showed the strong connection between the two countries. Karsten Solheim, Ping's founder, was born in Norway. He moved to the United States when he was a toddler.
Making Clubs Fit You
Ping was the first company to make high-quality golf clubs using a method called investment casting. This way of making clubs lowered costs. It also helped make sure the clubs were high-tech and well-made. This process made it easier to create custom-fit clubs.
Ping was also the first to offer custom fitting from their factory. They had many different clubheads. Around 1980, Ping started a fitting program. It used a checklist about a player's body, common problems, and how far they hit the ball.
In 2011, Ping's website had a checklist with about 100 details. This was part of a five-step process to fit every club, from the driver to the putter.
To make custom fitting easier, Ping makes some iron clubheads with a small cut. This cut lets the clubhead be bent to the right shape. This is safer than bending older models, which could break.
Professional Golfers Who Use Ping
Ping has deals with many professional golfers. These golfers play on the top golf tours and use Ping clubs. Some of these players include Tony Finau, Viktor Hovland, Louis Oosthuizen, Sahith Theegala, Bubba Watson, and Lee Westwood.
