As we come up on the Open Championship, Ping is readying the final release in its Ping Slam collection, the PLD Limited Anser, commemorating Seve Ballesteros’ 1988 triumph at Royal Lytham & St Annes. The win marked the third Open Championship for Ballesteros with the putter.
The Anser’s place in putter history is unquestioned, earning 19 major championship titles, the first coming with George Archer at the 1969 Masters.
The Ping Slam collection pays homage to the fact that only once in the history of the men’s four professional majors has a single putter brand been used to win all four in the same calendar year. That was in 1988 when all four major winners used Ping putters in their victories.
The company is producing precision-milled versions of the four winning models (Pal, Pal 2, Zing 2 and Anser, respectively) to be dropped each Tuesday of this year’s four major championship weeks, the latest offering drops on July 18 at 2pm, US time (4am on Wednesday, AEST), at pingpld.com.
Only 88 of each model will be available for $US990 (limit one per customer) during each corresponding major’s week. On December 5, collectors will have the opportunity to purchase one of 35 complete sets of the PLD Limited Ping Slam putters for $US4,990 (limit one per customer), which will come with a custom-designed display unit.
“Even though at the time it was the third major of the season, it’s fitting to complete this part of the ‘Ping Slam’ celebration by recognising Seve’s win at the Open Championship that year,” said John A. Solheim, Ping’s executive chairman. “Seve was our most loyal and accomplished Anser user, earning 47 wins with it, including all five of his major championships. His victories are represented in more than three rows on a rack in the Ping gold putter vault and have helped make the Anser the winningest putter of all time.”
In consultation with Solheim, Ping’s engineers and historian scoured the company archives, reviewing old images and carefully measuring putterheads to retain the integrity of the four classic designs during the milling process. They even visited the putter vault to study and analyse each model’s intricacies to ensure Karsten Solheim’s original designs remained intact.
The putters are fully machined and custom built by Ping WRX master craftsmen at the company’s Phoenix headquarters and each putter is serialised for authenticity and includes a custom headcover unique to each of the four major events.
The fully milled Anser features a 310-gram head weight along with an antique finish reminiscent of the tarnished manganese bronze of the original Anser. Adding to the authenticity is the iconic sound slot cut into the sole for a crisper feel and sound.
The backstory of the Anser design is well-chronicled, from it first being sketched by Karsten Solheim on a 78rpm record sleeve to his wife Louise’s idea to name the putter Anser, cleverly suggesting Karsten leave out the letter “w” in the word answer to ensure the name would fit on the back of the putter. It’s been used in more than 700 tour wins in its history.
“Celebrating this achievement has brought back some wonderful memories from 1988,” Solheim said. “I’ve really enjoyed working with our team to ensure Karsten’s original designs remained intact while giving them the precise details and strikingly clean, premium appearance made possible through the milling process. The response of our loyal customers has been tremendous as each of the models has sold out very quickly. It’s been a great way to pay tribute to Karsten’s success and celebrate an accomplishment that remains unmatched.”
