Ping putters - Sept 2019

[AppAlum]

> @son_of_keto said:

> Love Ping putters, but that cut out - insert? I don’t think so - looks like the edges could shoot the ball off on an angle. Optical illusion?

 

How bad do you miss the center? ?

[phelps22]

> @RogerinNewZealand said:

> Beautiful selection and none available to buy for Xmas....what a missed opportunity.

 

The way Ping tries to keep tabs on these makes me think we will never see them in the retail market.

 

 

[Titletown]

PING sounds really scummy

[Titletown]

Does anyone have a good explanation as to why these are so protected by PING?

[Foreleft]

One thing that set Ping apart was that if their product was available to the pro staff, the same models were available at retail.

 

Guess you can kick that concept to the curb.

[phelps22]

> @Foreleft said:

> One thing that set Ping apart was that if their product was available to the pro staff, the same models were available at retail.

>

> Guess you can kick that concept to the curb.

 

Definitely used to be like that, even the fully milled 303 putters were available through the larger accounts. PLD has changed everything.

 

 

[titleless_30]

I think they are trying to get into the "limited" market, but the putters they've released aren't even the ones we want.

[erock9174]

> @QuigleyDU said:

> > @Konklifer said:

> > > @johngalt312 said:

> > > S/N redacted to protect the innocent:

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> > Give us the details!

>

> You just started a manhunt for some poor sap that set up the sale of the putter. Ping has sent out their henchmen with black bags..

 

Pretty soon Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith will be at his door

[cardoustie]

that 2nd PLD that looks like a Matera is AMAZING

[SlothofDespond]

> @erock9174 said:

> Pretty soon Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith will be at his door

 

I’m guessing they cut off whoever it is from PLD access if they can’t get it back. It’s weird to draw attention to it like this though.

 

I wonder what the internal dynamics are at Ping right now. It’s not a good look to have so many pros playing putters that aren’t available in any form retail. Cameron at least runs a boutique shop if you want his real putters. Did Ping bet on the Vault line and some exec is unhappy it’s been rejected by tour pros?

[ElKabong]

Putter porn..

[Byrdman2230]

These look amazing and it makes zero sense for them not to be available to the public

[BCC1898]

I think it makes Ping look very petty to be out stopping people from acquiring (and worse threatening people to get them back) putters that are in the open market. Not a good look.

[Frid_the_kid]

> @Titletown said:

> Does anyone have a good explanation as to why these are so protected by PING?

 

I would guess that they seller received the putter for free (caddie, college player..etc). Makes sense for Ping to be pissed if the putter was given to a player for free, then they turn around break the agreement and flip it for $1,800 or whatever price it sold for.

That’s gotta be how Ping found out. They don’t know the serial numbers of my clubs because I’m a nobody, but they sure know the serial numbers of the clubs the provide to tour/Elite college.

[Zach Heusser]

That BeCu Tyne looks sick. I would auto buy a heel shafted one !

[braincramp52]

> @Foreleft said:

> One thing that set Ping apart was that if their product was available to the pro staff, the same models were available at retail.

>

> Guess you can kick that concept to the curb.

 

You're exactly right. As a lefty, the majority of stuff I've played the last 15 years or so has been Ping. Their products just flat out work and I always knew when I saw something from Ping new come out, it would be available to me for use. As of right now Ping doesn't have a putter for sale that I care that much for unless I go back to playing the Redwoods. Seeing these awesome PLD's and not being able to game one just ticks me off.

[nova6868]

> @titleless_30 said:

> I think they are trying to get into the "limited" market, but the putters they've released aren't even the ones we want.

 

These are the rules of the "limited market" - It's all about creating social media buzz, attracting first-time customers to your brand, etc. It's NOT about giving people access to the products they want. That's not the point. In fact to create buzz and "disrupt" you need to make the products very hard to obtain.

 

But honestly I'm a little disappointed to see PING act like this. The "limited" business model just doesn't do it for me. Seems dishonest or something.

[Konklifer]

> @nova6868 said:

> > @titleless_30 said:

> > I think they are trying to get into the "limited" market, but the putters they've released aren't even the ones we want.

>

> These are the rules of the "limited market" - It's all about creating social media buzz, attracting first-time customers to your brand, etc. It's NOT about giving people access to the products they want. That's not the point. In fact to create buzz and "disrupt" you need to make the products very hard to obtain.

>

> But honestly I'm a little disappointed to see PING act like this. The "limited" business model just doesn't do it for me. Seems dishonest or something.

 

These aren't made for the public. How is it a limited business model?

[nova6868]

Well this thread is now 5 pages long so I'd say they're doing a pretty good job of creating online buzz.

[BCC1898]

> @nova6868 said:

> Well this thread is now 5 pages long so I'd say they're doing a pretty good job of creating online buzz.

 

...or annoying potential buyers.

 

 

[Oldboy]

buzz for putters that we can't purchase and thereby increase PING's revenue stream? lame.. that kinda buzz backfires

[agood3putt]

I'd love it if PING came out with the Tyne H in the Vault Line. Loved the shape of that putter in the Sigma line

[ckguy914]

These PLD putters are not mass produced. Not only are they expensive to make monetarily, it is also time consuming. This program was started with only to service the PGA Tour in mind, not trying to make a buck. It is not as simple of scaling the manufacturing process of just making 3-5 at a time to all of the sudden makings thousands of them.

 

With some special exceptions, they are primarily only available to PGA Tour players because of the limited available resources to make them. You can imagine how PING might feel if significant resources (time and money) are invested into these putters and you see non-PGA Tour players, who received them for free, flip them for a nice chunk of change.

[Byrdman2230]

> @lawsonman said:

> > @Foreleft said:

> > One thing that set Ping apart was that if their product was available to the pro staff, the same models were available at retail.

> >

> > Guess you can kick that concept to the curb.

>

> As of right now Ping doesn't have a putter for sale that I care that much for unless I go back to playing the Redwoods.

 

This is why I still play a Redwood D66. I don't really care for the putters that Ping has released over the recent years. The Vault line is pretty good, but there isn't much there for my strong arc. The Sigma 2 line has some nice head shapes, but the insert is just too soft/dead. A lot of us just want a clean, simple milled line of putters. I'd love an anser 4 or tyne mid 4.

 

[Joelsim]

I’ve promised myself not to buy any more putters for a while, and haven’t fancied any Ping putters for a while now, they look cheap.

 

But if it was to become available, I’ll deffo pick up one of these flow neck, wide blades. Or maybe a B60.

 

 

[RodrigoNicely]

What you have to keep in mind as well is these are all done in Scottsdale. These are not heads Scotty Cameron gets from China and finishes here in the States. These are done from scratch at Ping. PLD program will never be mass produced. Only hope is some of the head shapes make their way into vault line but the PLD program is not mass market

[titleless_30]

They have released a few models, I believe 3 PLD releases. They did the Bruzer a few months ago.

> @Konklifer said:

> > @nova6868 said:

> > > @titleless_30 said:

> > > I think they are trying to get into the "limited" market, but the putters they've released aren't even the ones we want.

> >

> > These are the rules of the "limited market" - It's all about creating social media buzz, attracting first-time customers to your brand, etc. It's NOT about giving people access to the products they want. That's not the point. In fact to create buzz and "disrupt" you need to make the products very hard to obtain.

> >

> > But honestly I'm a little disappointed to see PING act like this. The "limited" business model just doesn't do it for me. Seems dishonest or something.

>

> These aren't made for the public. How is it a limited business model?

 

 

[Scotty1140]

> @RodrigoNicely said:

> What you have to keep in mind as well is these are all done in Scottsdale. These are not heads Scotty Cameron gets from China and finishes here in the States. These are done from scratch at Ping. PLD program will never be mass produced. Only hope is some of the head shapes make their way into vault line but the PLD program is not mass market

 

Cameron's heads do not come from China.

[RodrigoNicely]

Maybe not but they are not done in house like the pld program

> @Scotty1140 said:

> > @RodrigoNicely said:

> > What you have to keep in mind as well is these are all done in Scottsdale. These are not heads Scotty Cameron gets from China and finishes here in the States. These are done from scratch at Ping. PLD program will never be mass produced. Only hope is some of the head shapes make their way into vault line but the PLD program is not mass market

>

> Cameron's heads do not come from China.

 

 

[ColinKelvin]

> @Joelsim said:

> I’ve promised myself not to buy any more putters for a while, and haven’t fancied any Ping putters for a while now, they look cheap.

>

> But if it was to become available, I’ll deffo pick up one of these flow neck, wide blades. Or maybe a B60.

>

>

>

 

That's a lovely looking putter - do you think it is copper, or a copper finish? It appears to be a PLD version of a Kushin head shape.

 

I agree that some of the retail Pings just now (looking at you, Sigma 2!) look cheap and plasticky. Vault 2.0 are OK, but are completely undermined by the fact that PLD beauties such as these are out there, tour-only. I have said it before and will now say it again - I am extremely disappointed that Ping has bifurcated their retail and tour putter ranges, for the first time in their history. To me, this goes entirely against how the company has always operated, and its strengths as pioneers of customised fitting, access and encouragement for all golfers, etc. I don't think Karsten Solheim would have gone down this road.