Ping PLD Custom Program

[5hort5tuff]

17 hours ago, BostonWRX said:

Debating between a custom PLD or taking my specs and buying a Mack Made. The virtual fitting was really cool 

 

Nice. I guess that's a choice you have to make. 

[newportbeach]

19 hours ago, BostonWRX said:

Debating between a custom PLD or taking my specs and buying a Mack Made. The virtual fitting was really cool 

interesting keep us updated on your choice. 

[newportbeach]

perhaps you could get a limited PLD and adjust it to your specs if you fit the Anser 

Edited October 10, 2022 by newportbeach

[mojomover]

Alright, finalized my order with Alex. Before going into the details, Alex is awesome. Lots of folks earlier had mentioned how patient he is but he goes over and beyond to ensure you are having the best putter fitting and custom putter made for you. He sent a ton of comparison pics and was extremely responsive (typically gets back within a few hours). A++ for just the VIP treatment here.

 

Specs: 

Anser 2D, Carbon in patina, with the prototype head without the 3 dashes

2* Flat

Standard loft

no alignment, can add later. Wanted to experiment with just topline but figured will try it out first as it is not possible to remove one

Stepless shaft

Shallow Amp milling

 

FWIW: the graphite shaft is out of stock, and is a 2-3 month wait. An example of Alex going over and above, he checked every avenue for that shaft (including calling the tour van etc). Apparently the shaft is too stiff, so they are redesigning and will have a new version. He offered to swap the shafts if I decide to do so later. 

 

One thing I was curious, Alex had to go find a head for me that was the ping logo without the lines. I was under the impression they would be freshly milling these vs having some heads lying around? Is it that the proto heads are pre-milled and the others are freshly missed? 

 

 

[BostonWRX]

3 hours ago, newportbeach said:

interesting keep us updated on your choice. 

Probably do the wrx thing and order 1 of each…. If I wasn’t going TR grooves I’d 100% go Mack Made. It’s the only thing keeping me leaning towards the PLD Custom 

[bambooluv]

Love this thread 🙂

 

Stumbled upon the PLD milled line just browsing like an equipment nut that I, sorry, WE are lol and ended up going to my local shop to pickup and game an Anser-2. Decades ago when the Redwood line dropped, it was all I could think about to game but a young college student income wouldn't allow it. Went deep down the Cameron rabbit hole for years after I was able to afford the equipment I would like. Eventually purchased a few custom milled putters from vendors that offer a "true" custom fit but, in the grand scheme still left something to be desired in the terms of a TRUE in person fitting experience. We'll last week jumped on the PLD site and booked an in person fitting and cannot wait till I get to go through the full gambit as some of you guys have experienced come end of November. Keep the pics coming guys.

 

Pdang

[TimBuma]

1 hour ago, BostonWRX said:

Probably do the wrx thing and order 1 of each…. If I wasn’t going TR grooves I’d 100% go Mack Made. It’s the only thing keeping me leaning towards the PLD Custom 

What was the reason you chose the TR grooves?

[BostonWRX]

1 hour ago, littletimbo182 said:

What was the reason you chose the TR grooves?

Not sure if they truly work but sounds like they can only help-mainly w/ lag putting 

[ColinKelvin]

20 hours ago, mojomover said:

Alright, finalized my order with Alex. Before going into the details, Alex is awesome. Lots of folks earlier had mentioned how patient he is but he goes over and beyond to ensure you are having the best putter fitting and custom putter made for you. He sent a ton of comparison pics and was extremely responsive (typically gets back within a few hours). A++ for just the VIP treatment here.

 

Specs: 

Anser 2D, Carbon in patina, with the prototype head without the 3 dashes

2* Flat

Standard loft

no alignment, can add later. Wanted to experiment with just topline but figured will try it out first as it is not possible to remove one

Stepless shaft

Shallow Amp milling

 

FWIW: the graphite shaft is out of stock, and is a 2-3 month wait. An example of Alex going over and above, he checked every avenue for that shaft (including calling the tour van etc). Apparently the shaft is too stiff, so they are redesigning and will have a new version. He offered to swap the shafts if I decide to do so later. 

 

One thing I was curious, Alex had to go find a head for me that was the ping logo without the lines. I was under the impression they would be freshly milling these vs having some heads lying around? Is it that the proto heads are pre-milled and the others are freshly missed? 

 

 

 

I can't remember where, but I saw a picture or two of racks of raw heads waiting to be personalised/adjusted to spec - I presume they add the face milling as per orders. The three lines in the cavity, assuming that's what you meant, are part of the design of these putters.  They made PLDs without the lines pre-launching the custom service (mainly for tour and those with 'Ins' at Ping I think); I had one for a while which I bought used.  I've heard they have a small number of proto heads still in stock without the lines - and I agree that those look nicer!

 

Very interesting on the graphite being too stiff!

[BostonWRX]

Ended up just ordering 

Anser 4J TR grooves Proto head

Flange line black paintfill 

Dark Oyster

Matte stepless Black shaft

PP58 Mid Blackout 

350g(with the tungsten) 1 strong 1 flat 35”

I like the blacked out look. Can add engraving down the road if they expand into more of what I wanted I was told. Now the long 4-6 week wait. 

[kwonye]

Good to know, thanks! That's pretty good for any club at this point...

[TimBuma]

1 hour ago, BostonWRX said:

Ended up just ordering 

Anser 4J TR grooves Proto head

Flange line black paintfill 

Dark Oyster

Matte stepless Black shaft

PP58 Mid Blackout 

350g(with the tungsten) 1 strong 1 flat 35”

I like the blacked out look. Can add engraving down the road if they expand into more of what I wanted I was told. Now the long 4-6 week wait. 

What style neck is the J?

[BostonWRX]

8 minutes ago, littletimbo182 said:

What style neck is the J?

Flow. We went back and forth between the plumber vs flow. Since I only ever miss left went for more toe hang w/ flow. Pic is my putter minus heel toe engraving + finish 

Edited October 11, 2022 by BostonWRX

[Adam Edmunds]

Wanted to jump in on this thread, I'm based in the UK & in the summer I heard about the PLD programme, with the use of a VPN I managed to booked a fitting and flew out to Arizona specifically for the fitting last month.

 

I can say without question that if you can do the in-person option it is worth the time & effort, Alex was superb (as many have you have mentioned) it didn't take long to solve my miss left on short putts, It was amazing to see the improvements by some small adjustments & in the end of it there was a significant reduction to my putting handicap.

 

Last part of the session was on the outside green where we focused on the milling, this allowed get how I wanted the putter to sound & the feel off the face. Going into the booking I was very set on the head finish of Patina & the idea of the DS72 head, that was until I got the Anser 4J Oyster in my hands & that created a dilemma!

 

Last part was writing up the order &  we settled on the Anser 4j. You won't have seen this as an option because it's still a proto but the neck suited my style, finally we visited the vault & was able to handle any of the putters, for any golf fan this is a must!  

 

One great addition was that the Programme states they only ship to the USA, after some internal discussions they agreed to ship the putter to Ping UK, this makes it much easier than me having to get it shipped to a friend then over to the UK, this was something they hadn't had to consider before as they noted I was the first non US citizen to be fitted.

 

After the fitting I was still not sure on if i'd selected the right finish so I contacted Alex & I ordered another putter with a contrasting look.

 

Hoping to get the putters in the coming weeks, photos to follow

 

 

[UnderPar18]

I have my Zoom call with Alex today and a little worried on how it is going to go. Seeing the wide style Anser and Anser 2 pics on this thread I really was leaning towards something a little more bulky than the typical Anser style. Having heard though that these wider styles start at 365grams it basically throws my initial thoughts on what I wanted out the window as i like my putters at 345-350 grams. 

 

 

[tilasan]

46 minutes ago, UnderPar18 said:

I have my Zoom call with Alex today and a little worried on how it is going to go. Seeing the wide style Anser and Anser 2 pics on this thread I really was leaning towards something a little more bulky than the typical Anser style. Having heard though that these wider styles start at 365grams it basically throws my initial thoughts on what I wanted out the window as i like my putters at 345-350 grams. 

 

 

Look at the kushin which weighs 350.

[Adam Edmunds]

1 hour ago, UnderPar18 said:

I have my Zoom call with Alex today and a little worried on how it is going to go. Seeing the wide style Anser and Anser 2 pics on this thread I really was leaning towards something a little more bulky than the typical Anser style. Having heard though that these wider styles start at 365grams it basically throws my initial thoughts on what I wanted out the window as i like my putters at 345-350 grams. 

 

 

My Anser will be 360 gms, we tried this weight in the fitting and it worked as we wanted it to, if you find the head you like they can add weight where needed.

[MattM97]

4 hours ago, Adam Edmunds said:

Wanted to jump in on this thread, I'm based in the UK & in the summer I heard about the PLD programme, with the use of a VPN I managed to booked a fitting and flew out to Arizona specifically for the fitting last month.

 

I can say without question that if you can do the in-person option it is worth the time & effort, Alex was superb (as many have you have mentioned) it didn't take long to solve my miss left on short putts, It was amazing to see the improvements by some small adjustments & in the end of it there was a significant reduction to my putting handicap.

 

Last part of the session was on the outside green where we focused on the milling, this allowed get how I wanted the putter to sound & the feel off the face. Going into the booking I was very set on the head finish of Patina & the idea of the DS72 head, that was until I got the Anser 4J Oyster in my hands & that created a dilemma!

 

Last part was writing up the order &  we settled on the Anser 4j. You won't have seen this as an option because it's still a proto but the neck suited my style, finally we visited the vault & was able to handle any of the putters, for any golf fan this is a must!  

 

One great addition was that the Programme states they only ship to the USA, after some internal discussions they agreed to ship the putter to Ping UK, this makes it much easier than me having to get it shipped to a friend then over to the UK, this was something they hadn't had to consider before as they noted I was the first non US citizen to be fitted.

 

After the fitting I was still not sure on if i'd selected the right finish so I contacted Alex & I ordered another putter with a contrasting look.

 

Hoping to get the putters in the coming weeks, photos to follow

 

 

 

It sucks how people outside the US have to use a work around but at least I know it can be done. But like you I'd rather go there personally vs do a virtual fitting. 

[Adam Edmunds]

8 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

It sucks how people outside the US have to use a work around but at least I know it can be done. But like you I'd rather go there personally vs do a virtual fitting. 

They did question how I got around it, they had their assumptions but didn't want to accuse 🙂 

[MattM97]

Just now, Adam Edmunds said:

They did question how I got around it, they had their assumptions but didn't want to accuse 🙂 

 

 

I'm in Canada and the Ping HQ is actually 10min from my office so not like I'm in the middle of no where. I get if they don't want to ship a cradle even though I do have a US address to ship to, etc. 

 

Like I want a putter, let me get a putter, if not someone else will get my money lol. 

[Adam Edmunds]

2 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

 

 

I'm in Canada and the Ping HQ is actually 10min from my office so not like I'm in the middle of no where. I get if they don't want to ship a cradle even though I do have a US address to ship to, etc. 

 

Like I want a putter, let me get a putter, if not someone else will get my money lol. 

You don't need to show your address at booking, just use a VPN and you will be sorted, Alex did mention they were expanding the programme to Japan & UK soon but no mention of Canada

 

[newportbeach]

5 hours ago, Adam Edmunds said:

Wanted to jump in on this thread, I'm based in the UK & in the summer I heard about the PLD programme, with the use of a VPN I managed to booked a fitting and flew out to Arizona specifically for the fitting last month.

 

I can say without question that if you can do the in-person option it is worth the time & effort, Alex was superb (as many have you have mentioned) it didn't take long to solve my miss left on short putts, It was amazing to see the improvements by some small adjustments & in the end of it there was a significant reduction to my putting handicap.

 

Last part of the session was on the outside green where we focused on the milling, this allowed get how I wanted the putter to sound & the feel off the face. Going into the booking I was very set on the head finish of Patina & the idea of the DS72 head, that was until I got the Anser 4J Oyster in my hands & that created a dilemma!

 

Last part was writing up the order &  we settled on the Anser 4j. You won't have seen this as an option because it's still a proto but the neck suited my style, finally we visited the vault & was able to handle any of the putters, for any golf fan this is a must!  

 

One great addition was that the Programme states they only ship to the USA, after some internal discussions they agreed to ship the putter to Ping UK, this makes it much easier than me having to get it shipped to a friend then over to the UK, this was something they hadn't had to consider before as they noted I was the first non US citizen to be fitted.

 

After the fitting I was still not sure on if i'd selected the right finish so I contacted Alex & I ordered another putter with a contrasting look.

 

Hoping to get the putters in the coming weeks, photos to follow

 

 

 

Great feedback thanks for sharing - I look forward to seeing your putter.

[UnderPar18]

So not sure I am the first and likely will not be the last, but I may not go forward with ordering a Ping putter. Had my Zoom meeting with Alex today and he was fantastic on every level. The wide style putters were dismissed as options on my end because of the inability to get them down to 350grams. The Kushin style just isn't my cup of tea, which really left me with an Anser X or an Anser. I already have 2 anser style putters so it felt pointless to drop the coin on another one. The Anser X intrigues me, but not sure it intrigues me THAT much. I don't mind a double bend mallet, but a double bend blade just looks odd to me. 

[Motoboss]

44 minutes ago, UnderPar18 said:

 The wide style putters were dismissed as options on my end because of the inability to get them down to 350grams. 

 

I understand not wanting another Anser but my 4J head is 340g.

 

 

[TimBuma]

Just had my online fitting with Jeff and really enjoyed it. Final specs:

Head style: Anser 2

Finish: Carbon with dark patina

Face: ball width shallow grooves

Shaft: matte black stepless

Alignment: single black dot 

Paint fill: all black

 

[TimBuma]

On 10/12/2022 at 6:31 PM, littletimbo182 said:

Just had my online fitting with Jeff and really enjoyed it. Final specs:

Head style: Anser 2

Finish: Carbon with dark patina

Face: ball width shallow grooves

Shaft: matte black stepless

Alignment: single black dot 

Paint fill: all black

 

It was down the the anser 2 at 355 grams or ds 72 at 365. Really torn between these two shapes. I currently play something very similar to the anser 2. So not sure if I should do with the ds 72 for something slightly different. Or go with the anser 2 because it’s a shape I’ve had success with. 

[Adam Edmunds]

11 hours ago, littletimbo182 said:

It was down the the anser 2 at 355 grams or ds 72 at 365. Really torn between these two shapes. I currently play something very similar to the anser 2. So not sure if I should do with the ds 72 for something slightly different. Or go with the anser 2 because it’s a shape I’ve had success with. 

The Anser4j will be going straight in the back however putting is a confidence game, I also ordered a DS72 that will be cosmetically very different so if I have a couple of off games I know I have a back up that's still built exactly to my needs but a different look, 

 

Can't wait for them to arrive

 

[HoganHO]

Anyone receive a random FedEx shipping notification from Ping? Either it’s a mistake, or they’re sending a gift to PLD owners!

[TimBuma]

44 minutes ago, HoganHO said:

Anyone receive a random FedEx shipping notification from Ping? Either it’s a mistake, or they’re sending a gift to PLD owners!

I’ve seen a few people post that they’ve received a valuables pouch.

[JDTex]

Does PLD offer a short slant neck (jet) or is it always the flow neck?