2021 Ping Tyne 4 - Materials?

twholbrook · February 28, 2023

Hey, does anyone have their hands on a Ping Tyne 4 and can tell me what materials there are and where? The reason I'm asking is I'm quite interested in it - I rolled a 2022 model and really liked it, and really like the idea of a soft feel insert. But I've read the black finish is terrible and prone to wear. So, because I have access to a machine shop, I'm thinking about buying it and blasting it clean to a silver brushed finish rather than the black.

What I know:

Main body is 17-4 stainless steel

Tungsten inserts on heel and toe of face

Dual-compound rubber insert

Pings site says the "line" has 17-4 SS, Tungsten, Aluminum so I'm wondering if I'm missing aluminum somewhere, but I can't see where it would be.

Bonus points - has anyone actually removed the insert? Thinking it would be best to do that just in case I mask it poorly or the blasting pressure is too high and ruins the insert (and the putter!)

MattM97 · February 28, 2023

Aluminum is probably on the larger mallets. If you look at the CA70, Fetch, Harwood, Oslo H, they all mention aluminum body or sole plate. The Tyne 4 has no mention of aluminum:

The distinctive design provides a balanced look at address while allowing for a steel weight in the heel and tungsten in the toe to ensure stability and make it highly forgiving and accurate. The “flow neck” hosel promotes a strong-arc stroke rotation.

blarkin97 · February 28, 2023

I used my 2021 DS72 last year and the finish did not wear at all. But I also keep my putter cover on at all times unless I'm putting that minute

I have seen some of the pictures of the wear though

twholbrook · February 28, 2023

Maybe I'll deal with it as is. I'm just going to be out at my office's machine shop soon and am tempted to use the blaster. I'm the same - I'm religious about covers and probably won't beat it up. Maybe I'll wait until it collects some wear before going that route.

AzRoger · March 1, 2023

16 hours ago, twholbrook said:

Bonus points - has anyone actually removed the insert? Thinking it would be best to do that just in case I mask it poorly or the blasting pressure is too high and ruins the insert (and the putter!)

I have an older Tyne Sigma G putter, the insert is shaped differently but my guess is it's installed the same. One issue I had with the insert is that one end came loose. My plan was to pry the insert off, clean it all up, and reinstall it. Trying to pry it off was a real PITA, the insert is very thin (maybe 1/16-1/32"), with the force needed to pry it off I thought I would probably break or bend the insert so stopped. Used some heat but again was afraid to use too much, not knowing what affect it would have on the insert. Not sure what type of adhesive they use for the insert but it's not regular golf epoxy, it's somewhat stretchy when cured but has a very strong adhesion. I gave up trying to remove the insert and just spread regular epoxy with a toothpick in the end that came loose and clamped it while it cured, it's held up well since then.

Edited March 1, 2023 by AzRoger

twholbrook · March 1, 2023

Nice of them to provide a cross-section on their website (attached)!

What you're describing is exactly what I'd want to avoid. Generally the mechanism to remove adhesive (epoxy or otherwise) is shear, but there doesnt look like much room to shear this out. I don't see a spot where you can get a small flat edge in to pry at it either. Its not like hosels where you can twist them to snap the bond. However - I don't think its epoxy - I saw a video of some White Hot inserts removal and they just boiled it and the adhesive looked like double sided tape. I used to work with the stuff professionally, they called it "PSA", pressure-sensitive adhesive. We used it to hold batteries in cellphones. I wouldnt be surprised if it was something like that. After all, all the engineering gone to that insert may get negated by super stiff epoxy.

I think for now I'll game it as-is, and if it picks up wear over time I'll look into refinishing (I can't resist).

AzRoger · March 1, 2023

In my case since one end was loose I was able to get a small screw driver wedged behind one end of the insert but as I stated the adhesive used was very strong and it wasn't coming out by prying alone, at least not with as much force as I was willing to apply. Maybe some combination of heat and prying would work, I just wasn't comfortable going that far.

twholbrook · March 1, 2023

Totally agree. I've started to fiddle with designing a putter with a milled insert - but it's very apparent that a good amount of engineering/testing went into these ones and I don't think I'd want to destroy it. It does look like the bottom edge (red accent) is hanging off it, so maybe it was designed to be pried from there. Any manufacturer has to think about repairs/replacements/warranty-work, so they'd have to make a plan of some sort. Because prying with a screwdriver could scratch the finish if done wrong.