Ping ---Forged!

[forrre]

no way!!!!

I was just on the ping site and found out that Karsten made 3 forged iron sets. Thats new to me and some great trivia. Anyone else know this?

[abewley]

I was just on the ping site and found out that Karsten made 3 forged iron sets. Thats new to me and some great trivia. Anyone else know this?

 

 

yes.. the first pings were forged...

[jrglfr7]

Yah, he used blank forged heads and milled the caviteies out. I believe they were ballsamic?, 69, and anser irons if I'm not mistaken.

[forrre]

wow!! thats something really new to me.

[kmrev]

wonder where those three sets are, and what they're worth today?

[forrre]

how about finding one of those in you grandpas atic!!

[golfluvzme]

Add-on to this thread.

Karsten used heads that he purchased from GolfCraft, prior to that company being acquired by Acushnet. They were one of the leaders in forged iron quality, I guess. Like the previous poster mentioned, he would take blade heads and mill them out, by hand to create the cavity. How far ahead of his time was he?

I have seen a wedge from a set of the 69's. It is hanging on a wall in a little hole-in-the-wall golf shop here in Mesa, AZ. The owner knows that it is rare, and special, but has somewhat unrealistic value ideas. Cool to look at, though.

Just 2-cents,

LaMont in AZ

[scotte]

Yea it's too bad that ping is the only company left that manufactures the irons in the USA, and it is even more to bad that you can't get a club that is Forged in the USA. I would even be willing to pay double of what the asian clubs cost if I could only get them made in the USA, but I know I am probably alone on this. I also don't shop at Walmart for the same types of reasons. At ping, (i took a tour of it once) I wonder how many of the employees are legal US citizens? I doubt very many.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

Scott

[stp]

who peed in your wheeties? Ping's big business is in defense contracting so I am thinking not alot of illegals.

[scotte]

oh dude, i am sorry, I didn't mean to come accross as crabby. I just took a tour a ping about 4 or 5 years ago when I was in Phoenix staying near camelback. I understand what you are saying, but seriously, just go take a look at ping, you'll see what I mean

[sheppy335]

they do defense contracting? what do they do besides golf clubs? I am soo lost!

[Cameron Circle T]

Pings biggest business is not their golf club manufacturing, Karsten manufacturing had/has one of the large defense contracts to produce weapons for the U.S. government. This is where the bulk of their revenue comes from is government contract. So they produce, golf clubs and weapons.

[theinsider]

Pings biggest business is not their golf club manufacturing, Karsten manufacturing had/has one of the large defense contracts to produce weapons for the U.S. government. This is where the bulk of their revenue comes from is government contract. So they produce, golf clubs and weapons.

 

Karsten Precision is the division - more correctly they provided heat treating services for materials that are used primarily in the aerospace industry including some Navy projects. I think the word "weapons" is a little misleading - you can have a DOD contract and not be a weapons producer.

 

It was a small division that was slated to close in 2003 - with some of the workers shifting over to the golf side of the business. Their website is not active anymore so I assume they actually did close up.

 

As for the forged irons - a quick search should pop up some information - they are listed in the Golfworks Identification Guide and Jim Butler of Table Rock has had various sets on sale at the PGA Show over the years.

[sandy]

I can assure you there are no illegals at Karsten Mfg. They are very careful to follow the rules and have for years. Don't need the potential grief. Have traditional paychecks and don't pay cash under the table. Just because they are in AZ doesn't mean they employ illegals----a simple tour proves nothing about their business practices. Having known the family for years (since 1962) I can assure you they don't participate in the agricultural practices of CA and others---they have less need now that the citrus orchards have all been replaced by geezer homes.

 

I've had at least 5 complete sets of forged pings over the years and the set that is most valuable is the set that was deemed illegal with the bent shafts in them (how karsten got offset in the set before doing it in the heads). Those went for right around $12,000 to a collector in the orient.

[MBA-J]

Those went for right around $12,000 to a collector in the orient.

 

 

It's "Asia," not "the orient." It's 2006! Let's be PC. :) :crazy:

[binneguru]

Yea it's too bad that ping is the only company left that manufactures the irons in the USA, and it is even more to bad that you can't get a club that is Forged in the USA. I would even be willing to pay double of what the asian clubs cost if I could only get them made in the USA, but I know I am probably alone on this. I also don't shop at Walmart for the same types of reasons. At ping, (i took a tour of it once) I wonder how many of the employees are legal US citizens? I doubt very many.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

Scott

 

Hi Scotte not entirely true. The last set of forged iron heads i assembled were Walter Hagen cavity back irons that were forged in the USA. The shop I worked in for my father received approximately 500-1000 sets of these heads. They were purchased for $6.50 a head or $52.00 for a set. They were 370 parallel tip heads.

 

The story behind these was that Walter Hagen golf had some money trouble. They sold us a ton of their shafts which were Walter Hagen Diamet at around $5.00 each retail of $40.00 We purchased all of their excess inventory with grips forged putters etc that looked like the 8802. We purchased all of this stuff which allowed them to get the iron heads forged in the USA then sent overseas to be finished. Apparently it is worth shipping all of those iron heads overseas to get finished then reimport them as a finished product. Anyways the importer/exporter was an Integra golf owner and he didnt receive payment for the part of getting them imported/exported and finished. He took the heads and liquidated them to my dad.

 

So that was probably the last set of irons to be forged in the us...and for whatever reason I didn't buy a set of each head! :)

 

Walter Hagen later went out of business was sold to spaulding then to Dicks or something like that.

[scotte]

wow, very interesting, do you guys still have any of those forged 8802 style putters? If you want to sell one, I have been looking to buy one. It's ok if it doesn't have a shaft or grip, just what ever you got. Also, if you have a couple of them, I would like to buy 2 or 3 putters from you.

 

Have a great day!

[kblahey]

I was just on the ping site and found out that Karsten made 3 forged iron sets. Thats new to me and some great trivia. Anyone else know this?

I think there were some pics somewhere on this website.

[binneguru]

Hi Scott, unfortunately they were all sold. He was a revenue minded man and a lot of them probably went for 30!!! on ebay.

 

Just something fun the last set of hagen cavity backs sold had True temper titanium iron shafts in them and went for $500

 

we bought the shafts for $2 a piece!! So $80 in the set selling for $500. :)

[Dyno]

Pings biggest business is not their golf club manufacturing, Karsten manufacturing had/has one of the large defense contracts to produce weapons for the U.S. government. This is where the bulk of their revenue comes from is government contract. So they produce, golf clubs and weapons.

 

Karsten Precision is the division - more correctly they provided heat treating services for materials that are used primarily in the aerospace industry including some Navy projects. I think the word "weapons" is a little misleading - you can have a DOD contract and not be a weapons producer.

 

It was a small division that was slated to close in 2003 - with some of the workers shifting over to the golf side of the business. Their website is not active anymore so I assume they actually did close up.

 

As for the forged irons - a quick search should pop up some information - they are listed in the Golfworks Identification Guide and Jim Butler of Table Rock has had various sets on sale at the PGA Show over the years.

 

You are a wealth of information. Thank you. Very much :)

[sandy]

wow, very interesting, do you guys still have any of those forged 8802 style putters? If you want to sell one, I have been looking to buy one. It's ok if it doesn't have a shaft or grip, just what ever you got. Also, if you have a couple of them, I would like to buy 2 or 3 putters from you.

 

Have a great day!

 

Just gave one away the other day. I believe that the Hagen stuff was forged by Hoffman who after that forged their own product for a couple of years (Baliwick irons) before closing their doors due to cost competition, EPA on plating issues, and companys like Titleist that would start and stop several times on product such as the 681s, 681Ts, and 682s causing tremendous scrap rates.

 

The last time I checked Karsten doesn't have a complete set of the three forgings. Over the years they had offered to buy them from me. But the price was much better elsewhere and since they were really just milled golfcraft heads I'm not sure that Ping considered them a true ground up Karsten product.