Ping Putter Refinishing

[ToddGsell]

Before and After Pics

I snagged a beat-up Anser 2 with a broken shaft at second-hand store for $1 (Golf clubs were $2, but the cashier charged me half price because the club was broken). I had been looking for a good sized mirror to help with my swing this winter but didn't have any luck in that regard. The putter was lying in the bottom of a golf bag that I happened to pass by and I thought it would be fun to get myself a custom anser.
I took the putter to a local shop, and the club fitter told me that often Ping drops a ball bearing down the shaft to help seal the shaft to the club head and that you need to send the putter into Ping to get it pulled and re-shafted. He tried to pull the shaft to see if it was just epoxied but was unsuccessful.
He told me that if I did want to send the putter in, Ping also does a nice job refinishing clubs. He looked up the charges in the books and the cost is pretty reasonable for the service.
Now, I'm sure I could buy 3 beat up putters for the cost of having this one refinished, but I like the idea of having one made to my specs. I'm also being stubborn because I really wanted to have my "Horatio Alger" moment where I rescue the broken putter from poverty and make into something great.
I'd really appreciate some comments from people who have gone through this process with Ping--or who have seen finished products. If anyone has some before/after shots--or just after shots--that would be ideal. I'm also curious about turnaround time.
Thanks!

[ebenn]

You can call ping and they will give you an estimate. It's not very much at all. maybe like $60-$70 plus a shaft? Don't quote me but I know it would be worth it. I have an old Zing I am thinking of doing the same with. Go to www.ping.com to get the info

Good luck

[johnnystick77]

Oh H$LL yeah. That would be sweet. I say go for it. Especially if you have another putter on the bench that you can play in the meantime.

[choeppner]

All I can say is you won't regret it. I'll see if I can find some pics. It's always best to have one to your specs. That's just my 2 cents. Can't wait to see the final result if you do decide to do it.

 

-CHRIS-

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Go for it, PING has excellent customer service as well...

[RobotDoctor]

I sent my Ping Anser Dalehead to Ping for refinish in 2001 requesting a tumbled finish and removal of a sight line. Not only did Ping NOT remove the sight line, the shot blasted my putter. I could not believe their utter incompetence. I sent the putter to Bobby Grace in an attempt to get the putter back to respectable condition.

 

Bobby did a great job with a tumbled finish although some of the shot blast still remains. Bobby also removed the sight line by milling off the top line a couple of millimeters. Ping damaged the original shaft on reinstallation so Bobby removed the shaft and installed a new shaft with the exact specifications as the original. My Dalehead is a great gamer no thanks to the poor effort of Ping.

 

Maybe they have improved in the past five + years but I will never send another Ping putter back to Ping to refinish.

[ToddGsell]

Just got back from the shop and the putter is off to Ping. I'll post some before and after pics when it comes in. My local fitter said 3 weeks is the average turnaround time, but he's seen them come back in under 2 as well.

[ak108]

Just got back from the shop and the putter is off to Ping. I'll post some before and after pics when it comes in. My local fitter said 3 weeks is the average turnaround time, but he's seen them come back in under 2 as well.

 

I have an old ping anser f that i would love to send in for restortation. Went to the ping website and couldnt find any info about putter restoration. May i know how did you contact ping and send in your putter ? How much does it cost too ?

 

 

Thanks.

[ToddGsell]

 

I have an old ping anser f that i would love to send in for restortation. Went to the ping website and couldnt find any info about putter restoration. May i know how did you contact ping and send in your putter ? How much does it cost too ?

 

I didn't know about the restoration service until I went to a local shop with a fitter. Originally, I just wanted to re-shaft the club, and then he told me about Ping's services. According to the fitter you had to send the club in through an authorized Ping retailer. He had a notebook with all of the service options and prices from Ping--you can choose various upgrades in grips and shafts for an extra fee. I called the number on the Ping wrx website (1.800.474.6434) the other day to ask a couple of questions and the man I spoke with was very helpful. I found out that you can get a UST frequency filtered shaft installed, but I chose to hold off on that because I want to see what they do with the putter head first. The prices they quoted to me seemed quite reasonable, but I'll hold off on my final verdict until I get the total bill.

[ebenn]

i just got off the phone with Ping and it's $17.75 for a simple putter refinish and another 28 for new putter shaft and grip. Not bad really.

[ToddGsell]

My putter came back from Ping on Monday, just 10 days after I had dropped it off at the golf shop. They put in the new shaft cut to my length and the grip that I had ordered, but the head looked just as bad as it did when I sent it in. I called up Ping today and asked if they had indeed refinished it. I talked with a really helpful guy named Phil at Ping, but after waiting on hold for five minutes, I needed to hang up the phone. Phil tracked down the golf shop that I had sent the club through and then got my number from them to call me back. He was really apologetic about making me wait and for the problems with the order. For whatever reason, the instructions to re-finish the head weren’t carried out. I don’t know if it was the golf shop or Ping that messed up, but I don’t really care. Mistakes happen and life’s too short to get worked up about it. I dropped off the partially-renovated club at the shop today, and hopefully it's on its way back to AZ right now.

Hopefully I’ll post a positive follow-up to this in another 10 days.

[ToddGsell]

I got the putter back from Ping last Friday. The refinish looks great. I’ve included the before and after pictures below. The pictures don’t do the changes justice. The club looked like junk when I sent it in. Now, it looks like new.

The finish appears washed out in the pictures, but in person I would say it looks “chalky”—in appearance only; the texture is smooth to the touch.

The sightline and the Ping logos on the face have also been repainted. Originally they were pretty mangy looking (the flash washed out the "before" pics so that the paint looks cleaner than it actually was)

There was a big ding in the back of the putter that I figured they wouldn’t be able to do anything about, but much to my surprise it’s no longer visible at address—although it is still visible when you look at the back of the club.

Both of the dings on the back of the club were significantly reduced—the smaller one is essentially gone.

The main defect that I wanted treated (aside from having only ¼ of a broken shaft) was a scratch across 1/3 of the face which was not very deep, but was more than just cosmetic. As you can see from the pics, any trace of it is completely gone now.

I paid just under $60 for the re-finish, re-grip, and re-shaft (and the $1 for the club—lol). The winn grip and the stepless shaft came at no extra charge, and I now have a practically-new, custom-fitted Anser 2.

One minor complaint: the shaft band is a little too wide. It adheres just fine to the metal of the shaft, but where there’s overlap it doesn’t stick to the band. I figure a little superglue can fix that.

I haven't had a chance to get out to the course, but I'm excited to try out my "new" Anser 2.

Enjoy the pics.

Before:

 

After:

 

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After:

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Before:

 

After:

 

[golfluvzme]

It looks pretty sweet to me! I would say money well spent. That ding on the flange was a doozy, eh? The did what they could with it, congrats.

I remember a time, not that long ago that your putter would have been worth a fair amount, about triple what you have into it. I used to sell Anser 2 Pat Pend putters to Bobby Grace and had a great time of it.

Times change and now you have a great Anser 2 that looks awesome.

Thanks for sharing the entire story with us and it is great to see a happy PING customer.

LaMont in AZ

[Reno Blues]

Here is my ancient ping...I thot I would send to ping....that seems to be the consensus

.

[1970.gpp]

Yes, send it to PING. Revive your putter and kill this six year old thread...

[shaffe]

Never understood why people get upset about an old thread being brought back up. I Usually learn something new reading them.

Bump ... For anyone who doesn't know about Ping refinishing.

[1970.gpp]

[quote name='shaffe' timestamp='1370020204' post='7144056']
Never understood why people get upset about an old thread being brought back up. I Usually learn something new reading them.

Bump ... For anyone who doesn't know about Ping refinishing.
[/quote]On the contrary, I'm not upset in the slightest. However, the thread revivalist knew the anser--see what I did there?--to the statement without having to revive the thread...

[BogeyDog11]

Here is my ancient ping...I thot I would send to ping....that seems to be the consensus

.

 

Check "the ping collector" on facebook. Great resto work there by the guy from ping

[ace036]

Can anyone tell me if Ping will refinish their Anser Milled series putters? If so, how much do they charge for this service? I sent an email to Ping about 4 days ago and haven't received a response... I thought someone here may have had this done or know...

[1970.gpp]

Can anyone tell me if Ping will refinish their Anser Milled series putters? If so, how much do they charge for this service? I sent an email to Ping about 4 days ago and haven't received a response... I thought someone here may have had this done or know...

They won't do any refinishing on the Anser Milled series due to the nickel plating...

[ace036]

Dang it. Thank you for the response.

[1970.gpp]

Dang it. Thank you for the response.

Check elsewhere. BOS and others will do it, but it'll require stripping the nickel plating...