this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . march 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . march 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message ping genre golf founded 1959 founder karsten solheim headquarters phoenix arizona u.s. key people john a. solheim chairman and ceo products golf products website www.pinggolf.com ping is an american manufacturer of golf equipment based in phoenix arizona . ping was founded by karsten solheim following a career as engineer at the general electric company . in 1959 he started making putters in his garage in redwood city california . in 1967 he resigned his job at general electric to develop the ping company . contents 1 beginnings 2 ping fitting innovation 3 ping tour players 3.1 pga tour 3.2 european tour 4 current products 5 references 6 external links beginnings edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message solheim began ping golf as a garage business . his frustration during the game of golf resulted from his difficulty putting with the putters of the era . the engineer from general electric invented a new putter in his garage known as the ping 1a . the name ping came from the sound that solheim heard as the metal struck the ball . the 1a and other ping putters to come would revolutionize the putter market with newly found heel toe weighting . the success solheim found in 1959 with the invention of the 1a would set ping on a road to be one of the great innovators in the rich history of golf technology . the ping 1a s sales and hype would peak as sports illustrated named the ping 1a the musical putter for the sweet sound emitted . in 1961 the solheims moved from redwood city california to phoenix arizona where the company would find a permanent home . despite the increasing sales of the ping putter solheim continued to create his putters single handedly in his garage after departing general electric . in the same year he invented his first set of irons which he named 69 which he considered to be a good round of golf . solheim continued to experiment with the effects of good heel toe weighting in his irons and also milled a cavity into the steel back of the irons for added forgiveness . the first pga tour victory while using a ping club came in 1962 at the cajun classic open invitational by john barnum . sales of the ping putters rose as the popularity steadily increased . the golf world cup of 1965 brought even greater sales of the garage made ping putters as many of the top players used the ping putters during the televised event in japan . in 1966 possibly the greatest event of the ping corporation s history occurred as solheim had an idea for a new putter flash in his mind . as he was unable to find a piece of paper the design for his new putter was sketched on the dust cover of a 78 rpm record . after solheim had finalized the design he was still in need for a name . solheim s wife louise suggested the name answer for the new putter as it was an answer for the vexing problems in putting . as the name answer would be too long to fit on the putter the name was shortened to just anser . the anser would go on to be the most influential putter in golf while setting the standard for what is considered to be the conventional putter and racking up 500 professional golf wins and becoming the winningest putter in history . the cavity back and low center of gravity provided superior feel for golfers of all abilities . ping faced a major golf obstacle at the end of 1966 as the usga golf s governing body for rules and equipment outlawed all ping putters other than the anser for tournament and handicap play . the decision came as the other ping models had a special bend in the shaft located under the grip which was thought to give players a special advantage in the putting stroke . in 1967 solheim resigned his position at general electric and moved his business from his garage to a factory calling his company the karsten manufacturing corporation kmc . the factory was still located in his new hometown of phoenix arizona . the patent for the ping anser putter came on march 21 1967 . the first major championship to be won using a ping putter came in 1969 at the masters . the last major innovation by ping during the 1960s came with k1 stainless cast steel iron set . 1 ping fitting innovation edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message ping was the first manufacturer to offer high quality cast clubs which both reduced costs allowed better quality control for high tech features and set the stage for manufactured fitting . ping was also the first to offer factory fitting via a variety of clubheads in different lies and offsets . beginning about 1980 ping began offering their fitting program based on a checklist of the player s physical characteristics common problems and distances . the 2011 checklist at the ping website contained approximately 100 data inputs and was part of a 5 step fitting process covering everything from driver to putter . ping is so intent on custom fitting that it began manufacturing some iron clubheads with a small notch in the clubhead . the notch allows the clubhead to be bent to the required specification without the danger of breaking the clubhead as was the problem for previous models . ping tour players edit pga tour edit david lingmerth ngel cabrera mark calcavecchia daniel chopra chris dimarco jason gore luke guthrie bill lunde jeff maggert hunter mahan nick o hern louis oosthuizen martin piller alex prugh ted purdy chris riley heath slocum joey snyder iii chris stroud daniel summerhays kevin sutherland chris tidland michael thompson kirk triplett bubba watson lee westwood mark wilson european tour edit antti ahokas gary boyd jonathan caldwell alejandro ca izares rhys davies peter fowler gr gory havret miguel ngel jim nez shiv kapur gary lockerbie gareth maybin louis oosthuizen anthony snobeck lee westwood current products edit drivers g g30 g25 i25 anser g20 i20 fairways g g30 g25 i25 anser rapture driving fw rescues hybrids g g cross over g30 g25 i25 anser irons g gmax g30 g25 i25 s55 ie1 iblades anser forged karsten wedges tour gorge eye2 xg anser glide putters voss series cadence tr series scottsdale tr series nome tr ketsch tr karsten tr series anser milled series women s faith driver fairway irons rhapsody driver fairway rescue hybrid irons references edit explore our history the ping timeline external links edit official ping golf website official ping golf clothing website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title ping golf & oldid 743095041 categories sportswear brandssporting goods manufacturers of the united statesgolf equipment manufacturerscompanies based in phoenix arizonahidden categories articles with a promotional tone from march 2012all articles with a promotional tonearticles lacking reliable references from march 2012all articles lacking reliable referencesarticles needing additional references from july 2016all articles needing additional references navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in 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