PING history

Ping's first victory on tour came in the 1962 Cajun Classic Open--won by John Barnum--and the company never looked back.

An additional spike in sales occurred in 1965 after many players were seen on television using PING putters at the Golf World Cup in Japan.

Although created a year earlier, the patent for the PING answer didn’t come until late March 1967, a couple of months after Julius Boros won the Phoenix Open with the putter.

Solheim expanded his product line in 1969, adding a set of irons that used the patented Ping heel-toe weighting.

The tradition began in the 1970's and each winner is presented with a gold putter that matches their putter specs.

During the 1980's, the USGA changed the rules regarding grooves and deemed that Ping's irons violated those after he rounded off the edges of his U-shaped grooves.

In 1982, the PING Eye 2 irons were introduced designed with square grooves that produced more spin on the ball.

The controversy started in 1984, when the USGA changed its rules to allow irons with U-shaped grooves.

A memorable moment using the PING Eye 2 irons was at the 1986 PGA Championship, when Bob Tway sealed the tournament with a fantastic bunker shot on the final hole.

The Anser2 putter was brought to attention during the 1987 PGA Championship.

Ping An Insurance was founded on March 21, 1988 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.“

Solheim sued and the case was settled in 1993.

Karsten's son John took over as the company's president in 1995 and reorganized player sponsorship deals and marketing plan.

The use spread like wild fires and has been used to win over 2000 events.

Solheim was elected into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Solheim Cup was named after him because he was a driving force behind its creation.

The release of the PING Craz-E putter in 2004 was a big success.

In 2011, the PING website offered a fitting process throughout the set that consisted of a checklist in their 5-step golf club fitting process containing over 100 data points.

PING marked the 50th anniversary of the Anser in 2016 by introducing a limited-edition version.