Ping 1966 TR Anser putters mark 50th anniversary of model

The Ping 1966 TR Anser putters have been launched to mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic model which changed the face of putter design.

It started back in the 1960s where Ping founder Karsten Solheim wanted to find an ‘answer’ to the flaws of the other putters dominating the game.

He found it with a design that had the shaft ahead of the head for a pulling rather than pushing technique.

Only problem was the word ‘answer’ didn’t fit on the small pads on the back. His wife Louise suggested dropping the ‘w’ and just going with ‘Anser’.

Karsten had no better suggestions and the rest, as they say, is history. George Archer, considered to be the best putter around at the time was first to win a major with one at the 1969 Masters. Gary Player and Tony Jacklin were also early adopters.

It went on to become the model of choice during the 1970s and 80s and the successes just kept on coming.

It was popular enough to convince Karsten to make golf clubs on a full-time basis so without it the Ping brand would not be what it is today.

Seve Ballesteros won the 1988 Open with an Anser, Tiger Woods used one during his college days while Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson have registered recent major victories with the iconic model.

The patent expired in 1984, opening the floodgates for copies of which we see many today.

Ping TR 1966 Anser putters

Two of the copies – the 1966 TR Anser and Anser 2 are a bit different as they have ben made using scans of the original Ansers.

The TR stands for the ‘True Roll’ from the precision-milled face.

The 1966 TR Anser has a bronze finish with no alignment aid while the Anser 2, with a stainless steel blast finish carries a single white alignment line.

Both putters have the address of the Ping factory in Arizona on the back of the face – something Karsten added so that people would know where to buy the putters from.

SRP: £135

Visit the Ping website HERE