Game Changers in Golf: Evolution of the Putter

We always love a good putter story here at Bloodline Golf. Especially when it involves an innovative design and revolutionary technology that changes the game and makes it more enjoyable to play. Today, we’re going to talk about a game changer that became the most iconic putter model the game has ever known: the Ping Anser putter.

Let’s start at the beginning. The original putters used by golfers were known as “putting cleeks” and were fashioned by hand from wood with a wood shaft. These were the standard from the 15^th century until the mid-19^th century when the gutta-percha balls were introduced, and iron heads became more popular among putters.

For most of golf’s history, putter shafts were attached at the club head’s heel. The center-shafted putter was designed in 1900 by Arthur Knight but it wasn’t legalized by the R&A until 1951. 

In January of 1966, Karsten Solheim designed the Anser putter and began what became the PING company. As the idea came to him, he sketched the design on the dust jacket of a 78 rpm record. The name of the putter came from Karsten’s wife Louise who suggested it was the “Answer” to putting. In order to fit the name on the back of the blade the w was left out, which led to the name: Anser.

The putter’s design featured an offset hosel that provided golfers a clean view of the face. The cavity-back putter was also designed with a low center of gravity and lines parallel to the face to help golfers in squaring the putter. It focused the club head weight at the heel and toe. The distinctive “ping” sound the club head created when striking a ball gave the company its name.

At the time, George Archer was one of the best putters on tour and became the first golfer to win a major with a Ping Anser putter when he won the 1969 Masters. This revolutionary design has than 500 Tour wins including numerous major wins. Today, every putter manufacturer has a version of the Anser design, making it not only the most popular design, but also the most copied. 

Since the introduction of the Anser, modern putter designs include conventional blades, mallet heads and unconventional club heads that feature a variety of attachments behind the club face. Most mallet and unconventional putter heads are generally designed to prevent the club head from twisting if the golfer doesn’t stroke the ball in the center of the club face. 

One of the newest revolutions in putter designs is the Bloodline Golf putter with patented technology that allows it to stand up by itself on the green.  This lets you align putts from behind the face, allowing you to see the club, ball, target line, and hole without having to tilt your head or use your peripheral vision. This is the first stand-up putter technology that has been validated with numerous tour victories. 

Images:
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Photo credit: PING

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Photo credit: PING