Equipment

Mahan didn’t win, but he still got a gold Ping putter

Published

11 years ago

Aug 20, 2013

Hunter Mahan’s unselfish decision to withdraw from the RBC Canadian Open in July didn’t add to his tally of five PGA Tour victories, but it earned him and his daughter a spot in Ping history.

Ping welcomed newborn Zoe Olivia Mahan into their gold plated-putter tradition today when Hunter Mahan was presented with a gold-plated Scottsdale TR Anser inscribed with her name, birthdate and vital statistics.

Despite holding the 36-hole lead, Hunter Mahan commendably withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open when he received a call, while standing on the range during a weather delay, that his wife Kandi was going into labor with their first child in Dallas, Texas.

Brandt Snedeker went on to win the tournament and pocket the multi-million dollar check, but Hunter was able to experience the birth of his daughter, while gaining the respect and praise of his fans.

“We’ll never know if Hunter would have held on to win that week,” said John Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO. “But the circumstances were so unique, we wanted to create a lasting memory for Hunter, Kandi and Zoe that would forever remind them of that special day.”

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The gold-plated putter tradition started when Karsten Solheim wanted to commemorate a player that used a Ping putter en route to victory. He began creating two gold replicas of the putter they used, engraved with their name and the tournament he/she won. He presented one to the champion, and kept one for the headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz.

As more professionals won with Ping putters, the collection began out-growing its storage space. After several moves to larger rooms, over 2,800 golden putters now sit in what is called “The Golden Putter Vault.”

The vault contains putters used in 47 major championship wins, including each of the four majors in 1988. Over 500 Ping Anser-model putters are in the vault, while the oldest putter is a Model 69, belonging to John Barnum, winner of the Cajun Classic in 1962.

On Tuesday, Hunter was presented with the first golden putter replica that was not used in victory — a Scottsdale TR Anser 2 — vaulting him and his daughter in the Golden history.

“The birth of a child is a win any way you look at it, so we thought we’d have some fun with it,” said John Solheim. “As is our tradition, we made two gold-plated versions of his Scottsdale TR Anser 2 putter. One was given to Hunter and the other will reside in our Gold Putter Vault with more than 2,800 PING putters in Phoenix.”

Mahan called Ping’s decision to make him a gold putter ” really cool and above and beyond.”

It should be noted that the gold putter is not Mahan’s first — he’s earned five of them as a member of the Ping Tour Staff since 2007. It likely won’t be his last either, but it’s safe to assume that this one will be the most special to him.

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Whats in the Bag

Drew Brees WITB 2024 (April)

Published

18 mins ago

Apr 25, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

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A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

Driver: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus (10.5 degrees)

Mini driver: TaylorMade BRNR Mini Copper (13.5 degrees)

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (19 degrees)

Irons: TaylorMade P790 (4-8, PW), TaylorMade P760 (9)

Wedges: TaylorMade MG Hi-Toe (52-09, 56-10, 60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron Select Newport 2 Prototype

Check out more in-hand photos of Drew Brees’ clubs here.

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Equipment

Putter Roundup: 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Published

2 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Brian Knudson

We always get some great photos of some phenomenal putters at tour events and love to share them. Here are a few from the 2024 Zurich Classic that caught our eye and seemed interesting. (And as a reminder, you can check out all our photos from New Orleans here)

MJ Daffue’s Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype

MJ is going with the new Scotty Cameron T-11 Prototype this week. The putter is a multi-piece mallet that puts an emphasis on stability with the wings on the back. Daffue’s putter does have a design that differs from retail with a monotone finish, which eliminates the black paint on the aluminum parts that we see at retail. He also has a half siteline milled into the top and an L-neck welded on for some additional toe hang. The face features a deeper milling that should offer a softer feel and slightly quieter sound.

Scotty Cameron T-7.5 Prototype

We spotted a few different Scotty Cameron Phantom models with modified rear flanges. It looks like the straight black flange was cut into a half circle for a little softer look at address. On this T-7.5, you can still see the raw aluminum from the back view, so this might have been a last-minute job to get them out on tour. The semi-circle also has a white line on it, maybe to frame the ball differently.

Alex Fitzpatrick’s Bettinardi SS16 DASS

Alex’s SS16 is made from Bettinardi’s famous D.A.S.S., or double-aged stainless steel, for a softer and more responsive feel. The face has a unique diamond pattern milling and features a logo that I feel like I have seen before, but can’t put a name to. The putter is a classic mid-mallet style with a simple, single white siteline on the top. The sole is clean with just the SS16, DASS, and a green triangle logo on it.

Steve Stricker’s Odyssey White Hot No. 2

This putter has made some amazing putts in its long career! Stricker’s White Hot No. 2 might be in the top 10 of most famous putters in golf. When you see all the dents and lead tape, you know the heel will be up and it will be sinking putts! The soft White Hot insert looks to be in good shape and has less wear on it than the rest of the putter. We don’t know how much lead tape is on the sole, but it has to be multiple layers compacted down over the years.

Doug Ghim’s Scotty Cameron T-7 Prototype

This T-7 should win the award for “best color finish” in this list with its deep chromatic bronze. It looks like Scotty added a cherry bomb dot to the heel of the deep-milled face and filled it with a very dark blue paint. The rest of the putter looks pretty stock with its single site line on the topline and twin site lines down the “fangs” of the putter. Twin 5-gram weights are installed in the sole and the putter is finished off with a gloss black double bend shaft with a fill shaft offset.

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic

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Equipment

Spotted: Project X Denali hybrid shaft

Published

3 hours ago

Apr 25, 2024

Brian Knudson

Project X’s Denali wood shafts have been seen in more and more golf bags this year as we start off the season. As a refresher, Denali Blue is the mid-launch and mid-spin model while Denali Black is for players seeking lower launch and spin.

Denali combines great feel with stability and increased ball speed. Currently, Project X only offers Denali Blue and Black in wood shafts, but we spotted a hybrid shaft in Daniel Berger’s bag at the 2024 Zurich Classic.

Check out in-hand photos of Daniel Berger’s full WITB here.

The shaft looks to be a Denali Blue 105G – HY in TX flex. No word on details from Project X yet but we can assume that this is a mid-launching shaft that weighs around 105 grams in Tour X-Stiff flex.

Berger has this shaft in his TaylorMade P770 3-iron, likely for some added launch and spin to hold the green from longer distances.

Hopefully, this means we will see some more shafts coming under the Denali name in the future, as I think many of us would like to try one in a hybrid or utility iron!