Ping Anser Milled

Golf club design legend Karsten Solheim first sketched his ideas for a PING Anser putter on a 78 RPM record sleeve back in 1966.

Also Read: Best Golf Putters

More than 45 years on, the world is still singing Solheim’s praises as his engineering principles behind the Anser Precision Milled Series continue to dominate Tours across the world today.

It’s fair to say the original Anser was one of the most highly acclaimed putters in history and it’s success has ignited a revolution in golf club fitting.

New for 2012, PING has introduced a range of models to fit every golfer’s putting stroke and personal preference with its elegant Anser Milled putter range in seven models, featuring various hosel designs that determine each putter’s balance.

Milled from 303 stainless with headweights of 350 grams, the line of Anser putters are as solid as you could hope for. It is easy to transition from one model to the other as PING wanted to ensure consistency between each. 

The PING Anser Milled also features slight variations to the top lines, heel toe length and toe radius to suit more style preferences, as well as subtle milling lines on the heel and toe ballasts to prevent glare.

I really like the brushed silver finish and alignment aid. It has a lovely grip, that makes you feel at ease standing over the putt, and while the soft feel of the blade took some time to get used to, I was continually hitting putts out the middle of the face and holing plenty by the time I hit the back nine. 

As we all swing on one of three paths on the greens – strong arc, slight arc or straight back and through – PING has designed its innovative iPING putting app to allow us to easily find our desired stroke type. PING calls this Fit For Stroke.

The process is easy, even for someone as technologically-impaired as myself. You simply download the app from iTunes and then slide your iPhone onto the PING cradle before attaching it to the putter shaft.

Once launched, you will see the home screen with four icons – practice, measure, compare and more.

To find your desired swing path, tap ‘measure’ and hit five putts. The app will analyse your consistency by stroke type, impact angle and tempo.

While I could pretty much rule out the straight and back option, the app told me I was a ‘slight arc’ kind of guy, and so I picked up the PING Anser Milled #3 – a putter balanced for this stroke type.

The iPING app also records a consistency score for your PING putting handicap. You can track your progress to see how it measures up with PING staffers such as Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson and Lee Westwood pre-loaded into the app.

VERDICT

The new Anser Milled putters from PING are perfect for all level golfers from beginners through to scratch golfers or Tour players, especially if you fit yourself correctly with the iPING app.

Combine the fact you can order them in several lengths and different lie angles, so the Anser sits properly for your stroke, as well as seven different subtle head model designs, this is a superb new addition to the PING family.