PING issues new TR 1966 putters 50 years after founder’s original Anser
PING today introduced two new Anser putters that advance the legendary Anser design handcrafted decades earlier by founder Karsten Solheim. The new TR 1966 Anser and Anser 2 arrive as PING is celebrating the iconic Anser model’s 50th birthday.
In developing the new putters, PING engineers relied on 3D scans of the original Anser and Anser 2 to analyse the subtle contours and radius details that Karsten personally shaped into the designs using his mill and hand files. Each of the new models is engineered with that same attention to detail and performance that has made the Anser the putter model with the most victories in golf history.
PING Chairman & CEO John Solheim, who helped his father build the original Anser model in the family’s Scottsdale, Arizona garage as a teenager, said the goal was to strike a balance between advancing the game’s best putter technology and giving golfers a sense of the Anser’s history. “Karsten’s groundbreaking Anser design was genius because of how well it performed and how different it was. Golfers had never seen anything like it. He hand-shaped every detail of it until it was perfect in his mind. The Anser changed putter design forever, and it still influences putter manufacturers worldwide 50 years later because of its unparalleled success and popularity.”
The new putters get their name from PING’s True-Roll (TR) face technology. The precision-milled face design provides unmatched ball-speed consistency, the key to holing more putts and reducing 3-putts.
Like the original, the new Anser model includes a sound slot in the sole and appeals to golfers who prefer no alignment line, more rounded heel and toe contours, and a slightly thicker top line. It offers a manganese bronze PVD finish.
The Anser 2, distinguished by a stainless steel blast finish, has a single white alignment line on the flange that simplifies aiming. Its heel and toe contours are less rounded than those of the Anser and its top rail is narrower.