COVER STORY
his clubs to suit tall, average and short the feel of PING irons; and the award- Series have been among the top selling
golfers thus helping them hit the ball winning G-Series range of golf clubs. The products on the market. However, at no
straighter and get more enjoyment out of most successful lightweight stand bag in time during the past 50 years has PING’s
the game. Yet again, it was an innovation the industry was also designed by John business philosophy ever been focused
that challenged the golf industry to Solheim. Originally called the L-8, the on being the biggest. Instead, very simply,
follow in his footsteps and was just one of Hoofer, as it is known today, is used by and in keeping with the wishes of its
many reasons why in 2001 Solheim was golfers world-wide. founder, the goal has always been to
posthumously voted into the World Golf To this day, the company is still develop and
Hall of Fame for his services to the game. family-owned with John A’s sons, John K. then to
(Karsten), David and Andy, all assuming manufacture the
Stronger than ever important roles within the business. “The highest quality
Nowadays, as PING reaches its 50th third generation plays a huge role in the golf equipment
anniversary, it employs more than company today,” stressed the current in the world.
1,000 workers under the leadership of Chairman and CEO. “Between me and
Chairman and CEO John A. Solheim, the my brothers, we all have children in
youngest son of Karsten and Louise, and key positions throughout the company. Golf
he has followed in his father’s footsteps They are involved in every aspect of the
by introducing yet more innovations, business and will continue to grow in Digest
including the PING ISI iron, produced their responsibilities. Our plan is to keep
for the first time in a nickel alloy for it a family-owned company as we move accolades
softer feel; the innovative CUSHIN shaft forward.” Golf Digest’s review of the
insert which filtered golf shaft vibrations In recent years the company’s popular “hottest” products in golf in its
based on frequency and improved G Series (G2, G5, G10) and Rapture February issue honored eight
PING models, including the
entire G10 Series (Driver, Fairway
Woods, Hybrids and Irons) for
the second straight year.
PING was the only company
to have a model repeat as a gold
winner in the Driver, Fairway
Wood, Hybrid and Game-improvement
Iron categories. The new Rapture V2
driver, two iWi putter models (Anser and
Craz-E) and i-Series Anser putter also
earned gold honours from the judges.
The G10 Series earned high marks
across all the ratings, including the
“Performance” and “Look/Sound/Feel”
categories where it scored 4.5 stars or
higher (out of a possible 5). When
describing the G10 iron, which received
5 stars in the “Demand” category, the
judges acknowledged PING as “a master
at offering fitting and set-makeup
options galore.” The multi-metal Rapture
V2 Driver earned high praise for its
performance (5 stars) and was compared
to a Mercedes Benz: “The look doesn’t
veer too far from traditional design, but
the engineering is top notch.”
All three models in the new iWi
Series (Anser, Craz-E and ½ Craz-E) were
category leaders for “Innovation.” Each
model earned the maximum 5 stars
in their respective categories (Blade,
Mallet & Mid-Mallet) and the Craz-E also
led the “Performance” category. The
judges said the iWi Series, which features
interchangeable sole weights to vary the
feel of the putter, had taken putter fitting
JJOHN A. SOLHEIM WITH HIS SONS - JOHN K. (LEFT), DAVID AND ANDY (RIGHT)
“a leap further”.
January 2009 PRO SHOP EUROPE 17
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