In early 1967, Karsten entered into a contract with Gary Player Enterprises that would allow Player's company to sell Ping putters marked with Gary's name. This relationship lasted for a relatively short period of time. Today, the remaining Ping Gary Player putters are hard to come by. For more on information about Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus Ping putters, see And the Putter Went Ping pages 93-94.

This Cushin putter bears a patent number in the cavity on the back of the head, along with the manufacturing address of Ping Golf Clubs in Scottsdale, AZ—the address for Karsten's garage operation and headquarters! The sight line on the top of the head is original to the club, as is Karsten's unique two-way bend at the base of the grip, which, when compared to the central length of the shaft below the grip, bends both away from the target and away from the ball.  The neck has a distinctly different two-way "gooseneck" bend. All these bends were made by hand by Karsten in his garage. Heat and ingenuity did the trick.

This putter is shown bottom right in the group image.

The Cushin putter was first produced in 1964 and featured a "goosenecked shaft" (the double bend in the shaft near the clubhead) and "Ballnamic Balance" (created by the slight two-way bend where the shaft meets the grip).  In 1967, when the USGA initially ruled that shafts were not allowed to have bends, which rule the USGA eventually softened to allow bends within 5 inches of the head, Karsten's business lost a lot of momentum and even Jack Nicklaus had to stop using his PING Cushin putter with its two-way grip bend which he had used to win 4 professional events including the 1967 Crosby and the 1965 World Cub.

Shaft measures 35 1/4". For more information about the Cushin putter and unique grip/shaft, see And The Putter Went Ping page 74.