Lot # 54: Ping 69W w/Original Red Dot Sightlines.

Starting Bid: $250.00

Bids: 1 (Bid History)

Time Left: Auction closed
Lot / Auction Closed




This lot is closed. Bidding is not allowed.

Item was in Auction "Fall 2021",
which ran from 11/4/2021 11:00 AM to
11/20/2021 8:00 PM



This is the very red dot putter pictured on page 69 of And The Putter Went...Ping. Ping 69 putters were introduced in 1961 to no fanfare.  After all, Karsten and John were making putters in the garage of their Arizona home.

As noted in the book, Karsten tried both a red dot and a white alignment dot bordered with two alignment lines on his 69 putter before quickly settling on no dots and the single alignment line found on the vast majority of PING 69 putters. John Barnham used a Ping 69 white dot alignment-lined putter to win the 1962 Cajun Classic. Barnham's win marked the first time a Ping putter was ever used to win a PGA tour event.  

The 35 1/4" shaft in this putter fits perfectly, but it appears to be a reshaft completed by PING. There is a small bit of bronze in the sole. Sometimes, to remove an old shaft, a small hole was made in the sole to access and drill out the ball bearing in the tip of the shaft (to help hold the shaft in place).  The grip, however, appears to be an old and somewhat used Golf Pride Pro Only grip such as those used by Ping back in the day.  

This is a truly rare PING putter found in very few Ping collections.

 

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