This is a beautiful example of the putter that helped put Karsten Solheim on the map--big time. The head on this 1966 Ping Scottsdale Anser is clean. There is minimal bag wear and all lettering is clear. The 35" shaft is original and still has its shaft band, though it is worn.  The rubber grip is its original Golf Pride Informer pistol grip. The top line is clean, with no sight lines cut in or repaired. This putter sits up to the ball beautifully, and it still provides the unmistakeable feel and high performance that proved revolutionary over 50 years ago when it was introduced.

Designed by Karsten Solheim and made in his Paradise Valley, Arizona garage in 1966, the "Scottsdale" Anser changed the golf world forever. It gained popularity with lightening speed. After the Anser design patent expired, golf manufacturers let loose with a flood of knock-offs and copies to capitalize on the gigantic demand.   Even today, 56 years later, every major clubmaker continues to put new variations on Karsten's theme on the market.

When Karsten moved to Paradise Valley, a suburb of Phoenix in 1960, he set up a Post Office box in Scottsdale in order to differentiate his business address from another putter maker operating in Phoenix—John Reuter, Jr., the maker of the Bulls-Eye line.  Karsten marked all of his clubs with the Scottsdale address so anybody who saw another golfer using a PING putter would know where to write to place an order. in late 1966, Karsten moved from his garage to a small commercial building in Phoenix. He then changed the address on the back of the Anser to his new Phoenix address.

Today, the Anser stands as the most copied putter in the history of golf. But why buy a knock-off when you can own the real thing?

For more information on the Anser, see The Putter Went Ping, Chapter 4.

This putter is top left in the group image that accompanies this lot.