In 1966, Karsten Solheim introduced the PING Anser putter and it literally revolutionized the world of putters. It took the market by storm and after Karsten's patent on the putter expired, other manufacturers began to produce and sell copies as soon at they could.  In the years since, every major club manufacturer has produced a wide variety of copies. 

This Ping Anser offered here is a 1967 Phoenix 85029 Dalehead model, produced for Slazenger in the UK, endorsed by Jack Nicklaus and marked with his name. In early 1967, Karsten Solheim entered into an agreement with Mark McCormick, the agent for Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, that allowed Slazenger of England to sell PING putters bearing the endorsement of Nicklaus.  This agreement lasted approximately three years.   ATPWP  p 92-94, 100

This head on this 35" putter is made from the same mold used to produced the initial "K-model" (Karsten's work) Ansers that bore a "Scottsdale" address and had a rocker sole (the A-models [Allens's modification] were  produced at the same time but had a flat sole). When making his first Karsten Co. Ansers, Karsten changed only the mold's address plate, to show that he had renamed his business "Karsten Co. and moved his manufacturing location to Phoenix. Consequently, the back of this head is marked "Karsten Co." with a Phoenix address.  These Karsten Co. duplicates of the Scottsdale Anser—the metal and head shapes are identical—were in high demand and used across the years by many notable PGA Tour players. The first 58 ever shot on a professional golf tour was accomplished by Stephen Jaeger on July 28, 2016, who used—you guessed it—a 1967 Karsten Co. Dalehead Anser. 

In excellent condition, this putter does not show much bag wear and has a wonderful dark patina. The grip is an old Tacki-mac.  The original shaft, which still has a portion of its original Slazenger shaft band, measure 8 1/2" to the first step. There is a "Made in USA" marked down deep in the bottom of the cavity.  As a point of reference, PING did not produce any Nicklaus Ansers with the Scottsdale address.  This Nicklaus Karsten Co is the best Nicklaus Anser a collector can acquire.