Updated 3-15-2021

This putter is one of two roll face Ping 1A putters made in Phoenix that the auctioneer has ever encountered.  The left-hand face is flat, like normal, but the right-hand face is convex from top to bottom, and beautifully so.  It is very much like the teardrop and other putters with faces that curve outward from top to bottom. It would appear that either Karsten "Let's Try This" Solheim or one of his workers produced this club as an experiment.  Either that or it was made as a custom order. Either way, this roll face is a unique feature not found on any other Ping putter models.

It is possible that an owner could have modified this club, but there are no grinding or sanding marks on the roll face. The finish on the roll face is the same as it is on the rest of the head including the left-hand face.  Also, the roll face is so symmetrical and without visible flaw that it would be extremely hard to believe that it was crafted in somebody's garage on a Sunday afternoon. The work is professional.

This club shows quite a bit of wear, but the head is original as is its shaft and grip. There is a small ding and small dent in the shaft in the area of the double bend. The grip has been modified with a large addition on its butt end. You can tell that somebody really liked this club and used it for a long time.

UPDATE 3-15-2021: Photos of this roll-face 1A putter were recently brought to the attention of John Solheim, Ping CEO and son of Karsten Solheim. He acknowledged that they made "a few of these."  The sole of this club bears the Phoenix, AZ 85029 zip code. This was the first zip code Karsten used after he stopped casting his putters with the Scottsdale address and 85242 zip code. That means this putter was produced in 1967 or 1968. The Ping putters introduced in 1969 were all marked with the 85020 zip code.  See And the Putter Went Ping, page 535-536, footnote 3.