Kristoffer Reitan’s win at Quail Hollow was validation not only for the PGA Tour rookie but also for Ping’s new Scottsdale TEC putter platform.
If indirectly.
Officially, Reitan’s victory is credited to Ping’s PLD platform, their custom building program for putters that typically have milled faces. But according to Ping Principal Design Engineer Tony Serrano, the putter has all of the guts of the new Scottsdale TEC line.
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“The putter he has now is, in my opinion, it is a TEC putter,” Serrano told GOLF. “We made it here in our machine shop for him. Same sole plate, same head, same insert, same hosel. The only thing different, he wanted a different sight line on it.”
In February, Reitan visited the Ping PLD lab to work on his putting while the Tour was in Arizona for the WM Phoenix Open. It was the rookie’s first chance to visit HQ during a Tour week.
In testing, Ping engineers found that Reitan, who was at that time using a face-balanced putter, could do a lot better with something that had toe hang.
“We could see, and he saw the numbers, suggested that he needed some toe down,” Serrano said. “He didn’t really fit that great with a face balance putter.
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“He needed something that would match his natural putting stroke.”
Reitan eventually landed on a new Ping Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue H putter. The Ally Blue H an option of the Scottsdale TEC Ally Blue Onset that is available now, but with a plumber’s neck, which is what got the square-shaped mallet to match Reitan’s arcing stroke.
While the Ally Blue H isn’t available in the U.S. market, it is in other markets around the world and on the Ping Tour truck.
Reitan loved just about everything about the new putter, from the feel and roll of the PEBAX insert, to the white finish and the way the putter released with his stroke. However, he wanted one with a simple full sight line instead of the EyeQ version on the TEC that has a dot on the top line and then a full-length trailing line.
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Rather than take an existing Scottsdale TEC head and mill away the sight dot into a complete line, Serrano built Reitan a PLD version of the Scottsdale TEC, just with a different sight line. It was easier to build a new putter from scratch while retaining every other feature of the Scottsdale TEC.
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That includes the new PEBAX insert that is made from the material pioneered in the use of running shoes. It provides a feel on the softer side, but because of the lighter weight and increased energy transfer, is still quite responsive and lively.
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Reitan received the putter, built to his specs at 37″ and 2˚ of loft, a few weeks ago and put it in play for the first time at Quail Hollow. He finished second in the field in SG: Putting, picking up 5.158 shots.
Putter: Ping PLD Ally Blue H
Hosel: Plumber’s Neck
Finish: White
Alignment Aid: Full Line
Insert: PEBAX
Loft: 2˚
Length: 37″
Lie: 70˚
Grip: Ping Superstroke Tour 1.0P 17″
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