PING Golf recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, but the company shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, when it comes to putters, PING has been downright prolific in recent years, launching its Redwood, Karsten, iWi, iN and now Scottsdale putters.
The PING Scottsdale putter line ($129 to $159) features a whopping 14 models, several with fanciful names.
PING founder Karsten Solheim is nothing less than the pioneer of the modern putter industry. Do the new PING Scottdale putters advance his legacy? Following is PutterZone.com's PING Scottsdale putter review.
The Storyline
The Scottsdale name is a nod to the company's headquarters in Arizona's Valley of the Sun, and also salutes the old PING Scottsdale Anser putters of yore.
According to PING, “The solid feel and consistent response of the insert in the new Scottsdale Series will help your distance control and accuracy. The insert is made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) with a face appliqué for a soft yet solid feel on every putt. This response is key in accurately gauging distances.”
The company continues: “The combination of TPE and high-contrast alignment aids allow you to take confident aim with your Scottsdale putter. Choose from 14 models, including a number of bold new designs like the Wolverine. Proven PING favorites like the Anser2 and B60 are also available in this new technology.”
PutterZone.com experienced the Scottsdale Pickemup mallet (345 grams, face balanced), Scottdale Wolverine mallet (355 grams, face balanced) and Scottdale Tomcat blade (340 grams, slightly toe down).
The View from PutterZone.com
Of the three PING Scottsdale models I tried—the Pickemup, Wolverine and Tomcat—the Pickemup was the clear favorite.
To be honest, there’s a sense that PING threw some darts at the proverbial board by offering so many models of the Scottsdale putters. But the Pickemup hits the bull’s-eye for me, offering intriguing feedback and sharp visuals with a delightful twist.
Let’s start with the twist, which is revealed by the name of the putter. Sure enough, the Pickemup picks ‘em up perfectly. The arc in the flange is smartly designed to embrace the ball, so when you’re close enough to the hole for your friends to give you a “gimme,” you can lift the orb in style by easily scooping it up with your Pickemup. The cool thing is that this feature doesn’t jump out visually as a gimmick, but rather fits harmoniously into the design aesthetic of the head.
From business end of the putter—the top view—the Pickemup is brilliant. The design is very purposeful, with numerous visual cues framing the target line. The aforementioned arc frames the ball and features a vivid white sightline along the flange for added alignment reference. The fangs, while slightly curved, bring an added sense of linear forward motion.
Interestingly, while the putter is center shafted with no offset, there’s a bit of a forward press built into Pickemup. In other words, the shaft leans slightly toward the target at address. The result is a “hands forward” setup that you would typically associate with an offset hosel. Some golfers will love this option of maintaining a familiar hands-forward setup on a more neutral looking, center-shafted putter. Others may not be so keen on staring down at a shaft that isn't in line with the face angle.
The feel and feedback of the Pickemup are also distinctive. In fact, the Pickemup really puts the “ping” into PING, with a ringing quality that is clearly attributable to the acoustics of the head shape, as this same quality was not evident on the other two Scottsdale putters that I tried. The feel of the Pickemup seemed livelier, too. I found the feel of the Wolverine and Tomcat to be a bit muted, fitting the classic stereotype of the synthetic insert.
My experience with the three models is ultimately another reminder that a putter’s head shape can have a tremendous influence on feel and feedback, even if the head material and/or insert remain the same from model to model.
Cosmetically, the Scottsdale putters leave me a bit wanting. I’m not crazy about the look of the Scottsdale insert, with its graphical flourishes and the brand name PING screened along the center. The Scottsdale color scheme of burgundy, white and charcoal black doesn’t seem very inspired, either. I do, however, love the little saguaro cactus motif on the sole of the putter.
The Bottom Line
The PING Scottdale Pickemup is a sharply designed putter with a fun twist—the ability to easily scoop up your ball with the rear of the head. The feel and feedback of the Pickemup are livelier on the Pickemup compared to other Scottsdale models, and the purposeful look at setup inspires confidence near the hole. Of the three Scottsdale putters tested, the Pickemup was the clear winner.
5 comments: on "PING Scottsdale Putter Review"
I tried a few of these Scottsdale models over the weekend. All of them missed the mark for me by a wide margin. I would agree that the Pickmeup was the most interesting visually, but the forward leaning shaft completely destroyed my ability to align the face. For me, part of the benefit of a center shafted putter should be using the topline of the putter and the shaft to make sure you're square to the target. That ability is gone with this guy. I kept wanting to lean the putter back. Maybe it's just my SeeMore experience ruining it, but I don't follow the logic in the design.
Overall on the series I found fit and finish to only leave the word "cheap" in my head. The insert was ugly, dead, and disconnected feeling. I didn't get any "ping" on any of them. They all struck the ball with a dead "thud" or a strange "thwock-click" that made it seem like there was a space between the insert and the metal of the head. It's one of the worst inserts I've ever tried... right down there with the original White Hot and SeeMore's insert. I admit that I generally can't stand inserts, so, grain of salt. (I will say that I was playing with a used Odyssey Black i #3 that felt nice. I think I had overlooked that line due to price.)
The other piece of the puzzle here is the price point. These are $130-$160 putters. For this to make any sense, the absolute most these should cost is $90-$100. At the higher price point, Ping is directly competing with itself. The Karsten, iWi, and iSeries putters are all sill available in stores for the same price or less than these putters. The iN is also still alive and only slightly more expensive. All 4 of those series are DRAMATICALLY better putters, too.
Fair take and analysis of the price point. While I found the Pickemup to be livelier, I did find the others to be too muted in their feel and feedback. As for the sound, a buddy of mine noticed the pronounced "ping" on the Pickemup without me mentioning it. I can see where the shaft lean could play tricks on the eyes relative to the face angle.
For some, the really neutral, straight shaft, center-shafted, no-offset design can feel a bit too symmetrical and physically restrictive.
So I see this Pickemup putter as offering a fresh option on that front, a center-shafted putter with a hands-forward setup.
I traded a Cameron for my pickem-up[ and it has been a great trade for me. I like the forward press and alignment is easy and accurate. The putter seems to roll the ball better than any I have had before. Love the suttle sound on a center stroke, it is smooth on fast greens running 9.5 and up. Just overall a great piece.
I have always been an inconsistent putter and have tried all types of remedies including different putters, putter grips, practise methods and lessons. I have been using a Scotty Cameron with an Iomic grip and although I always said 'It's the Indian and not the arrow', I now believe I have a putter best suited to my game in the Pickemup. The consistent feel and feedback it provides as well as the ease it swings back and through have meant I am now making more putts than I ever have and from all distances. I should change my first comment about being an inconsistent putter. I was crap, playing off 2 but having 36-40 putts regularly is no fun but this new putter is the best thing I have ever put in my golf bag. I know that a new putter can be like a new woman and they start out amazingly with you gloating to yourself about how much luckier you are than your friends until it all comes undone, but so far so good and I am in no danger of ending the relationship any time soon.
I just got done testing about 10 different putters today and would have to say the Pickmeup was not the one I was drawn to cosmetically, however I could not deny the noticeable difference in my putting with it. I almost hated buying it because of the tuning fork/pitchfork style. The putter gave off that "ping" sound which added some confidence to my psyche. Pretty solid putter so far, just not the putter I thought I was going to buy today.
Ives
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