Picking a putter is probably the most personal decision a golfer makes.
Yeah, a golfer can customize pretty much every facet of their clubs these days, but the connection between a player and their putter has to be the strongest of all the clubs in the bag.
Get it wrong, and a golfer may flinch more under pressure. Get it right, and a golfer may be able to turn bad rounds into OK ones, and turn good rounds into great ones.
Every golfer has different demands out of their putter, and for the player who likes a firmer feel off the face and needs more moment of inertia protection, Ping has released the Heppler family of putters.
With the Heppler line, Ping chose to use high-pressure aluminum casting for the first time, designed with a solid face to deliver on a firmer feel while making heads with high MOI. The putters boast a copper-and-black aesthetic a lot of golfers should like, while mixing in various alignment aids and cues with an easy-to-see contrast.
The heads are made by combining aluminum with steel, shaped to keep the heavier steel where it can increase MOI and offer a center of gravity position that's helpful for getting the ball rolling forward faster. The company says the high-pressure facet of the casting allows for more precision.
The face on the Heppler putters is aluminum or steel, machined flat, and designed to help with weight distribution while offering a firmer feel and sound. Some golfers just prefer a little tink when they putt. They might not fit in the Sigma 2 series, and this is their Ping family alternative.
Adjustable-length shafts technology has been improved for these putters, offering a firmer feel with less flexing, the company says. The shafts can be customized between 32 and 36 inches using a tool inserted in the butt end of the grip. Adjustments can be made in quarter-inch turns.
The PP59 is the standard grip in the series. The PP60 is midsize and lightweight, with flats on the top and sides. The PP61 has an exaggerated pistol shape and is a little heavier. The PP62 has a larger, more rounded shape to promote quieter hands.
The are nine models in the series, ranging from blades to mid-mallets to mallets. The blades are the Anser 2 (all steel) and ZB3 (high MOI, strong-arc blade). The mid-mallets are the Piper C (center-shafted) and Piper Armlock. The mallets are the Floki (strong-arc mallet), Tyne 3, Fetch and Ketsch.
The new Tomcat 14 has the highest MOI in the Heppler line and has a 14-dot alignment aid inspired by the lights on an airport runway.
The Heppler name is a tribute to a long-time Ping employee. Rick Heppler started with Ping as a teenager in 1966, and he helped John A. Solheim build putters in the family garage. Rick advanced up the ranks of the company before passing away in a motorcycle accident in 2013.
The Ping Heppler putters are now available, ranging from $245 to $270, depending on the model.
