Say hello to the all-new 2020 Heppler putter family from Ping Golf.

Ping has always pushed the technology envelope, especially when it comes to putters and manufacturing techniques. The Heppler putters are no exception and are a combination of (big breath in)

• State of the art manufacturing processes
• Acoustically tuned high MOI shapes
• Multi-material construction
• Analysis-driven alignment tools
• Fully customizable—including off-the-shelf length adjustability

Beyond just the technology, the new putters are also a tribute to Ping’s long-standing commitment to honoring heritage, family, and the individuals that helped build the company from a garage startup to one of the world’s largest golf club manufacturers.

From Ping:

The Heppler putter family is named in honor of Rick Heppler, a longtime Ping employee who began his career with the company as a teenager in 1966. The son of a General Electric co-worker of Ping Founder Karsten Solheim, Rick was hired by Karsten to help John A. Solheim build putters in the family garage. Rick eventually held several management positions at Karsten Manufacturing Corporation before passing away in a motorcycle accident in 2013.

“Rick was part of the Ping family for almost 50 years,” said John. “He was a dear friend who contributed greatly to our success in all that he did. Naming this putter series after him is a tribute to his dedication to our company and its employees.”

Solid-face technology

Maybe it’s a bit of a stretch to call a flat putter face “technology,” but if we look past whether it is or isn’t, the reasoning behind the Heppler series departing from the TR (True Roll) face makes sense. The first being louder audible feedback for players that struggle with distance control. The second: to provide more options.

“We saw a high percentage of testers improve their ‘Strokes Gained’ results with a Heppler model, indicating that many golfers prefer the firmer sound and feel of a solid-face design,”
said Solheim. “We see the new putters as an appealing alternative to our Sigma 2 series, which offers a softer feel and sound through its dual-durometer insert and TR face technology. Our primary goal is to provide golfers a custom-fit putter with their desired feel and sound while delivering the performance and consistency they need to hole more putts.”

• More photos of the Ping Heppler putters in the forums. 

Multiple materials, multiple faces

To boost the MOI of each model in the Heppler Series, Ping used a combination of steel and aluminium parts to push weight to the perimeter of the designs. To create precise geometry, the engineers at Ping decided to use a high-pressure casting technique to better position weight around the heads to increase performance, which was especially useful when creating the highest MOI Tomcat 14

“The advantage of pressure casting is we can achieve highly precise design details while allowing our engineers much greater freedom to position weight where it benefits the putter’s performance the most,” said Solheim.

Let’s touch on the face for a moment. You’ll quickly notice the face material changes throughout the putter line, from either aluminum or steel, depending on the model. The reason behind the shifting face materials is based on positioning mass in each head to maximize forgiveness and optimize the center of gravity.

• More photos of the Ping Heppler putters in the forums. 

Adjustable-length shaft and grip options

As with the Sigma 2 putter, Ping is continuing to offer the adjustable length shaft in the Heppler; giving golfers the ability to customize length between 32 and 36 inches to fit their stroke and posture. The difference between previous versions of the shaft is the new Heppler putter shafts are finished in black chrome. For the consumer, Ping has made adjusting length a quick and simple process by simply placing the included adjustment tool into the top of the grip and turn until the putter reaches the desired length.

The are four Ping stock grip designs available to allow golfers to find their optimal fit and feel.

• The PP59 is the standard grip, and its shape is inspired by the popular PP58.
• The Midsized PP60 is lightweight and designed to fit comfortably into the contours of the hands with flats on the top and sides.
• The PP61 is slightly heavier than the P60 and has a more exaggerated pistol shape.
• The PP62, is larger and more rounded to reduce hand movement during the stroke while still remaining lightweight.

Price, availability

Starting today, January, 20 the Heppler putter are available for pre-order.

The designs include; Anser 2, ZB3, Piper C, Tyne 3, Fetch, Ketsch, Floki, Tomcat 14, and Piper Armlock.

Depending on the model, the putters range from $245 for the blade styles to $270 for the higher MOI Designs.

• More photos of the Ping Heppler putters in the forums.