Ping’s PLD Limited Anser putter honors gear history, Seve Ballesteros

It seems fitting that the winningest putter in golf is Ping’s final limited-edition drop for 2023. With more than 700 Tour wins, including 19 major titles since it was first introduced, the Anser is without question the most impactful putter design in the history of the sport.

It also happens to be the putter model Seve Ballesteros used to win his third Claret Jug at the 1988 Open Championship — the final major title of his career. During the 1988 season, the Open Championship was the third major championship on the schedule — now the year’s final major — and marked an important moment in Ping’s history.

Thanks to wins from Sandy Lyle and Curtis Strange at the 1988 Masters and U.S. Open, Ping had the opportunity to make it three-for-three at the majors if someone wielding a Ping putter could claim the Claret Jug. Ballesteros, who was two shots behind Nick Price entering the final round, fired a 65 to win by two and keep the streak intact.

“Even though at the time it was the third major of the season, it’s fitting to complete this part of the ‘Ping Slam’ celebration by recognizing Seve’s win at the Open Championship that year,” said John A. Solheim, Ping’s executive chairman. “Seve was our most loyal and accomplished Anser user, earning 47 wins with it, including all five of his major championships. His victories are represented in more than three rows on a rack in the Ping gold putter vault and have helped make the Anser the winningest putter of all time.”

One month later at the PGA Championship, Jeff Sluman claimed his first major with a Ping Pal 2 to cement Ping’s place in history as the last manufacturer to boast four consecutive major wins in the same calendar year with one putter brand.

To celebrate Ballesteros’ accomplishment, Ping plans to release a PLD Limited Anser that’s limited to 88 pieces ($990 per putter) and will be available for purchase on pingpld.com, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 18.

Each head is fully milled from an aluminum/bronze alloy (310 grams) and features an antique finish designed to look like the manganese bronze used to make the original Ansers. A sound slot was also cut into the sole, just behind the face, to deliver a more distinct feel and sound at impact. Each putter is serialized for authenticity and comes with a custom headcover to commemorate the “1988 Ping Slam.”

While this is the final Ping Slam drop, a fifth opportunity to score the limited-edition putters is coming on December 5th, when 35 complete sets of the PLD Limited “Ping Slam” will be released for $4,990. The set includes all four models in a custom-designed display unit.

“Celebrating this achievement has brought back some wonderful memories from 1988,” Solheim said. “I’ve really enjoyed working with our team to ensure Karsten’s original designs remained intact while giving them the precise details and strikingly clean, premium appearance made possible through the milling process.”

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Jonathan Wall

Golf.com Editor

Jonathan Wall is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s Managing Editor for Equipment. Prior to joining the staff at the end of 2018, he spent 6 years covering equipment for the PGA Tour.