Best golf innovations of all time

Our favourite game changers from the past 50 years - does yours feature?

Andy Roberts's picture
Fri, 9 Jun 2017

 

Golf equipment. We all have personal memories. We all have personal stories. We all have personal favourites.

Whether it's that forgiving PING Anser putter of '66, domineering Callaway Big Bertha of '91, the Titleist Pro V1 launch of 2000 or the revolutionary rocket TaylorMade RBZ fairway wood of 2012, our beautiful game has witnessed some truly unique innovations over the last 50 years.

What's your favourite ever golf product? Yup, that's a great shout - but does it feature in our list?

Come on in...

#1 - PING ANSER PUTTER (1966)

Not that I'd know as I was minus 21 years old, but 1966 was a very special year for us English golfers. Not only did our nation win the World Cup but we were afforded the luxury of holing more putts with the PING Anser putter. Well, that's what my late grandad told me anyway.

Marking one of the greatest launches of PING's history and designed by founder Karsten Solheim on the dust cover of a 78 RPM record because he couldn't find a piece of paper, the Anser - or 'Answer' as it was labelled by Karsten's wife Louise as it was an answer for the vexing problems in putting - would go on to become one of the most influential putters in the game.

REVIEW: PING TR 1966 ANSER 2 PUTTER

From our understanding, 'Answer' was switched to 'Anser' because the extra character was too long to fit on the putter!

The Anser sets the gold standard for what is considered to be the conventional putter head today, racking up more than 600 wins around the world. George Archer became the first player to win a major with the Anser putter at the 1969 Masters.

Designed with heel-and-toe weighting and a centre of gravity below the equator of the ball, the Anser putter creates a quick forward roll and is adopted by pros and amateurs alike.