August 12, 2011; Phoenix, Arizona — PING announced today a major update to its iPING™ app putting-improvement tool for the iPhone 4 and iPod touch. The new iPING Fit feature coincides with the company’s new “Fit for Stroke”™ approach to putter fitting.
The purpose of iPING Fit is to identify the golfer’s stroke type – straight, slight arc, or strong arc – and then match the player with the PING putter models that fit their stroke type, the key to improved consistency on the greens. Classifying PING models by their face angle and corresponding stroke type is a new putter-fitting approach the company calls Fit for Stroke. Every putter head is either face-balanced for a straight stroke, mid-hang for a slight arc, or toe-down for a strong arc. To make identifying a putter easier, every model has a shaft label that is color coded for stroke type: blue for a straight stroke, green for slight arc, and red for strong arc.
“We’ve done thousands of hours of player testing that show when a golfer’s putter balance matches their stroke type their consistency goes way up, and they make a lot more putts,” said John A. Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO. “iPING Fit and Fit for Stroke are exciting innovations because they give the golfer new information and help them make an educated decision so they choose a putter that will make them more consistent on the greens. As many times as we use our putter during a round, Fit for Stroke offers great potential to shoot lower scores.”
The user accesses iPING Fit via the launch screen or the “More” tab on the iPING app’s home screen. The first step is to hit a series of five putts. The app measures the amount of putter-face rotation during the forward stroke and arrives at an average to determine stroke type. Straight strokes have the least amount of rotation, strong arcs the most. After the session, the app displays a blue, green or red shaft label identifying the user’s stroke type.
Next, the user clicks the “Recommend Putter” tab to bring up a list of every current PING putter model that matches the user’s stroke type, organized by family: Anser Milled, Scottsdale® Series, and Karsten® 1959. The user scrolls through the lineup of matching putters to choose the model that fits their eye. For more-detailed putter fittings, the Advanced Fit feature offers recommendations for length, loft and lie. There’s also a Help button offering explanations and guidance in using the app.
The iPING app works in conjunction with a PING cradle ($30 MSRP), which holds the iPhone 4 or iPod touch and clips onto the putter shaft just below the grip. Cradles are available for either the iPhone 4 or iPod touch (4th gen).
“The response to iPING and the PING cradles has been phenomenal,” Solheim said, “both in the number of downloads and the glowing reviews from average golfers, tour players, and putting instructors. Demand is running high for two reasons: First, iPING is truly one of a kind; Second, it satisfies the need for a fun, easy-to-use putting-improvement tool that generates immediate results. We’re proud to take the lead, bringing golfers yet another innovation that improves their performance.”
“Our intention is that iPING Fit and Fit for Stroke will revolutionize putter fitting the same way that our PING Color Code Chart changed club fitting nearly 40 years ago,” Solheim said. “The goal is to make the process easier and faster, with measurably better results for golfers. These are just two more examples of the importance that PING places in fitting golfers for every club in their bag to help them get the most out of their game.”
The iPING app is available for free from the App Store on the iPhone 4 & iPod touch at www.itunes.com/appstore.
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Pete Samuels
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