Help Tuning a Ping Putter's "Ping"

Lengthening the slots will effectively lengthen both the centre and side pieces, resulting in a lower pitch. Consider the strings in a piano: the bass strings are longer than the treble strings. Conversely, shortening the slots by adding material at the ends will raise the pitch.

If you're up for some experimentation, here's an idea: It's the side pieces that generate the 'ping', yes? Drill & tap screw holes in the side-pieces near the slot ends such that a long screw (say, 10-32) will bridge the gap between the side pieces and thread into the corresponding hole on the other side. Start at one end only. This will terminate the free-ringing length of the side-pieces, raising the pitch.

Alternatively, add material to bulk-up the ends and mill the excess away until the pitch is what you want.

You might also find an older version on eBay.

No, they have increased considerably in value and I'm not a purist. _{^{(they do have a pretty ring to them though)}}

• $2,955.55
• 
• I will get some thin metal wedges and insert them into the slots to shorten them and see how that sounds.
• Drilling and tapping is way down the road.
• Thanks!

$2,955.55 ?

You gotta be sh!ttin' me.

I'm in the wrong bloody business. That's all I can say.

If/when you add material, make sure it is comparable to the material that thing's made of. Looks like diecast aluminium alloy. Don't use something softer as it can dampen the oscillations.

You said you had access to a milling machine? Possibly make your own and experiment on that? That'd be cool.

or

Use your current one as the master form for making investment castings. Not to market maybe but to experiment with.

or

3D-scan it, edit the scan on the computer, make changes there and print it with a 3D printer.

"Ask an engineer the time and they tell you how to build a bloody watch."

I paid $105.00 USD for the one in the picture at a pro shop. Could have gotten it on-line for less, but I was there and it caught my eye.

The originals are worth what they are worth strictly because of Karsten Solhiem (Ping founder) and what he did for golf.

Higher pitch requires that the vibrating metal be shorter and/or stiffer. Lengthening the part that rings or thinning the part that rings will cause the pitch to be lower. So both the ideas you mention go the wrong way.

If you want to make the tone higher buy two #4-40 screws and 8 matching nuts and attach them across the faces of the putter at the ends of the faces like this sketch. This will make the vibrating faces shorter and therefore the tone will be higher.

...and pretty much do nothing other than ruin a perfectly good putter.

I didn't say drill holes. Nothing gets ruined!

Just set the screws on top the putter and tighten the nuts against the front and back faces. The nuts can be loosened and the screws repositioned until the right ping is heard.

OK. Now that's certainly worth a try and easy enough that even I can do it.

I might even go with #6 or #8 to get more bite and rigidity.

There's a hardware store a block from my office.

My concern is that it dampens the vibrations, but for $.50 worth of nuts and screws, I'll give it a try.

Thanks!

I have tried metal wedges driven into the slots but that just damped the noise completely.

I'm not sure the screws will help, especially if placed across the face of the putter.

Time is on my side.

You may be sorry you do that. Or not.

IF no good as a putter, it might make a one shot club. One swing, and you break the shaft, no good after that. Better hit solid and square on the bear the first lick.

As you have seen by the wedges, partially restricting freedom in one direction will tend to damp. To get a section to resonate well, good contact needs to be made on both sides of the beam and fairly square. Accomplishing that as an add on part is going to be difficult to do well.

.

So I dug a little and it looks like your putter head is likely manganese bronze..Copper with 25% zinc, 6% aluminum, 3% manganese, 3% iron. That falls in SAE 430B, which unfortunately is not heat treatable.

Also, you'd have to get several percent nickel or aluminum into the surface to begin to get close to being able to case harden....so that's not easily feasible.

.

..but there is something doable that will work and shouldn't stretch the budget too much AND might get a few double takes, too!

.

Hard chrome plating the head. Take it to a chrome plater and tell them you want a thick hard chrome plating tough enough you can putt with. The chrome plating should be harder than the bronze, effectively acting as case hardening. Additionally, thickening the vibrating beam and shortening the slots will also contribute to higher frequency.

..and you have probably the only come plated Ping putter around! Makes a cool sound and shiney enough to distract other golfers while they try to putt.

I'll pass on the chrome plating, thanks. Here's an interesting tidbit.

Whenever a player wins a Tour event using a Ping putter, Ping makes two gold-plated replicas of the putter they used. One is a gift to the player, and the other goes into the vault. There are over two thousand there today.

Nickel plating? Black chrome plating?

Electroforming a harder metal of your preference on the putter head?

You've already hacksawed a gash in it. Why not repair the gash and get the result you want with something that doesn't look like an afterthought?

"You've already hacksawed a gash in it."

Oh, that was cold!

^{_{If the truth hurts, maybe it should.}}

Okay, here is an idea that doesn't require adding or removing material.

It looks like the two blade on the front and back of the putter are probably responsible for the ping sound...you can check by holding the putter as close to where it connects to the shaft without touching the side and striking the face. If it rings with the center damped then it's mainly the blades ringing.

If that is the case, then if you cool the center using something like dry ice chilled isopropyl alcohol while simultaneously heating the front and back blades (wrap the shaft in layers of aluminum foil to shield it a little) with a strong hot air gun or a carefully used torch.until the parts are at significantly different (yet fairly uniform within the section) temperatures, the contraction of the cold center and elongation of the hot outer may be enough to deform the head slightly such that the center is elongated or the blades are compressed or the combination, sufficiently to cause a little plastic deformation.

When the temperature is allowed to equalize back to room temperature there should be remaining internal stress putting the outer blades into tension (relative to their state before this proceedure). Whether it is high tension or decreased compression, the effect will be an increase in frequency.

.

Worth a try?

hahaha.....shirley we can come up with something more complicated than this......

Are you being sarcastic?

What could be more simple?

Heat the outside.

Cool the center.

....which provides internal stress to tension the vibrating sections thus raising the frequency. No material added. No material chopped away.

I've probably imagined sarcasm where there was none. Haven't I?

It might work provided the stresses induced don't cause it to crack. That would be my biggest concern.

Cracking shouldn't be a problem.

Manganese bronze is mostly face centered cubic matrix so doesn't show a marked ductile to brittle transition temp. Manganese bronze remains ductile well below dry ice temperatures. Elongation says quite high even at moderately cold temps...above 30% at temps lower than 100 K. Chance of it cracking at dry ice temps are remote even with a swift whack of a hammer. The closest thing this putter is going to get to cracking is Lyn's hacksaw omage to the fracture form.

Wow, that might be better than Swiss Bank account.

I would like to have one of those (but cannot afford).

If tournament play is a concern to you, be careful your modifications do not disqualify the putter. rules exist regarding what you can and cannot do or change on a club.

Tournament play?

No, I'm a once a month duffer, but I do carry a copy of the rules of golf when playing.

I bought this putter while killing time in the pro shop, mostly as a curiosity, because I had one once and wanted another.

The project is on hold as I was outbid on-line for one and my friend who has one is very ill.

I'm not a golfer, but I assume from the physics of the thing that you would strike the ball with the "sweet spot" where the axis of the shaft crosses the head, so that the impact of hitting the ball won't twist the shaft. And I'm guessing that this club is made so that the ball strikes the center of the brass strip so it rings like a bell. So maybe the strip needs to be shortened from both ends equally. Just thinkin'.

Well, not exactly. The distribution of the mass of the head horizontally determines the sweet spot.

If you look at the photos the shaft is not in the middle of the head.

The consensus is that my slots are already too long and I agree.

Note to self: Measure friends slots, and head overall. ^{_{(Addendum to note to self: Why didn't you do this lang ago??????)}}

Leave the one slot at length but tune the other four semitones higher. Two pings a major third apart, like this.

Karsten himself will wonder why he didn't think of that.

OK, you're right. I agree, it's the distribution of the head's mass.

Here is a manganese and bronze new model, which I think are the original materials....I think the hardness of the material is what makes the loud ping....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/142247163143?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

http://www.best-putter.com/ping-1a.html

I think this guy might be selling your old pinger....

Ebay club....

Assuming this one and Lyn's are the same length, the slots on this one are shorter (higher pitch) and there's more bulk at the forward end, making it more rigid.

Guilty!

I did that in a misguided attempt to alter the pitch. (It didn't change the pitch, that I could tell.

So, I'll try some "tuning" screws today, if I get time. Work may get in the way this week since I have a big project involving rented equipment, weather permitting.

The slots appear to be shorter on this one....maybe the metal hardens over time...?

Go away, please.

I think Andrew is right, you need to shorten the slots. A little JB weld might do the trick and can be easily removed if it doesn't.

I am 100% sure that I do not know what I am talking about when it comes to the acoustic ring of a putter. But, if you think about RF it would be tempting to suggest that the JB Weld would cause an acoustic impedance mismatch and therefore cause reflections, additional ring frequencies, modulation of ring frequencies, etc. (is this a problem or a clue?)

Removing material from inside the blade face seems to me like the option to consider.

Should the leading face and the trailing face be tuned to the same frequency? Does the "ping" give you a sweet spot that you care about with a putter?

I wonder if there is any open source software that will let you run experiments for free?

WOW!

I see JB Weld as an attenuator, since it's not metal.

Removing material from inside the blade/blades remains on the table.

This is not something software can solve. My ears will be the final judge.

The ping just happens, even with off center contact.

Lower it's temp about ten degrees an hour until you are cryogenic cold. I dont remember all the details or what to do next. .. Somebody does it to brass instruments and such to titighten them up.. I'm mobile sooo.. That's all i have.

Interestingly, the slots in my putter do seem longer. Another mystery. Maybe I bought a knock off?

And they may all be manganese/bronze heads for all I know. Just looked like BeCu.

I think the next step is a trip to the pro shop with my calipers to measure some slots and see what that has to do with frequency. I actually have a hand held frequency analyzer but that may get me kicked out of the shop. I think "there's an app for that", too.

Metal wedges in the slots will get a look-see tomorrow while I'm at work.

JB Weld probably will not be tried, just because it would look like I had to "glue" my putter back together.

Thanks guys, more later.

"Maybe I bought a knock off?"

I was just about to suggest that. It also doesn't look as solid as the others.

I don't think it's a knock off. I bought it at a reputable shop.

It doesn't matter anyway, I'm not going to sell it.

I probably have 100 clubs accumulated over the years. 4 full sets and a ton of odds and ends.

I loan sets to wanna be golfers so that they don't have to buy a set only to find that golf isn't for them.

Remember, golf spelled backwards is flog!

It's probably one of their obscure Pong prototypes wot escaped the lab before the project was cancelled.

Appears to be different models...

As I recall,the "Scottsdale" model (at the top) is the one I remember. Other models may have had that same unique sound, I don't know.

I have a friend who still has her Scottsdale and the sound is just unique. It may even be disconcerting to other golfers on the green.

I actually prefer the ANSER model for putting.

2,736hz is as close an estimate to the tone that I can get...or~ F7

I got 2,637hz.

The putter's at work, but I expect it to be lower.

I get around 3.9 inches length of vibrating surface....

Would you mind going over how you arrived at that?

Just a guesstimate based on 15mm copper pipe....

Notes to self:

1. Take calipers to work.

2. Buy assortment of machine screws and nuts.

3. Order another putter.

4. Have hearing checked...might be tone deaf....

Yes that seems closer...E7

From my view point, it appears that the characteristic, " ping " sound you have described, has a direct relationship with your ability to control the action of the ball.

Have you looked into a mimic device to artificially create the tonal neumonics that provides you with confidence in spatial reasoning ?

Perhaps you can retrieve a sound recording of the ping tone and using a computer simulation program, recreate an image that will allow you to machine or augment a non BECU head into a useful instrument.

My ability to control the ball is the culmination of many acts that rarely repeat themselves in any predictable manner.

I don't understand anything else you said.

If you do decide on material removal, please be careful. Take appropriate precautions to avoid dust inhalation for yourself and others.

There is no cure for berylliosis. Your cantankerous ways would be missed.

Thanks, but I think material removal is not the solution here.

At my age, I can afford a little carelessness.

I dunno, you may wish to avoid it for other reasons. Beryllium copper has an orangish cast for example and we know all too well what that colour does to you.

Hell, for all we know you might try to impeach it.

"we know all too well what that colour does to you."

Please reduce my naiveté...

He's remarking on Lyn's public opinions about a figure in the news who maintains a complexion suggesting he just rolled in Cheeto dust.

Thanks, but I rarely watch TV, so I'm still naïve!

OK, I'm pretty sure I got it!

Hitler (spin around), Hitler (spin around), Hitler (spin around)...this thread is now dead, dead, dead.

I think Lyn could saw off the putter head and install a large block of black plastic and be better off (not to the sound, but at least he could hit the ball then).

Vindictiveness does not become you.

So just take the putter head, and hammer it into a new ball of bronze, and throw it in the recycle bin already, because that is where this is leading.

Have you considered doing some actual physical testing of the metal before you destroy your exemplar?

(1) Brinnell Hardness?

(2) elasticity?

(3) Sonic transmission, speed of sound

(4) density

(5) scratch test

(6) golf ball test - how many times can you bounce a golf ball on the putter face.

(7) balance test

on and on

Correct, although I suspect the new putters have no beryllium in the alloy.

In fact, I'm betting that is the real reason the new ones sound different - the removal of the beryllium from the alloy, and replacement with something less toxic, and less hard, which means a lower speed of sound and therefore a lower pitch..

Perhaps. But, it seems that tuning is still possible.

"The "Classic Series" Ping Putters include all non-insert, traditional designs made from Manganese Bronze, Stainless steel or Copper. These are the timeless classics such as the "Anser," "Pal," "Zing" "Blade" and "B60" series ...and unique designs such as the double bend shaft "Kushin" and the rare center shafted "69." When entering a review for your treasured Ping Classic: PLEASE FOLLOW THE THESE GUIDELINES: Use the following designations to describe your specific putter: "MB" -Manganese Bronze (dark brown in color like the Anser or Pal. "SS" -Stainless Steel (like the Anser 2, 4, Zing 2 and B60) "BeCu" -Copper (was featured in the Anser 2, 4, Pal 2, 4, B60 and Zing2) Ex: Model Reviewed: "MB" Anser or "SS" Zing 2 "

BeCu ....also available in stainless steel...

http://www.golfreview.com/cat/putters/ping/classic-series-bronze-stainless-becu/prd_76552_2942crx.aspx

I beleive that post 12 might have some merit. Changing the hardness should also affect the "tightness" and thus the ring tone that you hear. The benefit of this is no change to head mass or balance.

As a different question, is it possible that the balls now have a softer surface finish and so do not strike the head as hard.

Or maybe it's a symptom of industrial deafness excess rock and roll where the higher frequencies become less audible.

I got nuthin' to answer the question, but I like the thread .
A mate of mine gave me a Chinese knock off Ping putter that he brought back from a business trip. Once I changed the grip ('cos it smelled like byrnt car tyres), re glued the head and machined the face flat it was great .
Del

"... ('cos it smelled like byrnt car tyres)..."

Are you certain this didn't come from Minot North Dakota USA?

Perhaps a well known CR4 tyre burner previously owned it.

Another option is to purchase your original through online merchants.

That may be an option of last resort.

To clarify, I do not use this putter on the golf course. I prefer the Anser^® putter.

This is just something I'm fiddling with in my spare time.

OR..

you can get one of those small devices that are in the "musical christmas cards", attach an inertia type contactor on the back side (so not to interfere with the ball contact area) and that will then play the correct "ping" pitch sound when you hit the ball.

hmm, a new patent idea...

No thanks, that would not conform to the "Rules of Golf".

May be professor Miller Summer can help you with that. I respect this guy.

Professor Summer is a very interesting guy. Kinda like Don Herbert.

Thanks.

Awesome video, thank you.

Or could it be that you ears have lost sensitivity in the higher ranges? You used to race, didn't you? Not so good for the ears.

Well, I can hear the crisp "ping" of the putter in the video posted by SE, so my hearing isn't that bad yet.

Is that the note?

Yes, as I recall, that's it.

It's rather distinctive.

I'll try to borrow my friend's next week. She's not using it, she doesn't play any more.

..." For example, the face plates 1 and 2 ring with a clear note if the ball is struck with a center spot of a face plate because it is believed that the face plate will vibrate at its natural frequency with maximum amplitude, that frequency being a function of its length. If the ball is struck with a spot off center, it is believed that the face plate is caused to vibrate at some other frequency or at some complex of frequencies which noticeably alters the pitch and loudness of the tone produced. In addition, the quality of that tone does not appear to be of the same quality as the tone produced when the ball is struck with a center spot, a spot half way between the two ends of a face plate."...

https://www.google.com/patents/US3042405

The original....

OK, first test came up at 2240hz

Next test, the peak was 12,187 but I had peaks at 4, 6, 12 18.and 20Khz.

This may have to do with these tests being real time and not a recording of a recording, etc. like the video was.

I have hardware, but also a work project.

More later.

No tests yet. Work keeps getting in the way.

What is the distance between the screws, overall length of the club, and slot length?

2240hz would explain it...C#7

No, 2240 is the unaltered frequency.

Work keeps getting in the way today.

If you are just paying green fees or member fees for those screws, the putter would immediately be outlawed at a sanctioned PGA event.

I am mindful of the rules of golf. Have my rule book at hand to prove it.

I'm still not ready to make any modifications that are not reversible.

Yeah. Better luck with your putter. If you already ground out the slots then you ruined your Ping.

Nothing a little brazing can't fix.....

I agree with your words, but not the title of the video (I didn't watch it).

Soldering brass to brass is NOT brazing. He needs a much higher temperature material than ordinary solder. Solder would dampen the vibrations, not raise the pitch.

Silver solder is used on brass musical instruments I think...I don't believe silver solder would dampen the vibrations....but the point seems moot....

Silver solder (maybe regular solder) is used on brass musical instruments to join parts, but not to alter the response of the instrument.

Not ready to try that.

Actually, if the part being joined/repaired is chemically clean and coated with an appropriate flux, silver solder flows very easily to fill gaps, such as those created by a hacksaw..., and the meniscuses (menisci?) make it very attractive.

There are many alloys called silver solder, and as long as one is chosen that has a melting point well below that of the putter head, there is very little chance of damaging the head. To determine this, of course, one must know the alloy of the head in order to ascertain its melting point.

If I'm not mistaken, higher melting point solders will be harder/stiffer, which means a higher speed of sound and a higher pitch.

I know virtually nothing about heat treatment of bronzes, but I suspect the cooling rate after soldering would be important to obtain/maintain maximum hardness.

This particular bronze is not amenable to heat treating. Quenching, annealing, soaking....none will change hardness for this one.

There are silver musical instruments though, and sometimes just the bell of the instrument....

King 2B Legend trombone....

Speed of sound in brass 3500 m/s... silver 3650 m/s... copper 3700 m/s... SS 5790 m/s....

Note that the speed of sound in beryllium is 12,890 m/s. I presume that the speed of sound in BeCu will depend highly on the fraction that is Be, but it's got to be way higher than the speed of sound in pure copper.

I didn't quickly find any numbers for BeCu, nor for MnCu, or whatever the formula is for Manganese Bronze, but again, it's got to be way higher than the speed of sound in pure copper.

Ditto for NIAg, or whatever alloy is used in those horns.