PING Proving Grounds Ep 2
Episode Two of The PING Proving Grounds Podcast is all About the PING Tour Truck & How Equipment Helps Players Have Consistent Game
PING’s new weekly podcast (Proving Grounds) had its second episode released on June 1st. The second episode of the podcast was also hosted by Shane Bacon and Marty Jertosn and this time it is featuring Kenton Oates. Kenton Oates is the Senior Player Development Manager for PING and spends a lot of his time working on the PING Tour Truck. This episode took place in the Ping tour truck as it was the subject o the episode.
About the PING Tour Truck
The PING Tour Truck has a massive trailer that is designed to be a mobile club performance and repair shop. The truck is filled with all the newest high-tech equipment and travels around the country with tour players. They build, adjust, and regrip clubs for the players as needed. Oates claimed that if his team was under a time crunch and had all hands on deck, they could make a full set of clubs in under an hour on the truck! These clubs would also be personalized to the specific player as each tour player has their own Excel file that tracks exactly what clubs the players are using. The PING Tour Truck team updates these files and gathers information including length, loft, setting, tipping of the shaft, swing weight, and head weight for each club. This allows them to create an exact replica of any club on file, a task they claim they could do in under 15 minutes. The PING Tour Truck is a well-oiled machine that produces only the best equipment.
Impact of the Pros Equipment
Tour Golfers are obviously golfing a lot and it is not unusual for their equipment to become worn down or even break. Whenever they want new equipment or want to adjust current equipment, they can just head on over to the truck. Oates shared anecdotes about his many encounters with pros, specifically examples of times his club adjustments had a clear impact on the player’s game. Oates shared his experience working on Stephan Jäger’s clubs and how Jäger’s only wanted to “hit it hard and have it fall to the right.” Sure enough, the team on the truck is able to fulfill his request. Just like that, Jäger was able to change the way he hit the ball without changing anything about his swing. Personalized equipment allows players to compete with a high degree of consistency that is required in PGA-level golf.
Advice for the Casual Golfer Purchasing Clubs
When you will inevitably need new clubs and are looking at your options, you’ll want to remember this piece of advice from Kenton Oates. Oates talks about how the spin rate is one of the most important things to consider for the average golfer. A higher spin rate provides higher consistency and is often better to have than a few extra yards. If you’re torn between two clubs, pick the ones that give you a higher spin rate, even if the other club hits slightly further.
PING Proving Grounds Podcast once again provides an insightful behind-the-scenes look into the business of golf while providing applicable advice for the casual golfer. If you want to hear more about the podcast, you can listen for yourself on iHeart.com.
If you want to read about PING and Morton Golf’s long history, check out our blog: PING and Morton Golf go Way Back.
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