Offered here is a PING Trainer - The King of all Ping clubs!  Plus, it is a cut above. This Ping Trainer was not only never used, it was never even fully assembled. It is complete, however, and has all its parts including extra wires and set screws. Here’s the story as documented in a letter dated January 31, 2006 from Dave Sheff, a Ping rep in Los Angeles area at the time:

 “Thank you for your recent purchase of my Ping Trainer Putter. Karsten Solheim used this device to show the importance of the position weighting on a putter. His designs are now being used by every other putter manufactuere. I traded a golf pro over 25 years ago for some Ping Anser putters and that Trainer was included. At that time I didn’t even know what it was. I traded some MacGregor Drivers for putters and Trainer. I have had it in storage for over twenty years and had no interest in selling it until Randy called and said you were interested in purchasing it. I think there were only aboiut 20 of these Trainers made by Karsten.”

The letter comments that only 20 of these trainers were made by Karsten, which is entirely believable.  The auctioneer knows that Ping has three, and has seen just a few others. No doubt some were thrown out as Trainers don’t lend themselves to being anybody’s gamer.

 Karsten devised the Trainer to show the benefit of heel and toe weighting to anyone who tried the club, including and especially PGA Tour pros. He would attach a bit of cotton to the back of the wire and have the golfer hit a few puts off butcher paper. The golfer could then check the direction of the marks with the weights on the ends of the head versus directly behind the ball.    

This example has its 35 ¼” original shaft and grip collar with a “Tuned Balnamic Ping Golf Clubs” black shaft band and its original Golf Pride Informer grip

This putter comes complete with both original led weights, three wires, and four set screws, only two of which were needed to install a wire in the underside rear of the head. None of the wires were ever installed in the back of the head. This was apparently how these putters were sent out after an order was received. The owner would need to install the wire, and extra wires and set screws were included.

Ping Trainers are "Holy Grail” rare, and this unbelievable example is as good as it gets. To read much more about this ingenious club, see And The Putter Went Ping pages 70-75.