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PING PLD Milled and PLD Milled Plus Putters
One of the things I love about PING is their seemingly blase response when they release new clubs. Compared to the marketing fanfare that accompanies other companies’ releases, PING’s approach to releasing gear is far less in your face. Writing press release copy for PING seems like an easy job. Here is how I would write up a typical release if I worked for PING:
“Here’s some new PING equipment. We think it’s pretty good.”
For PING, that type of statement is full-court press marketing, typically reserved for a big ticket item like the new G430 MAX 10K. For a smaller release, like putters, the release often feels more like, “Oh, and there are some new putters over there by the couch as well.”
It’s not that PING thinks their gear is sub-par, or even average. It’s actually the opposite. They know their gear is amazing and they let it do the talking. The fisherman who knows he has the biggest lure doesn’t need to validate that fact by flashing his flasher in front of every other angler.
Just whip that lure out into the water. The fish will take notice.
Let’s check out the new 2024 PING PLD (Putting Lab Design) Milled putters. As per usual, these putters didn’t get announced with a gimmicky hook. PING just tossed them out in the proverbial putter pond, knowing that they will swim just fine all on their own.
Having spent some time with the new PLD Milled putters, PING has the right to sing the praises of these putters at volume. They won’t, of course, but let’s explore why they should.
2024 PING PLD Milled: Precision Milling
If I was to pick one thing that sets the new 2024 PING PLD Milled putters apart from other milled putters, it would be the milling. The tolerances are ridiculously tight. The milling is as precise as any milled Scotty Cameron or Bettinardi putter.
This is worth noting as it has not always been the case with PING milled putters. For a long time, PING was a cast putter company. The much “honored by other companies” Anser design did not start out as a milled putter. The first milled Anser was produced three or maybe four decades after the original.
Milling putters was a 21st Century adventure for PING, and the jeep got lost in the desert a couple of times initially. The milled PING Redwood putters suffered from finish issues and the Anser Milled line included the near-mythological Anser 0 model that PING quickly recalled.
(If you have an Anser Milled 0, please send it to MyGolfSpy headquarters, care of Dave Wolfe, and I will dispose of it properly for you.)
Since launching the PLD Milled lines, PING has taken their milling to an elite level. These new models continue PLD Milled’s tight tolerance tradition. From the every edge of the head, to the deep AMP (Aggressive Milling Pattern) faces, PING’s milling is precise and ultimately results in quite attractive putters.
PING says each head takes four hours to mill, taking the time to make sure every surface and angle are precise. No corners were cut with the cutting of corners.
2024 PING PLD Milled: Inclusion of Oddities
PING makes some strange putters. We could spend an entire article talking about the “out there” designs that PING has not only made, but subsequently released to the public as well.
There was the Nome, the Sidney and the half-dinner-plate Doc 17. PING said, “Why not?” with the Y Worry mallet and gave course superintendents nightmares with the ball-grabbing, cup-threatening Fetch.
Not all of these envelope-pushing designs proved to be amazing but a few did. In 2012, Hunter Mahan won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship with a PING Nome that he put in his bag that week. That milled aluminum mallet had great feel.
The PING Ketsch was an outlier release as well, entering the marketplace with zero promotion. To this day, I’d argue that the Ketsch is one of the best, or maybe the best, mallets to ever go through Most Wanted testing.
PING could just re-release their greatest hits every time. Why not? Other putter companies do just that. Instead, PING gives us interesting putters like the new Oslo 3 with its wavy neck and the multi-material Ally Blue 4.
Both of these heads are atypical in their designs. How these designs end up performing is important for the individuals who buy them, but perhaps more important for golf as a whole. PING continuing to push the design envelope is a big win for the golfing community.
2024 PING PLD MIlled Putter Models
The new 2024 PING PLD Milled line includes five putters. Two are blades and three are mallets. Left-handed folks and center-shaft users are out of luck. Sorry for the bad news. For everyone else, though, the 2024 PING PLD Milled line offers a mix of classic and new PING designs.
A few of the designs are the ones played by PING staffers and one has more gold putters in The PING Vault than any other putter in history. PING never comes up short in the putter pedigree department.
2024 PING PLD Milled Anser
Let’s start with the big hitter, the 2024 PING PLD Milled Anser. This is no Anser copy. This is the Anser.
The tweaks to the Anser design are minor. It has a sight line in the cavity. Some Anser editions have a dot or nothing at all. It also has the new gunmetal finish. Overall, it is ridiculously nice for a retail Anser, even at $485.
I say this because my PING PLD Milled Custom Anser has made its way back into my bag recently. In the maelstrom that is the new putter release season, I wanted to play something fitted and familiar.
“Familiar” is exactly how I would describe this new 2024 PING PLD Milled Anser. I was surprised at how much it feels like my custom Anser. I had PING build this putter to match the specs we determined through the PLD Custom fitting, so I suppose I should not have been surprised that it felt and played similarly.
Unlike with the PLD Milled Custom program, this new retail Anser does not come with the fitting and extensive customization. But it also costs $1,000 less.
If you want to make your new putter a little fancier, PING has a new program for you. I’ll get to that in a moment.
2024 PING PLD Milled Anser 2D
The PING PLD Milled Anser 2D is a large version of the Anser 2. The “D” stands for “doggone” because that’s what you’ll say when you see how big it is.
(Maybe I made that up.)
Anyway, this is the “Deeper Profile” Anser 2 that Tony Finau is using. Some of the new PING PLD Milled models are the putters that PING staffers use on the PGA Tour. Perhaps not to the exact player’s specifications, but their construction is based upon continued conversations between the player and PING’s engineers.
You probably don’t want a putter built to Finau’s exact specifications anyway. I think he is like seven feet tall. Your putter could end up with a 40-inch shaft. Pro usage refines the designs and gives the designs performance validity, but you should always play what fits you.
2024 PING PLD Milled DS72
First thing: the DS72 is not the same as the DS72 that Viktor Hovland plays. PING gave us a shot at that DS72 last fall with the limited-run Hovi release. This face-balanced DS72 is built to more traditional lengths and, surprisingly, weighs five grams more than Hovland’s 36-inch build.
One of my favorite things about play testing putters is when I get surprised by a design I had dismissed. I “know” I usually struggle aiming round mallets. Maybe my eyes are confused about where to look or maybe it’s just a psychological blockage at this point.
Regardless, when I took the headcover off the DS72 for some green time, it was more out of obligation than curiosity. I was convinced there was no way I’d putt well with the round head. I don’t know what sorcery PING did performed in Phoenix but I rolled this round mallet like no round mallet I had rolled before.
I share this because it made me realize I carried a bias about that style of putter. The DS72 probably won’t make it into my bag but it could, and I would have walked right past it in the shop due to preconceived notions.
My advice to you is to set biases aside and roll every putter.
A good friend of mine who has played an Anser 2 forever just went through a putter fitting at PING HQ and ended up with a DS72. Again, roll everything.
2024 PING PLD Milled Oslo 3
PING describes the Oslo 3 as Tyrrell Hatton-influenced. That makes sense to me. He plays a Oslo mallet, but with a different hosel. Why wouldn’t PING just make the same putter that Hatton plays? The likely reason is that they already have made that putter. Tyrrell uses the PING Oslo Vault putter from 2016.
Instead of rereleasing that old one, PING switched it up by installing an aluminum #3 neck on the Oslo. This neck gives the Oslo just a little more toe hang than the Hatton Oslo and also a full shaft of offset. This is the second PLD Milled Oslo but it is not the same as that one, either. The last PLD Milled Oslo had a #4 neck, best fitting the strong-arc player. This new Oslo 3 fits a slight arc.
My round putter phobia was not triggered by the Oslo 3, because the central cavity is so square. Alignment is so easy with this putter. Just aim that big rectangular cavity at the target, then fire away.
At 375 grams, the Oslo 3 is the heaviest putter in the 2024 PING PLD Milled line and it feels like it. The Oslo 3’s heft makes it very stable as it skims above the turf.
2024 PING PLD Milled Ally Blue 4
Now we get to the good stuff. I’m not totally sure I’ve saved the best for last but I do think the Ally Blue 4 is the most interesting putter in the 2024 PING PLD Milled line.
First of all, the body is milled aluminum. I love the feel of a milled aluminum mallet. The hosel on the Ally Blue 4 is also aluminum. The #4 neck is a slant neck, making the Ally Blue 4 a strong-arc putter.
Rounding out the design of this square putter is a stainless steel sole plate. Do you know what other PING mallet was aluminum with a stainless steel sole plate? The PING Ketsch. Do you know what other PING mallet had a body-length sight line in the middle of a rectangular elevated center? The Ketsch. Even the little wings at the edge remind me of the Ketsch.
Has PING captured the magic of the original Ketsch in the PLD Milled Ally Blue 4? That I don’t know but it really seems like it has some Ketsch DNA. I was a bit surprised to see it offered as a strong-arc putter but PING has a history of making strong-arc mallets.The Prime Tyne 4 is also a strong-arc mallet and it proved to be quite popular. The original Ketsch could be ordered as a strong-arc putter, “arc” being determined by bend in shaft rather than hosel type for that putter. Not bad company for the Ally Blue 4.
Regardless, I really hope the Ally Blue 4 was launched in time for Most Wanted Mallet testing. If it is in the mix, I wouldn’t bet against it.
PING PLD Milled Plus Customization Program
I mentioned the PING PLD MIlled Custom program and I view it as one of the best fitting and custom putter building programs out there. As I said, I’m still happily playing the Anser that was produced through that program.
However, the PLD MIlled Custom program costs $1,400. If you don’t have that to spend on a putter, or if you already know your putter specs, then the PLD MIlled Custom program may be more than what you need.
Enter the new PLD Milled Plus Customization Program. For an extra $100 over the PLD Milled retail price, you’ll be able to customize the alignment scheme, paint colors of the putter and grip and add laser-etched graphics. You’ll build your putter with the customization tool at PING.com and then take your design to a PING retailer for ordering. Naturally, you’ll also be able to set your length, loft and lie specifications like you can with all PING putters. I bet the person at the shop would be happy to help you with those values.
While the options available are not as extensive as they are with the PLD Milled Custom program, there are enough to make the PLD Milled Plus putter uniquely your own. Naturally, I will run the program through the We Tried It process very soon.
Final Thoughts on the 2024 PING PLD Milled Putters
The 2024 PING PLD Milled line is more evolutionary than revolutionary but it still represents a solid set of putters. You’ve got the classic Anser as well as the Ketsch-like Ally Blue 4. It’s tough for PING to have something for everyone with just five putters but I see these five meeting the play needs for quite a few golfers.
If you want a putter that is a little more personalized, kick another Benjamin into the pot and go PING PLD Milled Plus. I can’t wait to see how that process works first-hand.
I do lament that the baseline pricing for milled putters has jumped past $400 and is closing in on $500. I don’t see PING as a price-gouging company. Elevated materials costs and the four-hour milling time likely had something to do with the $35 increase over the prior PLD Milled release.
The 2024 PING PLD Milled putters are not inexpensive, but they are impressive. At least we know we are paying the premium price for high-quality manufacturing and extensive engineering, and not marketing costs, when we buy a PING putter.
Find out more about the 2024 PING PLD Milled putter line at PING.com
FAQ: 2024 PING PLD Milled Putter Line
Why are golf clubs so expensive?
I wish I had that answer and any hope that prices will some day go in the other direction. I never thought I would long for the days of new $300 drivers and $300 milled putters.
Why does PING get a pass for rolling out the same Anser putter release after release?
First of all, the Anser is PING’s iconic putter design and that gives them the right to release it whenever they want. Second, it is worth noting that the Anser in the prior PLD Milled line was actually an Anser 2. That makes this Anser a different putter than the one from the prior release.
How are so many companies able to copy the Anser design and not get into legal trouble?
The Anser patent expired in 1984. After that, companies were able to incorporate the shape into their putter lines without repercussions. It is similar to how Steamboat Willie, the original Mickey Mouse, entered the public domain back in January. Now people can do what they will with that mouse.
Wouldn’t PING sell more gear if they had more advertising hype?
Perhaps, but I see that as getting away from their core values. PING is an engineering-driven company. They don’t develop products for market buzz. New PING products improve on old PING products. Obviously, this plan is not unique to PING, as other companies do try to improve their products as well. I’m just saying PING is likely the last company to put new paint on an old product and then market it as new.
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