PING Proving Grounds

Shane and Marty welcome PING Pro and four-time PGA Tour winner Harris English to the pod. They discuss his longevity on the PGA Tour, shot making with Blueprint T irons, and why he enjoys the challenge of a US Open and playing tough golf courses. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

He’s ranked fourth in the World Ranking for Golfers with Disability, a PING Pro, and professional golfer on the G4D Tour. Get to know Juan Postigo Arce as he joins Shane and Marty at the PING Proving Grounds to talk about his background, his game, and what’s in the bag. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome Chris Como, PING Brand Ambassador, to the pod. They discuss Chris’ journey to becoming a top golf instructor, his introduction to and interest in biomechanics, the 3D flat spot, and the relationship between fitting and instruction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From G430 MAX 10K drivers to hit more fairways, to PLD custom putters to fit their stroke. Shane and Marty detail the equipment they have in the bag and how each club is custom-fit and custom-built to help them play their best. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian Pena, PING VP of Tournament Players, joins Shane on the PING Tour Truck as a special co-host for this week’s episode just outside the gates of Augusta National Golf Club. They welcome two-time Masters Champion Bubba Watson to the pod to discuss ‘Bubba Golf’, what it takes to win at Augusta, and his longtime history with PING and the Solheim family. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Ireland to Johnson City, Tennessee, to a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. PING Pro Seamus Power joins Shane and Marty on the PING Tour Truck to talk about equipment, his journey to the PGA Tour, and back-to-back aces in the 2023 Masters Par 3 Contest. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome PING Brand Ambassador Andrew Rice to the pod to discuss his mission to help people play better golf so they enjoy it more. They talk about the tools and technology that have changed his approach to teaching, common equipment mistakes that high-handicap players make, the importance of knowing your carry numbers, and the best ways to practice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome PING Brand Ambassador Dr. Sasho MacKenzie to the pod to discuss putter fitting kinetics. They dive into why golfers miss putts, the four things a golfer can control, putter offset, and heads up putting. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome golf instructor and PING Brand Ambassador Derek Deminsky to ASU’s Thunderbirds Complex for an episode dedicated to the short game. They discuss misconceptions about spin, curing the chipping yips, and teaching tour-level and high-handicap players. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Short game expert and PING Brand Ambassador Stan Utley joins Shane and Marty during the 2024 PGA Show. They cover Stan’s short game principles, important elements of wedge design and the s159 sole grinds, and of course, working with Charles Barkley. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty are joined at ASU's Thunderbirds Complex by Senior Design Engineer, Jacob Clarke. They dive into the R&D behind s159, PING's most extensive and versatile wedge line to date. They also discuss Jacob's work with PING pros and how it inspired the development of WebFit Wedge, a new app aimed at simplifying the wedge fitting process. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Principal Design Engineer Tony Serrano joins Shane and Marty at a PLD launch party at Putting World during the week of the WM Phoenix Open to talk about his 36-year career at PING, the evolution of the PLD program, and his work with PING pros including Tony Finau and Viktor Hovland. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From an intern to the President & CEO at PING. John K. Solheim joins Shane and Marty from the PING booth at the 2024 PGA Show to talk about his journey to a leadership role, the evolution of the PGA Show, PING's latest equipment and what's in his bag. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty discuss the recent addition of Blueprint S and Blueprint T to PING’s iron landscape. They chat about blended iron sets, the latest update to the gapping app within PING Co-Pilot, the early success of Blueprint S on Tour, and what’s currently in Marty’s bag. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty kick off 2024 with new year’s resolutions, the importance of a golf game retrospective, goal setting, and how to use stat-tracking apps and PING fitting tools for an unbiased assessment and to ensure that you have the right equipment in your bag. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty dive into PING’s WebFit tool. They detail WebFit’s purpose and how to use it, the evolution of using AI and data in fitting, and PING’s goal of empowering and educating golfers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Golf fitness expert Mike Carroll joins Shane and Marty to discuss his golf and fitness journey, how to stay sharp during the winter months, common misconceptions about golf fitness and recovery, and strength training vs. speed training. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty join PING Historian Rob Griffin in his office, the Archives at PING HQ, a room that houses more than 60 years of PING innovation. They discuss the man that started it all, PING Founder Karsten Solheim, his most iconic designs which revolutionized the way golf equipment was designed and manufactured, and how his philosophies still drive our research and development today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome Kenton Oates, PING’s Sr. Player Development Manager, back to the pod to discuss Spinsistency, G430 fairway woods on the PGA Tour, and how the 7-wood can be optimized for all types of players. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty catch up with the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur Champion and current Arizona State All-American, Preston Summerhays. Preston discusses playing in the Walker Cup at St. Andrews, the evolution of his swing and the clubs in his bag, along with his family's focus on all things golf. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In honor of Halloween, Shane and Marty walk through some of the scariest shots in golf, including how to tackle a fried egg, the 30-40-yard bunker shot, mud balls, and tee shots with trouble. ____ As referenced by Marty when talking about mud balls: https://ping.com/en-us/blogs/proving-grounds/mud-ballsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty catch up with PING Pro Corey Conners to discuss Corey's background growing up and playing sports in Canada, his consistent performance and the keys to his impressive ball striking. They also reflect on his experience playing in the Olympics and Corey’s goal of returning to Canada to play for the 2024 International Presidents Cup team.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

PING Pro Taylor Moore joins Shane and Marty in the Tour Truck to discuss the benefits of Taylor playing on the Canadian and Korn Ferry tours, his big win at the 2023 Valspar Championship, and his long-standing relationship with PING.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome PING Brand Ambassador Boyd Summerhays to the Tour Truck to discuss his success as a junior golfer and his path from professional golf to coaching some of world’s best players. Boyd also talks about his role as a parent to elite junior golfers and his longtime coaching relationship with PING Pro Tony Finau.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome Viktor Hovland’s swing coach, Joe Mayo, to the pod to discuss his return to golf, how TrackMan has impacted golf instruction, his approach to teaching, and his relationship with the Norwegian superstar.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome PING VP of Engineering, Dr. Paul Wood, to the pod to discuss the brand’s history of adaptive fitting, some examples of how their engineers have created one-off custom clubs to help people with differing disabilities enjoy the game of golf, and how an innovative approach to adaptive fitting has influenced the design of some mainline products.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane welcomes LPGA pros Allisen Corpuz and Leona Maguire to the podcast as they prepare for the 2023 Solheim Cup. They discuss Leona’s past Solheim Cup success, both of their stellar 2023 LPGA seasons, what it means to play for your country/continent, and the various strategies employed in the Cup’s match play format.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty catch up with PING Pro Tony Finau and discuss his unique path to the pros, how he fell in love with PING, and how he learned that it takes more than distance to compete at the highest level.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome PING’s Director of Engineering Operations, Rose Fielder, to the pod to discuss women’s product development, common pain points PING engineers try to address when designing clubs for women, PING’s commitment to women’s golf and deflating fitting anxieties. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just after their win at the BMW Championship, Shay Knight, caddie for Viktor Hovland, joined Shane and Marty in the PING Tour Truck. They discussed Viktor's recent success, the prep work that he puts in ahead of a tournament, and how and why their on-course relationship works.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A day after his record-setting 61 at the BMW Championship, Viktor Hovland joined Shane and Marty on the PING Tour Truck ahead of the Tour Championship. They discussed key moments in Viktor’s final nine at Olympia Fields, his approach to constant improvement, growing up in Norway, and, of course, the Ryder Cup.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Shane prepares for his first U.S. Amateur in Colorado, he and Marty discuss the impact weather and altitude will have on his game. Marty takes Shane through Ballnamic’s “Plays Like” chart and Co-Pilot’s Launch Efficiency tool, before discussing common misconceptions golfers have with these conditions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty tackle a big question in driver performance — What’s more important, distance or accuracy? They discuss how to determine when distance wins, how PING driver innovations address each element, and how PING’s fitting tool, Club Compare, can help golfers maximize their driver performance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty dive into the importance of being properly fit for the correct golf ball, and discuss spin vs. aerodynamics, the Ballnamic fitting tool, how PING engineers use Sling Man, and the importance of fitting both club and ball together synergistically.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty discuss the importance of putter fitting, touching on its history, how iPING was developed and is utilized in the fitting process, the evolution of the PLD program, how tour feedback impacts the putter design process, and much more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty catch up with PING Pro Tyrrell Hatton inside the Tour Truck to discuss his recent tour success, why he plays a 7-wood, memories of his first Open qualifier, and a rare six-man playoff win.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the PING Gold Putter Vault, Shane and Marty discuss the unique tradition of commemorating tour victories won with PING putters with gold-plated replicas, as started by PING Founder Karsten Solheim. Shane and Marty also discuss the product development process and what it takes for PING to release a new product.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty discuss the importance of proper gapping — what it is, the commonalities among all skill levels, how it can be addressed in the fitting environment and the software solution PING has developed to help golfers gap their entire bag.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty catch up with Chilean Tour Pro Joaquín Niemann in the tour truck at the US Open. Joaquín discusses his win at Riviera, his love of cars, car racing, and avocados, his go-to clubs, and how he’s embraced PING technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty dive into youth golf, covering topics like evolution of junior products and fitting, the Get Golf Growing program, the right time to transition to adult clubs, and their joint fear for the day their kids beat them on the course.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty welcome Sahith Theegala to the PING Tour Truck. Among other things, they discuss Sahith’s swing, his PGA Tour journey, the likelihood that he’s the best chess player on tour, and what happened on 16 at Augusta.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty get together in the PING Putting Lab to talk about the PING fitting process, how it’s evolved with new tools and technologies, and the availability of fitting for golfers of all skill levels.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shane and Marty take us inside the PING Tour Truck at the PGA Championship with PING’s Sr. Player Development Manager, Kenton Oates. They cover the basics, like what’s on the truck, who stops by, and what their week looks like when they pull up to a tournament, before diving a bit deeper, touching on the importance of the relationship tour reps develop with players, the balance between personality and technology when working with a pro, and advice the everyday golfer can take from how they fit and take care of Tour players. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the first episode of the PING Proving Grounds podcast, our hosts, golf broadcaster Shane Bacon and Marty Jertson, PING’s Vice President of Fitting and Performance, give us a brief overview of their backgrounds before diving into the history, culture, and importance of the PING Proving Grounds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The PING Proving Grounds podcast dives into PING's celebrated history and immeasurable contributions to golf equipment, custom fitting and the game of golf in general. Broadcaster Shane Bacon and Marty Jertson, PING's Vice President of Fitting and Performance and professional golfer, discuss what happens behind the scenes at the PING Proving Grounds where data-driven research helps a team of scientists and engineers develop products and fitting tools to help golfers play their best. From the gold putter vault to PING Man and everything in between, tune in to hear more about what goes on at the PING Proving Grounds.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.