Zero torque is all the rage—but don’t mistake PING’s new Ally Blue Onset as part of the trend. Instead, you’ll find a mallet that captures an audience of players with a slight arc in their putts.
It is good enough for Canadian star Corey Conners—and now PING is bringing that putter to market. For most of the last year, Conners has used a prototype that PING is now presenting to the rest of the golf world—the PLD Ally Blue Onset putter that shouldn’t be mistaken for the zero torque putters that have taken the market by storm. “The first few putts I rolled with it were all going in the hole,” said Conners.
Not zero torque
No, the Ally Blue Onset isn’t falling into the zero torque world dominated in recent months. Instead, this is a large mallet balanced from toe to heel, weighing 360 grams with a 304 stainless steel sole plate and a 6061 Aluminum Top Plate. The result is a highly forgiving putter that’s offers a high moment of inertia and isn’t out of place in the market for those seeking traditional mallets.
New look, more putts made
PING is playing up the look of the putter, but truthfully there’s more to the Ally Blue Onset than just a nice package. The goal of the putter was to position the shaft axis behind the face and the ball, making alignment easier. The key is that the shaft is positioned in front of the centre of gravity for stability through impact. The combination—finding your line and keeping the clubface square through the stroke—means you should find the bottom of the cup more often.
Who’s it for?
The Ally Blue offers 15 degrees of toe hang, making it ideal for those with a small amount of arc in their stroke. This is a factor as most golfers will have played with a putter that was designed for some degree of arc, and a straight back-to-front putting stroke might be a challenge for them. Just look at Conners, who jumped from 128th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting to 64th—a sizeable move—while using the Ally Blue Onset.