The “Pickemup” was part of the PING Scottsdale putter line (originally priced $129 to $159 on release) which featured 14 models. It came out around 2010ish and perhaps because it was in competition with 13 other Ping Scottsdale models, not to mention the countless putters produced by rival brands, it never really took off.
Indeed, many of you reading this will never have seen it before. Prior to picking one up on eBay I had no idea this even existed.
It’s a centre shafted putter with an insert on the face. The head shape is somewhat unique and looking down in at address you would be forgiven for thinking this had been stolen from Batman.According to PING, “The solid feel and consistent response of the insert in the new Scottsdale Series will help your distance control and accuracy. The insert is made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) with a face appliqué for a soft yet solid feel on every putt. This response is key in accurately gauging distances.”
The name ‘Pickemup’ comes from the arc in the flange which is shaped perfectly to scoop up your ball. This is especially useful on the practice green.
Despite the insert it isn’t the softest feeling even when you hit the sweet spot. The ball comes off the face fast and I needed to take a bit off my normal stroke to slow this bad boy down. On the plus side off centre hits didn’t feel too much different to good strikes and it is very forgiving.
Other putters I’ve used with inserts have a soft, cushioned feeling (the G2i series feel like you’re hitting with a head cover on) but this feels more old school. It even sounds old school with that distinctive ‘ping’ noise that is a throw back to the original anser putter.
It won’t be to everyone’s taste but I do like the more unusual shaped putters so this one is right in my wheelhouse. It looks like Batman’s putter.
The fangs on either side presumably help with stabilisation, while the white alignment line is very pronounced and makes it virtually impossible to line up incorrectly.
It’s centre shafted and there is no offset, but there is a slight forward press which I initially didn’t like as it forces your hands ahead of the ball and while I’m not totally against that, I’d like it to be my own choice!
The ‘pick em up’ thing in the middle is also a useful feature if you’re lazy like me.
I tested by attempting 50 putts from eight feet, indoors on a Perfect Practice Putting mat. The result was crazy. It felt like I couldn’t miss. That was partly due to me being in a nice little groove on my stroke, but even allowing for that this was impressive. 46 out of 50? From eight foot? Me? Incredible scenes.
Of the four that missed three weren’t even poor strokes. I had one bad miss right and the others were all very close and caught the lip.
It seems easy to get the putter head back to the ball pretty square and I was able to repeat the same stroke time and again. 46 out of 50?? Bloody hell.
Really impressed. It’s very upright which meant my eyes were directly over the ball, something that isn’t the case with most other putters, particularly blades or longer shafted models. This has a 33 inch shaft, which is a little shorter than standard but just right for my stroke.
It sits nicely behind the ball which promotes confidence and it was extremely consistent even with off centre strokes. There wasn’t any twist and I felt like I could get the take away right almost every time.
It’s not one of the more sought after Ping putters and I picked this one up for less than twenty quid on eBay. Based on what I’ve seen since that was something of a bargain and generally they’ll go for a bit more than that.
The one I bought had a gaudy lime green grip which played havoc with my OCD. All my other Pings have traditional, black Pingman grips so I quickly brought this one up to speed and it looks proper badass now, as you can see below.
I would highly recommend giving it a try if you can find one at a good price.
