John Deere, PING collaborate to design the largest Anser putter ever

SILVIS, Illinois – Ping Golf and John Deere have combined forces to design a half-excavator, half-putter that can actually hit putts.

While the John Deere headquarters are based in Moline, Illinois, just miles down the road from TPC Deere Run where the putter is currently displayed, John Deere engineers flew out to Ping headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona about a month ago to start the design process with Tony Serrano, Senior Design Engineer at Ping. During the collaboration, John Deere and Ping used CAD (computer aided drafting) to design the putter head; Serrano says they first designed the putter to be the traditional size of a putter, and John Deere later blew it up to scale.

The putter head was meticulously designed with iconic features of Ping’s famous Anser putters, with John Deere tractor-inspired designs interweaved throughout. For example, the face “insert” of the putter is an ode to the grill of John Deere tractors and excavators, and the yellow colorway is an obvious shoutout to the iconic John Deere-yellow color featured on its machines and products.

To make the putter head, Serrano says that John Deere created a mold for the putter, and then poured aluminum into the mold to create the Anser-inspired putter. In total, the putter head weighs 325 pounds, measures 61.25 inches heel to toe, and it’s 13.25 inches tall.

The best part is that the machine Anser can actually hit putts, or at least, it can hit golf balls that have been created to scale. Displayed near the entrance of the John Deere Classic, tournament-goers can try their hand at making the giant golf ball into the giant golf hole using the giant half-excavator, half-Anser putter.

Not only is it the largest Ping Anser putter ever, but it’s also a 1-of-1 prototype that’s likely the most expensive Anser putter ever. Unfortunately, however, it is not USGA conforming.