GOLF TREASURES:
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

I OWN A SLAZENGER PING ANSER PUTTER .I'M LED TO BELIEVE THAT IT'S RARE AND CONSEQUENTLY OF VALUE.COULD TOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THAT VALUE IS.
Steve Matthews

Dale Concannon writes:

Such is the popularity of golf that enthusiasts have collected items connected with the game – known as 'golfiana' – for many years now.  However, despite what you may have heard about thousands of pounds being paid at auction for old clubs, balls, books, balls etc., the reality is only a small percentage of items are worth more than a nominal amount.

That said, there is nothing connected with golf, no matter how remotely, that is not of interest to some enthusiast. Collectibility, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder and what might be looked upon as a real 'find' by one collector can be dismissed as worthless by another.  Therefore when judging the financial value of your golfing item/s you have to bare this important fact in mind.  What I have done is offer an estimate of its value but to the right collector it might be worth more and to the wrong one less. That is the fun of golfing antiques.

Regarding your golfing items:

The best-known Ping putter has to be the beautifully streamlined "Anser" model. Compared with earlier models, it was a miracle of design and proved an instant success with golfers all over the world. Introduced into Britain in the mid-1960s, they were originally stamped "Slazenger/Jack Nicklaus" in the hope that a more British-friendly name than Ping would help it sell — It did. Ping also imported a number of other models into Britain, including the "Kushin" and "A-blade" with the same success. A short time later, Nicklaus parted company with Slazenger and consequently the name was also dropped from the base of imported Ping putters.

Today, the market for these 'foreign' clubs are highly prized by American collectors with an original Slazenger/Nicklaus Ping Anser selling between £1,000-£2,000. Now the bad news: Ping Anser's stamped with just 'Slazenger' were made in far greater numbers and consequently, are worth less — between £100-£200. Still, it's not too bad for a modern-day putter is it?