The PING green dot has become a common sight for many golfers and golf enthusiasts. As an important feature on PING golf club heads, the green dot provides key information about the club and how it should be fit and adjusted for each individual golfer. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what exactly the PING green dot is, what it indicates, and how it can help golfers optimize their PING clubs and improve their performance on the course.
What Does the PING Green Dot Mean?
The PING green dot identifies the center of gravity (CG) location on PING golf clubs. The CG is the point on the club head where the weight is concentrated or balanced. Properly positioning the CG can influence how the clubhead behaves during the swing and at impact. PING engineers precisely position the CG to optimize launch conditions for each clubhead design.
By marking the CG location with a green dot, PING is providing a clear reference point for golfers and club fitters. When custom fitting PING clubs, the green dot helps determine if any adjustments need to be made, such as adding or removing weight from the head with screws or tape.
How is the PING Green Dot Used for Fitting?
During a professional club fitting, the PING green dot allows the fitter to see exactly how the clubhead is aligned relative to the shaft. If the dot is not aligned properly, it indicates that the head or shaft needs to be adjusted to optimize launch and ball flight.
There are two main alignment specifications related to the PING green dot:
- Lie Angle – The angle between the shaft and ground when the club is soled in the proper playing position.
- Hosel Bend – The angle between the shaft and club face.
If the green dot is not in the precise “up” position when the club is grounded at the proper lie angle, this shows the hosel bend needs to be adjusted. Similarly, if the dot does not perfectly align down the target line when soled, the lie angle is off and needs adjustment.
PING club fitters use the green dot alignments to bend the clubhead hosel and set the proper lie angle. This fine tunes launch angle and ball flight by adjusting the orientation of the clubface to the swing path.
Importance of Proper Green Dot Alignment
Having the green dot properly aligned during fitting is crucial for achieving maximum performance from PING clubs. Here are some of the key benefits of proper green dot alignment:
- Optimizes launch angle and spin rates
- Provides straighter and more consistent ball flight
- Improves distance and carries
- Enhances feel and control through proper sole contact
- Reduces slicing and hooking
- Promotes draw or fade bias when needed
- Increases forgiveness on mishits
Conversely, if the green dot alignments are off it can lead to a variety of issues such as inconsistent contact, curved ball flights, lack of distance, and inaccurate alignment at address.
How are Green Dot Specs Determined?
PING conducts extensive research and testing to determine the optimal green dot alignment specifications for each of their clubhead designs. Here are some of the key factors that go into setting green dot specs:
- Clubhead design and intended playing profile
- Head weight and CG positioning
- Shaft dynamics and bend points
- Loft, lie angle, and face angle standards
- Swingweight and feel preferences
- Optimizing launch and spin for distance and trajectory
- Minimizing drag and clubhead twisting
By analyzing these parameters using robot testing and player testing, PING can determine the head/hosel orientations that will provide the best performance for each club model. The green dot specs are essentially the “tuning” guidelines for properly setting up every clubhead.
Do All PING Clubs Have Green Dots?
Nearly all PING irons, wedges, and putters feature a green dot alignment aid. Here is a breakdown by club type:
| Club Type | Green Dot? |
|---|---|
| Iron Sets | Yes |
| Wedges | Yes |
| Putter | Yes |
| Drivers | No |
| Fairway Woods | No |
| Hybrids | No |
As you can see, PING omits the green dot on woods and hybrids. This is because the clubheads are removable from the shaft on these clubs. Without a permanent hosel connection, there is no fixed reference point to align the dot to. The CG location is still optimized on woods and hybrids, but cannot be represented by a green dot.
Aftermarket PING Green Dot Additions
Some golfers and club fitters will add a green dot to PING woods and hybrids by placing a small sticker or making a mark on the sole of the clubhead. This provides a visual cue for the CG location and can assist with fitting and swing adjustments. However, this is an aftermarket addition not made by PING themselves.
On the sole of PING woods and hybrids, you may see a small engraved “D” or “W” marking. Unlike the green dot, this does not mark the exact CG but rather indicates whether the clubhead is a “draw” or “neutral” bias model during manufacturing.
How are Green Dot Specs Communicated?
PING provides detailed green dot alignment specifications for each of their club models to authorized club fitters and builders. This enables proper bending of the hosels during fitting sessions to match PING’s recommendations. For do-it-yourself golfers, PING does not publish or provide the green dot specs.
On each clubhead, however, there are engravings around the hosel that identify the model by name and serial number. Club fitters can reference these engravings against PING’s proprietary green dot manuals to determine the correct alignment for that head. Without access to the manuals, golfers would not know how to interpret the significance of the green dot on their own.
Can You Adjust Green Dot Yourself?
It is not advisable for golfers to attempt altering the green dot alignment or bending the hosels themselves. Proper equipment and training is needed to bend clubheads and adjust lie angles precisely.
However, it is possible for golfers to verify their green dot alignments. By soling the club on a flat lie board and referencing the dot position, you can get a general sense of whether the alignments are within specification. If you suspect they are off, consult a qualified PING club fitter for an evaluation.
Green Dot Shift Over Time
In some cases, the green dot alignment on a PING club can shift and move slightly over the course of normal use and repeated impacts. If you notice the dot moving from its original centered position, it likely means the hosel has incurred some minimal bending. This “creeping” dot indicates that realignment may be necessary to restore optimal performance. Again, only a trained club fitter should perform these adjustments.
Special Situations
There are some special cases where the green dot may intentionally be set differently than normal during fitting:
- Offset Preferences – Bending the hosel and green dot alignment can alter visual offset at address to accommodate individual preferences.
- Shaft Changes – Significant changes in shaft weight, torque, or bend profile may necessitate hosel adjustments to re-center the green dot.
- Lie Angle Modifications – Some golfers need lie angles beyond the normal range, which shifts the dot alignment.
The green dot remains a useful fitting tool even in these unique situations. It provides feedback on how the clubhead orientation is affected by various equipment changes and adjustments.
Green Dot Benefits
In summary, here are some of the key benefits provided by the PING green dot technology:
- Clearly marks CG location on clubhead
- Enables precise bending and lie angle adjustment
- Optimizes launch angle and ball flight
- Provides feedback during fitting process
- Assists with proper alignment at address
- Promotes consistency across PING product line
While not a complicated concept, the simple green dot has become an iconic PING feature that can make a big difference in optimizing clubhead performance when fit properly. Next time you look at your PING irons or putter, check the green dot alignments to see if you are getting the most out of your clubs!
Conclusion
The PING green dot is a small but significant fitting feature integral to many of their club designs. By precisely marking the center of gravity location, the green dot allows trained fitters to bend lie angles and hosel orientations for optimal launch conditions. Proper green dot alignment improves performance across all brands of PING clubs. While the dot specifications require clubfitting expertise to leverage fully, the green dot has become an iconic PING innovation that can help all golfers get fit for peak performance.
