Solheim’s first putter was named the PING 1A. Ground breaking in a number of ways, he attached the shaft to the center of the blade rather than the heel which was the norm of the day.
He also transferred much of the weight of the club head to the perimeter.
Apparently, with the original design, the clubhead, when striking the ball, rang out with the 440 pitch used in tuning pianos. Solheim created six subsequent designs to intentionally muffle the "ping" sound.