Ping Kushin 4 Putter

Mallet Putter

Ping brought the Kushin name back for its 2021 putter line, and the Kushin 4 lands squarely in the mid-mallet camp. It is a winged shape with a fair amount of mass pushed out toward the heel and toe, so it wants to stay stable through impact rather than twist on you. If you tend to leave putts short and low on the face, this is the kind of head that rewards a repeatable stroke without demanding a perfect one.

The part that separates the Kushin 4 from a full-blown high-MOI slab is the mid toe hang. A lot of mallets this size come face-balanced, which pushes them toward players with a straight-back-straight-through stroke. The Kushin 4 hangs its toe roughly halfway down, so it opens and closes a touch through the stroke. That makes it a match for golfers who release the putter with a slight arc, which is most people who came up putting with a blade.

So you get a mallet footprint with the stroke DNA of an arc putter. That is a specific combination, and it is worth understanding before you buy. This is not the putter for someone who wants the head to feel dead-square and locked the whole way. It is for a player who likes the confidence and forgiveness of a bigger head but still trusts their hands to release it.

Design

The head is a two-winged mallet with an alignment aid built into the top to line up the face at address. The extra material in the wings sits low and back, which raises the moment of inertia and keeps the face from spinning open on strikes off the toe or heel. That is the whole point of a shape like this: miss the center a little and the ball still rolls out close to where you aimed. What keeps it from feeling like a putting cart is the mid toe hang. Ping tuned the shaft position and internal weighting so the head balances with the toe hanging down at an angle, not straight to the ground and not flat to the sky. Set it next to a face-balanced mallet and you can see the toe droop. That is the design telling you it is built for a stroke with some arc, and it backs up the shape with real forgiveness once you get it moving.

Who It's For

• You putt with a slight arc and want more forgiveness than a blade gives you.
• Off-center strikes cost you distance and you want a head that holds its line on mishits.
• A clear alignment aid on top helps you commit to your start line.
• You like a mid-size mallet but do not want a fully face-balanced feel.
• You are switching up from a blade and want the stroke to still feel familiar.

Technology

About Ping

Ping invented the heel-toe weighted blade (the original Anser) and continues to innovate in weight distribution and forgiveness. Their PLD line offers tour-level milled putters with Ping's signature engineering.

Specifications

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Ping Kushin 4 face-balanced or toe-hang?

It has mid toe hang, not face-balanced. Balance it on your finger and the toe hangs down at roughly a 45-degree angle. That means it is built to open and close slightly through the stroke, so it suits a slight-arc putting motion rather than a dead-straight one.

What kind of stroke fits the Kushin 4?

A slight to moderate arc. The mid toe hang lets the face release naturally as the head swings inside-square-inside. If your stroke is a straight-back-straight-through style, a face-balanced mallet will feel more neutral and you may fight this one.

Does the Kushin 4 have an alignment aid?

Yes. There is an alignment feature on the top of the head to help you square the face and set your start line at address. On a mallet this size, that visual reference is a big part of why players pick it over a blade.

Is the Kushin 4 forgiving on mishits?

For its size, yes. The mass is spread out toward the heel and toe, which raises the moment of inertia and keeps the face from twisting on strikes away from center. You will hold your line and distance better on off-center hits than you would with a compact blade.

Should I choose the Kushin 4 over a Ping blade?

Go with the Kushin 4 if you want more stability and a stronger alignment reference but still release the putter with some arc. Stick with a blade if you prefer a smaller head, more feedback on your strike, and a more active hand release. Both work with an arc stroke, so it comes down to how much forgiveness and alignment help you want.

Alternatives to the Ping Kushin 4

Other mallet putter models from different brands, closest to its model year.

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