Ping is a company synonymous with premium golf gear and high quality, and the good news for today is that Ping Golf launched recently something out-of-this-world: the highest moment of inertia Sigma 2 putter in the company’s history, the Valor 400 respectively, which is engineered and designed to improve both forgiveness and stability, and to elevate them to a level never seen in golf before. We’re probably exaggerating a bit for dramatic effect, but the Valor 400 really is a special type of beast.

To describe it in a few words, the Sigma 2 Valor 400 makes for a counter-balanced mallet built with an impressive 400 gram head, and arrives with custom built (!) 15? grip and a 38? shaft. There’s also a 50 gram weight added to the butt, which is aimed at promoting a pendulum like/highly-stable stroke, which is THE feature we all know and love in Ping putters. This impressive mallet shares all the good tech-things already discovered in Ping’s Sigma 2 Valor putter, which was launched back in November of 2018, and we’re talking about the exact same heel to ballast profile, alignment geometries and high-quality stealth finish. The new Sigma 2 Valor 400 is already available for purchase and custom fitting at authorized Ping retailers and golf shops worldwide.

John K. Solheim, PING President has said about their new product, but let’s quote the man himself:

“With the success of the Sigma 2 Valor among golfers and on tour with two wins this spring, the addition of a counter-balanced option allows us to address an important segment of golfers who prefer this type of technology while delivering an exciting new custom-built option. MOI is about 12% higher than the original Valor, a significant increase. And counter-balancing encourages that smooth, pendulum motion and helps take the wrists out of the stroke.”

The Sigma 2 Valor 400 is built with the same state of the art face-material which is used across the Sigma 2 family, and we’re talking about the patented dual-durometer PEBAX face, which is crafted with a soft front layer, which delivers amazing precision for delicate/short must makes. There’s also a firmer back-layer which is aimed at providing great feedback as well as distance control, things required for improving overall consistency and also for holing long range putts. Here’s John K. Solheim, PING President again:

“The Sigma 2 Valor 400 retains that soft yet lively feel from the highly innovative face technology of the Sigma 2 family. It provides a pure, consistent roll and has resonated with golfers of all abilities.”

We must finally mention Ping’s proprietary TR face-pattern, which is present in the Sigma 2 Valor 400, and works by enhancing both pace and touch. The TR face features variable thickness, i.e. it varies in depth, a clever design feature that assures consistent ball speeds across the face. If you’re suffering from a slower stroke tempo, you’ll love Ping’s latest putter, due to its great performance advantage conferred by its 400 gram design as well as the heel-toe ballast, features that come handy on shorter putts in particular. Obviously, since we’re talking about a Ping made putter, you can always custom-build your gear as either a mid-hang or face balanced design.

To sum things up, the TLDR version if you like, this makes for Ping’s latest putter in its flagship family, i.e. this baby is as high-end as they come. The Sigma 2 Valor 400 is following Ping’s philosophy in regard to its fundamental principles (Tour proven) of stability when it comes to off center hits, and it achieves that by its mallet shape with a high MOI, which in laymen’s terms means resistance to twisting.

On top of that, the extra-heavy head which is up to 15% heavier compared to regular head weights enhances the putter’s overall stability; as it turns out, this makes for the perfect shape, size and weight required to achieve the Tour-preferred arm lock style of putting, which is obvious if you look at Tour pros like Andrew Landry or Bubba Watson, who incidentally use their own custom-made Ping prototypes.

The heavier head in the Sigma 2 Valor 400 works in tandem with a heavier shaft, making for a supremely stable mallet design, a design proven in the real world. The fact that the head of the Valor 400 uses the exact same technologies as the Sigma 2 family, including the spiraling grooves with variable depth and pitch and the dual layers of Pebax is reassuring if you’re looking for a putter that works well in regard to promoting stability and consistency, while delivering a pendulum-like stroke. Here’s Ping’s design engineer Ryan Stokke:

“What’s worked really well with this mallet design is that it’s very stable. When you set it down it just squares up to the target line. Our intent with this design is a number of specific builds that this can fit with some of the more alternative putting methods. This style works well with that stroke because it provides so much stability, promotes more of a pendulum like stroke and helps players not be as wristy. There’s just not as much manipulation. What we’re seeing in this space is an eagerness to try, but just a lot of uncertainty in how do I build it, what does that club look like. That’s what we’re really trying to help service with this.”

Sigma 2 Valor 400 specs:

-Dual-durometer PEBAX face insert

-TR Face Technology

-Head Weight: 400g

-Standard Length: 38?

-Stroke Types: Straight or Slight Arc

-Shaft: Non-adjustable stepped mid steel with 50g counter-balance weight

-Lie Angle: 20° ±2°

-Loft: 3° ±2°

-Grip: 15? CB60 Black/Blue

Price: U.S. MSRP: $235