Bubba aims at $1m for charities with his pink PING G20 driver
January 24, 2012

Even more noteworthy than his custom-made, dazzling, all-pink G20 driver is what PING Pro Bubba Watson aims to do with it: help reach his goal of raising $1 million for charities during the 2012 PGA Tour season. As part of the “Bubba & Friends Drive to a Million” initiative announced by Bubba, PING will donate $300 for the first 300 drives that he launches over 300 yards in 2012. Last season, he averaged nearly 315 yards per drive on the PGA Tour.

PING is also making an upfront donation of $10,000 toward its fundraising event, which it calls “Bubba Long in Pink. Driven by PING.” All funds raised will go to cancer-related charities; Watson's father, Gerry, died in 2010 after a long battle with throat cancer.

“I’m very fortunate to have great sponsors, and it’s awesome that PING has built me this amazing pink G20 driver and challenged me to deliver,” Watson said. “Pink has always made me stand out, but now it’s going to bring attention for a good cause, so I have extra motivation to hit the ball as far as I can. My goal is to make PING pay every cent,” he added with a smile.

Bubba Watson in action before receiving his pink-headed PING G20 driver

PING Chairman and CEO John A. Solheim would be fine with that. “We have always admired how Bubba wears his heart on his sleeve and how generous he is,” said Solheim, who first met Bubba as a teenager. “His objectives are in step with ours - to make the community where you live and work a better place. When he announced his intentions, we thought it was a natural fit for showcasing his towering drives with a pink G20 driver that makes you smile just to look at it. This year we have more reason than ever to hope that he’s ‘Bubba long’ and that every one of his drives goes past 300 yards.”

Written in cursive on the crown of his G20 driver are the words, “Made Exclusively for Bubba.” The loft is 8.5°, the 44½ inch shaft is a pink True Temper Grafalloy Bi-Matrix. His grips are PING 703 Gold, and Bubba uses 10 wraps of tape under his right hand, 12 wraps under his left.