In keeping with the Editor's request to have the columns in this issue reflect the topic of beryllium I had to look no further than my garage. There lurking in my golf bag was a Ping beryllium-copper (BeCu) putter. If Cal EPA and Cal OSHA had known it would likely be festooned with a Proposition 65 warning tag. Fortunately, I secretly moved it with me when I moved from New York. In reality the only danger I can image with this club is my lousy putting and damage to surrounding trees and ponds when I toss it. Although other manufacturers made beryllium-copper and beryllium-nickel golf clubs, Ping or more correctly Karsten Manufacturing made the majority of these golf clubs. During the late 1980s to late 1990s it was estimated that one in 10 sets of Ping clubs were BeCu and a smaller percentage BeNi. Ping ended production of beryllium alloy golf clubs in the late 1990s when the EPA banned the use of beryllium in consumer products.
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