As far as we know, John Hancock did not design golf clubs. But, if he had, his famous signature most likely would have been applied to a putter.
Thats because there is a small, select group of club designing specialists who have been retained by some major equipment companies to produce signature lines of equipment, and almost all of them are putters.
When we talk about signature designers, we are excluding well-known players who do have an input into making clubs and then have their names put on the equipment. An age-old technique, today that would include the likes of Tom Watson wedges at Adams Golf, or the Womens Golf Unlimited duo of Kathy Whitworth clubs at Square Two and the NancyLopez Golf lines.
Were also eliminating famous players who own or license to companies that bear their names while they have major input into club design, such as Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus.
The craftsmen we are referring to here are just that: master designers who have gained a reputation for clubmaking and who dont, and probably could not, make a living playing golf. But, over the years, they have developed a reputation for clubmaking that has attracted the big equipment companies attention.
In 2004, such designers include Rick Gray at Dunlop, Bobby Grace at MacGregor, Todd Sones at Tommy Armour, Scotty Cameron and Bob Vokey at Titleist, and Bob Bettinardi at Ben Hogan. Grace, Sones, Cameron and Bettinardi have signature putter lines. Vokey is a wedge-making specialist. Meanwhile, Gray has a signature putter and is about to branch out to irons and wedges (Dunlop had a contract until last year with Tad Moore that covered signature drivers, irons and putters, but the deal has been discontinued).
To be fair, there are some highly-regarded designers utilized by major manufacturers, such as Tom Stites at Nike and Ralph Maltby at Tommy Armour, but they dont have their names on the clubs.
Signature designers. .. bring the talent and experience to create game-changing technologies and products that perform better, said Barry Schneider, owner and CEO of MacGregor Golf. We all look to make equipment that makes the game a little easier and more enjoyable. To do that, a company needs talented clubmakers.
While many manufacturers have an array of talented designers on staff – TaylorMade, for instance, has 58 club-designing engineers – only a handful have opted to put the designers name on the clubs themselves.
Heres a closer look at the products from this select group of signature designers.
DUNLOP
In January, Dunlop Golf introduced a line of Redneck putters conceived by master clubmaker Rick Gray, who coincidentally invented the companys LoCo driver.
Each of the putters in the Redneck line bears an RG Designs signature on the back.
Unique to these putters is a red anodized aluminum hosel that helps keep weight more evenly distributed throughout the putter head for a centralized sweet spot. Meanwhile, the head is milled from soft carbon steel.
The Redneck putters are designed to be soft at impact [but], most of all, the Rednecks are fun," sais Gray. "From the wacky names and appearances to the resulting performance, this line is designed specifically to make golf more enjoyable for everyone."
The putters are available in seven models, named Lurch, Airhead, Bubba, Kelsey, Wilbur, Breda and Doublewide. Outfitted with bright red Winn grips, suggested retail price is $129.
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Shop Find the latest in golf equipment at the PGA TOUR's store MacGregor Putters: M-Series V-FOIL MOI Mid/Long V-FOIL MOI regular Scotty Cameron 2004 studio Scotty Cameron Futura Scott Cameron Studio Stainless CC Putters C Putters Big Ben Baby Ben |
Staff player John Daly won the Buick Invitational on the PGA TOUR in February wielding a Wilbur Redneck and RG Designs Players irons. Muscleback tour blades targeted at advanced players, the Dunlop irons will be available soon with a list price of $599.99 per set, along with complementary RG Designs wedges.
MACGREGOR
Designer Grace and company owner Schneider met at the PGA Merchandise Show in Florida in 2003, from which an affinity grew.
We found, very quickly, a common passion for the game, said Schneider.
A puttermaker who also has his own company, Grace has designed both the new V-Foil MOI and the M series of putters for MacGregor. Each putter carries Designed by Bobby Grace on the sole and the initials BG on the heel of the face..
Milled from a solid block of aluminum, the V-Foil MOI putters are vastly oversized mallets, with the center of gravity deep behind the putter face, which contains a beryllium copper face insert to enhance tactile feedback. Meanwhile, the high MOI means less twisting at impact. The two different head sizes with conventional shafts have a suggested retail price of $249.99 each; the belly-length shaft is listed at $299.99 and the long-shafted putter lists for $349.99.
The M series comprises three traditional heel-toe weighted putters with conventional shafts and soft beryllium copper face inserts. Suggested retail price is $239.99.
TOUR players who use a MacGregor putter by Bobby Grace include company staffers Jose Maria Olazabal and Lee Janzen.
TITLEIST
Cameron and Vokey have both been making signature clubs for Titleist for several years now.
Cameron makes several lines of putters in a wide assortment of styles. The Futura line of oversized mallets got a huge boost early last season when Scott Hoch used one to win the PGA TOURs Ford Championship.
The other lines are called Studio Design and Studio Stainless.. Astoundingly last season, given the competition and variety in the business, some model of Scotty Cameron putter was used to win the first 13 events on the PGA TOUR.
Scotty is the leading craftsman in the game, said Chris McGinley, Titleists vp of club marketing. His unique ability to work with and satisfy the top players in the world is directly reflected in the superior quality, feel and performance of the putters.
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| Vokey wedges come in four lines: black nickel, chrome, oil can and special grind.(Provided to SportsLine) |
The Studio Design family comprises four models made with mild carbon steel, heel-toe weighting, and sole and top lines that slope up at the toe to help maintain loft and face angles. List prices in this set are $270 each.
The seven models in the Studio Stainless series represent a variety of reflections from the Newport mold. Made with 303 stainless steel, the putters have a unique sound and feel. List price is $300 each.
The Vokey wedges come in four lines: black nickel, chrome, oil can and special grind. There is a vast selection of lofts and bounce angles to choose from. Suggested retail prices are $115 each for chrome and special grind, and $125 each for black nickel and oil can.
Bettinardi is another designer with his own shop, but he is also contracted through this year for a signature line of Ben Hogan putters.
Hogan is a well-respected name -- my first set of irons were Hogans -- and I thought it would be an honor to get together with the Hogan company, said Bettinardi, who is based in Tinley Park, Ill.., and has, by his count, designed more than 1,500 putter models. When we first hooked up, they had no putters. So, it was a challenge, but a great challenge who designs a whole new line of putters.
A division of Top-Flite Golf, which itself is a subsidiary of Callaway, Hogan offers four lines in its Bettinardi lineup:
• The CC series, featuring a carbon steel head and a precisely placed 24-karat gold-plated copper insert, meant to yield a very soft feel.. There are three models of heads, with a suggested retail price of $400 each.
• The C series putter, which is new for 2004, is a solid carbon steel head in three styles with a list price of $330 each.
• The Big Ben series putter, with an oversized head and hosel milled from a solid block of aluminum, features a beehive center cavity which allows 38 percent of the heads total weight to be positioned behind the ball. The result should be easy acceleration through impact. Theres also a T-shaped alignment aid and face-balanced design. Available with a selection of shaft lengths, suggested retail price is $270 each for standard shaft, and $300 each for bell and long lengths.
• The new Baby Ben series, using elements from the Big Ben design but with a slightly smaller, heel-shafted head and hourglass design. A prototype Baby Ben was used by Jim Furyk last year to win the U.S. Open. Suggested retail price is $270.
The lineup of Todd Sones Tri-Measure putters comprises Milled and Cast models.
There are five styles in the Milled line and six styles in the Cast line, all with traditional heel-toe weighting designs. Recently, Tommy Armour also added an 845 Aluminum Milled Tri-Measure and an 845 Forged Milled Tri-Meaure putters with oversize heads.
All the putters are designed to be custom-fitted using properly-matched shaft lengths as an initial factor in determining varying head weights.
Todd Sones is one of the most respected teaching professionals in the industry, with a putter-fitting system that is among the best, said John Gutelius, Armour vp of marketing and product.
The new 845 Aluminum putter is milled from a lightweight alloy featuring brass rods that aid in alignment and help resist twisting. The 845 Forged Milled putter features heavy tungsten weights to provide heel-toe balance and forgiveness.
All the Tri-Measure putters designed by Todd Sones, including the Milled and Cast, have a suggested retail price of $150 each.
Editor's note: Chuck Stogel writes about golf equipment. Look for his columns each week on GolfWeb and PGATOUR.COM.
