Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Classic I

Rating: 6 Points
Pros: Won the '93 Masters and launched Scotty's career.
Cons: It hasn't launched my career, yet.

Wow. I finally picked up a Classic I this week after over 3 years of collecting. The market for these putters has remained fairly consistent over that period of time. With most newer collectors favoring 009's, it has left room for the purist collectors to obtain great pre-Titleist pieces at reasonable prices.

The first thing that jumps out at me is the lack of stamping/engraving. Call me crazy, but the blank cavity is a great look... as is the absence of an alignment aid. Classic I is engraved on two lines on the toe end of the sole, Cameron vertically on the neck, and Scotty Cameron in a distinctive pattern on the heel end of the face. The heel-face engraving is one of the most identifiable marks among pre-Titleist collectors, occasionally we see it reproduced via hand-stamping on modern Tour putters.

Classic I's have a shape closely related to Newports and 009's, but distinctive on it's own. Lining them up is akin to watching the body style change on the Ford Mustang through the years. The bumpers seem wider and lack the radius seen in today's Studio Select model. The neck has crisp lines and an angular plumber's neck, a few generations away from what you might see on 009's. The topline is rounded, and the cavity has dog ears... a great combination in my eyes while looking at the putter from the cavity side.

Putts roll off the face extremely soft and true, the sweet spot is fairly small, so mis-hits are more than evident. This is a player's putter. Bernhard Langer won the Masters 15 years ago, in no small part, due to the accuracy of this putter. The putter in my collection has the original Scotty Cameron pebble grain grip which is also very utilitarian, not soft, yet providing feedback straight from the putter head. As a package, this putter has everything a golfer needs to sink putts and improve their game.

I'm happy to add this putter to my collection in a month when Scotty is celebrating 15 years since his first Master's win, and his 8th Masters victory in that short span.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Studio Select Custom Shop Options



Rating: 7 points
Pros: Great new options.
Cons: You still have to pay.

When the custom shop opened on April 1st, 2005, there were far fewer options than there were even yesterday. This new batch of options opens up the door for us to customize new and exciting creations. Many of us collectors have been around to see new color options, stamps, grips and headcovers released... some of which in limited quantities (gold and purple headcovers). Never before, however, has there been a release of options directly suited to one line of putters.

First and foremost is the option to stamp any one of the four custom shop stamps inside the Studio Select cherry dots in the cavity. We have seen tour stamps inside cherry dots before, but until now, this has been unavailable on an OTR putter. The translucent epoxy/paint used to fill the dots after the stamp has been applied is quite stunning eye candy.

Next are the Studio Select Custom Shop headcovers. Wow. There have been varying opinions on the OTR headcover, but these new offerings (with dots in Sublime Lime, Turbo Blue and Red Racer) have to be the coolest custom shop headcovers ever released. My only complaint here is that there aren't 1/500 versions of these covers, which had been typical of new color releases.

Frequent CS customers know that stamping on the bumpers was possible as long as it was properly requested, however this was not a public option. The new option of stamping your first and last name (or nickname) on the bumpers (on certain models) is sure to spurn a plethora of new orders being sent to the custom shop. The quoted wait time for CS orders has held steady at 15 days, and I'm thinking they will be prepared for the inevitable spike in orders.

Also available are the new weight adjustments for Studio Select putters. A full range of 330g to 380g putter heads is now available to suit any swingweight (including belly putters) using stainless, copper and tungsten weights. Dialing-in the weight had previously meant aftermarket modification using lead tape or other, less swingweight friendly, options (e.g. lead powder or in-hosel weights). The Studio Select was designed from the ground up to be adaptable to different weight configurations, and having these available for a fraction of the cost of weight kits that are available for other clubmakers, makes this an appealing option for golfers desiring quirky swingweights.

These new options for the all new Studio Select putters make customization a dream come true. The Custom Shop pricing remains fair for the amount of work involved in these modifications. All in all I'm happy to give the new Custom Shop options a full 7 out of 7 rating.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

2008 Masters Cover



Rating: 5 points
Pros: Yellow Fur!
Cons: Flowers are for girls.

Scotty stuck with tradition this week in releasing a limited headcover during a major week. Azaleas are the perfect representation for a Masters specific headcover, and I almost wonder why they weren't done before. This is easily, in my opinion, the second best Masters cover Scotty has ever released.

There are rumors circulating about a one-off white version of this headcover, to replace at random one lucky customer's headcover order. The potential of this is quite exciting, leading many of us to wonder just what we might do if we were the lucky "winner" of said cover. Last year's 1/100 bulldog version of the Masters cover was quite popular, bringing a smile to many collectors who received one. I can only imagine the thrill of opening that box and finding a white cover. Questions on whether to sell or keep such a cover quickly were asked... with many collectors suggesting they would flip it for a few (okay, several thousand) quick dollars. As a recipient of a very special cover in the past, I think I would want to keep this one in my collection, but there are bigger headcover collectors out there than me who would appreciate it more than I would.

This cover has the potential of becoming very popular as a gift to SWMBO's and daughters... much like the Camico of 2006. I think there's just as much potential for this cover to make it as a gamer in the bags of any collector due specifically to the yellow fur. Red and green fur headcovers have become very popular as gamers in the past two years since they've shown up... I can't imagine things would change drastically for the worse. Most people will appreciate the connection between the azaleas, Scotty Cameron putters, and the Masters.


Again, this is a great release in the tradition of many great major headcovers, I hope Scotty follows up with an equally thoughtful, nuanced and popular design for the US Open at Torrey Pines in June.

Friday, April 4, 2008

SCM Mizuno Prototype



Rating: 3 points (for obvious reasons)
Pros: Thin flange, full toe hang.
Cons: Pre-Mizuno or Pre-Titleist?

I've been lucky enough to have three SCM Mizuno Prototypes in my collection at some point. These are great collection pieces as well as seriously accurate putters. The latter holds true due to the sweet spot being easier to find than a Classic III or Bullseye style putter, and the full toe hang makes for a smooth gate style stroke. Not many of these show up for acquisition... only two or three last year on eBay or classifieds, and anyone with one in their collection should count themselves lucky.

The name "Mizuno Prototype" may suggest to some these were made before Scotty worked with Mizuno. However these were probably made in '94 from leftover Mizuno Pro-Am heads (contrary to the COA verbiage stating they were made from leftover M-100 heads). Less than 100 are believed to exist, though with many of them in Japan, that number may never be substantiated. Conflict with the COA wording aside, these are great Pre-Titleist pieces.

The SCM is engraved (not hand stamped), as the head was CNC milled... although one can't help but get a handmade "feel" when they see or putt with one. Scott Hoch was believed to use one of these on Tour in the early 90's, and I believe a good percentage of the less than 100 made were sent to players on Tour. This was at a time when Scotty was still making handmades regularly for Tour players and the shape of this putter is strongly influenced by those designs.

The other component to these putters is the "Cartier Script" on the face, which Scotty was experimenting with at the time... obviously this did not catch on, but for that reason, this putter is a great glimpse into Scotty's fairly early design days.