Rating: 7 points
Pros: All original
Cons: Baby cow gave his life
In 1992 Scotty Cameron released 500 putters to the Japanese market under the name Private Reserve. Each putter was initially released with it's own certificate of authenticity (hand signed by Scotty), a hardwood display box made from red oak and it's own "Private Reserve" Milled Putters headcover. Only 10 of the original 500 have been sent to the Studio for authentication.
There were four models in the Private Reserve release each consisting of 125 pieces. It is not uncommon among Cameron putter releases for there to be four different models, however, the putters were numbered 1-4, which has never been done since. Early in his career, Scotty did not realize the number 4 held a negative connotation in Asian culture, due to it's pronunciation which is very similar to the word "death" in both Japanese and Chinese. The Private Reserve putter pictured above is the model 2, which along with the number 4 are the two models with milled cavities.
Each Private Reserve putter originally had a Neumann calf leather grip. Recently all the rage has been in exotic leather grips (ostrich, emu, barramundi, and there are even rumors of stingray), but back in 1992, calf leather is just about as extravagant a grip material as you could find. The shape of the grip was also unique to the period. Common on Acushnet and 8802 putters, the "D" shape is more rounded than today's more common pistol grips. The leather on the grip is still tacky to this day, although most of the gold embossing is worn from mine.
An interesting insight into the development of the Private Reserves comes from a few pieces of history that still reside at the Studio: In the earliest days of limited mass production, Scotty did not have the ability to G-Code putters from scratch, so template putters were made by hand to scan and input into the CNC machines to produce the final product. The 4 original handmade Private Reserve putters are stashed safely away at the studio.
The shape of my Private Reserve 2 is nothing like any other Cameron I have seen before. I continue to find putters in the Pre-Titleist era that amaze me... this is absolutely one of them. The toe to heel shape is the most noticeable departure from other Camerons to my eye. Forming a complete crescent, the line is very easy on the eye and when combined with the milled cavity, it frames the ball extremely well at address.
The look and feel of a Private Reserve putter is something that I wish every collector could appreciate. I may be a long way from completing the set, but I'm pretty sure a number 4 is next on my list.
