Friday, June 13, 2008

Old & New



Rating: 7 points
Pros: First Production Putter, Latest Limited Headcover.
Cons: I only have one of each.

Two new acquisitions this week... a Fry's Pity Putter and the new U.S. Open limited headcover. As a purist collector, I do not specifically prefer older style putters, but I do respect them. This is the holy grail as far as OTR putters go, and it's the only one I recall seeing publicly for sale in the past three years (this particular one has traded hands a few times in the past couple months, but it will be staying with me indefinitely). The headcover was released on Tuesday afternoon along with several other Cameron accessories at the Studio Store, and commemorates the 2008 U.S. Open in sunny San Diego at Torrey Pines.

There is a lot of talk about this headcover. Firstly, there are four versions circulating at this time, that's right FOUR. The picture above is the most common, showing 12 smiling suns on a white background. The second version we learned of shortly after the release is a similarly stitched version on a black background, there are 100 of pieces of these randomly distributed to Studio Store customers. The third version also came to light shortly after the release, showing again the suns on a white background, but altered stitching including a Circle T in place inside one of the suns. The fourth and yet to be discovered version is a 1/10 limited piece, like the black cover, randomly distributed to buyers.

This headcover appears to be the biggest hit since the '07 Masters cover... white headcovers generally tend to be more popular, and this one has a great design to go along with that. Values on this cover are almost certain to rise... the black and Circle T versions will probably settle in the $500 and $2,000 respectively. The yet to be identified 1/10 cover could be the most available and sought after cover in recent memory, the value could certainly top that of the Circle T version. One can only imagine how many of us will be scouring eBay auctions to see the subtle difference and find the proverbial diamond in the rough.

As for the Fry's putter, for those who may be unfamiliar with the story, these were made in 1991 for Fry's Sports in San Francisco, CA. Since the total order was for only 700 pieces (extremely low for a production run), this is commonly referred to as Fry's Pity Putter. The piece above is numbered 464... and is one of only a dozen or so in the registry. Luckily when this putter was released, Japanese collectors familiar with Scott Cameron handmades were quick to buy them up, so many remain safe in collectors hands to this day. Unfortunately, for the same reason, many of these will remain unavailable to other collectors.

As Cameron collecting continues to grow, many new collectors gravitate towards new designs with little regard for these old gems. Although it's extremely easy to fork over a few thousand dollars to buy a new 009 or Cameron & Co... the real thrill for me is the hunt. I have been more than lucky to come across almost a half dozen rare pre-Titleist putters in the past six months... something I am unsure I will be able to repeat as more collectors realize the importance of these pieces.