Getty Image / Mike Ehrmann
In the world of Golf, Scotty Cameron is the biggest name in putters and it’s not even close. If you aren’t familiar with Scotty Cameron putters and start Googling around one of the most common questions you’ll see is something along the lines of ‘are they worth the price?’ To that, the answer is often: if you putt best with that putter then it’s worth the money.
If you are familiar with Scotty Cameron putters then you’ll recall that they (*almost*) always have iconic cherry red dots on the back of the putter. The putters come in all shapes in sizes, you can spend $$$$$ on customized putters or $ on refurbished putters, but that iconic cherry dot is almost always there. Occasionally the dots are blue, or there’s only one dot, but the iconic Scotty Cameron design has multiple cherry red dots on the back of the putter.
In a recent interview with Golf Digest, Scotty Cameron himself explained where the inspiration for those iconic cherry red dots came from:
What are some of the things outside of golf that you draw your inspiration from?
I look at jets and the wings in back and how they angle and end. A lot of cars. The cherry dots in back of the putter, for instance, came from my father taking me to the race track. Every time the carburetor comes out of the hood, the butterflies on the hood would move and there would always be red dots. When I saw that it was exciting to me so that’s where the red dots come from on my putters. (via)
He was also asked about the coolest custom item in his gallery at the moment and Scotty has created an over-the-top alligator putter that sounds like something Tim Tebow desperately needs in his golf bag:
I made a putter for myself. I think alligator is such a gentlemanly, cool material. So I made myself a Gatorback putter. It’s kind of like an 8802, but with a wide-bodied flange. I can do the wide-body flange because I have an aluminum sole plate. But the back has something that looks like the dashboard from a Bentley. But then that long, round flange in the back is kind of a plain area of blankness. So I milled a little pocket back there that has a rim of stainless steel, then I created a stamp the shape of the mill pocket, cut out the alligator. I used a special glue to inlay the alligator into the back of the putter, so it has a Gatorback Bentley back and bottom. It’s spectacular. And then I matched it with an alligator grip. Then I took the alligator to make headcovers to match the grip and the back. It is expensive and it’s a pain to do, but when I was done with it I went, “Oh my goodness.” (via)
In other parts of the interview, Scotty Cameron discusses how technology has changed the way he makes putters, and where he thinks the next trend in putters is headed. You can check out his full interview on Golf Digest by clicking that link, and if you’re like me, you can think