Why I’m Making Putters Pt. 2

In 2018 I started developing an interest in old Acushnet/John Reuter Bullseye putters. After seeing some very beautifully restored Bullseyes on eBay, I decided to try my hand at restoring one for myself.

I found one with scratches, dings, and faded engravings on the bottom (probably from a previous restoration many years ago), and decided to buy it for something like $20. After buying some equipment and doing a little research, I put in the work to bring back the club’s original beauty, and I added some custom hand-stamping to give it a modern twist.

After gaming the putter for a season, I decided to resell it on eBay. It was too light to be my gamer and the amount of toe-hang didn’t match my stroke, but I loved how it looked. Little did I know, this small project would turn into something bigger.

What started as an interest in restoring Bullseye putters eventually evolved into my very own putters being shipped across the country. Players in Massachusetts, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, and here in Ohio were kind enough to give my first iteration a try, and I am thankful for that. 

To get to the point of shipping finished products to fellow golfers, I put in a ton of time designing, prototyping, theorizing, accumulating tools, researching best practices & design fundamentals, and building the courage to put myself out there and display my work for everyone to see.

When it comes down to it, putters are art. As long as a few fundamentals are there, there is a lot of freedom when it comes to design. I think that’s one of the many things I enjoy about this process. As they say, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and while not everyone’s eye is inclined toward the same style of putter, this artistic quality is one of the reasons I have taken a huge liking to this process.