AOP Newport 2 (Tour?) Advice

I stumbled upon a Craigslist posting for this putter at what I thought was a great price and snatched it up. The seller didn't list it as a tour model (and definitely didn't price it as a tour model) but all my research and comparing photos has me believing that it is. Am I off base?

If it is a tour model, I'm mulling over three options since the CS doesn't do oil can finishes anymore (which I really want):

1) Play it as is while taking the best care of it I can and hope that the CS eventually offers oil can finishes again then send it in for restoration.

2) Send it to BOS for their patina oil can finish and have it restored there.

3) Send it in to the CS for restoration with the black finish and COA.

If it's not a tour model I may try a fourth option of DIY restoration.

I love the oil can finish and although I've read great things about BOS, I've also read that using anyone other that the CS on a tour model significantly decreases the value. Based on that I'm leaning towards option 1. Thoughts/opinions from anyone?

Standard OTR AOP NP2 w/ an non-tour aftermarket tour dot. Would look beautiful after a little flitz and eezox love. I don't see any major dings. Clean it up and game it!

mbrown, thanks for the reply. What's the giveaway on the dot? Location? Size? Color? Just trying to educate myself.

Hmm, and now you have me doing more research into this. I can't find a single picture online of an AOP Newport 2 with a the tour dot. And I've figured out this is an "oval track" version, which apparently is more rare. Looking even more carefully into this, if you look at the second picture I posted (back of the putter), the top left and top right hand corners of indented section (where Titleist is written) are simply rounded corners. Every picture I'm finding online of the AOP Newport 2 (including the SC putter archive pictures) show those corners in a soft "m" pattern, if you will.

Still curious if anyone can point me to a picture of an authentic AOP Newport 2 tour model or thoughts on why they think dots are aftermarket. Just want to make sure before I start cleaning it up myself.

I do not believe there were any AOP Newport 2 Tours. However, there were plenty of Newport 2 Tours being made at that time; but they were handstamped. If you were to find these with tour stamps they would probably have a simple "T" stamp, and not the classic Circle T. The "T" stamp most usually would have been on the toe or in the cavity, or both. There are a couple AOP/Tour Dot combination putters where there is an AOP neck on a Tour Dot head; however they have a welded neck with a tour dot in the cavity and "Newport 2 Tour" on the toe side of the sole.

You are correct about the oval-track. I have one identical sans dot and in better shape.

The shallowness, from what I can see, is the giveaway with the tour dot being aftermarket.

Thanks, mbrown, that's all good information. I think my next step in this project is to see if someone at the CS is willing to answer a question about whether or not any AOP NP2 with tour dots were ever made. I doubt they'll answer but worth a shot.

And for what it's worth I sent the pictures to a tech at BOS golf who I had been in contact with and his opinion is that it's an authentic tour putter, of course with the disclaimer that it's impossible to confirm with just pictures.

At the very least I've learned a lot about Scotty putters! I'll report back here with any additional information I can dig up.

I'm still yet not convinced about your putter but I did find an example of a putter very similar to yours, besides the finish.

http://www.scottycameron.com/authentication/registry/Details.aspx?rn=A002657

Wow, I searched that site for about 20 minutes this afternoon. Never thought to use Roman numerals. Thank you for doing the search for me. I wonder if this is a CS restoration in pro platinum (since they don't do oil can anymore) or if that's the original finish.

At this point the only real verification I think I'll get is sending it to the CS but the catch is I don't want either of the restoration finishes they offer, regardless of whether it's a tour putter or not.

Here's what I would do:

If you plan to keep it & game it with intentions of possibly selling it: Hour project with a glass or two of bourbon: use 0000 gauge steel wool with Eezox lightly to take off the rust; then rub it down with flitz gun oil. If you go this route feel free to PM me as I rehabbed a Napa this way.

If you plan to keep it for a long time: why not restore it how you want by the company you want?

Personally, I would go Route #1 but before anything I would send quality pictures in to the custom shop with close-ups of the dots and ask if it's tour before spending the money for the COA.

Thank you for the offer on option 1, I'll likely take you up on it. I have a bottle of Angel's Envy ready.

The person I spoke to at the CS today said they wouldn't do anything over email. Maybe I got someone having a bad day. I'll try again tomorrow and see if they'll take a look at pictures.

Wow, I searched that site for about 20 minutes this afternoon. Never thought to use Roman numerals. Thank you for doing the search for me. I wonder if this is a CS restoration in pro platinum (since they don't do oil can anymore) or if that's the original finish.

 

At this point the only real verification I think I'll get is sending it to the CS but the catch is I don't want either of the restoration finishes they offer, regardless of whether it's a tour putter or not.

You can send it in for authentication only, if so desired.

let me add a bit more confusion based on my shallow study as an AoP Tour has been my grail for awhile.

seen 2 respectively different 'tour' models of the very model: AoP Newport 2.

1. in original PP finish

small numbers were made for vips & european* tour players. *rumor says PP finish is for soaky weather condition where the oilcan finish wouldn't be idealistic.

this ones has exactly same graphic / cut / letterings etc to the OTR oilcans, except the finish.

how can you tell it's 'not' refinished? 2 things. recent PP refinish by the Custom Shop is more coarse than the original PP. if you can 'see' all the milling trace in the cavity and the neck, it's most likely the original PP. refinished PP covers it making it hard to see. the sole also should be with clean perpendicular milling traces. another way to distinguish whether it's original or refinish is the face milling pattern. when its 'restored' at the CS, they basically ruin it with new face milling. IMO, the old milling pattern is way more unique and beautiful. restoration milling is horribly mechanical. my point is there's a distinctive difference between the original pattern and the new one.

however, these are more for AoP Newport. way 'less' for Newport 2, i've seen. (there are some)

2. in oilcan finish

these do exist but not 'just' with those 'tour dots', which is one of the most confusing and hard-to-prove as a signifier. overall, tour dots are usually in combination with 'stamped' letters (vs engraved ones). ex) stamped 'cameron' + dot on the face instead of engraved 'newport + crown'. some has 'blank' sole (vs all the letterings). some has dot + stamped 'cameron' in the cavity (vs engraved 'Titleist'). and capital T stamp on the bumper or on the face like some others mention above.

hardest ones are those real MFTU sticks with just dots but with authentication. there's no way to decipher the case unless you send it in for authentication. like you mentioned above, CS wouldn't even discuss it with you over the phone nor email, unless you send (and have paid for the authentication). with one slight modification—grip, paintfill etc., you get a B designation even if an authentic tour putter. what i hear, the funniest part, is that the authentication on the putters from that era is entirely depending on Don Cameron's personal memory—no documentations no whatsoever. :)

good luck if you send it in. what my guts saying, however, from the photos is that there's a thin chance it's a tour stick. dunno what it is exactly, but something screams those dots are home-job.

well, who knows...

let me add a bit more confusion based on my shallow study as an AoP Tour has been my grail for awhile.

 

seen 2 respectively different 'tour' models of the very model: AoP Newport 2.

 

1. in original PP finish

small numbers were made for vips & european* tour players. *rumor says PP finish is for soaky weather condition where the oilcan finish wouldn't be idealistic.

this ones has exactly same graphic / cut / letterings etc to the OTR oilcans, except the finish.

how can you tell it's 'not' refinished? 2 things. recent PP refinish by the Custom Shop is more coarse than the original PP. if you can 'see' all the milling trace in the cavity and the neck, it's most likely the original PP. refinished PP covers it making it hard to see. the sole also should be with clean perpendicular milling traces. another way to distinguish whether it's original or refinish is the face milling pattern. when its 'restored' at the CS, they basically ruin it with new face milling. IMO, the old milling pattern is way more unique and beautiful. restoration milling is horribly mechanical. my point is there's a distinctive difference between the original pattern and the new one.

however, these are more for AoP Newport. way 'less' for Newport 2, i've seen. (there are some)

 

2. in oilcan finish

these do exist but not 'just' with those 'tour dots', which is one of the most confusing and hard-to-prove as a signifier. overall, tour dots are usually in combination with 'stamped' letters (vs engraved ones). ex) stamped 'cameron' + dot on the face instead of engraved 'newport + crown'. some has 'blank' sole (vs all the letterings). some has dot + stamped 'cameron' in the cavity (vs engraved 'Titleist'). and capital T stamp on the bumper or on the face like some others mention above.

 

hardest ones are those real MFTU sticks with just dots but with authentication. there's no way to decipher the case unless you send it in for authentication. like you mentioned above, CS wouldn't even discuss it with you over the phone nor email, unless you send (and have paid for the authentication). with one slight modification—grip, paintfill etc., you get a B designation even if an authentic tour putter. what i hear, the funniest part, is that the authentication on the putters from that era is entirely depending on Don Cameron's personal memory—no documentations no whatsoever. :)

 

good luck if you send it in. what my guts saying, however, from the photos is that there's a thin chance it's a tour stick. dunno what it is exactly, but something screams those dots are home-job.

 

well, who knows...

Well that was an incredible amount of information. Thank you.

Are there specific characteristics of the dots that I can look for? Shape being deeper parabolic, more even spherical, or more shallow with a flatter bottom? Should it be perfectly smooth throughout or have some imperfections? Color is tough with the weathering but is there anything there that I should look for? Is the location of the dots precisely the same throughout the model line or are they "hand-made", if you will?

Are there specific characteristics of the dots that I can look for? Shape being deeper parabolic, more even spherical, or more shallow with a flatter bottom? Should it be perfectly smooth throughout or have some imperfections? Color is tough with the weathering but is there anything there that I should look for? Is the location of the dots precisely the same throughout the model line or are they "hand-made", if you will?

unfortunately, this's exactly what makes this matter harder to figure out. how the pre circle T dots are engraved is such a mess. differs from one to another. one thing i've noticed is tho, smaller/spheric for the olders & larger/flatter for the newers. but not always. most of them are red semi-translucent, some in orange, some in red-opaque.

location wise, common theme is 1. left top to the titleist logo in the cavity 2. somewhere in between the logo and the heel on the face. in an authentic stick, the size/depth of the dots on the front & back will most likely be the same. (and yes there're exceptions, i've seen).

another myth is that that was why Don Cameron himself came up with the newer system socalled 'circle T' signifying tour designation putter. dots were simply too easy (at least easy to attempt) to fake and it started to become quite messy.

search 'tour newport' on the 'bay and you'll be surprised how many obviously-fake-looking pre circle T sticks out there insisting with those home-drilled tour dots...

also, my knowledge is yet shallow. i suggest browsing the SC putter archive registry with those A designation putters. you can easily search 'old ones' and will see something in common... or not.

oh and one more thing to re: your question, most of 'dots' are executed 'sharp/smooth' with no imperfections. one thing hard to copy/replicate is the good ole' Don Cameron's milling technic and meticulous care—what really makes those old sticks stand out. you can totally tell even on a rusty rubbed out metal piece. not any more in the newer sticks...

as for the 'oval track' cavity cut, it's not rare in the earlier gen (oilcan finish) Newport 2s.

what makes the oval track cutting 'unique and rare' is when it's found in the regular 'dale head' Newport AoP*.

*personally, i don't think the oval track meant signifying anything special. around that era, you can totally see Don Cameron tried hard trying everything. it was tried as one variation and guess moved on? when ppl found it's 'rare', started/tend to give more special meaning? it doesn't seem like he did it to signify anything special. just my thought. i might be wrong and might even offend some folks here being proud of having an 'oval track' newport, ha. something rare is good, right?

oh and one more thing to re: your question, most of 'dots' are executed 'sharp/smooth' with no imperfections. one thing hard to copy/replicate is the good ole' Don Cameron's milling technic and meticulous care—what really makes those old sticks stand out. you can totally tell even on a rusty rubbed out metal piece. not any more in the newer sticks...

So the dot (drilling and paint) on the face of the putter look great to me. When I shined a flashlight and cropped a photo, the dot in the cavity looks to have some paint issues to me. Again, I'm not sure exactly what to look for and how much time/weather/rust affects it. I've attached here if you want to take a look.

At this point I think I'm just going to enjoy the putter, clean it up some and game it. It doesn't make sense for me to spend more on authenticating it than I paid for the putter.

your putter might well be a real tour putter, who knows it had had its hey day on a real pga green one day? :)

i agree w ya, you should just enjoy it. regardless, the old Scotty sticks are just great. better—subjectivity pending—feel and craftsmanship etc. the only prob is that they are lighter to modern likings by 20g or so, that can easily be compensable with some lead tape slabs. a rusty old Scotty, nothing sexier than that on the green.

from flipper's POV, these era tour sticks don't even fetch a good money—max 700 - 1000 with 'pristine condition + COA' etc unless with some retired player's name that no one remembers—considering all the hassle of cost for restoration and authentication hence the time and care and stress.

happy hunting!

Hmm, and now you have me doing more research into this. I can't find a single picture online of an AOP Newport 2 with a the tour dot. And I've figured out this is an "oval track" version, which apparently is more rare. Looking even more carefully into this, if you look at the second picture I posted (back of the putter), the top left and top right hand corners of indented section (where Titleist is written) are simply rounded corners. Every picture I'm finding online of the AOP Newport 2 (including the SC putter archive pictures) show those corners in a soft "m" pattern, if you will.

 

Still curious if anyone can point me to a picture of an authentic AOP Newport 2 tour model or thoughts on why they think dots are aftermarket. Just want to make sure before I start cleaning it up myself.

Real small tour dots of that era were drilled, so deeper in the middle, not milled flat dots as yours appears to be.

That said, it's a nice putter to game, but worth less than if those dots weren't added by one of its prior owners.

I would just oil and game it.

orangeology, I think that's what I'm going to do. When I do sent it for restoration (likely to BOS), it'll be because I love the look oil can finish, not because I think it'll increase the value. I plan on holding on to this putter for a while.

Titleist-Golf, the holes are drilled, it's just hard to tell in the pictures. They're a spherical shape. I plan on doing some minor cleanup now and game it, then likely send it for restoration later.

mbrown, I'll have the bourbon ready this weekend. Expect a PM with any help you can give on cleaning it up.

these era sticks are so all over the place as far as price goes... there are several AOP tour owners around this site.. one in particular is a aop 33/350G newport that Pro platinum and has a welded midslant neck and no small T stamp or tour dots... it received an A coa and took around a month to get Mr cameron to authenticate.... doesnt state who it was made for ... I know of 2 other 33/350G aop newprts thats are basically stock with tour dot on the cavity and the heel side of face.. one black ox and one oilcan..both A coa and in near mint original shape... I own a Small T stamp , sound slot ( beached) oilcan ,Longneck 33/350G ...... Its never leaving my stabe as its my game day stick .... very underappreciated tour putters...yet they are some of the hardest to find ...

Here's my AOP PP tour Newport with A COA

Here's my AOP PP tour Newport with A COA

 

 

 

 

thats a nice one ! seems to me that either there were more than 500 350G heads made or 50-100 of them were saved for tour use....

here is my girl.... 350G/33 sound slot, longneck , small T stamp on toe, originally oilcan.... shes well used , and currently wearing a rusty patina... ( i dip it in CLR on occasion to clean back up) .... if you look closely you can see a repair mark on the neck..... it was due to an unfortunate accident last summer.. i dropped her walking to a green.. tried to catch it and just got a finger on the grip, but didnt grab it , ended up helicoptering it 10-15 feet and came down on a sprinkler head...cracked the neck... so i welded it back up and worked it smooth.. nearly good as new.. but hurts the value alot.... but doesnt matter.. ive had it so long i would never sell it... so to me it just adds to the story... its my stick and i fixed it ..lol alot of higher $ sticks have tried to kick this one out.. and it just doesnt happen.

Both beauts. I'm in the process of getting mine cleaned up now. Will post pics when I'm done.