Scotty Cameron Article in Golfweek business

[lightrider]

Referenced Article

Cameron Crazies

Acushnet Co. capitalizes on

putter guru's loyal devotees

 

 

 

By John Steinbreder

 

Scotty Cameron mingles with the touring pros at Augusta National and hobnobs with industry bigwigs under the oak trees shading the clubhouse. But here at the Masters, there is yet another audience he is most eager to meet.

 

His fans.

 

There are more than 3,200 dues-paying members of Club Cameron – home to the craftsman's Web-based worshippers – and more than a couple dozen of them have journeyed to the season's first major to meet the putter guru in person. Later, a handful of spectators standing behind the ropes clamor for Cameron's attention. As he caters to them, an even bigger crowd engulfs him, and for the next 90 minutes he scribbles his autograph on hats, headcovers and every other imaginable piece of memorabilia.

 

The next day, Cameron's rock star-like celebrity is confirmed when a real rock star, Frank Beard of ZZ Top, chats with Cameron about the designer's Newport and Napa putters Beard has collected. Elin Nordegren, a.k.a. Mrs. Tiger Woods, also drops by. Her husband has used one of Cameron's putters in each of his 43 PGA Tour victories, and she has joined the converted.

 

"Thanks for my putter, Scotty," she says. "I love it."

 

Many golfers love the putters made by Scotty Cameron. More than 40 percent of the players in any given PGA Tour event use one, and each year parent company Acushnet sells nearly 200,000 Scotty Cameron putters to the general public.

 

But the vignettes from Augusta offer another truism: Golfers adore Cameron as much as they do his putters. Indeed, the 42-year-old Californian has established somewhat of a cult following. His fans track his latest work through his Web site www.scottycameron.com. They pay $93 each to get details about new products, Scotty-on-Tour slide shows and exclusive offers through Club Cameron, which launched a few months ago. On eBay, Cameron crazies bid as much $30,000 for his hand-milled putters. Even more mind-boggling, some of his putter covers have fetched $3,000 at auction.

 

The love affair between Cameron and his putter devotees, however, is more than a mutual admiration society. It's good business. Since 1994, when Acushnet acquired Cameron's putter business, the tandem has created and nurtured this celebrity craze, using it to engender brand loyalty and launch affiliate businesses. Recently, Cameron began offering authentication, custom shop and restoration services – all for a fee – to better cater to his "Cameronistas" (see below).

 

Putters always have been what Acushnet CEO Wally Uihlein calls "a personality-intense product category." Several design icons have had success, to varying degrees, parlaying their identities into sales. Among them: John Reuter, George Low, Ray Cook, Otey Crisman, Clay Long, and, of course, Karsten Solheim.

 

But Cameron is the man now, and thanks in part to Acushnet's marketing and the Internet boom, he has achieved a level of popularity his predecessors could not have fathomed.

 

Much of his fame is attributable to the craftsmanship of his clubs and the validation they receive on tour. The pros not only use his products but appreciate Cameron's passion for studying the putting stroke. And they flock to his high-tech studio outside Carlsbad, Calif., like the faithful to Fatima, to learn all they can. The fact that Woods uses a Cameron with such proficiency, and that it remains the only non-Nike club in his bag, also speaks volumes.

 

Cameron's creativity and keen eye for what sells are evident even in his accessories, which run the gamut from T-shirts to headcovers. Even his divot tool – a modernistic reinvention of perhaps the game's dullest commodity – possess a "gotta-have-it" allure and is available in a variety of colors and prices, from $10 to $275 (includes an alligator-skin holster). These secondary products fuel additional interest in his work and add to the top line, generating about $2 million in annual sales.

 

It's not just what Cameron sells, but how he sells it, that helps enhance his mystique. He repeatedly has escalated demand by limiting production.

 

For example, he recently released a new model, the American Classic VII, but made only 2005 pieces to commemorate the year in which they debuted. The clubs sold out almost instantly, at $280 each, and they currently are selling for as much as $600 on eBay.

 

"I don't like to have any leftovers," he says. "I like to make them, sell them and then move on to something else. It helps build the brand."

 

That strategy ensures his fans obtain truly unique collectibles. Which also explains why Cameron sells the roughly 175 Cameron putters he gets back from his tour players at the end of each season.

 

"Scotty believes sales are subordinate to image, and I agree," Uihlein says. "He has a keen understanding of the point of difference he represents and how that should be administered. Our feeling is that if you take care of the product and wrap it in a value-added package, the numbers will be there."

 

And a big part of that valued-added package is making Cameron accessible to his congregation.

 

"Scotty is a genuine person who is always interested in what his fans have to say," says Jeff Schultz, a collector who works as an overhead lineman for the ComEd electrical utility outside Chicago. "He's made Tiger's putter. . . . He's made putters for the last three presidents. Yet he still is as available to those of us who play and collect his clubs as he is to tour professionals."

 

* * *

 

* * *

 

Sidebar

 

Scotty Cameron recently launched three new services designed to give golfers a chance to augment and refurbish their putters and offer his collectors protection against fraud. Nearly 3,000 putters were submitted for these programs through the first three months of the year – when they were offered only to members of Club Cameron, a Web-based fan club. All of the services now are available to the public. For details, visit www.scottycameron.com.

 

Authentication : Created to help consumers discern the origins of a Cameron putter, the extent to which it has been altered, and identify counterfeits. It will examine submitted putters and classify them into one of five categories. Some examples: Certificate A, a classification designated when a putter is deemed 100 percent authentic and the integrity and characteristics of its original design remain intact; Certificate C, which means a putter has undergone significant modifications; and Counterfeit. The service costs $45 per putter.

 

"As a collector myself, I appreciate the importance of peace of mind and wanted to give my customers that same benefit," Cameron says. "The collectible market in putters has been tarnished to a certain degree, and this is a way to help combat that."

 

Restoration : Based in Cameron's San Marcos, Calif., studio, the dedicated space of 10,000 square feet features more than 20 stations to perform functions such as buffing, milling, stamping and grinding.

 

"Putters are heirlooms that are passed down from generation to generation," Cameron says. "With restoration, we can return a club to its original condition. We do all the work ourselves, and I am involved personally, looking at almost every putter that comes through.

 

"The idea with Restoration is to provide yet another service to our loyal customers while feeding the revenue stream a bit. Certainly, we'd rather have them do that with us than taking their putters down to Bob's Golf and Tackle Shop."

 

Cost for restoration is determined on a case-by-case basis, but has averaged $182.

 

Custom Shop : Intended to provide golfers the ability to create their own club, what Cameron calls "pimping their putters."

 

"We offer mild or wild in an effort to appeal to the whole range of golfers," Cameron says.

 

A sampling of customization: Adding initials or sight line ($30), regripping with premium grips ($37), reshafting ($45), and adding headcovers ($25 to $72).

 

Date posted: May 2, 2005

[KiwiBoy]

haha 7 years on and hes keepin it real

[502 to Right]

[quote name='lightrider' timestamp='1115486881' post='3411']
Elin Nordegren, a.k.a. Mrs. Tiger Woods, also drops by. Her husband has used one of Cameron's putters in each of his 43 PGA Tour victories, and she has joined the converted.

"Thanks for my putter, Scotty," she says. "I love it."

[/quote]


So Elin did get the putter in the divorce!

[Undaunted]

I wonder if Robert Bettinardi's name was left out of the other successful putter makers because of his and Scotty's falling out. Not surprised to see Clay Long mentioned, though.

[tangojay]

So, Tiger [b]USED [/b] a Cameron at one time uh?

I know, cheap shot,,,, come on,how many thought the same thing?

[jyork1133]

+1
[quote name='502 to Right' timestamp='1332291067' post='4546592']
[quote name='lightrider' timestamp='1115486881' post='3411']
Elin Nordegren, a.k.a. Mrs. Tiger Woods, also drops by. Her husband has used one of Cameron's putters in each of his 43 PGA Tour victories, and she has joined the converted.

"Thanks for my putter, Scotty," she says. "I love it."

[/quote]


So Elin did get the putter in the divorce!
[/quote]

[jyork1133]

i'm one of these cameron crazies

[dplevin]

This just annoys me. The putters look great and some people like their feel, but "Scotty" Cameron has ripped off so many business partners. I don't like the way that this article glorifies him as a person, but that's just my .02 and conscience getting to me.

[newportbeach]

If only one day we could read the tell all book about all that went on in the putter making world.

[lsu_justin]

What was the point of bumping a thread from 2005