Made two putters and named them after my dog and cat.

[twholbrook]

So, I made two putters and my wife convinced me to name them after the pets.

 

The first, Bogey, is a face balanced blade. I liked the look of some of the older pintail blades I’ve seen and decided to try my own. 70 degree lie angle, 3.5 degree loft, 360g head weight. I truthfully don’t really vibe with face balanced putters but I just wanted to see if I could make one face balanced. I know engraving BOGEY on a putter is a risky idea but honestly, I’m not that good, and it’s not that serious. And he’s a good boy.

 

The second, Sequoia, was a result of lots of daydreaming. Idea was to make a more forgiving blade, something like a Scotty Squareback with higher MOI. But I also wanted to experiment with materials to get it softer or harder, louder or quieter, etc. I originally started with the idea of making a copper head but abandoned that when I realized it would be too soft and the neck would bend easily. Then I moved onto brass but gave up on that when I realized it wouldn’t work well with welding a neck on. So I ended up using SUS 303 and making a cavity for interchangeable inserts. As of now I’ve got (2) brass inserts with different milling patterns, and (2) copper inserts. I also have a 3D printed insert. I’ll experiment to see what I like. Same specs as above roughly, with some variability in the head weight depending on insert choice. There’s some machining errors, specifically the insert pocket, but it should still be absolutely functional and invisible at address. 

 

The necks were both welded for me by a friend who is an extremely good putter craftsman in his own right. He can be found on instagram @_hudson_made but DM me if you want his contact. He’s awesome. I’ve shared his work here before and I think a few folks have bought from him. 
 

Finally, here’s the critter tax: https://imgur.com/a/By0xRQ4/

 

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by twholbrook
Fixed link

[MattM97]

Those are cool, the paw marks on the face you gotta hit the sweet spot to avoid those lol. 

[jholz]

Not my style, but nice looking work.

[twholbrook]

38 minutes ago, MattM97 said:

Those are cool, the paw marks on the face you gotta hit the sweet spot to avoid those lol. 

Hah, I considered that! I made sure to make the cuts shallow enough that they wouldnt affect the impact on a ball. Though time will tell I guess.

[MattM97]

Just now, twholbrook said:

Hah, I considered that! I made sure to make the cuts shallow enough that they wouldnt affect the impact on a ball. Though time will tell I guess.

 

If it was me I'd put them along the bottom of the face but your putter and your design it's definitely unique and cool.

[mogc60]

Those are really cool. Great job those really turned out sharp and you should be proud of those. Awesome personalization too

[5hort5tuff]

And how exactly did you make these? They are really good for "amateur" work imo

Edited May 10, 2023 by 5hort5tuff

[twholbrook]

3 hours ago, 5hort5tuff said:

And how exactly did you make these? They are really good for "amateur" work imo

Thanks! I’m a mechanical engineer by day but learned to use my works CNC (for work) and milled these out of blocks of stainless steel. I attached some progress photos here in case you want to see behind the curtain. 

[jacot23]

Cool and great job. I really, really, really like that 1st one.

[TracyS]

Wow! Great work! These are amazing!

[joostin]

Awesome designs and fabrication (and photography)! 👍 Esp. like the CNC engravings and flange milling.  Curious how you clamped/fixtured the pieces to machine the leftover stock material - sole on Bogey and face on Sequoia?

 

I used to design in SolidWorks and program in GibbsCAM, but couldn't machine anything for personal use, and those CNCs moved away... so a bit jealous, but inspired.  One day I'll have at least one original design, like the one in my avatar, made on CNC.

 

Hope they roll as good as they look!

[twholbrook]

On 5/20/2023 at 8:27 AM, joostin said:

Awesome designs and fabrication (and photography)! 👍 Esp. like the CNC engravings and flange milling.  Curious how you clamped/fixtured the pieces to machine the leftover stock material - sole on Bogey and face on Sequoia?

 

I used to design in SolidWorks and program in GibbsCAM, but couldn't machine anything for personal use, and those CNCs moved away... so a bit jealous, but inspired.  One day I'll have at least one original design, like the one in my avatar, made on CNC.

 

Hope they roll as good as they look!

You can sort of see it in some of the photos. Basically I always do the face last (because its on a tricky angle (3-4deg). So I try to do everything with square setups so I can clamp it along the way. The first one I milled some small aluminum pieces to hold it at 4deg when clamped. The second one I made a 3D print of the inverse of it to hold it at 4deg and that worked a lot better - was able to clamp more material in and speed up the cutting passes (pretty slow on SUS).

[joostin]

On 5/25/2023 at 9:45 AM, twholbrook said:

You can sort of see it in some of the photos. Basically I always do the face last (because its on a tricky angle (3-4deg). So I try to do everything with square setups so I can clamp it along the way. The first one I milled some small aluminum pieces to hold it at 4deg when clamped. The second one I made a 3D print of the inverse of it to hold it at 4deg and that worked a lot better - was able to clamp more material in and speed up the cutting passes (pretty slow on SUS).

I was thinking it's possible to mill or cast an inverse mold of the head as a holder, but didn't think 3D print.  Nice work 👌 

[Billy_shears]

Wow those are sweet! Good job man. I like the second one the best. Super cool to see parts of the milling process too 

[Phireside]

Beautiful!

 

To name your dog Bogey is one thing, but to call your putter Bogey, is risky business.