Article about Byron Morgan

[def]

Local O.C. Paper...

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/morgan-...726650-golf-one

[superfaced]

Great find! Since finding this website I've learned a lot more about the independent club makers and have an ever growing interest in reading and learning more about them. I thought it was all big brands / imitation brands before golfwrx.

[jas904]

Cool article, wish it were longer. I am getting really close to pulling the trigger on one of these.

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Here is the text from the story:

 

A golfer's relationship with the putter is tighter than any bond between human and tool.

 

Golfers care for their putters. Love their putters. It's the one club they'll use the most on the course.

 

To Byron Morgan of Huntington Beach, the putter is a passion and a paycheck.

 

Like an obsessed baseball card collector, Morgan, 55, spends much of his time alone, in a small shop in a commercial building in Huntington Beach. Ten hours a day, six days a week, Morgan creates, by hand, a line of Byron Morgan putters.

 

Inside his shop, there is an entire room dedicated to putting, with a faux putting green in the middle of the room and dozens of collectible and rusty antique putters lining the walls.

 

The back room is where the putters are made. During every step of the assembly process, Morgan touches the putter. He paints, shines, assembles and even ships the putters out to his customers.

 

The only thing Morgan doesn't do is carve the putters. He hires an outside contractor with a big milling machine to do the precision carving.

 

Modeled after the popular Ping putters, Morgan's putter designs are simple, enhanced with hypnotic face milling designs inspired by the "Twilight Zone" and a design he calls "Spruce Goose," which replicates the texture of the famous plane's dashboard.

 

Morgan sells most of his putters to golf stores in Japan. The main reason he can't sell in the U.S.? He doesn't have the advertising or marketing dollars to make his name known to golf retail chains like Roger Dunn, or even Big 5.

 

Independent putter makers are a rare breed these days. We're lucky to have people like Morgan, who still handcrafts a simple club meant to tap a small ball into a small hole.

 

SqueezeOC visited Morgan at his shop, where we kicked back and talked about all things golf.

 

SqueezeOC: If you were trapped on a deserted island that had a championship golf course on it, what putter would you like to see wash up on the beach?

 

Morgan: A George Low Sportsman. It's the rarest of all putters. Every putter collector in his life has wanted one. There's so few in the world that the ones that were found are in putter collections. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding one.

 

SqOC: Do you design a putter a day? Are you always coming up with new ideas?

 

Morgan: If you make a different putter every day of the week, you can't sell them. I already don't sell very many putters, maybe 20-30 a month. My Japanese customers tell me exactly how they want it. They know their customers more than I do.

 

SqOC: Your putters have such a sleek and simple design. Why don't you experiment with goofy designs?

 

Morgan: Because nobody uses them. When I go out on a tour or go to a regular golf course, I don't see very many of those putters used. I've never seen a pro on tour use that stuff.

 

SqOC: Do you have any interests outside of golf?

 

Morgan: I've got two kids. I was the coach of my son's Little League team. My daughter was into ballet, so I spent a lot of time going to ballets and I learned to love classical music.

 

Probably like most parents these days, I learned to love what my kids love. My kids are grown up. They're 20 and 25 (years old).

 

SqOC: Who else buys your clubs besides the Japanese retailers?

 

Morgan: Collectors. Thank God for the golf club collectors. They're not the guy who has one putter and that's the only one they have and need. They have room in their hearts to have a hundred putters and they're proud of them all.

 

SqOC: I Googled your name today and the only thing I found was a Byron Morgan who shot a hole in one at Los Lagos in Costa Mesa. Was that you?

 

Morgan: That was me. And I had the best witness in the world – my pastor at my church, Gary Watkins.

 

I love my 007 Byron putters.

 

Hey Steve, can you post a pic of the SPRUCE GOOSE face?

[Z-Man]

Not yet.. I can`t show the milling without showing the putter.

[choeppner]

Very nice article :rolleyes: Thanks for sharing :D

 

Steve...Does this mean something new and special is in the works :D:);):)

 

-CHRIS-

[Z-Man]

Yes it does.

[PurePursuit]

There is just something special about a Byron, the feel of my 007 in SS is just so pure and deep. Wish he could get some more exposure, he deserves it.

[silliwilli]

turfsurfer??????

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So Steve, how long do we hae to wait? Here is the cockpit photo of the Spruce Goose:

[Big Ben]

Byron's putters are instruments; balanced extremely well. I'm a big fan and look forward to acquiring a few more as these special models present themselves.

[Z-Man]

Ok guys this is The Spruce Goose Milling pattern. No its not going on the new putters this was used on the MNX putters

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I like it.

[choeppner]

I like that :) That should be offered as an option as well as the twilight milling :black eye:

[pitbull808]

Ok guys this is The Spruce Goose Milling pattern. No its not going on the new putters this was used on the MNX putters

 

 

Steve..that picture doesn't do any justice to that milling pattern. I've had a few of the old John Byrons with that milling and have always considered it super examples of his past work that not many people have seen or heard about. If I remember correctly, I had one that was stainless with the copper insert milled out like that as well.

[drewspin]

Also used on the X-11 export version of the Dale Head 11.

[Z-Man]

I think used it on quite a few putters in the early 2000`s. This copper putter is hard to photograph but here are a couple more pictures.