MACHINE Putters Picture Thread

[underpargolf]

Whoa...... I want one and im going to need a link or phone number to get one.

[whatshannenin]

Hey Everyone,

 

Please see attached sneak peek photos of our new Thread Mill Grooves! (TMG for short).

 

The first photo shows four Prototype M2A Converters featuring the current range of Thread Mill Grooves that we have developed. We are using CNC machine tooling that is used to cut threads in bolts and screws, and using it in a new way to custom mill grooves in the faces of our putters, with exceptional precision and control through CAD CAM design, programming and machining. With these putters, the grooves will be custom cut to order!

 

These first four Proto Test putters start with TMG-20 (with a "Pitch" of 20 grooves per inch ) on the far left, followed by 24, 28 and 32 grooves per inch on the far right. These extremely precise, double-milled straight grooves produce a really remarkable sound, feel and roll. The optional pitch rate provides a softer feel and more bite from the deeper wider grooves shown to the left, to a firmer more responsive feel towards the right with the shallower, more closely spaced grooves.

 

The second photo below shows the new Thread Mill Groove up close on an Experimental M2A Converter head with a new custom triple milled Seismic Wave pattern and new Thread Mill Grooves. This is a combination of milling procedures, tools and machines. We start with a CNC shell milled face, follow that with a hand milling technique on the Bridgeport mill, followed by the Thread Mill Groove cut back on the CNC mill. What do you think?

 

As far as I know, we're the very first to offer this type of custom option for the pitch, or number of grooves per inch. And you saw it here first!

 

We will be testing these with players here, at the local Hank Haney Golf locations, at Cool Clubs and some other select authorized fitters around the country, and on Tour as soon as we get USGA approval. Designed for anyone interested in improved sound and feel, and an exceptional true and precise roll on their ball. :)

 

Chris and I will be posting more photos over the weekend. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments!

 

Thanks for your interest.

 

All the best,

 

-Dave

 

 

 

Nice!!!! Can't wait to compare to the VMG!

[choeppner]

[quote name='underpargolf' timestamp='1327118903' post='4128403']
Whoa...... I want one and im going to need a link or phone number to get one.
[/quote]

PM Sent

[Thaddy]

Crap! I wish I would have waited a few weeks before placing my order. Those new grooves look awesome Dave! Are you trying to improve on the VMG design or just adding an alternative? Whatever the answer is, I love how Machine is all about putters that perform, yet still make them look totally bad a**

[hebron1427]

TMG looks really cool Dave. Hope you guys are filing the IP on this. I can think of a few options. Great stuff from a very innovative company.

[javierruis]

This is fantastic!!! How does the sound change the more grooves that are added. Is the sound more muted or audible? Thank you!!!

[DB MACHINE]

[quote name='Thaddy' timestamp='1327195755' post='4132101']
Crap! I wish I would have waited a few weeks before placing my order. Those new grooves look awesome Dave! Are you trying to improve on the VMG design or just adding an alternative? Whatever the answer is, I love how Machine is all about putters that perform, yet still make them look totally bad a**
[/quote]

Hi Z! If you want the new grooves, I think we can still make them for you. Just understand I can't guarantee we'll get a quick review for these for conformance decision... Send Chris or I an email if you want to discuss more.

We're doing this in an effort to continue to offer more and more options for our customers and players, and separate ourselves from the OTR competition. Personally, I find that more good players and collectors are really interested in the more subjective aspects of feel, in addition to performance, quality and appearance, etc. By offering different pitch options for grooves per inch, we are quantifying the components of sound and feel, so that players can better choose what they want and are looking for. Hope that makes sense!


Thanks for the very kind comments, and all of your support!


[quote name='hebron1427' timestamp='1327201064' post='4132535']
TMG looks really cool Dave. Hope you guys are filing the IP on this. I can think of a few options. Great stuff from a very innovative company.
[/quote]


Thanks J!

[quote name='javierruis' timestamp='1327201886' post='4132603']
This is fantastic!!! How does the sound change the more grooves that are added. Is the sound more muted or audible? Thank you!!!
[/quote]

Thanks Javier!

Yes the sound does change. The fewer the grooves per inch, the less surface area contacting the ball, and the softer feel / sound. The more grooves, the more surface area, and the more you hear and feel the ball on the face.

We're milling them in different materials and on different heads, and will keep posting about the differences from one to another.

Thanks again for all the interest and positive comments!

-Dave

[SwingBlues]

Wow. This is a stunning development from MACHINE. No one in the industry are offering these grooves, let alone offering a groove that can even compete with the VMG roll.

TMG, the evil brother to VMG.
All that needs to be done now is an interchangeable groove face

[TRoc9892]

Just a theory, but if you were to angle those grooves upwards, wouldn't they grab the ball even more and produce a better roll? Like the face of a manual razor held upside down. I'm not sure what contact would be like but if you hit a golf ball with an upside down razor while it was ascending, would the grab be better?

[DB MACHINE]

[quote name='SwingBlues' timestamp='1327356801' post='4141633']
Wow. This is a stunning development from MACHINE. No one in the industry are offering these grooves, let alone offering a groove that can even compete with the VMG roll.

TMG, the evil brother to VMG.
All that needs to be done now is an interchangeable groove face
[/quote]


Thanks Alby! TMG is not evil! Maybe more like Racer X. lol

We did an interchangeable loft face many years ago with a few different versions of the HOG. We even had a white face (Coors Cerasports ceramic) with a dark charcoal head, and had machine screws, and an advanced elastomer insert sandwhiched in between. That was 1995 or 1996 I believe . Really nice contrast between the green, white face and dark head, and a real aid to alignment. What's old is new again! lol Maybe I'll tinker with a modern MACHINE version someday.

[quote name='TRoc9892' timestamp='1327363530' post='4142175']
Just a theory, but if you were to angle those grooves upwards, wouldn't they grab the ball even more and produce a better roll? Like the face of a manual razor held upside down. I'm not sure what contact would be like but if you hit a golf ball with an upside down razor while it was ascending, would the grab be better?
[/quote]


Thanks. Upward angled grooves have been used in other completive products such as Rife and Yes! With a lot of success, which I really respect and happily acknowledge.

I once made some experimental grooves for Hank Haney to test (an early version of the Aggressive VMG), and he called me from the course and said the ball was sticking to the face! lol I swore it wasn't, but he swore it was. Probably he was just sensing the added dwell time. The USGA also have a limit to sharpness of the grooves, so you can't get too sharp.

And in my opinion, there is a point where if you make the grooves too sharp, you start to see diminishing returns. Too much friction, too much "bite" into the ball, and perhaps forward lift and roll improves (especially on really fast greens and short putts), but at certain a point you start to loose the feel of the ball contact on the face. At that point you don't get as much feedback, or energy transfer, you start to lose distance and distance control. And we all have our own opinions on what feels good to us. So that's another reason why we believe having the choice of more or less grooves makes sense as a new custom option. It really does relate to both performance, and feel.

Thanks again for all the interest and comments!

All the best,

-Dave

[rymail00]

[quote name='DB MACHINE' timestamp='1327367269' post='4142555']
[quote name='SwingBlues' timestamp='1327356801' post='4141633']
Wow. This is a stunning development from MACHINE. No one in the industry are offering these grooves, let alone offering a groove that can even compete with the VMG roll.

TMG, the evil brother to VMG.
All that needs to be done now is an interchangeable groove face
[/quote]


Thanks Alby! TMG is not evil! Maybe more like Racer X. lol

We did an interchangeable loft face many years ago with a few different versions of the HOG. We even had a white face (Coors Cerasports ceramic) with a dark charcoal head, and had machine screws, and an advanced elastomer insert sandwhiched in between. That was 1995 or 1996 I believe . Really nice contrast between the green, white face and dark head, and a real aid to alignment. What's old is new again! lol Maybe I'll tinker with a modern MACHINE version someday.

[quote name='TRoc9892' timestamp='1327363530' post='4142175']
Just a theory, but if you were to angle those grooves upwards, wouldn't they grab the ball even more and produce a better roll? Like the face of a manual razor held upside down. I'm not sure what contact would be like but if you hit a golf ball with an upside down razor while it was ascending, would the grab be better?
[/quote]


Thanks. Upward angled grooves have been used in other completive products such as Rife and Yes! With a lot of success, which I really respect and happily acknowledge.

I once made some experimental grooves for Hank Haney to test (an early version of the Aggressive VMG), and he called me from the course and said the ball was sticking to the face! lol I swore it wasn't, but he swore it was. Probably he was just sensing the added dwell time. The USGA also have a limit to sharpness of the grooves, so you can't get too sharp.

And in my opinion, there is a point where if you make the grooves too sharp, you start to see diminishing returns. Too much friction, too much "bite" into the ball, and perhaps forward lift and roll improves (especially on really fast greens and short putts), but at certain a point you start to loose the feel of the ball contact on the face. At that point you don't get as much feedback, or energy transfer, you start to lose distance and distance control. And we all have our own opinions on what feels good to us. So that's another reason why we believe having the choice of more or less grooves makes sense as a new custom option. It really does relate to both performance, and feel.

Thanks again for all the interest and comments!

All the best,

-Dave
[/quote]

I always wonder that about top spin. Good explanation.

[choeppner]

Hey Guys,

 

I thought it would be neat to show you part of the process we use to mill our new Thread Mill Grooves :)

 

The Thread Mill Grooves are all milled in house on our new Haas CNC machining center.

 

We have dedicated fixtures for each of our head designs that hold them in the Kurt vises in the Haas. This way, we can make and hold an inventory of complete “naked” heads, and then mill the TMG and Alignment mark option choices to order, and then build and ship them quickly!

 

This will be a new custom option for our online store, and will help us achieve our goals of delivering custom “OTM” (Off The Mill) putters quickly and efficiently. Instead of the competitors “OTR” (Off The Rack), ours will be configured by the customer, and then customized by us. Other OTM options include custom engraving and of course all the other head, neck, flange, weight and sightline options.

 

Enjoy :)

 

-Chris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DB MACHINE]

Hey Everyone,

Here's a photo of a custom MACHINE Garage putter work in progress that is almost completed and ready to go to its new home.

This custom M1A Adjuster is milled from 1018 carbon steel with a "flush cavity" design, with hand ground melted and polished bumpers, hand hammered peening on the shoulders and a custom alphabet soup stampings on the sole. The Garage has a 1018 carbon Hand Bent Disco Ball hosel, and Etched Damascus logo medallion. The head and hosel were blued in-house with our Hot Salts Gunmetal Blue finish.

More photos of this, and some other new putters tomorrow! Hope you enjoy.

Thanks,

-Dave

[attachment=996273:MP_M1A_J_Catlett_WIP_15c.jpg]

[sethg]

How do the range of new threaded mill grooves compare to your VMG grooves in terms of roll?

[choeppner]

[quote name='sethg' timestamp='1327465847' post='4148375']
How do the range of new threaded mill grooves compare to your VMG grooves in terms of roll?
[/quote]
Hello,

Talked to Dave, and here is what he had to say:

From my own preliminary testing, I would say the Aggressive VMG milling probably fits between the TMG-24 and TMG-20, and the old original VMG feels closer to the TMG -28. The TMG-20 feels softer than Aggressive VMG, and the TMG-32 feels firmer than the original VMG. That's just my initial impression with the first Prototypes, and in 303 stainless. We are cutting some in some other materials, and I'll post photos and some more feedback as we get these into the hands of more players and customers who already have VMG and can give you their personal opinions.

We will also be conducting robotic, high speed video tests here and at some of our fitting partners to try to quantify the roll performance as well. And I'm also working on a Coefficient of Friction chart with our engineering team (Mike and Dave!) . So, more info to come....


Please let me know if this helps.

Thanks

-Chris

[choeppner]

Hey Guys,

 

I hope everyone is having a great day :) I wanted to share some pictures showing the making of some new Damascus Customs :)

 

This first photo shows the most recent shipment of Damascus Billets. The billets in the lower left corner are for M1A heads.

 

 

 

The second photo shows the billets after we “deck and profile” them so they fit perfectly in the vise for the next milling operations.

 

 

 

The third photo shows the heads (two Damascus in front and one 303 stainless in back) after the 3rd milling operation.

 

 

 

The in-hand photos shows the two Damascus heads we are working on.

 

 

 

 

Enjoy :)

 

-Chris

[choeppner]

Hey Guys,

 

I hope everyone is having a great day :) I wanted to share one more picture with you tonight :)

 

Here's a photo of one of the first 5 M10 Prototypes in 1018 Carbon Steel with our Hot Salts Gunmetal Blue finish.

 

The Hosel is our Modular Center Shaft-Over hosel

 

For the Medallion, we went with a Alloy Medallion with a Touring Red Anodized Finish

 

More photos to follow through the Show :)

 

For you South Paws...Left Handed will be following shortly :)

 

Enjoy :)

 

-Chris

 

[Geo]

[quote name='choeppner' timestamp='1327546900' post='4153505']

For you South Paws...Left Handed will be following shortly

[/quote]

Terrible news. Simply tragic. I was so close...SO CLOSE to not needing any more putters. So close, yet...so far.



(can't wait! )

[B-Man]

Just received my DLR Members goody bag. Thanks Dave, Chris and the rest of the gang. Much appreciated. Looking forward to a new weapon this year. The ideas are churning. Did someone say we'll see something for lefties shortly?

[TRoc9892]

[quote name='DB MACHINE' timestamp='1327367269' post='4142555']
[quote name='SwingBlues' timestamp='1327356801' post='4141633']
Wow. This is a stunning development from MACHINE. No one in the industry are offering these grooves, let alone offering a groove that can even compete with the VMG roll.

TMG, the evil brother to VMG.
All that needs to be done now is an interchangeable groove face
[/quote]


Thanks Alby! TMG is not evil! Maybe more like Racer X. lol

We did an interchangeable loft face many years ago with a few different versions of the HOG. We even had a white face (Coors Cerasports ceramic) with a dark charcoal head, and had machine screws, and an advanced elastomer insert sandwhiched in between. That was 1995 or 1996 I believe . Really nice contrast between the green, white face and dark head, and a real aid to alignment. What's old is new again! lol Maybe I'll tinker with a modern MACHINE version someday.

[quote name='TRoc9892' timestamp='1327363530' post='4142175']
Just a theory, but if you were to angle those grooves upwards, wouldn't they grab the ball even more and produce a better roll? Like the face of a manual razor held upside down. I'm not sure what contact would be like but if you hit a golf ball with an upside down razor while it was ascending, would the grab be better?
[/quote]


Thanks. Upward angled grooves have been used in other completive products such as Rife and Yes! With a lot of success, which I really respect and happily acknowledge.

I once made some experimental grooves for Hank Haney to test (an early version of the Aggressive VMG), and he called me from the course and said the ball was sticking to the face! lol I swore it wasn't, but he swore it was. Probably he was just sensing the added dwell time. The USGA also have a limit to sharpness of the grooves, so you can't get too sharp.

And in my opinion, there is a point where if you make the grooves too sharp, you start to see diminishing returns. Too much friction, too much "bite" into the ball, and perhaps forward lift and roll improves (especially on really fast greens and short putts), but at certain a point you start to loose the feel of the ball contact on the face. At that point you don't get as much feedback, or energy transfer, you start to lose distance and distance control. And we all have our own opinions on what feels good to us. So that's another reason why we believe having the choice of more or less grooves makes sense as a new custom option. It really does relate to both performance, and feel.

Thanks again for all the interest and comments!

All the best,

-Dave
[/quote]
Ooh I see. Yea, I've always wondered about that. Makes sense, thanks for explaining it! Good info. And

[choeppner]

[quote name='beruo' timestamp='1327719078' post='4164987']
Terrible news. Simply tragic. I was so close...SO CLOSE to not needing any more putters. So close, yet...so far.



(can't wait! )
[/quote]

George..... There's no such thing as not needing more putters. LOL You have to keep them on thir toes letting them know they can be benched if they act up. LOL

-Chris

[choeppner]

[quote name='B-Man' timestamp='1327978322' post='4182205']
Just received my DLR Members goody bag. Thanks Dave, Chris and the rest of the gang. Much appreciated. Looking forward to a new weapon this year. The ideas are churning. Did someone say we'll see something for lefties shortly?
[/quote]
Glad you got your goody bag

Definitely going to be some really jaw-dropping lefty's this year

Thanks

-Chris

[choeppner]

Hey Guys :)

 

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I wanted to share pics of a MACHINE Random Pattern Damascus that was just finished for a customer :)

 

This MACHINE features a Damascus M1A Adjuster Head with a Damascus Standard Length Plumber Neck. The finish is a special hot sauce Rainbow Nickel treatment with Hot Salts Gunmetal Blue finish :)

 

We look forward to hearing your thoughts :)

 

Thanks in advance

 

-Chris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jodymac]

[size="3"]The Damascus stuff is absolutely stunning!!! They look even better in person.[/size]

[w8liftr]

That is a fantastic looking finish.

[Geo]

Looks REALLY nice. I know the medallions serve some purpose. And given the TIGHT tolerances, look really good, especially with the ability change up appearances and whatnot. But I loves me the classic, non-pill cavity.

[choeppner]

Thanks for the great comments Thought yall would like this one

-Chris

[Thaddy]

Chris, is that plumbers neck half shaft offset? You know I'm a fan of that!

[golfswede]

Guess who's got that one in the bag? Dave, thanks for a fantastic dinner in Orlando and even bigger thanks for an amazing putter. Chris, thanks for all your support during this journey...
Next MACHINE will not be that far away...

Anyone out there looking for the ultimate putter? Don't hesitate, these look incredible live...

[DB MACHINE]

[quote name='golfswede' timestamp='1328426866' post='4216671']
Guess who's got that one in the bag? Dave, thanks for a fantastic dinner in Orlando and even bigger thanks for an amazing putter. Chris, thanks for all your support during this journey...
Next MACHINE will not be that far away...

Anyone out there looking for the ultimate putter? Don't hesitate, these look incredible live...
[/quote]

Jens!

The thanks all go to you! I had a fantastic time, really enjoyed dinner, and look forward to our next get together and outing - hopefully some good golf at a fantastic course somewhere!

I'm thrilled you like your new Damascus putter! I think it's a great combination of "something old, something new" with the custom retro body style choices you made, and and its new, one-of-a-kind finish! I look forward to working on the next project, whenever you are ready! Thanks for all your friendship and support!

All muy best,

-Dave