My Golf Equipment Business Background

Some of my readers have asked me to tell some stories here at my blog about my experiences in the golf equipment industry. I think the best way for me to do that is to copy some excerpts from my new novel, LOVE WAS NOT ENOUGH, into this blog.

The very first hardback copies of my book were just released last week, and one of the first people to whom I mailed a copy was to Arnold Palmer. Please see the photos, one with the inscription to Mr. Palmer:

October, 1992

I drove to Seattle, Washington by myself on Wednesday to the GTE Western Classic. I brought a total of ten of the Probe 20/20 putters with me, several each of the three different weights we made it in. On Thursday, a practice day for the Senior Tour pros, the first pro I saw on the putting green was Arnold Palmer. I walked through the ropes surrounding the green, holding back over 500 viewers, and went to Arnie.

"Hey, Arnie, mind if I show you something new?"

"What do you have, Pete?"

"We invented a new putter that has the thin end of the shaft in the grip, and the fatter, heavier end in the head. It gives you a pure pendulum stroke each and every time and keeps the putter head moving toward the hole."

"Let me try it."

I handed the #3 Probe putter to Arnie, explaining it was the lightest one.

"It's pretty heavy!"

"It's made that way to keep any jerkiness out of the stroke"

Arnie stroked a ten foot putt uphill and it went right in the center of the hole.

"It feels pretty nice."

"Now try this one. It is 50 grams heavier."

"It feels even better."

"We found the heavier putters give you more control on faster greens. Now try this one. It's the heaviest model at 450 grams in the head."

"I think I like this one the best."

"Let me show you something I incorporated into the putter."

I placed the ball about three feet from the hole, with a slope from left to right.

"Arnie, this putt normally breaks from left to right about three inches. With any other putter, you'd have to aim outside the hole to the left and hope you hit it the proper speed so it breaks three inches and you make the putt. But with this putter, you can hit the ball with the mark at the heel, and it will put left-hand spin on the ball, reducing the break to the right so you can aim the ball at the inside of the left side of the hole and it will only break about an inch. The putter actually straightens out the putt and you make it without aiming outside the hole."

Arnie tried it and the ball went into the center of the hole. "That's amazing!"

Now put the ball on the other side of the hole, so the putt will normally break about three inches from right to left. Then aim the putt inside the right side of the hole and hit the ball off the mark on the toe of the putter. The putter will put right-hand spin on the ball and the putt will only break about an inch, into the center of the hole."

Arnie tried the putt, placing the ball off the toe of the putter and the ball went into the center of the hole.

"Whoa, that is nice. So I can hit short breaking putts off the toe or heel when appropriate, and take the break out of the putt?"

"Exactly. You can take the guesswork out of making short breaking putts."

"OK, may I take this putter out for a practice round right now?"

"Of course, but let me show you one more thing you can do with this putter."

"There's more?"

"Yep."

To be continued.......