Scotty and his TOUR friends

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Aug. 13, 2008
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor

Scotty Cameron works with many of the PGA TOUR's top players, listening to them and helping them get maximum production out of their Titleist putters. Here are a few tidbits focusing on the pros:

COLLECTING CAMERONS

Not only does Davis Love III is one of Scotty Cameron's faithful clients -- using a prototype Cameron putter with four degrees loft and D-2 swingweight -- but Love is also a collector of Cameron's putters.

Davis Love III
Lecka/Getty Images
Davis Love III has used a Cameron putter for many years.

"I've paid over $1,000 for putters," Love said. "I'm caught up with it, too. I'm buying Brad Faxon's and Ben Curtis' and David Duval's. I can't afford Tiger's. Too expensive. They'll go 8, 10, 12,000 bucks. They had one set they were trying to get $29,000 for the set of four of them or something."

Love knows that since Cameron doesn't flood the market with his putters, the value of each one is enhanced, especially the limited-edition ones that are produced -- one of which was inspired by Love himself in 2003.

"Type in Scotty Cameron on eBay," Love said. "You'll be shocked. Shocked. There'll be sometimes over 1,000 items."

TOO MUCH GLARE FOR JUSTIN

Earlier this year, Justin Leonard called Cameron to see if something could be done about the shadow of the chrome shaft that was proving to be a distraction at certain times when Leonard was setting up to putt.

So to get rid of the glare, Cameron made Leonard a new putter with a black-chrome shaft.

A few weeks later, Leonard ended up winning the Stanford St. Jude Classic in a playoff when he holed a 19-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole to defeat Trevor Immelman and Robert Allenby.

THE SAUERS IMPACT

Gene Sauers, a multiple winner on the PGA TOUR in the late 1980s who also received the 2002 Comeback Player of the Year award after he won the Air Canada Championship that season, played a part in Cameron's growth as a putter maker with Titleist.

"In 1990-91, Gene Sauers came to me," Cameron recalled, "and said, 'I've been using your putter for awhile. I set up with a forward press. At impact, do I continue with the forward press or does the shaft get to 90 degrees?' Then he says, if I have a forward press through impact, do I need more loft? By the way, what loft do I need? By the way, what loft is optimal?'

"Well, how do you answer that? So the ideal was, with Titleist and Wally Uihlein (chairman and CEO of parent company Achushnet), to set up this putting deal, to understand shaft angle and ball performance."

ON A NEED TO KNOW BASIS

In terms of players who work with Cameron, Brad Faxon is a player who wants to know everything, who wants to tinker, who's a putting geek, if you will. Steve Elkington is the same way. Mark O'Meara too. And Cameron recalled that Andy Bean and Nick Price also like to tinker with their putters.

Other players are just the opposite. Take Davis Love III. He doesn't need to spend a lot of time discussing the intimate details of his putting stroke to know what needs improvement.

"I don't think he wants to think that much," Cameron said. "He's fantastic in his ability to see it, understand it and fix it within one putt. Tiger's the same way. He can hit one putt and he knows if it's on or if it's off.

"Everybody's different. You have the guys that come in and say, 'I don't want to see or listen to any of this. Just tell me if it works.' Then you have the other guys who are the techno guys, who want to know about every angle, every shaft flex. You handle each guy in a different manner."

PGATOUR.COM's Helen Ross contributed to this report.

2008 WINS

The list of wins in which the champion used a Scotty Cameron putter:

Wins this year in which the champion used a Scotty Cameron putter
PGA TOUR (17 wins)
Player Event
D.J. Trahan Bob Hope Chrysler Classic
Tiger Woods Buick Invitational
Tiger Woods World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play
Tiger Woods Arnold Palmer Invitational
Geoff Ogilvy World Golf Championships-CA Championship
Greg Kraft Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular
Johnson Wagner Shell Houston Open
Trevor Immelman Masters Tournament
Adam Scott EDS Byron Nelson Championship
Anthony Kim Wachovia Championship
Sergio Garcia THE PLAYERS Championship
Ryuji Imada AT&T Classic
Justin Leonard Stanford St. Jude Championship
Tiger Woods U.S. Open
Anthony Kim AT&T National
Richard S. Johnson U.S. Bank Championship
Chez Reavie RBC Canadian Open
Champions Tour (6 wins)
Jerry Pate Turtle Bay Classic
Scott Hoch Allianz Championship
Scott Hoch The ACE Group Classic
Jay Haas Senior PGA Championship
Jay Haas Principal Charity Classic
Jeff Sluman Bank of America Championship
Nationwide Tour (11 wins)
Scott Dunlap Panama Movistar Championship
Jarrod Lyle Mexico Open presented by Corona
Darron Stiles HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship
Bryan DeCorso South Georgia Classic
Colt Knost Forst Smith Classic presented by Stephens Inc.
Jeff Klauk Melwood Prince George's County Open
Scott Gutschewski The Rex Hospital Open
Jarrod Lyle Knoxville Open presented by Food City
Justin Hicks Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung
Rick Price Nationwide Tour Players Cup
Colt Knost Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper
Cameron guys
A list of some of the pro players who use Cameron putters
Titleist players
Ben Curtis Ross Fisher Jay Haas
Ryuji Imada Robert Karlsson Martin Kaymer
Greg Kraft Davis Love III George McNeill
John Merrick Geoff Ogilvy Tom Pernice Jr.
Chez Reavie Adam Scott Nicholas Thompson
Camilo Villegas Johnson Wagner  
Additional Cameron putter players
Woody Austin Aaron Baddeley Rich Beem
Jonathan Byrd Chad Campbell Jim Furyk
Sergio Garcia Trevor Immelman Richard S. Johnson
Jerry Kelly Anthony Kim Pablo Larrazabal
Tom Lehman Justin Leonard Colin Montgomerie
Rod Pampling Corey Pavin Jeev Milkha Singh
Scott Strange D.J. Trahan Tiger Woods
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