Friday, December 14, 2007

SMT Golf and The United States Golf Academy join forces for Limited Edition putter

Oswego, Illinois - SMT Golf is proud to announce the result of many months of close collaboration with The United States Golf Academy in Plymouth Indiana with their first entry into the putter market. The 2008 Inaugural Edition - 1500 piece limited edition model putter. SMT Golf has been working with United States Golf Academy Director of Golf, Pat Bayley and Director of Instruction, Bruce Rearick, not only to put together a fantastic opening entry into the putter market, but to assemble a completely unique total golf package to help golfers long term enjoyment of the game through education and customer service. SMT Golf owner and award winning clubhead designer Mike Tait had this to say about their new Inaugural Edition Putter. "We were all quite aware of just how special this project was right from the very start. It is very rare to get a bunch of guys in the room and immediately see that the goal for this putter was what we could do for the golfer and what would be best for them, instead of looking at it through the bank account" Tait went on to say "This putter is the first of several planned, and to make this one even more special, we limited the production numbers to only 1500 numbered pieces worldwide. This putter comes with a complete package for the golfer but perhaps the most important thing, is that the first 1500 customers will be the first members invited to the next offering which will include something quite spectacular for each of these special guests". Tait concluded, "Certainly we are aware that there is plenty of competition out there for the golfer's hard earned money, we wanted each customer to be a special part of a rather small club, to offer overall value and to service their needs like no other company has ever even attempted before. It is about so much more than just selling putters for us. It is about helping golfers to play and enjoy playing the game of golf again". Bruce Rearick, Director of Instruction at the United States Golf Academy adds, "The challenge was to create a putter that everyone could use successfully. The Inaugural Edition has very little bias, either perceived or actual, in weight or balance. This was conceived by using what we have found during thousands of fitting sessions with golfers of all skill levels at the Academy, and achieved by using a slightly different neck design than found on a traditional putter head. Because of this design feature, and others, we have created a putter that swings away from the ball without influence and has more stability at impact, creating less torsion on the shaft, resulting in a consistently solid feel and sound". Each putter comes with SMT Golf's famous 100% Lifetime Warranty and matching headcover, as well as complete customer value package valued at well over $1,000.00 per putter. For more information on the Inaugural Edition Putter, or to reserve your own custom putter, call SMT Golf at 888-693-4001 today. Dealer inquiries welcome. To participate in discussion on this and other topics, check out the SMT Discussion Forum from the SMT Golf website at www.smtgolf.com SMT Golf, The Winningest Component Company In The History Of Golf, and the first and only company to win each division of the RE/Max World Long Drive Championship, and the "Longest driver on any PGA Tour", built its reputation on the highest quality products with unsurpassed performance and durability. SMT drivers, hybrids, irons, and wedges are designed for golfers of all skill levels who expect the most out of their golf clubs. SMT Golf is based in Oswego, Illinois. For more information about SMT Golf or their great lineup of products available for 2007, visit their website at www.SMTGolf.com

Sight Lines on Putters

The United States Golf Academy and SMT Golf have recently combined in a joint venture to produce a limited edition putter. One of the goals of the joint venture between the Academy is to provide our customers access to all of the information we used in our design decisions for the Inaugural Putter. We have no secrets. You will never have to guess how we percieve a problem. SMT operates that way and so do we. None of us were interested in providing information just for marketing sake.

Our goal is help you putt better!!!!!

Every marketer in the world would tell us to put all kinds of "alignment aids" on our first offering. That is the current marketing sizzle. Unfortunately, if we are true to our word and we want to help you putt better, that might not be the way to go.
The following is a summary of why there are no sightlines on the Inaugural Edition Putter.
1. Everyone sees differently. Anyone who ever tried to hang a picture with more than one person in the room knows what I am talking about.
2. In putting everyone perceives the target differently. For example if I have trouble seeing straight lines, trying to use a linear strategy, line on ball, lines on putter, every putt is straight mentality, might cause more problems than offer solutions. If you are linear and you use a line on the ball, you probably don't need too much else. especially if...
3. Sight lines on putter do not always point the same direction as a perpendicular line from the face. Take a 2X4 and set it on the ground. Take your putter and square the face to the end of the board. Look at your alignment aid. Is it pointed in the right direction? You would be shocked how many are not and it really doesn't matter if it is or not. How it looks to you is all that matters.
4. The loft of the putter has some influence on this visual as well. With the face on the 2 X 4 move the shaft toward the target and away, keeping the face in the same position relative to the board. Does the line appear to change directions? Some designs are better than others, but more often than not this adds to the visual confusion. At the Academy we use Puttlab to see the change to 1/10 of a degree but if you can't come see us, this drill helps answer the question why changing a putter will often change a players position at address, especially where you play the ball in your stance and positon of hands at address. This makes customization difficult.
5. Every time you try something new you add a layer of information to your putting strategy. This gets complicated, but suffice to say for now that the more layers the more confusion, so much so that you are never quite sure when you get over a putt exactly what stroke you are going to use. Elimination of an incorrect visual reference helps strip away some of these layers. (see 6)
6. If your sight line is wrong and you use it as a crutch you can never be sure of your stroke. Was it Skill or Luck?
And how about the people who aim one way, hit the ball another direction and are absolutely some of the best in the world. Always consistent never perfect.
For the first putter we wanted to be as pure and simple as we could. By eliminating the sight line on this one we eliminate most of the problems listed above. The less visual confusion we can create, the more we can help you determine your own best aim and ailgnment strategy, NOT THE ONE WE THINK YOU NEED!
Finally and maybe most important. When helping our students at the Academy, taking the sight lines away, worked faster than any other suggestion. By far.
I guess this post could have been a little shorter.