Bill Vogeney—or “Vog” as he’s known in enthusiast circles—is a long-time Scotty Cameron collector with an extensive collection of rare and hand-crafted putters from Scotty’s early career. From time to time, we will feature articles from Vog in this new series to provide context, history and interesting back-story to Scotty’s evolution as a putter maker.
When Scotty Cameron started making putters by hand (marked Scott Cameron) for the PGA Tour circa 1989, they were made from carbon steel. When he developed his first line of putters for the retail market, they were milled from carbon steel. From 1995 through 2008, most of the putters that Scotty and Titleist produced were from carbon steel, although in 2003 Scotty started using stainless steel extensively in the Studio Style series.
But why? Why did Scotty initially use carbon steel for the tour? Why did he use carbon steel for so long? Why did stainless steel become so commonly used? And why do collectors covet the older carbon steel putters?
Above: Shown above are an early Scott Cameron handmade and a Classic I pre-Titleist model. Both were crafted from carbon steel and finished in black oxide. Carbon steel is relatively soft and was easy to machine into the shape Scotty was looking for early in his career. As Scotty developed putters like the Newport and Laguna, which were inspired by popular designs that were cast heads (and had a much firmer feel as a result), his use of carbon steel offered tour players the softer feel and improved performance on faster greens they needed.
Above: Shown above is an early Cameron Golf International brochure from 1993 that refers to his use of soft carbon steel.
Above: Early Oil Can
Above: Pro Platinum
Above: Chromatic Blue
Above: Black Pearl
Above: Black Star
Above: Copper plating
Above: Tour Oil Can
Above: Shown above are a wide variety of carbon steel putters in different finishes. In addition to the soft feel offered by carbon steel, it also happens to be very adaptable to the finishes Scotty developed. Over the years, Scotty has plated carbon steel with copper and nickel to produce different looks. Scotty also used different processes to give the metal a more matte finish, along with the legendary oil can finish, patina finish, tour oil can and chromatic blue.
Above: Shown above are four different Studio Design Tour Prototypes made from carbon steel. Scotty’s use of carbon steel continued through the 2000s with his Studio Design and Circa '62 lines. The Studio Design models were Scotty’s nod to the start of his career and his early Scott Cameron handmade models and early Titleist designs like the Coronado. Carbon steel and these OG looks just go together like peanut butter and jelly!
Even as a fan of carbon steel, it’s not that hard for me to understand why it was eventually phased out of Scotty’s lineup. When the world’s former #1 player so successfully used a Cameron putter made from stainless steel, there was a lot of consumer and collector interest in stainless steel construction. Stainless steel also facilitated the use of interchangeable weights in Scotty’s putters. As a long-time golf collector (I started collecting classic golf clubs over 40 years ago), I’ve seen how putter design has changed as green speeds have increased; in general, putters have become shorter and heavier to compensate. It became very important to have different head weights, and interchangeable weights were the way to go. Carbon steel, which can rust if not taken care of, was not the ideal material to use for a putter head with weights that screw into the head. I suppose the preventive maintenance needed for carbon steel made stainless steel a better option for many consumers as well.
Above: Shown above are examples of Scotty’s early carbon steel putters with patina—a result of the finish gracefully aging. With all the advantages of stainless steel, why do collectors continue to covet Scotty’s early carbon steel putters? Carbon steel and a black oxide finish will eventually age, regardless of how well the putter is taken care of, if it’s used on a regular basis. In some ways I think collecting cars and putters have something in common, and that’s patina. While there are putter and car collectors who want their collection to be in perfect condition, there are also those who like the originality and authenticity of a finish that has developed some patina. When I use the term authenticity, I refer to a car or a putter that looks like it should considering its age. It also feel that a putter—or a car—shouldn’t look better than it did when new, as what often happens during a restoration. Properly restoring a Porsche 356 doesn’t include using a modern paint process. To my eye, an older Cameron just doesn’t quite look right with a bright, shiny finish. I’d rather see it with the finish that looks like it’s 30 years old. As an aside, check out the “Scotty Dale” 029 above—that was made in 1993 with an experimental hand patina finish that was designed to age faster and create a “crusty” (my term) look like the manganese bronze “Dale Head” putter that inspired it. It never had a shiny black finish.
Above: Shown above are examples of different milling on carbon steel putters. I’ve said for years that the face milling on many early Cameron putters is much like a fingerprint for any of us. No two are the same—putters or fingerprints. Today’s stainless steel putters have deeper, more pronounced milling that helps offset some of the firmer feel inherent with the metal as opposed to carbon steel. Today’s milling technology has also allowed the milling on every Cameron putter to be perfect from club to club. For long-term collectors like me, finding an older carbon steel model with unique milling is part of the thrill of the hunt; believe it or not, I’ve bought putters for my collection based solely on the uniqueness of the face milling.
As a collector and as an avid golfer, I’m excited to know that Scotty and Titleist are bringing back carbon steel in the form of inserts on the new Studio Style lineup in combination with the new chain-link face milling. The classic feel of carbon steel is back as well. Even though I don’t play on the PGA Tour, I often play courses with green speeds closer to PGA Tour standards than public courses. Even though I have countless older putters in carbon steel, the thought of combining Scotty’s modern lines and old school carbon steel has me excited to play these new putters (and stash away a few in the golf room for my collection!).