New life for wood putters

SIGNAL HILL, Calif. — To walk through Dave Musty’s workshop is to see wood putter manufacturing in its rawest and most beautiful forms.

Tucked into a discreet business park off the San Diego Freeway, the nondescript shop looks like an ordinary garage at first glance. But past the stacks of exotic wood piled up near the back entrance, a craft is revealed.

Musty sits in a tiny office in the front and explains his business in eight words that belie the slick operation.

“We are your basic mom-and-pop outfit,” he said.

Musty is among the last manufacturers of a forgotten breed of golf equipment — wood putters. Only a handful still produce the club, which largely fell out of use by the turn of the 20th century.

Musty, 53, is a fast-talking former custom home builder who wanted to create a putter with the weight balanced in the center of the putterhead, as opposed to the sole, to promote an enlarged sweet spot and eliminate the hops that occur on impact with traditional putters. Wood happened to be the only material he could use to implement the design.

Musty patented his inertia-based weighting system in 1991 and began showing it around. When a company ordered 200 of them, Musty knew he was on to something.

He makes about 5,000 putters a year, all custom fitted, ranging from $225-$2,500.