Edel Golf Handmade Custom Putters

Edel Golf Handmade Custom Putters David Edel PGA Professional Contact me for information about packages including luxury lodging, guided fishing and world-class golf at Bandon Dunes, the top-ranked public course in the U.S. 45171 State Highway 38 Reedsport, OR 97467 phone: 541.271.1735 fax: 541.271.0812 david@edelgolf.com www.edelgolf.com One of a Kind. One at a Time. 2 3

Edel Golf Handmade Custom Putters 2 Introduction 4 The Edel Approach 6 Who is David Edel? 10 The Workshop 12 Custom Fit-Testing 14 Creating Your Putter The handmade quality of Edel putters extends to the character tiles used for custom engraving on every putter. 4 5

One of a kind. One at a time. Don t Cut Corners on Your Putter There are some things in your life that you want to be unique, things you won t cut corners on. For example, the products of true craftsmen. It might be a piece of original art. A classic car. Or a handcrafted, bench-made putter. There s nothing more important in golf than having the right putter ask any tour pro. You use a putter twice as often as any other club; it s the one club that can have the most impact on your game. After all, a driver may open the negotiations with that long par-4, but the putter closes the deal. There s a huge difference between an adequate putter and one that you actually develop a relationship with. The best putter you could possibly own is one that s been created especially for you. The top pros don t use off-the-shelf putters, and neither should you. You deserve a putter that s been designed and built specifically to match your game. Your stroke. The way you see. What feels right to you. And just like the tour pros who already own Edel putters, now you can have a putter custom-made for you by a true craftsman one who makes them one of a kind, and one at a time. I m David Edel, and I d like to build a putter for you. 6 7

The Edel Approach My approach to making your putter is simple: It should be built around the way you play. You can buy a putter for its reputation, or because a tour pro is winning with it, or because it s beautiful but none of those reasons make sense compared to owning a putter that s created specifically for you. That philosophy underlies every step of creating an Edel putter. Golfers are always searching for a putter that works for them. The wiser choice is to have a putter that s made for them. One of a kind The process begins with custom fittesting. After I analyze your putting stroke, you and I choose the perfect combination of variables so that your putter fits your game precisely. Then the process moves to my workshop, where I spend hours hand-building your putter to the exact specifications we ve settled on. The result is not just a golf club it s also a unique piece of art. One at a time. Why do I put this much work into every putter? Because I know who I m making it for. It s a one-on-one transaction. I admire craftsmen who create just a few products each week. They re artists, not just producers. With most famous-name putters today, you know in your heart that the guy whose name is on it never touched it. I don t want a global putter empire; I want to be one of those artists. 8 9

One of the most satisfying feelings in life is knowing you ll leave behind things you ve created with your own hands. Who is David Edel? You might expect that a guy who s devoting his life to But I m not one to let go of a challenge, so all the time creating handmade putters must be a master with the flat I was teaching I was constantly studying the art of putting: stick. But ironically, it s my own putting difficulties that the mechanics, the philosophies, and especially the equipment. I even built a 3,000-square-foot, bent-grass putting brought me to where I am today. I m a PGA Professional, and I initially hoped to make green in my back yard. I became more than a little obsessed my living playing golf. But my mediocre putting held me with putting. back, so I subsequently made my living teaching the game. My playing background means I understand any Over the years I ve studied swing mechanics, philosophy frustrations you have with your own putting, because I ve and club fitting with some of the game s renowned instructors and tournament players. as much about putting and putters as anyone you ll had them, too. And my obsession means that now I know ever 10 11

meet. My energies eventually turned to building a better putter one that s the highest quality available. When I first started making putters, I worked with solid silver heads. I made beautiful putters, and people loved the way they looked. I was moderately successful, but the business didn t really take off. Then I found out two things that changed everything. First, I asked a famous club maker what material he would use to make the best putter possible. Without hesitation, he said stainless steel. Then he explained that he couldn t, because it was too expensive. I vowed then to switch to stainless steel and make it viable. The second thing was that everyone who tried one of my putters thought it was beautiful and of great quality, but they always seemed to find one or two little things that weren t quite right for them. Finally, in a Eureka moment, I realized the problem inherent in just making a batch of putters and then seeing who would buy them: None of them were set up exactly right for their future owners. So I made a second vow: I would customize each putter so that it perfectly fit the person using it. Those two realizations changed my entire approach to making putters. Since then I ve refined the process of creating stainless steel putters, and now I use a custom fitting system that takes into account all the variables of your putting style. Working with stainless steel has developed my craftsman s skills, and all the empirical fit-testing data I ve collected has helped me develop a complete understanding of how to set up a putter for any golfer. I consider myself a golfer and an artist. That may sound pretentious, but I spend as much time and care with each putter as other artists do with their own creations. I perform every step of production, starting from a stainless steel head milled to my exact specifications. From there I machine the lie angle into the hosel and customize the loft, hosel offset, line placement, length, shaft flex, grip and weight. This many customized steps means there s no way my putters can be mass-produced and that s exactly the way I like it. Every putter is one of a kind. That s the difference between a putter manufacturer and an artist. When you see my Maker s Mark on your Edel putter, you know two things for certain: it was created just by me and built just for you. Even in a high-tech world, I prefer to do many things the old-fashioned way. A serious craftsman can never have too many tools 12 13

For me, creativity and craftsmanship don t come together in a factory. They result from an environment that s comfortable, familiar and relaxed. The Workshop Although golf has taken me around the world, my true home remains the place where I grew up: the rivers, forests and rugged coastlines of Oregon. Over time I ve created what amounts to a modest golf estate on my family s property, just a few miles up the tranquil Umpqua River from the ocean, near the town of Reedsport. The idea was to create an atmosphere of creativity. There s my home, plus an elegant guest home next door, the private bent-grass green, a boat launch and fishing dock and, of course, my private lair the workshop where I make putters. It all comes together to foster creativity in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. People who visit say it feels like home right away. My workshop is a combination of high-tech machinery and old-fashioned hand tools. Golf memorabilia and framed art line the walls. The workbench I built is where the fine work takes place on each putter, and also where I build custom fly reels and work on sculptures like a scale replica of the famous Claret Jug. To me, the workshop is all about atmosphere. I wanted a space that feels like somewhere an oldtimer one of the original club makers might have worked in. There s something about slipping on the work apron and picking up a metal file that creates a connection to all the guys who came before me. I may have more advanced machinery now, but it s still a handmade process. Technology doesn t necessarily improve a putter it just makes it easier to put one together. The bottom line is still the care the maker puts into each one. I make them one at a time, just like the first guy who ever built a putter. 14 15

Custom Fit-Testing Which is the best putter for you? The one that fits your eye, your stroke. That s why custom fitting is so important. If you think you re aiming straight at your line, but in fact you re not, someone else s putter isn t likely to be any help to you. But an Edel putter that s custom-fitted for you will compensate for variances in your aim. Think about it: Would you rather have to learn to adjust to someone else s putter, or have an Edel putter that s built to adjust to you? Here s how it works: Hardly anyone has perfect aim and this includes the pros so it s my job to discover your tendencies and then create a putter that s suited to you. If possible, come to my workshop on the beautiful Umpqua River. I ll use a combination of laser technology, head and hosel combinations and my skills as a PGA teaching pro to find out exactly how you aim how your eyes and hands work together. Once we find the best combination of head, hosel, lie angle, loft, length and all the other variables, I ll create your putter. And when I m done, we ll step outside and test it out not on some slab of artificial turf, but on my private bent-grass green, where you can really feel the quality of your new custom Edel putter. If you can t come to Oregon, we can still make this work. Either get fit-tested by your local pro, or perform some serious self-analysis on your putting. Then call or e-mail me, and we can work through the variables and create a putter that will work for you. Confidence starts with aim. If you aren t aimed correctly, pace and line won t follow. I ll make you a putter that gives you true aim. 16 17

Creating Your Putter Do you know how a putter is actually made? Let me take a few pages to tell you because it s a truly fascinating process. You may learn quite a bit, and you ll gain even more appreciation for all the steps and work that go into your putter. And remember that I perform every step your putter is too important to hand off to someone else. I don t make perfect putters I make great putters. The handmade process means each one turns out differently, and that s a good thing. Each one has its own personality: it s your putter. STEP 1: Machine the hosel This step comes first, because it dictates what type of hole I drill or mill into the putter head to accept the hosel. S-shaped hosels are turned on a lathe and then bent according to the specified offset and lie angle. L-shaped hosels are milled from solid barstock stainless steel. For these, the lie angle is milled into the hosel, and I use the lathe to turn the post that will mount the hosel to the shaft. The right hosel really makes or breaks your putter s effectiveness, so I spend a lot of time making sure it s exactly right. 18 19

STEP 4: Blend the radius This is where I take the head and hosel of your putter and blend all the radius lines on the perimeters. To put it another way, I m smoothing but very, very carefully. The putter head is machine-milled, and I work on the machined edges to create uniformity and continuity that the human eye picks up on. But I don t want to buff out the precise geometry and character of the head, either. I ve spent years learning to use the wheel so that I can get this process just right. Machining the hosel STEP 2: Prepare the hosel connection If I ve turned an S-shaped hosel, I drill a hole into the putter head. L-shaped hosels are rectangular, so for those I precision-mill a rectangular hole to ensure that the hosel is aligned perpendicularly to the putter face. STEP 3: Name the putter I customize each putter with the owner s name and other information, using an artist s engraving machine. STEP 5: Create line combinations Again I customize your putter, this time with the combination of lines on the head that you specify. I can put three lines on top, one line on the back whatever you want. I index the head and use a small ball-end mill to precisely etch the lines. STEP 6: Create the insert cavity I hand-mill a cavity into your putter s face for the custom insert of 22k gold, 999 fine silver or TeCu copper. I undercut the inside of the cavity to ensure that the insert fits snugly into the cavity and won t come out. Custom engraving on the bottom plate Creating the insert cavity 20 21

STEP 7: Silver solder the hosel The best method for joining the head and the hosel is a silver solder. A silver solder is ten times stronger than an epoxy connection, and silver conducts feel and sound when you strike the ball, while epoxy deadens the response. I prepare the hosel joint for a clean, uniform fit and then solder the head to the hosel. After years of trial and error, now I know exactly what heat to use and how much solder to apply to create a strong joint that s almost unrecognizable. But I still use a sandblasting cabinet and a small die grinder to clean up the joint, followed by sandpaper to buff it for smooth transition lines. Silver soldering STEP 8: Create and place the insert Because I use precious metals for my inserts, I ve learned to pour them myself. I use one-ounce rounds of the chosen metal, heating them in a crucible with my blowtorch. Once the metal is molten, I pour it into a graphite mold. When it s cooled, I hand-forge the insert into a thinner sheet by hammering it, which also eliminates small gas bubbles or air pockets. Then I anneal and machine the insert to the proper dimensions, and press and hand-pound it into the cavity in the putter face. A press fit is very strong, and it eliminates the use of epoxy, which can create air pockets and deaden the transfer of energy between the metals. Finally, I mill excess metal off the insert at the correct loft. Pouring molten metal for the insert STEP 9: Create the Maker s Mark As an artist who s proud of his creation, I include a silver Maker s Mark on your putter. I mill a small hole in the putter and put a piece of silver in the cavity. I hand-stamp my initials into the silver piece, for a touch of pride and personalization. STEP 10: Buff and polish By now I ve handled, hammered and heated your putter enough that it s ready for one more round of polishing. I also remove nicks that might have been created, spending quality time to make sure your putter looks great. Smoothing the putter head 22 23

STEP 11: Adjust loft and lie Even with the precisely machined geometry, I still check everything and usually make a tweak to get the exact loft and lie. This way I know your putter is set up perfectly. STEP 12: Sandblast the putter head I use a blasting cabinet to put a fine glass-bead finish on your putter. This gives the putter a clean, non-glare finish. STEP 13: Install the counterweight This beneficial feature is unique to my putters. I add a counterweight on the butt of the shaft to help balance the putter without adding more weight to the head. The counterweight also aids your sense of feel with the putter. STEP 14: Paint and add shaft and grip I use a special gold-leaf paint that provides a great contrast to the silver stainless steel. Then I connect the shaft to the hosel and install your grip. I can put any grip you like on your putter, but I prefer clear grips that show off the counterweight. Your Putter is Ready That s all there is to it it takes at least six hours to make your putter, and sometimes much longer. But now you know exactly what went into its creation. Reserve a stay in our guest house while I make your putter. 24 25