Champions Tour Pro gets "MannKrafted"

I received a call recently from my local rep and he was fired up to be speaking with a bit of an Arizona legend and professional golfer, RW Eaks.  RW has had great success over the years here in the state, as well as tour play and some victories to his credit.  His talents are solid and his game is definitely on an upswing.
My connection to RW has been thru a great gentleman who has caddied for RW for quite a while and knows his game well, Rudy Berumen.  Rudy is a very funny man and has at least one LH creation of mine in his rotation, while also serving as my LH consultant, when the opportunity to craft a putter to showcase my talents to Phil Mickelson.  Rudy rolled the first three putts with that putter, a twelve-footer with a sneaky break, right in the last 16-inches.  Three putts rolled............THREE PUTTS HOLED!
Anyway, back to the putter you'll see pictures of in this blog.
RW was looking to put some new blood in the flatstick slot in his bag and had some fairly unusual requests on this one.  He was looking for 420 grams, heel-shafted, mallet preferred and a double-bend shaft.  Well, I could meet some of those specs, but in order to get the 420 grams, a neck was going to carry some of the weight and I'd make the bends in that area to get it face-balanced.   What you see in this post is a creation that must have been meant to be, as a putter of that weight is not one that you'll see on any custom putter makers shelf, very often.
The texture on the flange is done to prevent glare, give the light some diffusion and also to give it a unique look that shows a little personal attention, as every squiggle was made by my hand and could not be duplicated, even it you tried, LOL.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Thanks for checking back in.

LaMont in AZ

Brahma del Carbon, A new handmade project.

When I was young, the putter choices were not anywhere near as vast as what we have in today's BIG BOX Golf Shops or the internet.  I remember the top four as being PING, Spalding TP Mills models, Zebra and the incredibly popular BullsEye, made right here in Phoenix until 1962.  There were a few other models and makers, obviously, but the market was much, much more limited than today.  My choice was a BullsEye, just like Dad was rolling, or at least as close as I could find.  It was my best friend for a long time and I don't recall what caused me to change, but I have always had a fondness for that putter and have gone back on more than a few occasions and usually enjoy the return, even if usually brief.
Fast-forward to a phone call a few weeks ago from a customer in Northern California who is a fellow BullsEye fanatic and wanted to sample my work, if I could make that BullsEye happen.  He had tried Scotty Cameron's versions and just never fell in love with the overall look, for one reason or another.  Coming to me, he hoped to have one hand made custom putter that might end his search and give him a putter he could put in the bag and forget ever changing again.
Well, I did a brass model, first and it is waiting for the TIG torch, as I type this post.  Once I had the brass one at a point where I could not work further until welding, I grabbed a piece of 1018 CR Steel and went to work on another.  When I told the customer my plan to make one from both metals and give him a choice at the end of the project, he said to me, "Golf is full of tough choices, and I LOVE it!"
What you see in these pictures is the result of a good number of milling hours, an excellent welding job by Josh Eastburn and then the clean up that is still in process.
Feel free to give me some feedback on what you see and let me know any changes you would ask for, if this was being handmilled for you.
Thanks and more on the way,
LaMont in AZ

MannKrafted Custom Milled Putters and Designs

 

MannKrafted 5-Dot Bag Tags. HandMade and Ready!

I have always dabbled in new ways to put out products that the guys who like my work could enjoy, without having to make the big leap and purchase one of my putters.  I have done a few ball markers, some aluminum bag tags and even some cuff links.  They were all a lot of fun, but this new design beats them all.................well, not all of them, ;).
The new bag tags are made out of copper plate.  First, they are cut by waterjet, milled for the 5-dot logo, slot and personalization box (optional) , then they are 100% hand finished in clean satin or torch'd finish.  I have weighed the thought of paint filling the rings, but I think that the clean look is simple, sharp and classy and have chosen to leave them this way.  You can let me know your thoughts on the looks and maybe I'll do a few with some basic fill colors and see how they are received.
I have several made up and can fill orders in two days, maximum.  
Check out the pictures and if you like what you see, the option is there to purchase now and get one of the very first pieces ever made.
Thanks for your support of MannKrafted.
LaMont in AZ

MannKrafted Custom Milled Putters and Designs 

Options

Copper/ No Stamping $26.95 USD Copper/ Personalized $29.95 USD Brass/ No Stamping $26.95 USD Brass/ Personalized $29.95 USD

Making the jump to Blogging

MANNKRAFTED CUSTOM PUTTERS AND DESIGNS

First time blog launches a new place to show and tell......and maybe even sell

A friend at Karas Kustoms finally got me to set up a blog and see if I can get things rolling here, until my new site is up and running.  I'll stop in a few times a day and update whenever possible.  The new site is in development and I am crossing my fingers that it launches within the week.  Until that time, I'll post some pics of projects that have gone out in the past twelve months as well as some new items that I am putting together for the guys who are MannKrafted fans, but are not to the point of purchasing a hand made or hand krafted putter, just yet.  I hope you like what you see and stop back by, as often as you can.

Thanks for stopping by and let's see what I can get rolling as a first blog putter.  

This putter is one that was ordered after the customer saw the "044" model that I had made for eGolf Tour Player, Chris Kamin and took a liking to that basic design, but wanted to put a softer, more symetrical spin on the shaping.  We went with a fairly even toe and heel rounding, the triple sight lines and two bombs in the back cavity that carry the initials of the customer's children.  The aim was for a putter with a little more heft than you see in a lot of off the rack putters,  so this one was milled to 364 grams and the customer reports that he "made most everything inside 10 ft. which is where I struggled before, and I did not miss a putt 5 ft or less."  It is always good to get feedback like that from a customer who basically bought the putter based on pictures of others I have made and put his full trust in my understanding of what he wanted, what his preferences were and what his stroke deemed the best for his game.

The finish he chose, coming from a humid climate, was a satin black polymer that will not require any maintenance at all, and looks very cool when matched with the black shaft.  I was able to make the translucent colors in the bombs to pop a little bit by masking the steel after milling and keeping the dark finish out of those areas.

If you like what you see, contact me at mannkraftedgolf@gmail.com until my normal email at lamont@mannkrafted.com is back up and operational.

Have an amazing weekend ahead and thanks for stopping by.

LaMont in AZ

 You can see additional pictures of this putter at various stages by viewing my photobucket.com album set up for this rascal.
Here is that direct link:

 http://s654.photobucket.com/albums/uu270/MannKrafted/HandMilling%20Works/044%20Mallet/Rye%20Spec%20Prototype%20for%20Leder/