Here’s how I’ve combined my two hobbies, golf and woodworking. I use a lot of reclaimed and found wood in my projects, breaking down old, damaged furniture, pianos, sheds , etc, into usable lumber. I harvested some really nice, tight grained 3 X 3-1/2 inch hardwood from the supports in a piano, but didn’t have anything in mind to use it on.
Like most golfers, I also have quite a few old putters laying around that I no longer find useful. I cut the shaft off one of those putters, and designed a new head for it using a piece of that wood. I designed it based on what I wanted in a putter: The largest face allowed by the rules of golf, easy to see alignment marks made of inlaid ebony, and lead weights glued into the plugged holes in the perimeter and rear of the putter to help off line hits roll true. I also adjusted the shaft angle to help avoid skipping when stroking the ball.
The results were much better than I expected. It not only looks good, but it improved my putting feel tremendously. It worked so well for me that I’ve already made a second one for my father-in-law, and have orders for two more from my golfing buddies. A few months later, I saw an ad for a company that has now started making and selling hardwood putters. I’ve probably missed out on a new career by not getting a patent on my idea, and by creating all of these free ones. Still, I’m just happy to have a putter that works, plus I’ll be out of that found wood after about the tenth one. Know anyone who has an old piano they need to get rid of?
– Jack Pooley
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