Never bet against the bullseye putter.

[RoverRick]

So you are at your local club and one of your regular playing buddies brings his brother-in-law to play. He has whatever Taylormade Driver they are making this week, a couple of Adams hybrids, a nice set of Ping irons and three Titleist Vorkey Wedges and a ratty old bullseye putter. Your buddy says they play about the same but they will take you on for a couple of bucks a hole. Do you take the bet?

[Matt Saternus]

I'm loathe to gamble with anyone I don't know or haven't played with quite a bit. Probably a "No" for me.

[Tony Covey MGS]

A couple quick thoughts...

 

• The equipment doesn't matter. I have a bag full of some of the best equipment money can buy, and I get beat all the time.
• Never gamble with anyone who doesn't have a legitimate and verifiable handicap.
• The course matters more than anything.

My home course is one of the tightest, toughest, and most penal courses in Upstate NY. The type of bad shots that often cause one to play from the rough or a parallel fairway on other courses almost always equate to stroke + distance at home. Small mistakes keep indexes high. You put on nearly any other course in my area, and I'm legitimately 4-6 strokes better. Match me against someone who has never played my course and if I'm getting the strokes I'm supposed to, I'll take his money almost every time. My point is, if his HC is legit, and you've got a solid home field advantage, take the bet.

 

On neutral ground... ... ... what Matt said.

[RoverRick]

The reason I worded it that way is this, all the other clubs in his bag are the latest technology, bright, clean and new, yet his putter is very old. Why? Obviously, he is not adverse to spending money on clubs, trying to gain an edge, and why not spend money on a new putter. The reason is if it ain't broke don't fix it. This guy is a lights out putter on the green. The rest of his game needed the technology but when you can one putt 10 greens and have tap in for two the rest of the time you tend not to look at putters in the store.

I actually looked in his bag and spotted the old putter, it was not really a bulls eye but I do not remember the name. I pointed out that he was either a really good putter or they did not sell them in his state. I was told the truth before we teed off, we play a quota system so he had to tell before hand. Also, the winner picks up the bar bill so we have a chance to get even. He did not win but we did not scramble like we were intitially challenged.

[golfluvzme]

Rick,

I got what you were trying to say and have to say that the wise man always backs away from the Bullseye wielding "duffer".

When I was much younger, I played in the Ely Amateur in Ely, Nevada. It had to be mid-70's, because the gross division was won by some fresh outta college kid named Jay Don Blake..... My practice round was shared with an older gentleman, probably in his 70's. He carried an old 3-wood, a 7-iron and a BullsEye. Long story short, I shot 75 and got beat.

Wisdom is something that does not come very often from the players of today's golf. You get guys that see a "verifiable handicap" as critical, and that is OK. You also get guys who know every rule in golf and can't break 100. But, the kicker is the guys who learn all they know from posts on internet, get put in a position that implies knowledge and share that as if it is the gospel truth.

Your initial post made me smile, as I could totally relate. Give me the guy who rolls a brand new Cameron that does not have a scratch on it, every time. BullsEye............well, I'll wait for the next group, .

Have an incredible weekend,

LaMont in AZ

[Matt Saternus]

This does remind me of a story I heard from a fellow golf coach when I lived downstate. He was playing twilight golf somewhere, just trying to squeeze in a few holes, and he gets paired up with a guy who's only carrying a wedge. The wedge carrier offers to play him for a dollar per hole. The coach knew this was a hustle, but said ok...and was promptly hustled. Apparently the guy could blade the wedge perfectly on command, putted well with it, and threw darts when he was within range. The"hustler" was a gentleman though and did not take the money when it was over, said he just did it for fun.

[RoverRick]

Years ago, I played, not for money, twilight golf one time with a guy carrying a 5 iron. He said he walked 9 holes every night with just one club, that night happened to be the 5 iron night. He shot in the low 30's. I could not break 50 back then on 9 holes.

[Kanoito]

Really interesting stories. I never thought such players existed! I thought it was only possible in novels and movies

Hopefully someday I'll have the honor of being paired up with such kind

[RookieBlue7]

I understand the questino perfectly. I look at the wear spots on the wedges, and their age. If they're older with dime sized wear spots but good grooves, no, I don't play him for money.

[Tyk]

I'll take a $1/hole wager with anyone I'm playing with, it makes it more fun and any gentleman will offer a drink at the end should they win, so there's not going to be any real damage done to anyone. If someone is really that good, its a pleasure to just sit back and watch and try to learn something!

 

I love playing with those old seasoned veterans, guys that are 100 yard behind me off the tee, bump an iron to greenside and get up and down for par all day long?! Those guys are great!

[William John]

Ha ha,

 

This reminds me of two illustrative experiences I have had playing for money.

 

First was in Florida - I was a young British pro trying to make it on the mini tours down there about 10 years ago. I got into a horrible game of "Wolf" which I'd never played before with guys who were taking shots off me. I thought I was pretty battle hardened, but I had never seen bermuda grass before and it gave me a real shock. A guy using a bullseye flange absolutely cleaned me out - I lost about $150 and had to eat tinned food for the next couple of weeks!

 

The other was a when I was once fortunate to play with Tony Johnstone from Zimbabwe, former winner of the European PGA Champs at Wentworth. He was using an old bullseye and he holed almost every single putt he had that day. Granted he missed a lot of greens and chipped it close, but it was incredibly impressive.

 

So I'm with most of you. Don't take the bet!

[apprenti23]

Got an elder gentleman (~70+ years old) who plays out at my course quite often 1-2 times a week. I know he's an excellent player b/c I know who he is and he'd played in numerous US Opens, US Am's, Senior Am's, Pub links, etc. but most people don't know him from Adam. I'll pair him up with other seniors and they come back after the round saying they'd just played with the best golfer they've ever seen. LOL Gotta love the guys who can best their age! You look at his bag (i know this b/c he left it at the club one night) and it's about a 10 year old cart bag beat to piss. He plays a set of TM 300 forged irons and each iron (4-9) has a quarter sized black mark from wear (he told me he has two brand new sets still in the box at home but just doesn't want to "break em in." His PW is an old Mizuno something that I s*** you not has a crater (it's seriously dished out) on the sweet spot. I recently gave him a vokey pw that I didn't use and he loves it. His hybrid (nickent) had serious sweet spot wear. His fairway wood was the original TM burner bubble and the orange/rust paint was gone off the face. His driver (07 Burner) even had a quarter sized sweet spot wear!!! I'd never seen anything like it! I gave him a Superquad of mine that I didn't like, he puts a new shaft in it, and after one year quarter size mark on the sweet spot. Just an amazing ball striker and I have learned a lot from him over the years on shots around the greens and inside 100 yards. Can learn a lot from some old timers!

[Jmikecpa]

Absolutely I would take the game. Who cares what he has in his bag. There are plenty of guys at my club that look like players in the clubhouse and can't hit it worth a lick on the course.

[Reuter]

Anyone have an idea how old my putter is? It has “Pat. Pending John Reuter Jr. STD M 5 S, followed by the bullseye logo. It does not say Acushnet

[Firebird]

Simple answer is NO. If he has a Bullseye then he is deadly with it. I had one for 30+ years and it was unbelievable and won me many tight matches, unfortunately accidentally got bent somehow and even though I had it straightened it was never the same.

[Rickp]

Got an elder gentleman (~70+ years old) who plays out at my course quite often 1-2 times a week. I know he's an excellent player b/c I know who he is and he'd played in numerous US Opens, US Am's, Senior Am's, Pub links, etc. but most people don't know him from Adam. I'll pair him up with other seniors and they come back after the round saying they'd just played with the best golfer they've ever seen. LOL Gotta love the guys who can best their age! You look at his bag (i know this b/c he left it at the club one night) and it's about a 10 year old cart bag beat to piss. He plays a set of TM 300 forged irons and each iron (4-9) has a quarter sized black mark from wear (he told me he has two brand new sets still in the box at home but just doesn't want to "break em in." His PW is an old Mizuno something that I s*** you not has a crater (it's seriously dished out) on the sweet spot. I recently gave him a vokey pw that I didn't use and he loves it. His hybrid (nickent) had serious sweet spot wear. His fairway wood was the original TM burner bubble and the orange/rust paint was gone off the face. His driver (07 Burner) even had a quarter sized sweet spot wear!!! I'd never seen anything like it! I gave him a Superquad of mine that I didn't like, he puts a new shaft in it, and after one year quarter size mark on the sweet spot. Just an amazing ball striker and I have learned a lot from him over the years on shots around the greens and inside 100 yards. Can learn a lot from some old timers!

I love it! I’ve know guys like that and they are unfortunately disappearing.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[Firebird]

On 8/5/2020 at 6:28 AM, Reuter said:

Anyone have an idea how old my putter is? It has “Pat. Pending John Reuter Jr. STD M 5 S, followed by the bullseye logo. It does not say Acushnet

It is older than 1958 and I am guessing worth a few bob. Here is some info

BULLSEYE PUTTERS  - The man behind the bullseye putter was John Reuter, Jr. His design came to fruition around 1940. In 1958, the rights to the name and the design were sold to Acushnet (Titleist).  The earliest Bullseyes (pre-Acushnet no model number) were stamped with a large bullseye, John Reuter, Jr., and Pat. Pending. As the number of different available models increased, the model number stampings (discussed later) were also placed on the sole along with the above stampings (pre-Acushnet with no model numbers). * After Acushnet purchased the rights to Reuter's designs Acushnet was added to the sole of the putters with the above mentioned stampings. For a brief period after the granting of the Bullseye patent the stampings remained the same as those just mentioned except the Pat. Pending was deleted and a ® was added below the large bullseye.

Here is the rest of the history https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/john-reuter-jr-pat-pending-bullseye-10797942

[Shapotomous]

On 8/25/2020 at 6:52 PM, Firebird said:

Simple answer is NO. If he has a Bullseye then he is deadly with it. I had one for 30+ years and it was unbelievable and won me many tight matches, unfortunately accidentally got bent somehow and even though I had it straightened it was never the same.

Same thing happened here....had a bullseye center shafted wide flange that i loved....some maroon bent the shaft by accident and it was 'off' after being straightened.  Over the years I have gone through about 5 other center shafted wide flanges looking for the magic but no luck so far.  Hmmm...could be my stroke has lost the magic and its not the putter......naaahhhhhhh!     

[Firebird]

On 8/29/2020 at 3:36 AM, Shapotomous said:

Same thing happened here....had a bullseye center shafted wide flange that i loved....some maroon bent the shaft by accident and it was 'off' after being straightened.  Over the years I have gone through about 5 other center shafted wide flanges looking for the magic but no luck so far.  Hmmm...could be my stroke has lost the magic and its not the putter......naaahhhhhhh!     

In my case the actual brass neck as bent. My LAME at the airport put in a machine and straightened it but was not sure what degrees the face was originally. 

[Shapotomous]

hmmmm....maybe the neck on mine got bent as well as the shaft.....I will have to look a lot closer at it.  I have another I can compare it to.  

[Titleist87]

Rick,
I got what you were trying to say and have to say that the wise man always backs away from the Bullseye wielding "duffer".
When I was much younger, I played in the Ely Amateur in Ely, Nevada. It had to be mid-70's, because the gross division was won by some fresh outta college kid named Jay Don Blake..... My practice round was shared with an older gentleman, probably in his 70's. He carried an old 3-wood, a 7-iron and a BullsEye. Long story short, I shot 75 and got beat.
Wisdom is something that does not come very often from the players of today's golf. You get guys that see a "verifiable handicap" as critical, and that is OK. You also get guys who know every rule in golf and can't break 100. But, the kicker is the guys who learn all they know from posts on internet, get put in a position that implies knowledge and share that as if it is the gospel truth.
Your initial post made me smile, as I could totally relate. Give me the guy who rolls a brand new Cameron that does not have a scratch on it, every time. BullsEye............well, I'll wait for the next group, .
Have an incredible weekend,
LaMont in AZ

I'd say never bet against the guy that shows up the three wood a 7-iron and a putter.

Sent from my SM-A205U using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[BKordon]

On 8/27/2020 at 5:31 PM, Firebird said:

It is older than 1958 and I am guessing worth a few bob. Here is some info

BULLSEYE PUTTERS  - The man behind the bullseye putter was John Reuter, Jr. His design came to fruition around 1940. In 1958, the rights to the name and the design were sold to Acushnet (Titleist).  The earliest Bullseyes (pre-Acushnet no model number) were stamped with a large bullseye, John Reuter, Jr., and Pat. Pending. As the number of different available models increased, the model number stampings (discussed later) were also placed on the sole along with the above stampings (pre-Acushnet with no model numbers). * After Acushnet purchased the rights to Reuter's designs Acushnet was added to the sole of the putters with the above mentioned stampings. For a brief period after the granting of the Bullseye patent the stampings remained the same as those just mentioned except the Pat. Pending was deleted and a ® was added below the large bullseye.

Here is the rest of the history https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/john-reuter-jr-pat-pending-bullseye-10797942

Firebird is correct. I have a handful of these putters squirreled away. My grandfather built putters with John Reuter, Jr. in his garage in the early 1950s. As far as the cash value, that depends. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but they are sweet works of art. 

[Buffly]

I bought a Bullseye after reading this thread. Time will tell

[Shapotomous]

7 minutes ago, Buffly said:

I bought a Bullseye after reading this thread. Time will tell

Just one!!??!!??     

[Buffly]

6 hours ago, Shapotomous said:

Just one!!??!!??     

Oh yes! But, I got the super special PINK grip which is guaranteed to distract my opponents!

[GBWarPig]

If that’s the putter in their gamer bag and is looking to gamble, then that’s the one they feel most confident in holing putts.

I feel like an echo in here, but wouldn’t be betting against someone I don’t know or at least can’t verify their skill level from a handicap. 

[ZenGolfer]

Nope, never take that bet.  Ive got a couple Bullseyes: a vintage Titleist one and a newer Wilson Augusta and I'll put either of those putters up against anything else.  I actually love it every time I get grouped with a bunch of randoms and they scoff at my beat up old Bullseye and tell me that they didn't think people still played those, how unforgiving they are and how can you aim it when theres no lines on the head?

[Shapotomous]

On 9/25/2020 at 6:53 PM, Buffly said:

Oh yes! But, I got the super special PINK grip which is guaranteed to distract my opponents!

THAT grip on a Bullseye??!!?!?!?!?    Ohhhhh the inhumanity of it!!!!           

[Buffly]

1 hour ago, Shapotomous said:

THAT grip on a Bullseye??!!?!?!?!?    Ohhhhh the inhumanity of it!!!!           

2 baby pigs and a baby seal were sacrificed in the making of this golf grip... We mourn their loss as I make BIRDIES!!! Hehe

[BIG STU]

On 9/27/2020 at 2:07 PM, ZenGolfer said:

Nope, never take that bet.  Ive got a couple Bullseyes: a vintage Titleist one and a newer Wilson Augusta and I'll put either of those putters up against anything else.  I actually love it every time I get grouped with a bunch of randoms and they scoff at my beat up old Bullseye and tell me that they didn't think people still played those, how unforgiving they are and how can you aim it when theres no lines on the head?

LOL they just don't know. Something my old man told me when I was a pup  " never mess with a man with a well worn Bulls Eye or Ironmaster in his bag"

 

Edited October 1, 2020 by BIG STU