Betts Putter v1.0 designed and made by me!

[hbetts]

I have an apparently strange affection for lightweight putter. Given how hard they are to come by, and my access to CNC tools and CAD software I decided to build my own. 
 

My driving features were the weight, a face that can be changed out, and mechanisms to adjust the lie and length easily and often. 
 

The weight issue was simple. I used aluminum for the body which of course makes it significantly lighter than a standard steel blade. To make the face interchangeable i milled a pocket into the aluminum that mates with the back of the face. This means I can swap faces without necessarily needing to epoxy the face on, but I can add epoxy when I’m done tinkering. Finally I used a curved slot on the back of the body, and a pin in the neck to allow the neck angle to be adjusted and secured with a screw. To adjust the length, the hosel rides in the slot on the neck and can also be secured with a screw.
 

All I have to do is snug the screws, set up to a putt and use the ground to maneuver everything into place. After tightening down the screws I putter with the perfect length and lie for my stroke. Crucially I can go through this process as often as I want without worrying about metal fatigue!

 

An added bonus is that thanks to the hosel not being attached to the neck, swapping shafts will be as simple as making a few hosels and epoxying them to new shafts.

 

I’ve only played 4 rounds with this putter, but I’m averaging 2.27 putts per hole. Considering my first putt is almost always from the fringe I’m considering this a raging success!

Edited June 20, 2023 by hbetts

[Nick_D]

Looks really good! What other face options were you planning to try?

[cnosil]

I am always envious of people that have access to the tools and especially the talent to do something like this.  Great work.   You might look at the old machine putter company, they had a component system that allowed you to select different components to build your own putter…different flanges, shims , hosels, and weights.  You might get some inspiration for was to connect and weight putter components. 

[hbetts]

58 minutes ago, Nick_D said:

Looks really good! What other face options were you planning to try?

Thanks! I'm not really sure yet what faces I'll try. I may play around with different materials like brass, carbon filled nylon, or different plastics. I would also try different finishes just for the sake of cosmetics. I don't have any knowledge about what I "should" use so it'll all be trial and error. 

[hbetts]

52 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I am always envious of people that have access to the tools and especially the talent to do something like this.  Great work.   You might look at the old machine putter company, they had a component system that allowed you to select different components to build your own putter…different flanges, shims , hosels, and weights.  You might get some inspiration for was to connect and weight putter components. 

I am very fortunate to work for a company that doesn't mind me doing a little government work on the side. I have never heard of that company but I think I've found them at machinestarter.com. There are definitely some cool ideas there. Also the new crowd funding method they have on their site is an interesting idea but unfortunately.

[Nick_D]

1 hour ago, hbetts said:

Thanks! I'm not really sure yet what faces I'll try. I may play around with different materials like brass, carbon filled nylon, or different plastics. I would also try different finishes just for the sake of cosmetics. I don't have any knowledge about what I "should" use so it'll all be trial and error. 

Yeah I would think different plastics similar to the odyssey white hot inserts, or some copper faces would be good ones to try!

[cnosil]

26 minutes ago, hbetts said:

I am very fortunate to work for a company that doesn't mind me doing a little government work on the side. I have never heard of that company but I think I've found them at machinestarter.com. There are definitely some cool ideas there. Also the new crowd funding method they have on their site is an interesting idea but unfortunately.

Yes, that is the company.  They had be gone through rough patches, but their work 5-10 years ago,  was pretty popular.