Golf Putter

Ethan Nash
ME 318
Choosing a Project
I started by making a list of things
that I like: playing sports, cooking,
eating, Seattle.
I then brainstormed different
projects that I could make within
those categories.
Choosing a Project
A golf putter was an early favorite
for me.
I am an avid golfer and I loved the
idea of carrying a totally unique
putter that I designed and
manufactured myself in my bag. I
have already been asked where I
got my putter several times since I
completed it and that has made
me really happy.
I was also intrigued because CNC
milling is the process used for the
highest quality putters. This gave
me the challenge of making a
putter that was better than those
on the market .

Design
My goal was to make a putter that followed the classic heel-toe weighted design
popularized by the PING Anser in 1967, but in a way that was my own design. This
style involves placing the majority of the weight on the heel and the toe in order to
promote an arc shaped stroke. These putters also have a cavity in the back that
create an excellent feel and sound when striking a ball. This design is by far the
most popular among casual players and touring pros alike. I wanted to design a
putter that followed the conventions of this design for functional purposes, yet
make it unique.
It helped that I was designing something that I knew a lot about. I have been
playing golf for as long as I can remember and was pretty good in high school. I
drew on my experiences watching putter design evolve, as well as my own personal
preferences for putters.
I used some of my favorite putters as inspirations for my design
Design Inspirations: Heel-Toe Putters
The original PING Anser. The putter
was originally named the Answer as
it would be the answer to all putting
problems. The name was shortened,
however, to fit on the club. The
Anser dominated the market for
several decades.
The Scotty Cameron putter used by Tiger
Woods. Tiger has won all 14 of his major
championships with a Scotty Cameron. It is
made of 303 Stainless Steel, which is the
same material I chose for my putter. Scotty
Cameron is one of the only major putter
manufacturers to make almost exclusively
CNC machined putters, rather than cast.
Design Inspirations: Two-Ball Putter
I have been using the Oddyssey
DFX 2-Ball putter (see right) since
I was about 12. I really love this
putter.
The 2-ball system is designed to
help with alignment. The putter
forms a straight row with the 2
balls and the actual ball to line up
the putt.
My putter uses a hemisphere to
create the heel-toe weighting. I
designed this to partially mimic
the putter I have grown used to.
Design Inspirations: Grooved Putters
When striking a ball with a full
swing, the soft rubber ball
compresses. These clubs have
grooves which can grab the ball
and create desired spin.
When putting, however, the ball
does not compress. Grooves on
putters are mostly for looks,
despite what some putter
manufacturers advertise.
One of my favorite grooved
putters is the Yes! With its C-
Grooves (see right).
Designing the Form
I used sketching and clay
modeling to create a design.
I struggled at first while sketching
to really visualize what I was
thinking.
Modeling with clay helped me
visualize the geometry so I could
tell if what I was thinking actually
made sense as a shape.
Designing with CAD
Before this class I had a lot of experience designing 2D parts with SolidWorks,
especially designing for the laser cutters, and some experience with simple 3D
parts. The complex, organic forms I was trying to create were a new learning
experience for me and I had many iterations before I found all the tools I needed.
It helped that I had a basic design already, and this process actually helped my
design as I learned more about what was available.
Final CAD Design
Finally I learned how to properly use the lofted tool properly. This tool
allows you to add or remove material from two or more profiles. I also
originally had a concentric circle groove pattern in my final CAD, but I
removed that and instead made a similar pattern with a spiral finishing
pass with HSMWorks. This model incorporated the heel-toe,
hemispherical ball, and a unique groove pattern that I designed for.
Material Selection
Putters are usually made out of either carbon steel or stainless steel.
Aluminum doesnt have the weight necessary to get good roll on the ball
and steel has a very nice feel and makes a satisfying sound when striking
the ball. Carbon steel is softer so it has a softer feel than stainless. It is also
harder to maintain because it rusts very easily. I chose Type 303 stainless
steel. This was partly because it is what Tiger Woods putter is made of
and partly because I think stainless steel putters make a great sound. I also
have an affinity for stainless ever since I did a project focusing on the
material for the class Magic of Manufacturing.
My stock was a 1 x 1 x 6 bar of Type 303 Stainless Steel
Manufacturing Process: Fixturing
To fixture my stock I made a fixture plate.
While I could have put my stock directly in
the vice, that would have required me to
purchase significantly more material as I
would need the stock to be large enough for
the part as well as the cutting tool. Since I
used stainless steel, this would have been a
significant cost. Making a fixture plate was
much cheaper. Using a fixture plate also
significantly reduced my cutting time as I did
not have to remove as much material.
Finally, using a fixture plate allowed me to
have a very repeatable zero when doing part
flips. I made a relatively small fixture plate.
This simplified things as I could make and
secure the fixture plate in a vice, rather than
adding complexity for alignment pins and
bolt holes. I used two pins and four bolts to
secure the stock to the fixture plate.

Manufacturing Process: Machining
I started by machining the back side. The back side had the most curves and complex
geometry so I wanted to machine that side first before I relied on tabs for fixturing.
This photo shows the first roughing cut using adaptive clearing and a carbide flat
end mill.
Manufacturing Process: Machining
A second roughing cut, this time using a carbide flat end mill and adaptive clearing
with rest machining. This cut was necessary to get to the smaller areas that the end
mill did not reach.
Manufacturing Process: Machining
The completed back side, after a part flip. I finished the back side curves using a
combination of contour (for steep areas), parallel (for shallow areas) and pencil passes (for
inside radii) with a ball end mill. At first I did not realize the pencil passes were necessary,
which left me with a poor finish on inside sharp, convex surfaces. I tried to rectify this by
doing a single pencil pass, but because I came on a new day this left a witness mark as I had
a slightly different zero. I ended up refinishing the entire face, which left me with a great
surface finish.
Manufacturing Process: Machining
After a part flip, I began machining the back side. This operation drilled a small hole in the
center of the club. This hole creates the line on the top of the putter for alignment.
Manufacturing Process: Machining
The first adaptive clearing roughing pass on the front side with a flat end mill.
Manufacturing Process: Machining
Finishing on the face. I first used parallel passes with a ball end mill with a very small
stepover (.005) to make a smooth, flat surface. Then using the same ball I did a spiral pass
with a larger stepover (.025) so that the cusps would be visible. This spiral is sized to be the
same diameter as a golf ball, just like the hemisphere in the back. From here I completed
machining by using a flat end mill to finish with two small tabs to hold the part.
Manufacturing Process: Finishing
The first step in finishing was cutting the tabs from the stock using a hacksaw and filing
down the tabs. The rest of finishing was sanding. The front face looked great so I left that
untouched. The rest was actually too good, as the putter had a distracting amount of glare
in the sunlight. I finished the back and sides with 400 grit sandpaper with a brushed finish.
The bottom I finished with 1000 grit sandpaper, since the bottom does not contribute to
glare when putting.
Manufacturing Process: Final Assembly
Final assembly involved attaching the shaft to
the putter, cutting the shaft to size, and
installing the grip. Attaching the shaft is done by
making a slip fit and then securing with extra
strength epoxy. Grips are attached using double
stick tape and a solvent to temporarily make the
tape not sticky while sliding the grip on the club.
I have actually done this work before back in
high school when I worked at a golf course.
However, without access to the materials and a
little out of practice I decided to let the
professionals take care of it. I had this work
done by the PGA Superstore in East Palo Alto
and they did a great job.
Results
I am really happy with how the putter turned out. It feels and sounds great, it
looks cool, and I made my first two putts with it, a good omen. I will definitely
put this putter in my bag and see how I putt with it. It will be hard to replace
the putter I have used for 10+ years but I think it has a good chance.
Results
The hemisphere in the back is the
perfect size to hold a golf ball
This weight balance is called
quarter-hang and is ideal for my
putting stroke
Future Work
Im still thinking about how to finish my putter. I found a company, BOS
Golf, that specializes in refinishing putters and offers black oxide, gold, and
sand blasted for stainless steel putters.

In my mechatronics class I like to joke about how the next time I make a
autonomous joustball robot or a remote control soccer playing
hovercraft I would do things differently, knowing that I wont ever have
the chance. I actually hope this is not the last putter I ever make. I think I
could do some things better with what I have learned on the first one. One
thing was when I was designing my putter I was a little afraid of having too
many part flips because I thought it would be more places to mess up. I
think it would have helped to do another part flip on the bottom face. I
had some trouble with zeros coming at it from two sides and with a
operation focused on that face I could have done some engraving.