Opinion & Analysis

Bag Chatter: An Interview with Raybon Putters

Published

6 years ago

Nov 27, 2017

Bag Chatter is a series of interviews that spotlights brands around the golf industry and the people behind them. We’re looking to make this a regular thing, so please comment and share through your medium of choice. If you have a brand and are interested in participating in these interviews, you can email [email protected] for consideration. This interview is with Gary Hunter (pictured left below) and Ian Raybon of Raybon Putters.

If someone reading this has never heard of you, how would you describe your company and what you do?

We are located on the Isle of Man, which is in between England and Ireland. Basically, how the whole thing started was Ian decided to make his own putter and Gary was so impressed he asked Ian to make him one. As Ian was making it, it dawned on us that we could personalize it however Gary wanted and we just thought, “Of course other people would want that!” With that being our driving force, we started an Instagram page in October 2016 to gauge interest and everything went really well. We opened our doors on Masters weekend just this year (2017). Gary is a former PGA Professional and Ian is an engineer for an American-based company called Swagelok. At the moment, it’s just the two of us here.

Why, in your opinion, would someone buy a Raybon putter over one of the other hundreds of putter manufacturers? What do you think sets your products apart? There’s a ton of putter makers out there. What makes you different?

The vast majority of the other putter manufacturers are just cranking out hundreds of putters of exactly the same type from a factory. It’s a one-size-fits-all thing that they’re putting into the marketplace, but not everyone needs a size-9 shoe, you know? So where we vary is that every putter we make is completely unique and customized for the specific golfer. The online design suite on our website really walks you through all of the steps to arrive at the perfect putter for you. Also, it’s just the two of us here, so when you place an order, you will have Gary handling the details of your order and Ian himself will make the putter. We don’t subcontract anything out, so the guy whose name is on the putter will be the one fabricating it. We also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. A customer can buy a putter from us and use it for 30 days on their home course, in their own conditions, and decide whether or not it’s right for them. Lastly, a custom putter from us to the USA is $440 shipped with headcover and certificate of authenticity. It also includes a photo album of your SPECIFIC putter being made. It allows you to see YOUR putter taking shape. There’s no one out there doing what we do to this level of customization at this price point.

How do you recommend an amateur know everything they want as far as specifications go? For some people it’s easy, but for others it can be overwhelming.

For starters, Gary’s little head pops up in the corner of the website in case you need help. If you send a message, it goes straight to his phone. We also have something new that we’re looking to roll out at the moment. We recently had a demo day and we took about 15-16 putters with us. The weather was terrible, so the turnout wasn’t great, but the big thing we learned was that was nowhere near enough putters to take to a demo day. There’s just so many possible combinations out there and we weren’t doing our product justice. We’ve now developed a modular system that can combine different heads, hosels, shaft lengths, etc. that just screw together to help with the fitting process. The goal is to get those out to certified Raybon fitters around the world. If you’re interested in buying a Raybon putter and there’s not a fitter near you, send us an email and start a conversation. Tell us what you currently play and like because that would help a lot. It tells us a lot about your stroke path, loft, lie, etc. We want you to be happy and we are definitely here to help.

Raybon’s order board, raw materials, and putter components in various stages of the fabrication process

How did this all start for you? Is this something you already knew how to do? Did you take this up as a hobby?

Ian made his first putter in 2015 with no experience prior to that. The only reason he knew how to do that was looking through forums on GolfWRX. He made a thread on there, which actually still may be on the site if you dig deep enough. Ian learned a lot with that endeavor. The putter looked good, but the quality and playability wasn’t anywhere near what we’re able to achieve today. That putter was essentially the starting point. After that, the second putter he made was the one Gary noticed in 2016 that started this whole thing.

I’m sure there’s more to it than merely being a good looking putter. Is there any technology in your putters that set them apart in terms of performance? Materials? Milling process?

I would have to start with the consistency of our CNC machine. We are able to put a very high level of quality and consistency into our product. We can control the depth of the face milling per customer request. We can have just about any putter head matched up with every hosel as well, which helps tremendously with customization. Also, we think most putter manufacturers are making putter heads too light at 350-360 grams. Our putters will vary depending upon the model and material you select, but most will wind up in the neighborhood of 370-400 grams.

Tell me about when you first started playing golf. When and how did the game grab ahold of you?

Gary’s granddad gave him a set of mismatched bladed irons and persimmon woods when he was a kid and that started his love affair with the game at a very young age. Ian started playing as a junior, and at the time Gary was working in the local pro shop and wanting to be a PGA pro, so that’s where our friendship started as well.

Custom, bespoke Raybon Putter crafted per customer specifications

Do you have a favorite club you’ve ever owned? Anything stay in your bag for a ridiculously long time?

Of course! A Raybon Putter! Ian loves just about anything Cleveland/Srixon. Ian also had a Teryllium insert Scotty Cameron Newport long neck that stuck around for a very long time, partly because he took impeccably great care of it. Gary owned a Mizuno Anser-style putter for quite a few years as well.

What are some of your favorite golf courses on each side of the pond? Have you been able to play much golf over here?

Stoke by Nayland in Essex is one of our favorite courses. It has held a European senior tour event and is regularly used as one of the qualifying courses for The Open Championship. Just a great course. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the chance to play a great deal of golf in the States, but we’d love to.

Your online putter designer is pretty darn cool and hours of fun. How long did it take you to develop that? What was that process like? Is there anything you’re thinking of adding to it?

We secured an investment to start this business in January of 2017 and that’s when we spoke to a web designer about creating the design suite. It took a good three months, so it was ready just about the minute we opened the doors. The thing that took the longest, though, was getting our CNC machine in place and all the right fixturing and things of that nature to ensure we were going to make a quality product.

Ian Raybon in the design phase of a lucky customer’s perfect putter.

If you had access to a time machine, where would you go and what would you see? Doesn’t have to be golf related at all.

I’d start Raybon putters 100 years earlier and get ahead of the competition!

Your company is doing great things, but it’s still in its infancy. I’m assuming you’re getting some guidance along the way, but even if not, you guys are definitely doing some things right. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten in golf, business, or just life in general?

Stop letting life happen to you. It wasn’t so much advice given to me, but advice I heard someone saying they once got. It really hit home with me and now I try not to “just float by.” I am not sure how it’s helping me in personal life or business life as yet. That thought process must be helping, but we are young men and it’s a new business. We are far from the finished article, but I am sure when we are I will be able to say how the thought processed helped. For now, it’s about being thoughtful on your decisions and never allowing something to just happen to you. You take control and steer life, business and relationships where you want them to go. You’re in control and what you get from life is a direct result of your actions. It’s about keeping that in mind at all times.

What do you guys have in the works? Any products you’d like to tease? Tell people how to find you on social media, etc.

As far as social media goes, we are definitely most active on Instagram. @raybonputters is our handle on there. Our website is raybonputters.com and we would definitely recommend people go there to check out our lineup and play with our online design suite. There’s a wide array of options out there for you to arrive at exactly the right putter for you. As we said, though, we’re here to help and we absolutely want you to be satisfied with your putter, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us and we’ll start a conversation about how to create your perfect putter.

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

Published

4 hours ago

Apr 18, 2024

Terry Koehler

Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.

Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.

But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.

To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.

Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.

If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.

In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.

Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.

While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.

So, what about grooves and face texture?

Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.

Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.

But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?

The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.

So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.

And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.

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Golf's Perfect Imperfections

Golf’s Perfect Imperfections: Amazing Session with Performance Coach Savannah Meyer-Clement

Published

4 hours ago

Apr 18, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

In this week’s episode, we spent some time with performance coach Savannah Meyer-Clement who provides many useful insights that you’ll be able to implement on the golf course.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 RBC Heritage betting preview: Patrick Cantlay ready to get back inside winner’s circle

Published

3 days ago

Apr 15, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

Just a two-hour drive from Augusta National, the PGA TOUR heads to Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Hilton Head Island is a golfer’s paradise and Harbour Town is one of the most beautiful and scenic courses on the PGA TOUR.

Harbour Town Golf Links is a par-71 that measures 7,121 yards and features Bermuda grass greens. A Pete Dye design, the course is heavily tree lined and features small greens and many dog legs, protecting it from “bomb-and-gauge” type golfers.

The field is loaded this week with 69 golfers with no cut. Last year was quite possibly the best field in RBC Heritage history and the event this week is yet another designated event, meaning there is a $20 million prize pool.

Most of the big names on the PGA Tour will be in attendance this week with the exceptions of Hideki Matsuyama and Viktor Hovland. Additionally, Webb Simpson, Shane Lowry, Gary Woodland and Kevin Kisner have been granted sponsors exemptions.

Past Winners at Harbour Town

2023: Matt Fitzpatrick (-17)
2022: Jordan Spieth (-13)
2021: Stewart Cink (-19)
2020: Webb Simpson (-22)
2019: CT Pan (-12)
2018: Sotoshi Kodaira (-12)
2017: Wesley Bryan (-13)
2016: Branden Grace (-9)
2015: Jim Furyk (-18)

In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).

Key Stats For Harbour Town

Let’s take a look at key metrics for Harbour Town Golf Links to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their past 24 rounds.

Strokes Gained: Approach

Strokes Gained: Approach is exceedingly important this week. The greens at Harbour Town are about half the size of PGA TOUR average and feature the second-smallest greens on the tour. Typical of a Pete Dye design, golfers will pay the price for missed greens.

Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds

Scottie Scheffler (+1.27)
Tom Hoge (+1.27)
Corey Conners (+1.16)
Austin Eckroat (+0.95)
Cameron Young (+0.93)

Good Drive %

The fairways at Harbour Town are tree lined and feature many dog legs. Bombers tend to struggle at the course because it forces layups and doesn’t allow long drivers to overpower it. Accuracy is far more important than power.

Good Drive % Over Past 24 Rounds

Brice Garnett (88.8%)
Shane Lowry (+87.2%)
Akshay Bhatia (+86.0%)
Si Woo Kim (+85.8%)
Sepp Straka (+85.1%)

Strokes Gained: Total at Pete Dye Designs

Pete Dye specialists tend to play very well at Harbour Town. Si Woo Kim, Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk and Webb Simpson are all Pete Dye specialists who have had great success here. It is likely we see some more specialists near the top of the leaderboard this week.

SG: TOT Pete Dye per round over past 36 rounds:

Xander Schauffele (+2.27)
Scottie Scheffler (+2.24)
Ludvig Aberg (+2.11)
Brian Harman (+1.89)
Sungjae Im (+1.58)

4. Strokes Gained: Short Game (Bermuda)

Strokes Gained: Short Game factors in both around the green and putting. With many green-side bunkers and tricky green complexes, both statistics will be important. Past winners — such as Jim Furyk, Wes Bryan and Webb Simpson — highlight how crucial the short game skill set is around Harbour Town.

SG: SG Over Past 24 Rounds

Jordan Spieth (+1.11)
Taylor Moore (+1.02)
Wyndham Clark (+0.98)
Mackenzie Hughes (+0.86)
Andrew Putnam (+0.83)

5. Greens in Regulation %

The recipe for success at Harbour Town Golf Links is hitting fairways and greens. Missing either will prove to be consequential — golfers must be in total control of the ball to win.

Greens in Regulation % over past 24 rounds:

Brice Garnett (+75.0%)
Scottie Scheffler (+69.9%)
Corey Conners (+69.0%)
Shane Lowry (+68.3%)
Patrick Rodgers (+67.6%)

6. Course History

Harbour Town is a course where players who have strong past results at the course always tend to pop up.

Course History over past 24 rounds:

Patrick Cantlay (+2.34)
Cam Davis (+2.05)
J.T. Poston (+1.69)
Justin Rose (+1.68)
Tommy Fleetwood (+1.59)

The RBC Heritage Model Rankings

Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (24%), Good Drives (20%), SG: SG (14%), SG: Pete Dye (14%), GIR (14%), and Course History (14%)

Shane Lowry
Russell Henley
Scottie Scheffler
Xander Schauffele
Corey Conners
Wyndham Clark
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Matt Fitzpatrick
Cameron Young
Ludvig Aberg

2024 RBC Heritage Picks

Patrick Cantlay +2000 (FanDuel)

With the exception of Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour has yet to have any of their star players show peak form during the 2024 season. Last week, Patrick Cantlay, who I believe is a top-5 players on the PGA Tour, took one step closer to regaining the form that’s helped him win eight events on Tour since 2017.

Cantlay limped into the Masters in poor form, but figured it out at Augusta National, finishing in a tie for 20th and ranking 17th for the week in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. The former FedEx Cup champion will now head to one of his favorite golf courses in Harbour Town, where he’s had immaculate results over the years. In his six trips to the course, he’s only finished worse than 7th one time. The other finishes include three third places (2017, 2019, 2023) and one runner-up finish (2022). In his past 36 rounds at Harbour Town, Cantlay ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Total per round at the course by a wide margin (+2.36).

Cantlay is winless since the 2022 BMW Championship, which is far too long for a player of his caliber. With signs pointing to the 32-year-old returning to form, a “signature event” at Harbour Town is just what he needs to get back on the winning track.

Tommy Fleetwood +3000 (FanDuel)

I truly believe Tommy Fleetwood will figure out a way to win on American soil in 2024. It’s certainly been a bugaboo for him throughout his career, but he is simply too talented to go another season without winning a PGA Tour event.

At last week’s Masters Tournament, Fleetwood made a Sunday charge and ended up finishing T3 in the event, which was his best ever finish at The Masters. For the week, the Englishman ranked 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 10th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking and 16th in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Harbour Town is a perfect layout for Fleetwood, and he’s had relative success at this Pete Dye design in the past. In his four trips to the course, he’s finished inside of the top 25 three times, with his best finish, T10, coming in 2022. The course is pretty short and can’t be overpowered, which gives an advantage to more accurate players such as Fleetwood. Tommy ranks 8th in the field in Good Drive % and should be able to plot his way along this golf course.

The win is coming for Tommy lad. I believe there’s a chance this treasure of a golf course may be the perfect one for him to finally break through on Tour.

Cameron Young +3300 (FanDuel)

Cameron Young had a solid Masters Tournament last week, which is exactly what I’m looking for in players who I anticipate playing well this week at the RBC Heritage. He finished in a tie for 9th, but never felt the pressure of contending in the event. For the week, Young ranked 6th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 6th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Despite being one of the longest players off the tee on the PGA Tour, Young has actually played some really good golf on shorter tracks. He finished T3 at Harbour Town in 2023 and ranks 20th in the field in Good Drive% and 16th in Greens in Regulation in his past 24 rounds. He also has strong finishes at other shorter courses that can take driver out of a players hand such as Copperhead and PGA National.

Young is simply one of the best players on the PGA Tour in 2024, and I strongly believe has what it takes to win a PGA Tour event in the very near future.

Corey Conners +5500 (FanDuel)

Corey Conners has had a disappointing year thus far on the PGA Tour, but absolutely loves Harbour Town.

At last week’s Masters Tournament, the Canadian finished T30 but ranked 20th in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach. In his past 24 rounds, Conners ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach, 3rd in Greens in Regulation % and 24th in Good Drive %.

In Conners’ last four trips to Harbour Town, his worst finish was T31, last season. He finished T4 in 2021, T12 in 2022 and ranks 8th in Strokes Gained: Total at the course over his past 36 rounds.

Conners hasn’t been contending, but his recent finishes have been encouraging as he has finished in the top-25 in each of his past three starts prior to The Masters, including an impressive T13 at The PLAYERS. His recent improvement in ball striking as well as his suitability for Harbour Town makes Conners a high upside bet this week.

Shane Lowry (+7500) (FanDuel)

When these odds were posted after Lowry was announced in the field, I have to admit I was pretty stunned. Despite not offering much win equity on the PGA Tour over the last handful of years, Shane Lowry is still a top caliber player who has the ability to rise to the top of a signature event.

Lowry struggled to score at The Masters last week, but he actually hit the ball really well. The Irishman ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Approach on the week and 7th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking. As usual, it was the putter that let him down, as he ranked 60th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Harbour Town is most definitely one of Lowry’s favorite courses on the PGA Tour. In his six starts there, he’s finished in the top 10 three times, including third twice. Lowry is sensational at Pete Dye designs and ranks 7th in Strokes Gained: Total in his past 36 rounds on Dye tracks.

Lowry is perfect for Harbour Town. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 5th in Strokes Gained: Approach, 2nd in Good Drive% and 5th in Green in Regulation %. If he figures it out on the greens, Shane could have his first win in America since 2015.

Lucas Glover +12000 (FanDuel)

This is one of my weekly “bet the number” plays as I strongly believe the odds are just too long for a player of Glover’s caliber. The odds have been too long on Glover for a few weeks now, but this is the first event that I can get behind the veteran being able to actually contend at.

Glover is quietly playing good golf and returning to the form he had after the understandable regression after his two massive victories at the end of 2023. He finished T20 at The Masters, which was his best ever finish at Augusta National. For the week, Lucas ranked 18th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 20th in Strokes Gained: Ball Striking.

Over his past 24 rounds, Glover ranks 9th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th in Good Drive %. Harbour Town is a short course that the 44-year-old will be able to keep up with the top players on Tour off the tee. He’s played the course more than 20 times, with mixed results. His best finishes at Harbour Town include a T7 in 2008, but recently has a finish of T21 in 2020.

Glover has proven he can contend with the stars of the Tour on any given week, and this number is flat out disrespectful.

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