Equipment
Northern milling: SGC Putters is Canada’s own putter boutique
It seems like everywhere you look nowadays there is a new putter boutique popping up across the USA. With all of these new options who needs to go down to their local big box store and grab the latest mass-produced OEM offering.
We all want something personal and something no one else has.
For many years customers in the USA have been able to access custom boutique putters such as Mann Krafted, Piretti, Tyson Lamb, Artisan, Scratch, Xenon, APC, and the list goes on from there. These brands are all phenomenal in their own rights but come at a high cost to us North of the border once you add exchange and duties.
I am sure that many a Canadian has wondered what if we could get something milled in our own country that we could take pride in like our neighbours to the South. We did have this option at one time through Daito Putters till they went out of business.
There is a new option, and I am fairly certain that if you are not from Truro, Nova Scotia, or the surrounding area you have most likely never heard of SGC Putters.
Staurt Cox, the founder and inspiration behind SGC Putters, never intended to get into putter manufacturing business. In speaking with Stuart, he actually got his start in the putter business was through refinishing. During his University days, he would buy refinish and resell all types of putters. It was this process that peaked his interest for milled putters. Like any true club lover, his time was slowly taken over by researching the stories and processes of many different milled putter makers. Stuart remembers that “Piretti was just getting started when I was in university and I actually contacted them (and other makers about info). I bought a few Early Piretti putters just out of curiosity.”
After doing his research and dedicating himself to school studies as well as the putter industry Stuart decided to download some cheap CAD software and teach himself how to use this technology. He made a few designs at first and just let them sit for a few years.
Stuart decided to take the plunge after university was done. In late 2012, he had a few heads milled. Following this, he went all in in 2013. Stuart remembers, “I started SGC Putters….one head style…limited options…. eventually as I sold some I added another head, etc. I taught myself everything as I went from design, stamping, shaping, finishing, making my own headcovers, website, etc.”
The growth of his business was slow but he did still have the refinishing aspect to fall back on as well. As the years went by he decided to invest more in his hobby and started having both grips and headcovers made professionally to go along with his growing number of head styles.
I asked Stuart about his design inspirations and he told me “I like clean, classic designs. I’m not out to reinvent the wheel but eventually, I likely will grow to offer more complex head styles.” I also inquired about why milled putters when there are so many other types of clubs. “What intrigued me about milled putters were the fine lines and sharp edges so my earlier putters had sharp lines and edges… eventually I’ve come to appreciate softer finishes on edges, but will leave them if a customer wants them less softened.“
Stuart does still consider this a business a “hobby” but at the same time realizes how important customer input and interaction is to his success. He can at times feel limited in comparison to other putter makers as he doesn’t have the time, money and resources available to them. He went on to tell me that “I only invest what I have available into heads, covers, grips, shafts, etc. I have small batches of head milled so if I have a logo on the head, I have to work with that on a customers design… the same with my face mills, I just offer the pattern on the face and don’t get into offering different patterns. This allows me to keep my costs down and my prices lower than some other makers.”
Stuart won’t let being a small maker get in his way when it comes to a special request from a customer. He is very forthcoming with his customers and says “I will push myself on some special requests from time to time – it’s all a learning process. I have always been good with my hands and making things so sometimes taking a risk or chance on a design becomes less scary once you have the experience and understanding to know that you can fix the problem if you screw up. Customers are always great and very understanding when I explain what I can and can’t do currently.”
When asked about the future Stuart says he “hopes to continue to slowly grow the brand. I have realized that if I want to grow things I couldn’t do it making every putter individually. So I’ve started to come out with a line of putters more focused on retail, but still customizable.”
Although not his day job, it seems as though Stuart is creating a niche for himself within our large industry. In addition to his putter crafting, he is an Operations Manager as a PGA of Canada Club professional in Nova Scotia. More importantly, he is a husband with an exceedingly patient wife and a father of two small children.
It is always an exciting thing to a gear junkie to be able to find something that is playable, exceptional quality, and that none of your buddies have. Stuart provides this through SGC Putters. I know that my all-blacked out model is ready to hit the course this spring!
See Stuart’s site and creations on the SGC Putter website
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Equipment
Rickie Fowler’s new putter: Standard-length Odyssey Jailbird 380 in custom orange
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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Whats in the Bag
Akshay Bhatia WITB 2024 (May)
- Akshay Bhatia what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. Bhatia is deciding between drivers. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Max LS (9 degrees @7.2, 2 grams lead tape heel, 4 grams toe)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (44 7/8 inches, tipped 1 inch)
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (15 degrees @13.9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X (43 inches, tipped 1.5)
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW Prototype (19 degrees @17.8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 10 X
Irons: Callaway X Forged UT (21 degrees) Buy here, Callaway Apex TCB Raw (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 125 S+
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S @49, 54-10S, 60-08C @61)
Shafts: KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X
Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird 380
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Split
Grips: Iomic
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
More photos of Akshay Bhatia’s WITB in the forums.
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Whats in the Bag
Emiliano Grillo WITB 2024 (May)
- Emiliano Grillo what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
5-wood: Cobra LTDx Prototype (18.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Callaway MD3 Milled (46-08S), Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S, 54-10S, 60-08T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Emiliano Grillo’s clubs here.
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Andrew Warrington
May 2, 2019 at 8:26 am
Stuart is awesome to work with, and the putters are fantastic. My SGC has been my gamer since 2016.
CJB
May 2, 2019 at 3:04 am
Good Luck Stuart, I hope it works out for you.
H
May 2, 2019 at 12:56 am
They look ‘orrible
Ben
May 1, 2019 at 9:46 pm
Great Ping copies
Tommy Roberts
May 1, 2019 at 5:20 pm
What happened to John Byron Putters? As everything except for modern mallets, copy/deviations, just very well made. Have a bunch of their prototypes, but never hear much.
Adam Dickinson
May 1, 2019 at 4:22 pm
Massive shout out to Stuart for his involvement in this article. A great person to deal with and a super high quality product. Will go that extra mile. #makebirdiesnotpar
Jeff Burns
May 1, 2019 at 3:18 pm
Great write-up. I recently purchased a putter from SGC and I can’t say enough good things about Stuart and the process we went through. It was completely painless and in the end he crafted EXACTLY what I had envisioned. It’s truly a playable work of art… I couldn’t ask for anything more!