It’s not what you’d expect from a small golf equipment company, a storefront-fitting center in Metro Detroit that showcases Scratch Golf’s wedges, irons, putters and accessories.

But Scratch has never been the average small golf equipment company, and if company founder Ari Techner has it his way, it never will be.

Techner founded Scratch in 2003 with a simple premise – he wanted average golfers to have access to the same custom equipment options that were available to the pros, particularly the sole grinds on forged wedges. And he was way ahead of his time. Ten years later, leading wedge makers Cleveland and Vokey are just now scratching the surface of their custom wedge grind programs.

So what has Scratch been doing in the last 10 years? According to Techner, a little too much

[quote_box_center]“We were trying to be everything to everybody, instead of just sticking to what we’re good at,” Techner said.[/quote_box_center]

Trying to be everything to everybody resulted in Scratch creating a line of cast wedges that competed directly with offerings from Cleveland and Vokey, brands that dominate usage on the PGA Tour and have much larger marketing budgets. It also had Scratch shipping off-the-rack sets of irons to big-box golf retail stores, where they sat on shelves next to more familiar names like Callaway, Ping and TaylorMade.

[quote_box_center]“We did all that in an attempt to get our name out there,” Techner said. “We had some success with some of the stores, but it didn’t really work.”[/quote_box_center]

Industry insiders can name several reasons while Scratch has struggled to capitalize on its early success, which saw the company grow from a garage venture into one of the most respected small golf equipment companies in just a few years. But the important thing to know is this – the Scratch mantra, custom clubs for anyone, is the enemy of large-scale retail success.

That’s why Scratch’s new storefront in Metro Detroit and rededication to the custom market makes perfect sense. It’s a return to the company’s roots.

Michigan is where Scratch Golf got its start. Techner was raised in Birmingham, Mich., and attended Ferris State University in Big Rapids. That’s where he he met Jeff McCoy, a Port Huron, Mich., native who became Scratch’s chief design engineer and master grinder.

Neither Techner nor McCoy will be far from home in Berkley, Mich., the site of Scratch’s new store, which is about 2.5 miles north of Detroit’s city limits. Despite the close border, however, Scratch’s location has little resemblance to Detroit, whose financial troubles have made national news headlines due to the city’s recent bankruptcy filing.

By design, Scratch’s location is just minutes from many of Metro Detroit’s trendiest bars and restaurants. The store’s lime-colored awning and 21-foot-tall golf tee should peak the interest of motorists, and its proximity to many of Detroit’s best private clubs means that some of the passers-by will be potential Scratch customers.

But Scratch’s success won’t be as tied to where the company is located as much as how efficiently the company can fill its custom orders, which has been a problem for Scratch in the past. That’s why Techner has decided to make major changes to Scratch’s business plan – no more cast wedges, and no more sales in big box stores. That will allow Scratch to do more of what it does best, he said, make the most customizable golf clubs on the planet.

[quote_box_center]“The most (blank)” is a phrase that is used so much in the golf industry that it’s rarely taken seriously any more. Golfers are bombarded with marketing campaigns that claim that a company’s clubs are the “most forgiving” or the “most adjustable,” etc. But when Techner says that his clubs are the most customizable, it’s no marketing ploy.[/quote_box_center]

Scratch has built irons for customers that were based on napkin sketches. They’ve designed wedges for golfers who want their bounce angle accurate to one-half of a degree, with finishes that are unlike any others used in the industry.

Take, for example, Scratch’s color-case hardened finish (pictured above). The finish requires a wedge to be is exposed to a mixture of ash and bone, among other things, which is kept in place by wrapping the wedge in tin foil. The foil is then heated on and off for 30 days, which creates the finish’s unique look.

Click here to see more photos of Scratch’s custom clubs, and what members are saying about the fitting studio in the forums.

While aesthetics are important to Scratch, the company’s bread and butter is its custom fitting system, which includes about 30 stock grinds. But those grinds can be customized in any way — the bounce, camber, sole width, leading edge grind, etc. — creating a virtually unlimited amount of grinds. Scratch can also create just about any head shape, tweaking the style of a club’s topline and toe shape to a golfer’s preference.

Scratch has also made changes to its more stock products, its 1018 Forged Wedges and “AR-1” and “EZ-1” irons, which are also forged from 1018 carbon steel. The new wedges and irons have swapped Scratch’s old english “S” logo on the back of the club for the company’s name, which Techner said was done to create more brand awareness. Scratch’s logo still remains on the clubs, but it has been moved to the toe section.

Above: Scratch’s AR-1 Version 2 irons. Below: Scratch’s EZ-1 Version 2 irons.

[quote_box_center]”A lot of people have told me that they’ve never heard of Scratch golf, but when the saw the ‘S’ logo on my clubs, they said, “I know that brand,” Techner said.[/quote_box_center]

Both the wedges and irons also have subtle design tweaks that reflect the company’s most popular requests for custom clubs. The AR-1 V2 irons, Scratch’s most compact forged cavity-back model, have less offset, a more square head shape and a thinner sole than the original AR-1 irons. The EZ-1 V2 irons, Scratch’s largest and most forgiving model, also have a more square head shape and reduced offset, but they’ve kept their wider soles to aid forgiveness.

Both sets of irons come stock with Scratch’s DS (Driver-Slider) grind, but are available through custom order in either the company’s DD (Digger-Driver) grind, which is best for golfers with steep angles of attack, or the SS (Sweeper-Slider) grind, which is preferred by golfers with shallow angles of attack. The irons will retail for the same price as the original models, $1199 in all three grinds, and come stock with either Nippon’s N.S. Pro Super Peening Orange shafts in R Flex or the N.S. Pro Super Peening Blue shafts in S Flex.

Scratch’s new 1018 Forged Wedges have a different leading edge shape than the company’s previous wedges. Scratch’s original line of 1018’s had very straight leading edges, while its 8620 Cast Wedges had very round leading edges. The leading edge shape of the new forged wedges is a tweener — not as square as the old 1018’s, but not as round as the 8620’s.

Golfers who live near Detroit, or are able to visit will be able to maximize Scratch’s custom-fitting abilities.

Scratch partnered with Arizona-based custom club fitter Cool Clubs and will use its Trackman-based system to fit wedges and irons (Scratch doesn’t make woods), as well as select Callaway and TaylorMade drivers, fairway woods and hybrids. Scratch also has Cool Clubs’ video-based putter fitting system, which will allow Scratch’s staff to fit golfers for the company’s James Ingles Bespoke putters, which are handmade in London (Click here to learn more about James Ingles putters).

Above: A James Ingles bullseye putter with a color-case hardened finish.

According to Techner, the Detroit-area fitting studio is just the start of Scratch’s relationship with Detroit. For more than a year, Scratch has been planning a custom-club program called “The Armory,” which will allow golfers to purchase Scratch irons and wedges with pre-made custom finishes, head shapes, grinds and stampings. That will allow golfers to get Scratch’s most popular custom club finishes and styles without the 6-to-10-week wait time that it takes from Scratch to produce a totally custom product.

Techner said “The Armory” will be launched before the end of the year on Scratch’s website. He also confirmed that Scratch’s club making facility will be moved from Chattanooga, Tenn., to the Detroit area before the end of the year. The only Scratch team member who will not be making the move to Detroit is legendary club maker Don White, who will continue to build custom Scratch irons and wedges from his home in Chattanooga.

Click here to see more photos of Scratch’s custom clubs, and what members are saying about the fitting studio in the forums.