The College Kid Who Bet On Himself And Took On The Big Putter Boys

How a college engineering student discovered his calling on the floor of a machine shop and built one of golf’s most intriguing new putter companies

Many are called. Few are chosen.

Perhaps you’ve heard the call. To learn a new skill. Start a new hobby. To launch a business. Many of us have been called, in one way or another, to do something bigger or greater than ourselves.

But few of us have ever been chosen.

Despite loving the game of basketball, I never grew to be 6’8″. And in the case Drew Sommers of Sanfirth Golf, his passion for hockey never quite materialized into holding Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Sommers, who grew up in the Maritime region of Canada, was never the biggest or strongest hockey player. He relied on his competitive edge and work ethic to overcome the things that were out of his control.

When you aren’t “chosen”, in the figurative sense, you can do one of two things. You can whine, moan and complain about how you don’t have the same opportunities, blessings or privileges that others do.

Or, as is the case of Sommers, you can call your own number. Bet on yourself. Relish being the underdog.

No, we’re not talking about hockey anymore. We’re talking about breaking into an industry that’s probably even less likely than Sommers ever holding the Stanley Cup.

Because a few years ago on the floor of a machine shop, Sommers decided to call his own number.

Why can’t a college kid from Canada with zero machining experience take on the billion-dollar putter industry?

Asking himself that question probably felt ridiculous. At the time, Sommers was a mechanical engineering student and had started working for his girlfriend’s dad in a local machine shop.

It was there that Sommers truly discovered what he was called to do.

“I had never seen a CNC machine in my life and had little knowledge of modern manufacturing, but I loved it and ended up staying for the next two summers,” Sommers said.

“The experience challenged my understanding of the relationship between business, craftsmanship and engineering. After this (experience), I knew I was someone who wanted to combine the entrepreneurial spirit with hands-on craftsmanship.”

Sanfirth Golf was born of a valuable lesson learned on the machine shop floor for those two summers.

“Good products aren’t the result of good design alone; they are the result of design and manufacturing working together,” Sommers continued.

“At Sanfirth, we benefit from having advanced manufacturing capabilities and hands-on design. Our five-axis milling technology allows us to mill complex geometries, which reduces manufacturing constraints that can typically limit design freedom. We are able to merge in-house engineering with advanced manufacturing capabilities, ultimately creating a single continuous process that allows us to design, experiment and iterate in a free manner”.

The results speak for themselves. That lesson, or design philosophy rather, is why Sanfirth’s initial offering, a multi-material mid-mallet (try saying that five times, fast!), sold out.

Perhaps golfers resonate with the phrase “Maritime Milled”, something that adorns each putter Sanfirth crafts as a nod to the company’s maritime roots.

Or maybe it’s the fact that a self-taught machinist who’s still very green in the world of putters was able to create something so unique, dare I say breathtaking.

But I think the real reason people resonate with Sommers and Sanfirth is even simpler than that. And it goes back to something he told me, a phrase that’s really stuck with me.

“Being the underdog is energizing,” Sommers quipped.

“Our goal isn’t to sell a bunch of putters and pack it in. Selling putters means we get to keep making what we love and continually improve.”

You can check out what Sommers is cooking up with Sanfirth Golf over on their website.