Inside the Scotty Cameron Studio (by Scotty Cameron)
Every now and again my wife Kathy and I take our daughter ip to Newport Beach to rent a boat and cruise around the harbor. There is nothing better than enjoying the sun and seas, hearing the sounds of the water splashing the hull, and the birds crooning as they fly by. Newport Beach is a special place to me and it is only fitting to have a cpecial putter with the same name. What separates the “Beach” from other designs is the sound slot, which gives the putter a different feel by creating a unique sound.
Sound Slots and How They Effect Sound
The first sound slots were made by a guy named Art Culver who was a neighbor of Ray Cook. The two used to tinker in the garage and when Art introduced the sound slot to Ray he thought it was great and implemented it into his own design and you can find Ray Cook putters today with the same slot. Another great craftsman and engineer, Karsten Solheim, used the sound
slot starting in 1958 on the A-1 design. In fact, there are early putters with tire rubber wedged between the slots to change the pitch and eliminate vibration.
In the Studio, we have experimented extensively with the “Art of Sound” to really understand what it is about sound that changes the characteristicts of the putter. Let me first say that sound is personal opinion. What one person interprets to be a soft or controlled sound another player may find to be “tinny” or “hot”. That said, one of the first experiments we did was to put rifle style headphones, which could eliminate all sound, on a player and ask him to tell us which putter had the best feel. After testing several putters, some with sound slots and some without, the player could not identify one putter over the other. So it is sound that translates into feel and not the other way around. Sound has much more to do with feel than feel itself.
In Search of the Perfect Pitch
There are several factors that influence the sound or pitch of a putter. The closer the cut is made to the face or positioned near the face the more sound. The wall thickness of the design creates a tuning fork in essence. Another factor is the length of the cut or slot. The longer the slot themore sound is able to resonate. Face thickness is also a major factor in creating sound. If the face is too thick vibration and sound is eliminated depending on slot position. If the face is too thin the sound can be very high pitched and there is also concern of the face caving in. Look at address is also a factor. Some players like to see a clean profile but like the sound of a slot so it is cut into the face. Other guys like a more traditional look with a slot cut into the back flange.
We took all of those factors that create sound and experimented with many different designs. Slits went through the face, slits that were short, long, wider, thinner, front, back, and every combination that we could come up with. What we are continually trying to achieve is a controlled pitch that sounds solid and firm. We have also experimented with the sound slot on different putter designs other than the Newport. The Newport 2 for example has a thin topline and there is little room to position the slot.
We get players all the time testing sound in the Studio. When we first began making putters for Davis Love III, we had several designs for him to choose from. The putter that sounded and felt the best to him was a Newport with a sound slot that was cut into the middle of the face . He said the sound was soft and controlled. When we made the Newport Beach in the Studio stainless line, we positioned that slot in the same spot.
Sound is feel and plays an important role in the performance of the putter, especially to the user because sound is also tied into confidence and confidence is critical.
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