Posted September 17, 201311 yr comment_214034 As you all have probably seen, Craig and I went to Gold's Factory back in August so he could experience time with the master and watch as some of his putters were remade. http://www.golftoimpress.com/craigs-excellent-japan-adventure-part-1-golds-factory/ They 4 putters he brought with him that day are now finished and I have them here. First up the damage and rusted badly Epon i-33. Refinished and grinded to remove rust. Horizontal PZ milling, Orbit around G Weights and Initials added. Very cool Teflon black finish.
September 17, 201311 yr Author comment_214035 Craig's Epon ZEN putter was put on a balance point and the CG or sweet spot was more than half a centimeter off from the center of the putter/face milling. Craig really wanted a sight dot on the head but Master Sasaya was against it as if it was not right in the middle he believed it would be too ugly. We wanted to bring the headweight up so at the same time we attempted to shift the CG with a heavier weight on the toe and a lighter one on the heel. Alas the few extra grams on the toe was still not enough to move the CG dead center so the master said NO to the sight dot. Looks darn cool though and now the head is closer to the weight Craig wants.
September 17, 201311 yr Author comment_214036 While the two Epon putters are nice, the other two are actually my favorite. They are clean and classy and feel awesome, especially the DWD. Interestingly the DWD has a flat face and Hiro a fine milled face which provide great feedback. I won't repeat what the process was with the Hiro but I will just post what I wrote on the blog plus the finished photos. There was lots going on in the Gold's Factory workshop as we moved our attention to the Hiro Matsumoto Tour putter Craig brought in. The black dyed head was fading and edges of the brass putter were coming through. Sasaya-san sand blasted the head to remove the bulk of the finish and then came the work to begin refinishing this gamer. Scratches, dings were to be removed and this putter restored to a new look with its original brass material as the base. The putter was placed in the CNC machine and the un milled face checked. Gold's Factory does this for EVERY putter, regardless of whether it is a Gold's putter or other brand, regardless of whether it is new or old. As you can imagine, its quite important to have a perfectly flat face when it comes to putting and you will be surprised to discover how many brands or retail putters do not. They are able to measure and machine to fractions of a mm (they were machining the face of a putter before the Matsumoto at a depth of 0.04mm. Yes 4/100th of a millimeter which is half the width of human hair. Comparatively speaking the Matsumoto was pretty good overall for a flat face though Gold's was able to detect a slight concave dip towards the center at 0.05mm. This was easily corrected by machining the face with a very fine milling. Two passes heel to toe then toe to heel and the a second check of the face showed the Matsumoto was now perfectly flat. Gold's factory dubs this a very fine milling. You can clearly see the mill marks but running your hand along the face, it feels smooth! At this point the face can be left like this or polished which will remove the mill marks for a polished finish. Next up was some light grinding to remove rough edges and damaged portions of the putter. The grinding process is quite a tedious job and is usually done over the span of several days. Grinding is done with different grit of sandpaper depending on the wound 0r damage and then slowly the grit becomes more fine as the putter becomes more and more smooth. It was very cool to see this done as the black finish came off to show the brass. Sasaya-san's goal is to polish the brass and then allowing it to oxidize. Through the oxidation process the color of the putter will continue to darken and antique over time. The oxidation actually serves as protection for the putter against corrosion. As the putter was grinded and polished over and over, it transformed into a completely different looking head from just a few hours earlier. And here is the Hiro finished!
September 17, 201311 yr Author comment_214037 The DWD in teflon black with blue accents and inserts in the cavity just look awesome and for me it rolls amazing. Some people don't like the sound slot but I love it and the feel of the face is crisp which is different from Sasaya-san's usual ultra soft feel. Great feedback and something different feel wise for Craig.
September 17, 201311 yr comment_214039 Wholly smokes that rusted up spam has turned into a delight Seriously the post office shud be shot for what they didto that Great attention to detail australian post!!!!!!! In aweird way at least you now have one seriously good looking origianl i33!
September 17, 201311 yr comment_214042 What Stu said, I want mine done, could you PM me please Tario with som details and costing thanks.
September 17, 201311 yr comment_214043 Very nice! What is the reason for not flushing the heel side backweight on the zen?
September 17, 201311 yr comment_214044 vavavoom!!!! Well done Tario and GF! Congrats Craig. Fantastic looking flatsticks. May they putt well! Edited September 17, 201311 yr by wmclarenf1
September 18, 201311 yr comment_214059 These are great!!! Once again Golds Factory shows how to make two Masterpieces (i33 & Zen) look even better!!!
September 18, 201311 yr Author comment_214080 Very nice! What is the reason for not flushing the heel side backweight on the zen? Michael both the weights on the heel and toe were inserted on curved parts of the sole ie the toe and the heel so it was difficult to make the flushed without slightly curving or rounding the weights. Since Gold's machines the weights themselves, the added a beveled edge around each weight and this bevel makes the appearance that the edges are flush. If the bevel was not added, the weight would jut out on each side of the curved sole.
September 21, 201311 yr Author comment_214228 While the Epon putters are nice... its the other two I like best. Will shoot them and get them up asap!
October 16, 201311 yr Author comment_215544 Guys sorry for the late posting. Photos taken and post 3 and 4 are updated with the Hiro and DWD. My favorites of the 4!
October 16, 201311 yr comment_215545 they came out well. understated for golds. that brass finish is just magnificent
October 17, 201311 yr Author comment_215581 That DWD looks fantastic! Congrats again! I love the DWD, I almost want to keep it (^_^)
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