My 1st Gold's...but definitely not the last!!

[needmoregolf]

Lucky Money aka Lai See aka Red Envelope

I've been meaning to do a write up on my first experience with a new love affair my custom Golds Factory putter, fondly named, Lucky Money.

Let me back up a bit since I've not really given a formal introduction of myself since I joined the site. I'm relatively new to JDM, as this year marked my first year with this new obsession, but my, has it been a crazy ride since I jumped in the deep end...and I havent looked back since! It started with some Miura wedges, then Miura irons, then my first Epon set (AF Tours), and now its hard to count the stuff that's been in/out of the stable and all the new directions Ive headed with such amazing quality gear. Ive pretty much abandoned all USDM clubs (some old stuff still in the corners of the garage but will need to make an exodus at some point) and have no regrets of all the clubs Ive tried and the experiences I've had thus far being a part of this awesome site and getting to know some of the great members here.

One of the early members who befriended me, Stew, warned me at the onset that the addiction would spread like wild fire. He told me that while the iron sets, drivers and wedges may all seem pricy compared to their USDM counterparts, they are well worth their value in the quality and fun I would have with them. I have to agree, I've never had better equipment in my life and Im always thirsting for the next opportunity to try some more JDM, whether old or new. I dunno, call me a club ho, but that's pretty much the state of affairs when it comes to my outlook on all things golf-related at this point. He did warn me, however, about avoiding the putter threads as the potential craze may severely impact my pocket book.. (ominous, I know! ;)

Well, it was that one fateful night after putting the kids to sleep when I was sitting on the "throne," and starting browsing the putter threads on my phone...finally. I went from thread to thread looking at all the amazing pics of all your putters that had been through Gold's, and I literally stood no chance!! There was one putter though, that really struck me and sent me over the proverbial edge. Let me take pause and give credit where credit is due...tokidoki1986's Soft Black Inner Gold 1st Edition Seven Putter did me in -- what a beauty! After I handled my "business," I hit the computer and looked at as many pics and read as much as I could on everyone's experience with Golds, the prototype first edition Seven putter and TSG's handling of it all. I was hooked and there was nothing I could do to stop the urge to get one of my own.

Weeks later, after unsuccessfully trying to suppress this urge, I contacted Chris to start the discussion about potentially starting a project at some point. Well, the conditional statements were short-lived and days later I was already working on designing my putter with Chris. I like to think of myself as a creative individual with a good sense of design aesthetics, but if I'm being honest, I had no freakin clue about what I wanted. I liked tokidoki1986's putter, and everything I could think of was based off his putter. Chris basically put together a itemized quote for a putter that would match toki's, but somewhere along the way, his encouragement gave me some confidence to start personalizing and making things more custom to me. Before I knew it, I was starting to make small adjustments, which lead to major personalizations and I ended up with something that is definitely somewhat of an homage to tokis original putter, but has my personality written all over it.

The entire process was so exciting, working with Chris and going back and forth on email. He was very patient with me as I was making the slightest tweaks and sending new mockups, and he would do his best to either re-quote the changes, or just encouraged me to continue personalizing and designing until I was completely satisfied. I am truly happy with the end result (I'll post my mockups to show how closely everything matched, which is so crazy how precise the craftsmanship is at Gold's!), and I could not say better things about the entire process, especially it being my first experience with anything this custom, and working with a master of his craft, Sasaya-San. Thank you, Chris (and the TSG team), for helping this beauty come to life!

I urge anyone that is considering this type of custom work to pull the trigger, as the level of service from TSG cannot be beat and we all know how amazing the flatsticks that come out of Golds Factory always are THE BEST!

So, without further ado, let me introduce you all to Lucky Money



1. Seven prototype first generation SM490A putter head
2. Black Boron finish
3. 2 Dark Tungsten weights in the face with milled dots/red paint fill and Chinese characters engraved - toe weight "RED - 利" and heel weight "Envelope - 是"
4. Horizontal PZ Milling on face
5. 5 Overlapping Cavity Inserts with the middle one being larger and my last name engraved w/ red paint fill - 3 copper (main circle has a smaller milled inner circle), 2 tungsten (2 smaller milled inner circles w/ red paint fill)
6 Orbit G weights on sole - otherwise clean on the sole
7. Orichulum site dot
8. Site line
9. 4 Red Aluminum inserts in the bumpers w/ smaller milled inner circles
10. Seven logo milled on toe in red paint fill
11. Shimada Black Shaft
12. Superstroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip

This putter might be over the top to some, but for me, it was just such an eye-opening experience to the endless possibilities and the level of quality things can be done by those that are truly passionate about their craft. I definitely think this will be my "busiest" creation, but this first one is something that helps me identify with some important roots, and hopefully that will translate to some much needed zen with the flatstick!! =)

One last thing, I must warn those that are not already lucky owners of a Golds putter, it definitely raises the bar for every putter that you will ever encounter, and there is an incessant itch to potentially send in whatever flat stick is currently in your hands to get a Gold's tune up, no matter how amazing it already is!!

Thank you all for the inspiration! ;)

Edited September 24, 2014 by needmoregolf

[Hutch]

Congrats D

Having the golds treatment is definitely the best experiences in golf gear purchasing, great design mate you should be stoked with this stealthy bad boy, love the colours.

Hope it brings you great joy bro!

Happy days ;)

[RLL33]

Whew -- a dangerous looking beauty! Congrats, Daniel, and enjoy!

[mauvanilla]

looks fantastic!

[mpbachman]

Wow D, such a beauty, congratulations on the design, the outcome and I wish you all the birdies possible with this flatstick! Can't wait to see it rolling in person!

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Thank You! You are a pleasure to work with, detailed and very visual really helps this process along for TSG and Gold's Factory.

Your putter, your photos, everything looks great, Enjoy!

[supo]

oh dear,.... the door cud now be fully ajar!

beautiful putter indeed, very personalised

may she sink many 5ft left /right downhillers for par for you.

hard not to take that out every round. u might be lucky and just need the one!!!!

[Mob]

Looks great! Nice job. I am kind of on the fence as far as entering the putter quest goes right now, so hopefully I don't follow in your foot steps. Lucky for me, I am left handed and my options are limited. I did see a damascus steel black oxide Lujosi putter and it has me very interested.

[needmoregolf]

thanks gents, appreciate the great feedback :)

so far, some nice long one putts off the fringe and a couple sweet birds to go along with them. those 5 ft downhill breakers are my nemesis so yes, would love to conquer some of those with some Lucky Money.

[Spoon]

daniel you are so sneaky! like a sniper you always have new gear up your sleeve!

[needmoregolf]

C, you are the pot, I'm the kettle. haha I learn from the best, buddy ;)

Edited September 25, 2014 by needmoregolf

[mr.haha]

Awesome putter. BTW that is my last name too and half my family is in sf.

[needmoregolf]

thanks ha! if they live in SF, likely not related as I don't have family in SF with my last name, but good to know I've got some brethren up in the city!

[mr.haha]

oh just a shot in the dark! best of luck with the golds...def jealous.

[needmoregolf]

Had a few rounds and some good practice now and she's just getting better and better. perfect balance has really helped the tempo smooth and lag putts are now back in full effect. for awhile, I was leaving things way short, blowing past the hole and missing short putts, but this hasnt been a problem since this got in the bag!

feel is sublime... SM490A is spectacular, and not sure if the black boron changes the feel at all but I have to agree with a description Chris used before - it's hard to describe but somewhere between carbon and stainless. not too soft and not too hard with a muted soft click, perfect for me really, so definitely recommend others try, it really has a great feel to it!

Edited October 3, 2014 by needmoregolf

[madboarder]

Cant say how much I have enjoyed reading how much love you have for your flat stick. Great job NMG!

[needmoregolf]

Thanks mb!

[lousifers]

Hi, which model is that Shimada shaft and it comes in black or you do paint job?

As I know stock shaft of Epon ZEN is Shimada 120g. I want it lighter but seems like it's the lightest already

Also I really want to make the shaft black

Ya putter is nice, btw

Mark

[needmoregolf]

Mark, not exactly sure of the weight of my Shimada shaft as it came assembled from GF. During the design process, I specifically asked for a dark/smoked shaft so Chris suggested the Shimada Black shaft, so that's how it was referred to jn the order. I would send him a note directly to find out the exact spec and name to see if it suits your needs.

the finish is amazing and really like how it's stepless to give it an overall very smooth and stealthy appearance. Hope you find what you need!

[lousifers]

Thanks mate

Chris, pls help

Mark

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Hi, which model is that Shimada shaft and it comes in black or you do paint job?

As I know stock shaft of Epon ZEN is Shimada 120g. I want it lighter but seems like it's the lightest already

Also I really want to make the shaft black

Ya putter is nice, btw

Mark

Hi Mark, this is the Shimada Black Ion shaft, not exactly black but darker than chrome.

[lousifers]

Chris is right. Not exactly black but kinda dark chrome. I love it. The shaft was shipped from GF. Thanks Chris for helping me on this

Mark

[needmoregolf]

** update on finish **

It's been about 6 months of gaming, and while it hasn't been weekly, I've gotten a fair number of rounds with my Lucky Money since we've not had too much unplayable conditions this winter in Cali. The black boron has held up nicely, even with all the early morning golf I play when its moist and all the debris and sand routinely gets stuck to the sole, so that means quite a few wipes with the towel throughout these last 6 months.

I mainly notice some light scratching and brush marks, which is normal, but no color loss or patchiness. I think because black boron is more of a plating, it stands up as one of the best dark finishes, in case anyone was on the fence about it.

Some pics:

Edited February 25, 2015 by needmoregolf

[SHWhite]

I never get tired of looking at pics of GF putters, so thanks for posting!

Just ordered my first one and anxiously await its arrival