I am not a professional golfer. But, I have been an avid golfer since age 13 and have enjoyed many rounds of golf from coast to coast, from Bay Hill to Pebble Beach. I played golf for the University of Florida in the late fifties and early sixties where I got to watch a lot of great college golf by Doug Sanders, Tommy Aaron, Frank Beard, Bob Murphy, Andy North, Andy Bean and Steve Melynik.

Over the years with so many rounds played, I have had four holes-in-one, twenty eagles on par four holes, have been men's club champion (in 1963 at age 24 and in 2002 at age 63), and have won numerous prizes in regional golf tournaments. In 1993, at age 54, I won the Senior Division Long Drive Contest at the Dupont World Amateur golf tournament with a drive of 300 yards ( I still think it must have hit a sprinkler head ).

I was trained as an engineer. I am a retired Professional Engineer with over thirty years experience in the aerospace, defense communications and environmental clean up industries. (In fact, I even helped put the first men on the moon).

I've been playing golf since 1952, (Yes, long before the first metal wood was introduced) and I have been involved with putter testing since the very beginning. From the early blade putters like the "Bullseye" up through today's latest Odyssey Two Ball, Titleist Futura and Gurin Rife models. With my aerospace engineering and product manufacturing background I've always experimented with different putter designs trying to find ways to improve.

Let me tell you, there have been many changes, additions, and discoveries related to putting since my early golfing days. These two pictures below show just a few of the various putter types I have tested. I have personally tested hundreds of different putters and have hit tens of thousands of test putts. Of course it has helped to have my own personal test putting green with two "guard" yorkies, Petee and Nicki, shown on the far right.

With my engineering background I felt that putter designs were not taking full advantage of the physics of motion nor of the design technology available. But, with a full time engineering career and a family, I did not have the time to really pursue my ideas for putter improvements. When I retired in 1998 I founded Golf Lab, Inc so I could pursue my dream of developing the ultimate game improvement putter. I converted my garage into a Putter Research and Development Lab by adding a variety of machine shop tools.

The above tools along with a couple of very powerful computers with Computer Aided Design software let me accurately design, weigh, measure, cut, drill, bore, form, machine, polish, and coat metal putter heads and components. Finally, I could actually turn my ideas into prototypes and do comparison testing.

My earlier testing had shown that nearly all putters had a number of significant limitations:

• Improper Fit - Golfer must adapt to putter length, weight and lie angle.
• Difficult To Align - Conflicting shapes and markings confuse the visual image.
• Poor Putter Head Stability - Head twists easily on off center hits.
• Poor Roll - Weighting not optimized for roll.
• Poor Feel - Too many components make up the putter head.
• Poor Balance - Putter head not symmetrical and has shaft off center.
• Poor Stroke Stability - Putter not properly weighted and balanced for pendulum stroke.
• Putter Release Conflict - Putter is pulled to the point of ball contact and then must be pushed.
• Excessive Loft - Forces hands ahead of the ball at impact to prevent hopping.
• Poor Quality - Inconsistent performance.
• USGA Non-Conformance - Not legal for competitive play.

So my design goals for the ultimate putter became pretty clear:

• Proper Fit - Golfer may select proper length and then adjust lie angle and weight as desired.
• Easy To Align - Open frame design with centered alignment line for best visual image.
• High Putter Head Stability - High Moment of Inertia to minimize head twisting on off center hits.
• Superior Roll - Weighting optimized for pure roll and great distance control.
• Superior Feel - Machine the putter head from a solid block of metal for excellent feel.
• Excellent Balance - Putter head symmetrical and with center shaft.
• High Stroke Stability - Putter properly weighted and balanced for pendulum stroke.
• Automatic Putter Release - Putter is pulled through and past the point of ball contact.
• Minimal Loft - Eliminates hopping due to improper hand position at impact.
• High Quality - Consistent performance through use of computer controlled machining methods.
• USGA Conformance - Legal for all competitive play.

So, let me guess... You really are wondering how I came up with the final design of my new putter and if it meets all of my design goals for the ultimate putter?

For the past several years I had been researching and testing putter designs relative to the golfer's ability achieve correct alignment and to control the distance the ball rolls.

I had concluded that correct alignment is achieved by having parallel elements that frame the ball and indicate the line to the target. Good distance control is achieved by the quality of the putting stroke (force, online, hitting sweet spot, etc) AND the physical dynamics of the putter head design!

My testing had shown that a putter head design with a high percentage of its weight as far behind the putter face as possible and below the center line of the putter face provides the most consistent distance control.

In fact, the proper putter head design can even help a golfer improve the quality of their putting stroke by helping to reduce twisting on off center hits.

The Design Challenge

The design challenge was how to put all of my "good science" into one putter head.

I began to experiment with many different ways to mount the shaft with all sorts of complex shaft bends in order maintain true face balance and allow a high percentage of weight behind the putter face. It soon proved to be a near impossible task until I began to work exclusively with center shaft configurations.

But, a center shaft in the middle of the putter head still did not achieve the one key design goal of an adjustable lie angle while maintaining true face balance and heel/toe balance. Having such an adjustable lie angle was the ONLY WAY to allow all golfers to PERFECTLY FIT themselves. This one area had me stumped for some time.

Then late one night (actually early in the morning) a mental light bulb came on and I awoke with the perfect solution - a shaft mounted in the center of the rear of the putter. This idea was so unique that it actually led to a recently issued U.S. Patent.

After the mental light bulb went off, I started with the basic features my testing had shown were essential and then began fabricating and testing a series of prototypes. Each successive prototype was an effort to maintain all of my "good science" while moving to a more and more pleasing appearance for the putter.

The following pictures show the "family tree" of the major prototype stages that led up to the finished design for the REESO™ Putter:

The REESO™ Putter can help you improve your golf game whether you are a beginner just learning the game, a low to high handicap player or a professional. This new putter technology is especially well suited for today's larger, faster and more undulating greens.

We all know that putting well takes some of the pressure off of your ball striking and is especially helpful by giving more room for error on short game pitching, chipping and bunker shots. Improvements in all of the above areas can lead to taking strokes off your game. The REESO™ Putter can significantly improve your game and may be used in USGA competition since it "Conforms with USGA Rules".

With our new Adjustable Lie Angle and Weighting System you the golfer can have a putter that you can quickly and easily adjust for a perfect fit and match to current playing conditions. And you can do so without having to compromise on the inherent face balance and true tracking design.

The REESO™ Putter is constructed with a space age metal using the latest fabrication and finishing technologies. The putter head is CNC machined from aerospace grade aluminum and the face is precision milled and polished for flatness and softer feel. The entire putter head is chemically treated with a UV black anodize process to provide unprecedented protection against nicks and scratches during normal play.

The REESO™ Putter is available Right or Left handed, in Conventional, Hockey, Mid/Belly, Long and Side Saddle/Face-On configurations/lengths. Lie angle is easily adjustable by you the golfer for a perfect fit. Weight is adjustable by you the golfer over a 126 gram range. Premium grips are used for all configurations.

I can honestly say that I believe I am one of only a small handful of people in the entire world that really knows the "ins and outs" of how putters work -- including most of the special tips, tricks, and techniques for making putts.

I would like to take a second and say something about putter designs and putter marketing. I hope you don't mind if I rant for a moment. :-)

Are you as sick and tired as I am of seeing all the "gimmicks" added to the putter head under the premise that they will help you putt better.

Adding multiple view lines to help position your head, multiple lines, closely spaced rails, discs, circles and cutouts to aid alignment, bumps and pixels to help the ball roll better, etc. Let me clarify something.

What most of the changes amount to is "we have changed how your putter will look to you. "Who Cares If Someone Makes A Putter That Just "Looks Different"?

Many of the companies promoting these "Different Looking Putters" are doing so to create a unique visual appeal to the golfer without necessarily offering actual improved performance. There are however a couple of companies producing new generation putters that look different and offer genuine performance improvements. The back weighted putter technology is going to become very popular over the next few years to come. More and more people will learn that performance is what counts and start making more informed putter purchase decisions.

If any of the above sounded a bit critical, I apologize. I'm just trying to make the point that different looking putters don't mean anything if you aren't making more putts - i.e. shooting lower scores.

And, you may even be wondering how I came up with the name for my new putter invention?

Well, my late father Lamar Reese (1910-1999) was nicknamed "Reeso" by his golfing buddies and friends. After encouraging my brother and I to play golf in our early teen years, he finally took up golf himself in his late forties. And for nearly 40 years, he was an avid golfer and gave a lot back to the game. He and my Mom were legendary for running the most efficient scoreboard activities for many local golf events each year.

Dad was also legendary as a exceptional putter. So, I decided to name the new putter in honor of our Dad.