Scotty's words of wisdom

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Courtesy of ScottyCameron.com

Scotty Cameron works on Colt Knost's putter in his shop.

Titleist putter craftsman Scotty Cameron isn't shy about explaining what he does and why he does it. In fact, when Cameron starts talking about putting and putters, he doesn't hold back. Here are a few comments from a recent interview with Cameron at his Putter Studio in California. Consider this the Tao of Scotty ...

• "I'm constantly thinking of ways to create the next product, make the product better. What I don't want to do is just create a new product every year because I have to create new products. I don't have to do anything."

• "I think I get red-flagged by the the USGA because I'm always trying to walk that fine line. I think if you're to buy my products, you want me to be on the edge, you want me to be barely legal. But if I'm well within the zone, then it's like we're not stretching the limits enough."

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• "A guy comes in with a putter. Whether it's ours or somebody else's, we analyze the putter, see what loft it has, what lie, what weight it has, what shaft flex it has. People say, 'Shaft flex?' Shaft flex means a lot as far as performance. If it's too soft on putts over 20 feet, there's a kick. Putts under 20 feet -- not a lot going on. So what we analyze is 20 feet so you can see what's going on."

• "We can watch a ball perform, then talk about what a person's doing even before we actually look at the person. It's kind of like being a mechanic. The engine's not firing right, so why isn't it? You've got to look at the timing, the spark plugs, so on. Same with a putting stroke -- look at the ball. You look at the golf ball first, the putter second and the person third."

• "I think in the old days, greens were so shabby that the players actually had to jab at it with their wrists. Now with their long Vs, they get a lot of their wrists out. Greens have gotten so much better in today's world than the old days. Think of (Mark) O'Meara. You can really start to see the modern putting stroke there. I think he has very much helped Tiger Woods into the modern putting stroke."

• "People say there's no arc in the putter stroke. Well, is there an arc in a golf swing? Of course there is. ... There is an arc in the putter stroke. I wish there wasn't. But there is -- it comes from the lie angle of the shaft. The USGA says its must be at least 10 percent, not straight up and down. With that angle, there must be an arc. ... I wish we could putt between our legs, 90 degrees, square to square. But the USGA says we can't putt between our legs, so I design putters to fit those arcs so that it becomes almost effortless for the putter."

• "We're never sitting still. We're always going forward. When you're sitting still, you're going to get passed. But it's tough to get passed when you're moving forward."

• "Go back to some of the great putter makers before my time -- they didn't have the technology, the hi-speed video, the machinery that I have. I'm just carrying the torch from where they had been and I want to carry that torch into the future by being able to use the technology from today."

• "I'll never compromise the integrity of putter making. I could go overseas and make a boatload of putters. But I'm not about making the boatload, I'm about making the best."