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Meet Henry Byrne, Scotty Cameron’s putter technician on the European Tour.
We spoke with Henry to find out what life if like behind the scenes on the European Tour, how the feedback he receives influences the design of new Scotty Cameron putters and why developing trust with the pros is at the heart of everything he does.
On the tour
“It’s weirdly addictive working on the European Tour. Working day-to-day with the best players in the world and travelling to such amazing places often leads to those moments where I have to pinch myself and realise how cool my job is.
• Scotty Cameron introduces four new Phantom X models
“The short haul journeys to continental Europe usually involve leaving late on a Sunday or early Monday morning and, as soon as we’re on-site, it’s all hands on deck until the flight back home late on the Wednesday. Tuesday at an event will normally be my busiest day with the pros. A 12-hour shift is not uncommon but it’s always great fun when you’re trying to help someone succeed.”
“For the longer haul events, I will sometimes stay for a full week. For example, back-to-back in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The great thing about those trips is I have some downtime and can actually watch the players play.
“I always get a better insight watching someone compete as opposed to when they’re more relaxed in a practice round. The most important aspect of my job is developing a sense of trust with each player. They need to be confident that I’m giving them the right information, the right set-up and the right putter to succeed on the biggest stage.”
The next generation
of putters
“A lot of the work I do and the feedback I receive from the pros is filtered back to Scotty to help him design his next line-up of putters. He is a very hands-on designer and what happens on tour, and the tour players’ preferences, then end up in the putters golfers are able to buy.
• 6 questions for… putter guru Scotty Cameron
“Every week, I compile a report for him and, in those reports, I’ll detail the players I have worked with, what their preferences were, feedback on particular models and any requests I might have received on different milling patterns, or neck or alignment configurations.”
“Scotty then takes all of this information on-board and, if there is enough of a demand across the global tours, you’ll start to see those features appear in his newest designs. The perfect example of this is the latest Special Select line.
• New Scotty Cameron Special Select line revealed
“Prior to 2020, our Select putters featured face inserts but, on tour, we were seeing a real desire to go back to a solid face construction to deliver a more consistent feel and feedback, as well as performance across the face.
“Prototypes were made for the pros and the overwhelmingly positive feedback we received resulted in the latest Select models and the solid face designs you are able to purchase today.”
The Scotty reputation
“Scotty Cameron is a very unique brand. It stands out within the golf industry thanks to its prestige and stellar reputation. To this day, I watch players take the headcover off a new Scotty and act like a kid on Christmas morning.”
“The pros know that when they get a Scotty in their hands it won’t only look incredible, but it will perform to the highest level. It will give them the confidence they need when teeing it up in such a competitive atmosphere.
• Tiger Woods’ putter sells for record amount
“No Scotty Cameron user is contracted to use that putter. The reason why this is the case is because of the trust each of them have in the putters and also
the relationships I have built up
over my nine or so years working on tour. The easiest thing for me to do would be to just give away Scotty Cameron putters.
“The challenge is to get the right putter into the right players’ hands so they can improve their performance and, through that, give the brand the exposure and visibility it deserves.”
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