On a roll, straight and true

David Musty of Signal Hill, Calif., found his woodworking niche 20 years ago when he started David Musty Putters in 1997. The company offers stunning wooden golf putters in six styles and more than a dozen hardwoods.

“Customers say they’ve never seen anything like it,” Musty says. “They like that it’s got a nice soft feel compared to a metal putter that’s made in China. It just has a soft roll. They also say they control the distance with the wood putter better than with a metal putter.”

Musty used to build custom homes in New York and California and specialized in spiral staircases. His wife, J.J. Musty, tells the story of how her husband got started making wooden putters.

“We were staying with my sister and remodeling her cabin up in Mammoth Lakes (Calif.). David was golfing at the Bishop Country Club. His Ping putter broke and he asked the pro shop if he could borrow a putter, but was told he’d have to purchase one. So he went out to his truck that had all of his building supplies, took a piece of wood from a cabinet door and glued it into the shaft of the Ping putter. He had his best round of golf, which he attributed to his ‘wooden’ putter.”

He started making the putters in his garage until his neighbors complained about the noise. He now has eight employees and rents a four-unit manufacturing facility.

“We have over 5,000 putters in our shop already made. We [supply] big tournaments and a lot of times they want 100 to 160 putters, so we’re ready for any of that kind of activity,” J.J. Musty says. “We do a lot of corporate gifts and lots of retirement gifts. Golf tournaments love to give them as prizes.”

The putter sells for $250 to $400 apiece. For more, visit www.mustyputters.com.

— Jennifer Hicks

This article originally appeared in the September 2017 issue.