What Payne Stewart started seven years ago, Zach Johnson finished - or at least continued - with his win at the Masters Sunday.
Johnson used a SeeMore putter, similar to one used by Payne Stewart in his victory at the 1999 U.S. Open, to average 1.56 putts per hole over his week at Augusta. Paired with Vaughn Taylor, who also used a SeeMore putter, Johnson bested Tiger Woods, Rory Sabbatini and Retief Goosen for his green jacket.
Two weeks before, Johnson had led the field at the WGC-CA Championship at Doral in putting average; he finished in a tie for ninth. He's actually used a SeeMore model since he was on the Nationwide Tour in 2003, when he set a season record for fewest average putts per green in regulation (1.699).
"This was a remarkable victory for Zach while competing against the world's premier players and challenging conditions," said SeeMore Golf Managing Director Jim Grundberg. "All of us at SeeMore are proud to be associated with Zach and his courageous performance in winning his first major championship."
Grundberg and his partner, Jason Pouliot, both hail from Odyssey Golf before it was purchased by Callaway. They think the technology in the putter can help both pros and average players better align their putts, and in doing so, improve their putting.
The club's "Rifescope Technology," or RST, works by making the golfer line up the black bottom part of the putter's shaft between two white lines painted on the heel. If done correctly, the shaft covers up a red dot positioned between the lines. If you can't see the red dot, you're set up right to make a consistent stroke.
Payne Stewart used this alignment system in his memorable win over Phil Mickelson at the 1999 U.S. Open on Father's Day, right before Mickelson himself was to become a dad. When he one-putted the final three holes, and subsequently credited his SeeMore putter, the company gained attention. Within days the small company had more than 50,000 orders for its center-shafted flat stick. Be careful what you wish for: the immediate success hurt the company when it couldn't fulfill demand.
After changing hands for the second time over a seven-year period, the company ended up in the care of Grundberg and Pouliot. Even before they bought SeeMore, they realized that the technology continued to be popular with tour players. When the pair bought the company in fall 2006, two of the 10 U.S. Ryder Cup players used a SeeMore model. Still, they thought that there was plenty of potential to increase the putter's market share.
"Our team is knowledgeable and passionate about putters and we love SeeMore's proprietary RifleScope technology," said Grundberg after buying the company. "SeeMore is a diamond in the rough. We are already well into the process of new product development. We plan to reestablish SeeMore's prominence with the Tour and the world's best players."
To commemorate Johnson's win, the company plans to release a new milled version of his original FGP putter, to be called the mFGP. The msSeries features three additional models - the m1, a classic heel/toe blade with center shaft; the m2, a classic heel/toe blade with heel shaft; and the m3, a classic mallet with center shaft. Each putter, which is made at SeeMore's manufacturing facility in Franklin, Tenn., will retail for $325.
See www.seemore.com for more information.
