#TAD MOORE PUTTERS PRO#

#TAD MOORE PUTTERS PRO#

The Pro TS 1 comes in right around 330 grams like many great putters of that time and had TadвЂ™s washboard face milling. Putters from that era tended to be 300-330 grams with lighter face millings as opposed to the heavier weights and deeper millings we see today. The Tad Moore Pro 1 TS is a classic putter that embodies the era of the late 90s/early 2000s perfectly. Ultimately, Nike chose to go another route, but fortunately, that initial batch of putters survived somewhere and would resurface years later with a cool story attached to them. Tad told me that through NikeвЂ™s testing, they found significant performance improvements from his signature вЂњwashboard face millingвЂќ. Nike would put the Pro 1 TS through extensive testing, and allegedly Tiger tried it out as well and had a positive response. He even put a sight dot on the topline per TigerвЂ™s preference for an alignment aid. So Tad made the Pro 1 TS putter which was his interpretation of the Anser 2. He knew that he would have to appeal to Tiger if this was going to happen. TadвЂ™s goal was to sign on with Nike to make some putters. They knew if they wanted to be a high-end contender in the market, they needed Tiger to play Nike clubs. Nike was looking to get Tiger out of his Scotty Cameron and into a Nike putter, just the same as they were with the rest of his clubs. You may have heard of him before, his name is Tiger Woods. I got to spend a good amount of time talking to Tad, not just learning about this putter, but many of his classic stories from his life.ДЄround 2001 or 2002, there was a great race to get a new putter in the bag of one of the best golfers of all time. When I first started working on this project with Chip, he put me in touch with Tad to learn more about the putter.

Oh, and if you need some high-end playable hickory clubs, Tad might be the best in the world in that arena. TadвЂ™s made putters and clubs for decades and has had equipment in the bags of Major champions. Chip would end up acquiring these classic blade putters, but the story of why these putters existed in the first place made them quite the find.ДЇirst, if you donвЂ™t know who Tad Moore is, I donвЂ™t have enough time in one post! TadвЂ™s one of the great legends of modern golf equipment and thereвЂ™s so much history to cover. While Tad didnвЂ™t have a use for them at the time, he thought Chip might be interested in acquiring them. WeвЂ™re talking almost totally raw right off the mill. These putters were a prototype run of about 350 heads by a milling company that shut down and still had them in their possession. Tad had recently told Chip of some old putters he designed years prior called the Tad Moore Pro 1 TS. You might call this a nice barn find.вЂќ Chip then explained to me that he was old friends with Tad Moore, a legend in golf gear. I have a classic putter that might interest you. Back in those days, I couldnвЂ™t imagine what he had to talk to me about! So I eagerly called Chip back to find out what was going on. His voicemail simply said something along the lines of, вЂњhey, itвЂ™s Chip, give me a call when you can.вЂќ (If that sounds familiar, youвЂ™ll find I had a similar experience with another putter a few years later.) Nowadays, Chip has me trained to know what kind of thing to expect with a message like that. One day at work, I saw Chip was calling my phone but I couldnвЂ™t take his call at the moment. The memory of where this all started is still pretty vivid to me. This was just the start of a great working relationship and would lead to some fun projects. Shortly thereafter, we embarked on a custom putter project that I would review and shed a little light on his new brand. Chip coincidentally was in the process of relaunching a new custom putter brand called Black Lab Golf.

As expected, Chip was the same friendly gentleman I always remembered. Anyone who has bought from Chip in the past knows exactly what IвЂ™m talking about.ДЇast forward a few years and I reached out to Chip when I started doing this whole internet golf thing. YouвЂ™ll find that this is a quite common theme with Chip and his customers. No question I had was too silly or insignificant. He was so was friendly to the point that it felt like we were old friends. Chip was the definition of southern charm. During that trip, I took time to swing through his shop and meet Chip in person. I was even fortunate enough to have a vacation lined up that took me through Savannah, Georgia. Just about ten years ago, I reached out to Chip to have a putter made for me under his putter company at the time, C&L. One of those great experiences came by way of a super unique вЂњbarn findвЂќ вЂ“ a вЂњprototypeвЂќ Tad Moore Pro 1 TS putter with quite the back story. HeвЂ™s taught me so much about the industry, equipment, the people, history, and even equipment history. IвЂ™ve spoken many times over the years about how Chip Usher of Usher Golfhas been one of my great mentors in golf.

Tad moore putters