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As you have been reading, a Louisville Golf putter was used in the mega-hit Avatar. Courteousy of Chuck at Budget Print, here are a couple screen captures from the movie that show the wood mallet putter:

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 30, 2010

CONTACT: Josh Fischer, Marketing Director josh@louisvillegolf.com 

Louisville Golf Putter Stars in Avatar
Action Figure Package Includes Putter Used in Award-Winning Movie

LOUISVILLE – If you have seen Avatar, James Cameron’s epic record-breaking motion picture, less than 20 minutes into the movie you will notice a Louisville Golf wood mallet putter prominently used by actor Giovanni Ribisi. In addition, Ribisi’s character, Parker Selfridge, has his own action figure, and the packaging includes the Louisville Golf putter.

“We first found out about the action figure including our putter when Ribisi was interviewed on the Jimmy Kimmel TV Show,” said Josh Fischer, marketing director for Louisville Golf. “When we first spoke with the Avatar production buyer we had no idea it would have such a prominent role in the movie, and an inclusion in the action figure. All this is a major thrill for us, just to be associated with a movie on the scale of Avatar is a real honor, and pretty hard to believe.”

Over four years ago the Avatar production team called Louisville Golf and placed an order for a group of clubs. Louisville Golf is the world’s largest manufacturer of wooden golf clubs. Made in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville Golf mallet putters are handmade with over 100 hand operations. The 36-year old family-owned business is best known for its Persimmon woods. Louisville Golf once manufactured Persimmon woods for golf companies such as Hogan, Wilson, Spalding and Tommy Armour.

Executives at Louisville Golf nearly forgot about the association with the groundbreaking movie. “It must have been four or five years ago that we sent the putter to James Cameron’s team. I had no idea what they needed the clubs for, but they said they were working on Avatar, so it sounded cool and I made a mental note. We still charged them for the clubs, but looking back I might have sent them the putter for free if I had to do it again,” added Fischer.

 “We have worked on, and been involved with, some exciting projects over the three and a half decades we have been in business,” said Mike Just, Louisville Golf president. “The driver we made for Tiger Woods in 2004, the Discovery Channel segments on How It’s Made and the Ryder Cup Cherry mallet putter come to mind from the recent past. Being in Avatar ranks right up there with those projects.” Louisville Golf has been making putters since the early 1980s, and is best known for their line of Persimmon woods and Hickory-shafted playable golf clubs. Visit www.louisvillegolf.com for more information. Call toll free 1-800-456-1631 M-F 9 to 5 EST.

When the Ryder Cup was held here in Louisville in 2008, Michael Jordan was a mainstay on the steps overlooking No. 13 green at Valhalla Golf Club. The pilots of his Gulfstream paid our plant a visit when in town for the matches and decided to give their employer a gift. This past Christmas we made a special putter for No. 23; below are pictures of the putter and putter stand we made and images the pilots sent us of his plane. Like when he played for the Bulls, Jordan flies with style.

(ABOVE) Custom Persimmon mallet and practice putter stand made more Michael Jordan December 2009.

(ABOVE) Plant order for custom Persimmon mallet and practice putter stand made more Michael Jordan.

(ABOVE) Michael Jordan’s custom Gulfstream.

Harry Vardon, winner of 7 major titles, including six Open Championships, remains one of golf’s luminaries, in no small part due to the success of Mark Frost’s book (and subsequent movie from Disney) “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” The book tells the powerful story of underdog Francis Ouimet’s unlikely win over Vardon in the 1913 U.S. Open. The book, winner of the USGA’s and Sports Illustrated’s Best Book award and published by Hyperion Books, tells the sub-plot of the game’s evolution, with the 1913 U.S. Open being one of the seminal events in the early years of the game of golf as we know it today. No discussion of the evolution of the game is complete unless golf’s equipment is discussed. Here Frost talks about putting:

“Putting has always been golf’s most ephemeral component; players as supremely gifted as Ben Hogan felt it shouldn’t even be considered part of the same sport. As a result, putters tend to be the one club about which players turn irrational and superstitious. In Harry’s case, his well-publicized search for a club to help him overcome his terminal yips became a national preoccupation; cartoonists depicted Harry forging crude homemade putter over an open fire, or carrying twenty-five different models in his bag like arrows in a quiver. Sympathetic fans, eager club makers, and fellow professionals alike shipped him oddball variations from every corner of the globe. He tried ones carved from exotic woods and forged from every kind of metal, one with a foot-long blade, others with heads as square as a block of cheese. Nothing did the trick.” – p. 117, The Greatest Game Ever Played, by Mark Frost, Hyperion Books.

Vardon’s search for his ultimate weapon on the greens led him to Arthur Brown; Frost describes the meeting which eventually leads to Vardon’s use of the Brown Vardon (BV) putter:

“A high roller friend of Harry’s named Arthur Brown, a successful timber baron, designed a customized experimental putter for Harry and presented him with it in early 1911. This new, heavier iron club altered Harry’s stance; more upright now, both head and body still. Instead of popping the ball with a wristy slap controlled by his unreliable fingers, the palm of his right hand held the shaft for a more even, pendulum swing that involved gently rocking the shoulders; a modern putting stance to go with his modern swing. To Harry’s enormous surprise, Arthur Brown’s p[utter appeared to solve his problem, but he refused to say he’d put it behind him until testing the club in competition.” – p. 119, The Greatest Game Ever Played, by Mark Frost, Hyperion Books

Vardon used the putter made for him by Brown (thus called the Brown Vardon) to win two of his six Open Championships. Our Brown Vardon (BV) putter replicates the original. The head is made of carbon steel. It is shafted with an authentic Hickory shaft (available in 34 or 35 inches) and is gripped with an authentic leather grip hand wrapped using pitched linen whipping thread. This putter is handmade from start to finish and completely playable with the modern golf ball. This putter has been approved for play in hickory events by the Society of Hickory Golfers.

Click Here to visit the Brown Vardon page on the Louisville Golf website.

If you have seen ”Avatar,” about 30 minutes into the movie you will notice our Louisvlle Golf wood mallet putter prominently used by actor Giovanni Ribisi. On Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night show the actor was interviewed about the movie; in this video you can see a flash of the wood mallet putter as it is taken away from the actor in the scene. It is in the 4th segment, and Jimmy Fallon and Giovanni Ribisi talk about his action figure that includes said golf club.

Several years ago the production team called Louisville Golf and placed an order: “I thought that some production assistant was using the expense account to get wholesale prices, but when the movie came out Andy Just (Louisville Golf founder Elmore Just’s oldest son) called me and excitedly told me that our putter was in the movie,” said Josh Fischer, marketing director for Louisville Golf. “When I finally saw the movie over opening weekend I was thrilled to see the putter get some solid screen time.

“The actor wielding the putter, unfortunately, is one of the villians, but we aren’t complaining. He says twice: ‘I love this putter!’ as he is putting on a practice mat. And the movie is in brilliant 3D, so to see our wood mallet putter in 3D on one of the most anticipated movies ever was extremely exciting.”

If you haven’t seen the movie, make sure that you do - it is more than a movie, it’s an experience.

Look for our new putter ad in Golf Illustrated and PGA Tour Partners magazine. The new ad includes six of our top-selling designs:

Earthwoods
STIMP
Ryder Cup
Louie3
2500
Calamity Jane

Here it is:

In the most recent Golf World Bill Fields wrote an excellent article on the Calamity Jane putter - the famous putter wielded by Bobby Jones. It was named after the frontierswoman by the same name.

Click Here to read the article.

Click Here to see the Calamity Jane we sell on our website.

Over half of the world’s deadliest snakes reside in Australia. So do some of the world’s most beautiful species of wood. In 2009 we will be offering three new putters made from some Australian hardwood we obtained including She Oak, Tuart, Marri, Jarrah and Casuarina. Below are a few images of what we have been working on. These putters will be available March 1, 2009.

Questions? e-mail marketing director Josh Fischer josh@louisvillegolf.com

Here is a sneak preview list of the new products we will be releasing in February 2009:

Outback Mallet (Australian wood)
Outback Earthwoods (Australian wood)

EWP-XL14 Offset-shafted
EWP-XL14C Center-shafted
EW-FM1C Center-shafted
EWM-3

STIMP MAX
2500 Left-handed

NIBLICK Super 6-wood

Thumper Max 9 degree (by special order)
Thumper Max Left-handed
SMART F2 Black
SMART F2 Fairway Finder

TWPD Precision Persimmon

Persimmon Blade 304 Irons

Ornament (Black Stain with Red insert)
Baby Club (Black Stain with Red insert)
Golf Hat (green)
Golf Shirt (green)

Hickory-shafted Limited Edition Driver
Hickory-shafted Bulldog
Hickory-shafted Mid-Iron
Hickory-shafted LG Yardsmore Putter
White Hickory Floppy Hat

FLASH Golf Ball

Sergio Garcia has tried numerous putters, putting styles, techniques and aids in his pursuit of putting excellence, but it was a return to his Scotty Cameron putter he last used 7 years ago which yielded his most significant win on the PGA Tour, and his first win worldwide in three years. From my unique position, the first thing that this implies is the answer to the question: where is the technology?

Answer: there is none, it’s golf; and more specifically, it’s golf’s proving ground = the putting green, where it is just you, your courage and spirit, your weapon and skill, and your line and speed.

The Scotty Cameron Garcia used is modeled off of the Ping Anser, and is the same putter style that Tiger Woods and Adam Scott use. Garcia recently returned to the model after a journey akin to a Grail quest. He must have pulled this one from the stone because he was conquering the greens yesterday. Reunited with this classic design, Sergio took out of play any blame on equipment; he stripped his closet of excuses to the bare minimum. The reason Tiger has been so successful is arguably due to his putter; more specifically, the fact that he has not changed putters. This puts the onus on him, the Indian, not the arrow, to quote the oft-used golf euphemism.

So from an equipment standpoint, of which I am interested and engaged, Garcia’s win points to a larger discussion of such things, and by extension gives us hope that the thrust toward technology will abate, because it is a chase toward a hollow definition of golf. The game has been defined of late by so-called “technology,” but the technology has been driven by marketing, consumption and a fundamental shift in the game where product cycles now are more prevalant than the life cycle of golf shoes.

Putting woes are part of the game, especially to the pros. My favorite golfer in the pre-Tiger era is Ben Hogan, and he struggled mightily on the greens. It’s just part of the game, and technology can’t help you despite the promises and implied superiority. Phil Mickelson was interviewed after the Players about his putting, and he seemed to be struggling with the design and length of his blade putter. We’ve all cast all our hopes on the putter, it is the reason why we sell so many of them, and we are grateful that we do. But counter to that, apart from my addiction to equipment, I as a golfer would be better served by picking a classic design and staying with it.

Arthur had Excalibur, my grandfather had his Ping, Judge Smales had his Billy Baroo, Tiger has his Cameron, I have my True Center TC-1 and now Sergio has found his flatstick. Lessons abound from this win, and hopefully not only will Garcia take note, but the game as well. It’s about time we stop asking “where’s the technology?” and just play.

Josh Fischer
Marketing Director