Devilray - Norwegian putter

Tuesday, 07 June 2005

Devilray inventor Andy Larsgaard is allowed entrance to the American PGA-tour´s practice facilities. While fighting for the “hot shots´” attention, he visualizes great success. - Of course. If one out of the top 20 players in the U.S. likes what he experiences on the green and begins using the Devilray on the tour, we may have a breakthrough. Andy Larsgaard, Devilray´s manager, does not have a tight schedule. While smoking a sigarette and talking on his cellphone in three different languages in his empty office in Oslo, he is dreaming of a tighter schedule. Thomas Levet and Greg Owen, both PGA tour players, have ordered the Devilray. More players have done so, but who those are remain a secret, Larsgaard says. In March 2004, the first version of the Norwegian putter was released on the market. Several good players tested the Devilray. Some played one or two rounds with it, before pulling their good old putter out from the closet again. Devilray received a great deal of constructive criticism. The shaft was heavy, yet so soft it would bend when put in the bag. On top of that, the "Ping"-sound at impact, was rather disturbing. Larsgaard is currently in the US with 50 Devilray putters, version 3.0. The weight is moved a bit, the shaft is a little lighter and four times as stiff as the previous version. More weight has been added to the outer part of the putter head. It feels a bit heavy but has a steady swing path when you get used to it. While the debut version had a steel head, the 3.0 version is aluminum with a soft feel and the head barely makes a sound at impact. - Through a solid network of contacts, we have obtained access to the practice facilities at the PGA Tour. There I am allowed to show and explain what makes the Devilray such a great putter. - We hope for a breakthrough now. Golf has become a different sport on the US tour. TV, marketing and the budgets are surely less tight. Our goals remain the same. We have scheduled meetings with several large companies already. -Which ones? He takes another sip of his coke and avoids the question by changing the topic. - I have gained so much knowledge about putting during the past few years. When someone buys the concept, I would want to move along to the States for one or two years. There is no if in his mind. He knows someone will buy his patent sooner or later. Later on, there could be more putting, he says. My colleague Jon Karlsen and I are thinking about starting a putting academy on Costa del Sol, the Spanish suncoast. A forgiving putter - The most forgiving putters are those that have most of the weight away from the center and placed behind the sweet spot. This causes the putter head to move very little when not hitting the ball exactly the way you should, club fitter Lars Christian Hansen explains. In the column "Spør køllemakeren" (Ask the clubmaker) at golf.no, he has spoken warmly of the Devilray. - Most golfers hit the sweet spot extremely seldom, which causes the putter head to twist and turn and furthermore makes the ball go in a different direction than aimed for. According to Larsgaard, proshops all across the world are dying to include the Devilray in their assortment/ collection. So far, it is being sold in only one store, Custom Golf at the golf hangar at Fornebu, Norway. All photographs by Svend Ole Kvilesjø. Svend Ole Kvilesjø is an experienced journalist both in regular newspapers and in online versions. He has been editor of the #1 golf website in Norway, www.golf.no, since 1. March 2004. You can contact him here. {mos_sb_discuss:2}

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 07 June 2005 )