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"If you've ever played golf, you've been there. I've been there.
Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus
and Tiger Woods have been there.
So, has Phil Albenze, but he decided to do something about it. The
retired superintendent in charge of production at the paint shop
at Lordstown's General Motors assembly plant, Albenze, 60, had a
bad putting round in a company golf outing seven years ago. He felt
he let his team down and embarrassed himself. Retired for three
years, Albenze, who lives in North Jackson near Warren, started
designing a putter. He drew his first one up on a napkin and admits
it was weird-looking, "but in reality it was a personal sort of
thing." Called a String putter, his first model had strings much
like those on a tennis racquet stretched across the face. The United
States Golf Association, which regulates clubs and balls, didn't
agree with the concept. The name stayed and the next version was
made of a polymer. Players who tested the club liked the feel but
not the sound. Now the putter is made of polished aluminum with
each milled individually. There is a brass insert in the back for
balance and there is a cavity behind the face of the current model,
which looks much like a mallet-type putter, but isn't. Before you
laugh at his idea, consider this. The late Karsten Solheim began
selling putters out of the truck of his car about 40 years ago.
He was the inventor of the toe and heel balanced clubs which had
a distinct "ping" sound. The rest of his story is now known, and
Karsten Manufacturing's Ping clubs are the biggest selling line
in history. String Putter has a Web site developed by his sons -
www.stringputter2000.com. Albenze's wife, Luana, handles marketing.
A daughter, who is a lawyer, does the legal work. Albenze knows
he's battling the big manufacturers. But he also knows it works.
"My handicap went from 13 to nine. I do putt better,"
he said. On the market for just seven months, he's sold almost 1,200.
"We have no market goals. Each one is made by me, and I pay a lot
of attention to quality," Albenze said. The putter has a 2 degree
loft and a custom grip with an offset steel shaft. Custom models
are available. Cost of a String putter is $129.99. For further information,
call 330-538-2614."
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