...About eight years ago, Albenze's poor putting cost his team a scramble tournament. Frustrated, he said he dreamt of a putter that had strings; the actual vision was a ball coming off a tennis racket. He set his dream to paper, and it's now called the String putter.

Unique alignment features make it easy to point the String putter in the right direction.

The USGA ruled against Albenze's initial design, which used polymer strings on the face. Rules stipulate you cannot see through the face, and the face must meet certain rigidity requirements.

Albenze altered the design so thin grooves were cut out of a hollow aluminum block. These grooves serve two purposes: they put overspin on the ball, and they give a distinctive tone when the ball strikes the middle of the clubface.

Albenze said took his design to Wilson Golf and Ping, but was turned down. He decided to manufacture the putter himself. He assembles the parts in his garage and sends them out.

The tone is called “target tone” technology. "It sounds like fine crystal," Albenze said. "We're telling you when you hit it in the clubface."

Albenze adds that the alignment features on the clubhead make it easy to keep the putter on line. More to the point, it helps keep your head down through impact.

The String Putter retails for $129.99. For more information, visit http://www.stringputter2000.com/

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