INTERVIEW | GUERIN RIFE
The
Craftsman Alex Jenkins talks to renowned club designer Guerin Rife, who first found fame in the industry with his acclaimed brand of Rife putters. Following the sale of the company, the American has launched his latest and greatest venture – Guerin Design, whose innovative new line looks set to challenge Scotty Cameron as the brand of choice among discerning golfers around the world. What was the driving force behind the foundation of Guerin Design following the sale of Rife?
About a year prior to Rife being purchased by Innovex Golf I had formed Guerin Design Putter Company. Like many independent golf manufacturers, Rife was virtually dormant following the 2008 recession. After a few failed attempts to find new investors I left the company to start a super-premium 100% milled putter line that would give discerning golfers an alternative to Scotty Cameron putters. It’s not enough anymore to make a milled putter that is just “milled” and pretty to look at. While that’s a selling point with many golf consumers, a milled or forged- milled putter doesn’t roll the ball any better than the same putter that has been cast-milled or simply cast like all the standard lines from Odyssey, TaylorMade, and Ping, many of which now have grooved inserts in the face, the accepted standard for putter face technology. My new Guerin line is 100% forged-milled, weighted to maintain a constant swing weight at any length, sole technology that keeps the face square at address regardless of hand position, and my new VSE face groove technology that improves accuracy by 50% on off-centre hits. Why did you decide upon the Anser-style blade for the GR1 and the mallet for the GR3?
There are two basic styles of putters – blades 44
HK GOLFER・APR 2014
and mallets. When starting a new brand the classic Anser-style GR1 blade is a way to reach the broadest customer base and a user-friendly full mallet GR3 has the broadest appeal among non-blade golfers. By taking this mainstream approach to design I am able to highlight the performance enhancing features of my new face groove technology, the RockerSole and the Tour Spec weighting features. As I mentioned I want Guerin Design putters to be the alternative to Scotty Cameron but with real game improvement technology that golfers can experience the minute they roll a putt with a Guerin putter. I have a mid mallet and a wide blade in development for this year. The GR1, regardless of length, maintains a swing weight of D-7, which some would consider at the heavier end of the spectrum. What’s the philosophy behind this?
Years ago when greens were slower it was necessary to have lighter putter head weights that produced lighter swing weights so that a golfer could hit the putt harder to get the ball to the hole. Today’s greens are much faster and require less effort to hit the ball a similar distance. A heavier swing weight allows the hands to be quieter and stay on plane during the execution of a stroke. Also heavier head weights produce higher MOI allowing the putter head to resist twisting on off-centre hits.
HKGOLFER.COM
Rife and his latest creation – the Guerin Design GR1, a classic Anser-style blade
HKGOLFER.COM
HK GOLFER・APR 2014
45
You’ve also come up with a concept named “RockerSole”. What is it, and how does it work?
Any golfer that has to fight their putter to keep the face square while addressing a putt will love the RockerSole. Golfers position their hands differently due to one of their eyes being stronger than the other; 85% of golfers are right eye dominant. This means that they will position their hands under their right eye at address thinking the shaft is at 90 degrees when in fact it is leaning back away from the ball one or two degrees. This causes the back edge of the putter to engage the ground and forces the toe to turn in, or “hook”. This causes the golfer to constantly adjust the putter head while trying to set up to the target line. The RockerSole allows the putter to sit square to the target line regardless of hand position. The putter face always stays square. You garnered great success with your Two Bar putter, which found its way into the bags of many tour professionals in the mid-late 2000s. How important to you is it that tour pros are seen wielding your putters, and how difficult is it to convince them to even try them out given endorsement deals that the majority have in place with the ‘Big 5’ manufacturers – Acushnet, Ping, Callaway, TaylorMade and Cleveland/Srixon?
“My new wavy VSE grooves keep the ball from sliding off the face on an off-centre hit which keeps the ball 25% closer to the target line than my original straight grooves and 50% closer than standard non-grooved putters.” The putters feature wavy as opposed to straight grooves on the putter face, which were a hallmark of your previous designs. Indeed, you invented closely spaced grooves for putters. What is the advantage of grooves in general and wavy grooves in particular?
The GR1 (above), like the GR3, features Guerin Design’s unique ‘RockerSole’ technology 46
HK GOLFER・APR 2014
This gets quite technical but I’ll give you a brief explanation. Grooves in general grip the ball at impact. The combination of this gripping effect and a reduction of loft from the old standard of 4 to 6 degrees down to 2 degrees allows the ball to achieve end-over-end roll in only 20 inches instead of 60 inches on a 20-foot putt. The sooner the ball achieves roll the less it is effected by grass grain allowing for greater accuracy and distance control. My new wav y VSE (Variable Surface Engaging) grooves keep the ball from sliding off the face on an off-centre hit which keeps the ball 25% closer to the target line than my original straight grooves and 50% closer than standard non-grooved putters.
I haven’t launched a PGA Tour programme yet. That is a serious investment of time and money. Having said that there is no better advertising than a close-up ground level “wormcam” picture of a PGA Tour player using one of my putters to win a tournament, especially a major. That’s what we call “lightning in a bottle.” It’s the fastest way to success in the golf business. But you have to be incredibly lucky and have the financial means to capture the “lightning” once it strikes. W hen I have t he ot her t wo models I mentioned then I will have enough variety to attract the few players that aren’t under contract with the major manufacturers. When players do begin putting your putter in play it is necessary to give them constant service or lose them to other manufacturers. My initial efforts will be directed toward the Champions, LPGA, European, and the Asian Tours where there are very few putter contracts and players are more receptive to trying something new. Which model do you use, and why?
I get this question all the time and my best answer is “yes.” I constantly try everything I make plus my competitors putters. I try to keep an open mind and constantly improve on what I’ve done in the past. If another putter is better in one way or another then I need to find a way to improve on what they’ve done. Once you HKGOLFER.COM
“I design and manufacture precision milled putters with cutting edge performance technology. Asian golfers have a greater respect and appreciation for my type of putter than the more price conscious US and European golfers.” think you know everything then you’ve stopped learning and it’s time to hang up your gloves. How important is the Asia market for Guerin Design? I think the Asian market is vital to the future growth of golf. Asia has over half the world’s population. In the US there are approximately 30 million golfers, about 10% of the total population. Japan, Korea, and Europe total around 20 million. If 1% of the combined population of China and India (about 2.6 billion people) played golf that would be 27 million new golfers. I design and manufacture precision milled putters with cutting edge performance technology. Asian golfers have a greater respect and appreciation for my type of putter than the more price conscious US and European golfers. Everyone likes a beautifully designed and solid feeling forged-milled putter. The Asian golfer has a greater willingness to pay for that extra quality. Since launching my Guerin brand 90% of my sales have been to Japan and Korea. What do you have in the pipeline, and do you ever see yourself diversifying into wedges or other equipment?
The GR3 (above), is a user-friendly mallet that holds the broadest appeal among non-blade golfers 48
HK GOLFER・APR 2014
I am developing a new players’ mid mallet that I will call the GR5 and a wider blade style design that will be called the GR6. These will compliment my current GR1 flange blade and
GR3 full mallet. Together they will satisfy 80% of the putter styles golfers are looking for. While these are traditional designs I give them my design touches and load them up with performance technology. As for other equipment it’s just The RollBoard for now. This is a patented velvet covered board that instantly shows a golfer how a golf ball comes off the face of their putter immediately after impact – no smoke and mirrors, the truth. The velvet has a one-way nap that is disturbed by the contact of a ball on the surface. So a typical standard non-grooved putter will hit a low chip that will hop and skip and not start rolling for 60 inches on a 20-foot putt. For years after I invented putter face grooves the only way to show how my putters rolled the ball better was to get up early in the morning when dew was still resting on the surface of a putting green. The dew would show how the ball rolled or didn’t roll. The RollBoard does the exact same thing. Virtually everyone I fit in my putting studio purchases a RollBoard to show their friends how quickly the ball rolls with their new Gueirn putter. It’s nice when your customers become your sales force. G uerin Design put ters are priced at HK$2,480 (including shipping within Hong Kong) and are available for purchase through the HK Golfer Store at hkgolfer.com or at Pura Golf in Sheung Wan. HKGOLFER.COM