Evan Rothman
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His meticulously milled work, especially of handcrafted prototype models, has produced a buzz online at message boards and forums devoted to his creations, as well as an avid collectors' market: panting Cameronistas will pay almost any price for a rare make.
His latest endeavor, Scotty's Custom Shop, is beginning to generate similar excitement.
As it happens, among my dozens of putters is a 10-year-old Cameron, a left-handed carbon steel Newport model reminiscent of Ping's famous Anser. (Cameron used to be criticized in some circles for a lack of formal innovation -- which always struck me as beside the point of superior craftsmanship -- but in recent years, his designs have taken a more adventuresome tack.) I was a young staffer at a small golf magazine in New York City when my boss, then engaged to be married, ordered a Cameron for each of his groomsmen and threw in one in for me. He was, needless to say, the nicest boss I've ever had. The putter arrived in a gorgeous wooden box, autographed with elan by Cameron himself. My initials were engraved in the putter face: Roy Hobbs' "Savoy Special" paled in comparison. I seem to recall a booklet on care instructions included, as well as a headcover, but if so, these were soon lost to history. Golfers already know the rest of the story: I holed everything with "E.J.R." for a few rounds, used it religiously for about six months, stopped holing anything, switched to another putter -- admittedly, one without my initials engraved in the (no-longer-glossy) face -- and put the Cameron in my basement, seen about as frequently as Ross Perot's crazy aunt in the attic. And it pains me to write this, but the Cameron didn't even get put back in its special wooden box.
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