Nearly a dozen golfers withstood a persistent drizzle Friday afternoon at Miona Lake Golf Club in Wildwood to try out a new putter that its inventor says will improve their accuracy.
David Kargetta of Daytona Beach, chief technoogy officer of Orion Golf, presented a free putting clinic and encouraged the golfers to make donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis during September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
The Black Hawk and Black Swan putters are larger and heavier than most other putters and they stand up on the green because the bottom is flat.
The square putters, which have been nicknamed “a Brick on a Stick,” sell for $299 and $359, which includes a custom fit and free putting instruction.
Kargetta said he was a talented amateur golfer as a young man in Michigan who played in a few professional tournaments, but that putting was his downfall.
“The more I putted, the more frustrated I got,” he said.
He gave up tournament golf for a career as an engineer in the auto industry and designing jet engines.
When he returned to golf at age 50, Kargetta said his putting remained dismal. Using his engineering background, he analyzed the problem and concluded that putter design was the issue. He incorpated his experience designing a tool for a robotic arm and his knowledge of the geometry of jet engines to make his own putter.
The putter has received some tournament attention. Matt Every used a Black Hawk in the 2012 Sony Open in Hawaii and Sandy Lyle has used one on the PGA senior championship tour.
As for putting tips, Kargetta said most people leave the putter’s toe in the air, which takes the ball to the left. He also advised the golfers to grip their putters tightly for more control.
“Your grip pressure has to stay the same every day,” he said.
He raises money for St. Jude’s because of his daughter’s illness. Four years ago, his 10-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a bone infection in her ankle caused by a tumor. She was unable to be treated at St. Jude and the tumor eventually receded without surgery.
“St. Jude’s does better work with children’s cancer than any other hospital on the planet,” Kargetta said.
To make a contribution to St. Jude, follow the link below:
https://shop.stjude.org/GiftCatalog/donation.do?cID=13522&pID=18290
