The late South African golfer Bobby Locke once said, "You drive for show, but putt for dough." He said this because putting can be the toughest aspect of golf. Even when everything is perfect, the golfer can miss. The golfer can factor in the speed of the green, wind conditions and amount of break. With a steady swing, he can bring the club back and forward and strike the ball true, but that doesn't guarantee the ball will go into the hole.
A study by Robert J. Bettinardi Golf (Tinley Park, IL) showed that a putter face that is 0.2 inch off from true can result in a 4-inch deviation from the intended line over a 20-foot putt. In other words, with everything else accounted for, a golfer might still miss his putt because of an out-of-tolerance condition that's invisible to the naked eye. Jeff Counter, quality control manager at Bettinardi, wants to eliminate such factors--in the putters and in other products his company makes.