Golf-only auction house Golden Age wrapped a 12-day auction featuring Scotty Cameron putters Monday.
The 381-lot auction was hosted by Bill Vogeney, the world's foremost expert on Scotty Cameron and his putters. Vogeney also researched and wrote descriptions for every single lot, which featured putters, bags and head covers, among other items.
The putters were a healthy mix of both off-the-rack and the famed Circle T putters, designated for tour use only. Though a small number are now sold to the public via weekly drops from Cameron's gallery, Circle T's have a cult following in the golf world.
Ryan Carey, president of Golden Age, told cllct last April that when the company has an auction featuring Scotty Camerons, "The number of people that sign up is unlike anything else.”
Eighteen putters eclipsed the $10,000 mark, led by a Tiger Woods backup putter, which sold for $71,508, though it could have been higher, had the club not been refurbished.
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"The Cameron collector market tends to favor putters that are fully original," Vogeney said. "A putter is only original once."
And this was noted in the description, where Vogeney detailed the putter clearly looked refurbished since its last letter of authenticity in 2004. As a result, Golden Age sent it back to Scotty Cameron's studios for a new COA.
"To show that provenance, to show that history, to be really upfront was very important," Vogeney said.
Though that putter might have underachieved, several certainly surpassed Vogeney's expectations, and even those of Cameron himself, beginning with the S. Cameron M3 GSS Gatorback Twisty, which sold for $52,996.
"Ironically enough, I talked to Scotty yesterday," Vogeney said. "He was floored. He said, 'Why did that putter sell for so much?'"
Craftsmanship and scarcity.
"I said, 'Scotty, it's amazing. I mean, you only did a handful or a couple handfuls of those Gatorback putters.'" Vogeney told Cameron. "I think that's the only one that he did with a twisty. But the combination of it, the Gatorback, the twisty neck, the long, twisty neck, the red and green patchwork, exotic leather grip, it all kind of came together. ... I just don't know that we'll see a whole lot of putters come out like that in the future."
Still, that price of nearly $53,000 greatly exceeded Vogeney's expectations, stating it wasn't quite twice what he expected, but close to it.
The other putter that jumped out in its result was Cameron's personally-owned Craftsman SSS Prototype Putter, which reached $39,816.
It's one Vogeney admitted he would've loved to have bid on if he was still as aggressive a collector as he used to be. Besides the two-tone finish-chromatic blue neck and chromatic bronze head, there is a Cameron-only flare to it. He misspelled "personal" on the sole. So instead, it reads "PERSONL."
"We collectors go crazy over that," Vogeney said. "Was it a mistake? I don't think so. ... I've seen a few Scotty Cameron personal putters come to the market. That was the nicest I've seen."
The second item in the lot was a Tiger Woods' Personal 1990s Scotty Cameron Newport Pro Platinum Putter.
The putter, which sold for $27,195.60, came from an estate that was consigned to Golden Age nearly a year ago and it didn't come with a certificate of authenticity.
But when Vogeney first saw the putter back in April, he of course saw the T.W. initials in the bottom corner of the face.
Everything added up. Vogeney had seen the set of metal stamps used before and the impressions in the putter's head. It was definitely a model Woods used when he was an amateur and when he first turned pro.
So, Vogeney sent the putter back to Cameron's studio for a COA on behalf of the consigner.
"We got the putter back as authentic, but still knowing that it was made for Tiger, you know, increases the value of this putter tremendously," Vogeney said. "And I felt an obligation to the consigner and to the estate to try to fully find out about this putter."
Because despite the fact Cameron's studio can verify it as an authentic Circle T putter, they won't verify it was made specifically for Tiger. They'll only do this for a given player if Cameron specifically can recall making the exact putter for the specific player.
Vogeney recalled seeing this exact putter on display 20 years ago at a shop in Orlando, Fla. And he recalled writing for "The Cameron Collector", a website for fellow collectors, about the clubs on display at this shop in Orlando.
Via his website, he was able to find a certificate of authenticity for the putter in the shop as designed for Woods, which he was then able to photo-match to this putter in the auction, which he estimated multiplied the value of the putter by four or five times.
"We represent the putter in the best possible light, Vogeney said, "and are very upfront with everything."
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct.