Thank You True Stroke

The first time I put a True Stroke putter in my hands, I fell in love with the sweet spot. The whole putter is one giant sweet spot. It never feels like I've miss hit it. I was having trouble with alignment with my old putter. My eyes weren't telling me the truth. After working with the True Stroke for a few minutes, it got my eyes back over the ball. After a couple of weeks I could trust my eyes again and began playing with it in competition. I started making more putts. The 3rd round I played with the True Stroke I made 8 birdies and 1 eagle. My distance control has been better and I haven't 3 putted since.

The feel of the True Stroke when I strike the ball is outstanding and my putting confidence has soared.

Putting is all about the eyes. If your eyes don't see the true line of the putt, how can you roll the ball accurately? When I sole the putter properly, the True Stroke forces my eyes over the ball and they will tell me the truth, giving me a better chance to roll the ball on my intended line.

I would recommend this club to all my students and all golfers who want to putt better. Your eyes will tell you the truth.

Sincerely,
John Wallace
PGA Teaching Professional
Foxtail Golf Course
Boise, Idaho

Eagle Mayor's Cup 2005
Left Photo: Larry with Eagle Mayor Nancy Merrill at the 2005 Eagle Mayor's Cup.

"Putter may prove to be a stroke of genius" — The Idaho Statesman
by Nick Jezierny, June 30, 2005

Longtime golfer Larry Davis had a dream about five years ago that finally has come true.

The night before playing in a tournament, the Nampa resident had a dream where he saw himself putting. The dream was bizarre, Davis said, because the putter he was using was unlike anything he had ever seen.

The next day, Davis went to local machinist Dick Coonrod and built it -- and the True Stroke putter was born.

Since then, Davis has sold about 100 of the putters to golfers in five different states, he said.

"I love the putter -- it´s a great product," said Jerry Breaux, the head professional at BanBury Golf Club in Eagle. "It´s well-balanced and has a wide hitting area. It´s very effective.´´

Davis, 61, builds the unique putter in his shop adjacent to his house. He sells them himself, and they can be found at BanBury. He expects a few other Treasure Valley courses to start selling the True Stroke putter.

Of course, that wasn´t the original name and the design and weight have been tweaked several times since Davis´ original vision.

"I was using it and guys were laughing at me and calling it a sledgehammer," Davis said. "I almost called it the sledgehammer."

The club is unlike any other putter on the market because of how it´s built, Davis said. He has a patent pending on the design, which puts all of the weight in the center of the head where it impacts the ball. The base of the club is flat, which helps make lining up the ball easier.

"This is big because of what it does -- it stays on line," Davis said. "If it goes offline, you took it off line."

Davis, a commercial painter, got into golf club making several years ago. He went to a club-making school in Austin, Texas.

"I was looking for a paying hobby," he said. "I eat, sleep and drink this game. I enjoy it."

Davis said his design works because it has science on its side.

"It's bottom dead center, it has a dead center of gravity and the moment of inertia are all happening at the same time," he said. "There is not another putter on the market today that does that. There's a ton of research and development in this thing."

Pete Salvato, a retired Boise school teacher who works part time as a marshal at BanBury, saw Davis showing his club at the course and was intrigued.

Salvato tried the putter, then bought one.

"My handicap went from an 11.2 to a 9.6, and I only hit the ball about 220 (yards) on a good drive, so I have to make putts," Salvato said. "I've been making a lot of the 6-, 10- and 12-foot putts that I wasn't making before."

Success stories like that are news to Davis' ears. He said there are other players out there who call and tell him the same thing.

"They call after a few days and say 'Larry, you've got something here,'" Davis said. "When lower handicappers call me and say 'I've never putted this well my whole life.' That sends chills down my spine."

Bob Floto, who lives in Eagle, also is a believer. He played a round with Davis and "was sort of fascinated with it."

Floto plays three times a week and said the feel of the club is what makes it work for him.

"I've definitely putted better since I started using it," Floto said. "I have several putters, but I have more confidence with this one. I've putted better -- that's the bottom line."

Steve Blackhurst, a commercial painter who lives in Eagle, bought two True Stroke putters. He had been using an Odyssey belly putter, and he tried Davis' belly putter version and didn't like it.

"It was too heavy and too bulky," he said.

So he tried Davis' traditional putter for two weeks, then bought it.

"I realized it helped my putting immensely," Blackhurst said. "It's like a pendulum -- it feels like it swings itself. I'm pleased with it."

Ken Pedersen, a patent attorney, who's just starting to play golf himself, is another user of the True Stroke putter. He and his firm see promise in the design.

"We looked very hard and he does have something to offer," Pedersen said. "There have been other people who have tried similar things."

Pedersen said one promising sign is the local demand.

"He has a good demand for the ones he makes," he said. "Golfers are very receptive to new products and new ideas."