Getting My Hands Dirty with an Old Putter
So, I stumbled upon this topic, the Teryllium putter. It wasn’t like I was actively looking for one, you know? It just kinda happened. I was rummaging through some old stuff in the garage, boxes left over from my dad, and tucked away in a dusty corner was this old golf bag. Inside, beneath some truly ancient woods, was this putter. Looked different. Had this weird coppery-looking insert.
First thing I did was pull it out. Felt heavy, solid. The grip was totally shot, crumbling in my hands. Nasty. But the head, aside from being dirty, looked interesting. That insert had some dings, sure, but it wasn’t corroded through or anything. I remembered hearing chatter about these things years ago, how they felt different. So, I thought, what the heck, let’s see if I can make this thing usable.
The Cleanup Job
Weekend project time. Got some soap, water, and a soft brush. Gently cleaned the head, careful around that insert. It shined up okay, not perfect, but respectable for its age. The shaft was steel, bit of surface rust here and there, but nothing major. Some fine steel wool took care of most of that. The real work was the grip.
Getting the old one off was messy. Used a utility knife carefully, peeled away the rotten rubber and tape. Then came the solvent to get the old tape residue off the shaft. Stinky job, did it outside. Once the shaft was clean and prepped, I slapped on some new double-sided tape and slid on a simple, cheap rubber grip I had lying around. Nothing fancy, just wanted something functional to test it out.
Hitting the Green (or Carpet)
Didn’t even make it to the course at first. Just started rolling puts on the living room carpet. Right away, the feel was… different. Not like the modern milled putters or the ones with the big plastic inserts. It was softer, kinda muted? Hard to explain.
- Sound: Definitely not a ‘ping’ or a ‘click’. More of a ‘thud’ or a soft ‘tock’.
- Feel: Very soft off the face. You could really feel the ball compress, even on short putts.
- Feedback: Maybe less feedback on mishits compared to some modern putters? Or maybe the feedback was just subtler.
Took it to the practice green later that week. Honestly, distance control was tricky at first. That soft feel made it seem like the ball wasn’t going anywhere, so I’d hit it too hard. Took a while to get calibrated. On the short ones, though, inside six feet? It felt amazing. Just seemed to get the ball rolling online really nicely.
Final Thoughts, Kinda
Is it gonna replace my everyday putter? Probably not. It’s a bit of a relic, and frankly, modern putters are probably more forgiving overall. But the whole process – finding it, cleaning it up, figuring out its quirks – that was the fun part. It’s like connecting with a bit of history. You realize not everything needs to be the latest and greatest. Sometimes messing around with old gear teaches you something, even if it’s just appreciating the feel of something different. It definitely wasn’t a waste of time, gave me something interesting to tinker with for a weekend.
