A Passion for a Putter By Scott Suttell (Below as printed in Crain´s Cleveland Business) Like many casual golfers, 18-handicapper Tony Ambrose leaves a lot of strokes on the putting green. But unlike most of his hacker brethren, Mr. Ambrose decided to do something about it. Mr. Ambrose, 67, the retired president of the Ambrose, Inc. automobile dealership and leasing company in Chester Township is a longtime tinkerer in the art of building golf clubs. About a year ago, he set out to make a better putter. "I wanted to solve some of the putting problems I had," Mr. Ambrose said during an interview at his company´s office, where he still works on occasion -- his kids run the show now -- and where he has a small putting green near his desk. "With an 18 handicap, you three-putt some greens," he said. As a youngster, Mr. Ambrose worked in his uncle´s machine shop, so he had some experience with designing and manufacturing products. He put that background to good use in creating what ultimately would become a putter called the Delta-B. Mr. Ambrose began work on his putter with a few simple principles in mind. He wanted a high center of gravity to minimize bouncing and bumping. He also wanted an extra-stiff shaft to eliminate torque during the stroke. Most importantly, Mr. Ambrose wanted his putter shaft to be "center-mounted," so the ball would hit the club face at 0 degrees from the shaft, rather than 90, as with a conventional putter. "My goal was to take as many variables out of the swing as possible," Mr. Ambrose said. To that end, he also added a rectangular "through-slot" on the club head that serves as an aiming device and creates the illusion that the putter has a larger "sweet spot".The first draft of the Delta-B, assembled in Mr. Ambrose´s home, drew some hoots from his golfing buddies. "I pulled it out of the bag, and everyone said, `What the hell is that,´ Mr. Ambrose said. "But I was putting well with it, & they started to get interested." That interest got Mr. Ambrose thinking that the club could be more than just a hobby. Intrigued by the notion of taking a shot as a golf entrepreneur, Mr. Ambrose began placing inquiries to golf equipment component makers to find material to help him turn our an initial run of 50 Delta-B putters. (The putter´s name was the result of a family powwow that chose "Delta,"from the Greek alphabet, for the club head´s triangular appearance, and "B" for Mr. Ambrose´s wife, Bea. Mr. Ambrose convinced True Temper Sports Inc., a Memphis, Tenn.-based manufacturer of steel and graphite golf club shafts, to provide 50 shafts --"They told me we´d work out the payment later," he said -- and he landed some square grips from Golf Pride Grips, a division of Cleveland-based Eaton Corp. He enlisted a Canton company, Olympco Inc. to chrome-plate the shafts and give them a distinct, black look. And he asked Smolic Machine Co. of Willoughby, owned by his friend, Mo Smolic, to manufacture the club head. He formed a separate golf business, called Delta-B Co., and in the last several months sold the 50 putters to local golfers based largely on word of mouth. The company now is gearing up to produce at least 200 Delta-B´s, which sell for $159, plus $9 if the buyer wants an engraved club head. Delta-B Co. has formed a web site, www.2deltab.com to take orders from golfers worldwide who are looking to change their luck on the greens. Mr. Ambrose also has brought on a sales representative to provide area clubs and pro shops with demo units in hopes of selling the putter in those venues. These are somewhat challenging times in the golf equipment business. Golf Datatech, an Orlando, Fla.-based firm that tracks retail sales across the country, reported that sales in the $2.2 billion golf equipment industry were off about 3% last year. In an industry that relies heavily on technology and the introduction of products that differ from what has come before, the last year has seen relatively few blockbuster developments. Mr. Ambrose hopes he may be able to find room in the crowded golf club market and offer the neceessary innovation. He knows it may take some luck to hit it big -- Mr. Ambrose fantasizes that a tour pro may spot Delta-B and give it a try -- but he´s confident the putter can help golfers of all skill levels. "If we truly have a good quality product, someone will get wind of it," Mr. Ambrose said.