Coming Attraction: Yamada Milled Putters

With the mass putter market hitting a rough patch in recent years amid a struggling economy, it’s always nice to learn about boutique putter makers who are finding their niche and hitting their stride, such as SeeMore, Piretti, Axis1, Sizemore and Miura.

Now another relative newcomer has happily hit our radar: Yamada Milled Putters.

Billed on the company web site as an “eccentric putter craftsman,” Tohru Yamada has been making putters since 1986, a vocation originally inspired by the workmanship of a T.P. Mills putter that he had purchased for himself. After producing putters for other companies, he set out on his own a few years ago, launching Yamada Milled Putters.

Yamada offers two tiers of putters: Yamada Limited Edition ($425) and the Yamada 2011 Series ($299). All of the putters are precision milled from carbon steel. The Yamada Limited Edition putters, however, present more options in terms of shaping, finish and fitting.

One signature Yamada finish that jumps out is the Burning Copper (pictured above), which is said to offer the softest feel of the available finishes.

The putters are also colorfully named and feature eloquent supporting storylines. For example, the Musashi model blade is named after a “warrior monk” who is described as follows: “Musashi, as he was often simply known, was perhaps the most renowned Japanese swordsman who ever lived and was the author of The Book of Five Rings, a book on strategy, tactics, and philosophy that is still studied today…”

Other Yamada putter models include the Emperor, Shogun, Imperial, Kendo, Hawk Eye and Terminator. According to the company, Yamada putters are making headway on professional circuits around the world.

At first glance, Yamada putters appear to exhibit considerable craftsmanship and creativity. We hope to get our hands on one soon. On that note, stay tuned for PutterZone.com’s Yamada putter review.