Review: Sunset Beach Golf

Today’s post reviews custom putter maker Sunset Beach Golf Company (ssbeachgolf.com). We have reviewed other custom putter makers in the past (e.g., thepowerfade.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/review-byron-morgan-california-flatsticks) and will try to keep our remarks in concert with the others.

I first learned about Sunset Beach Golf while searching for custom putter makers online. Amidst Byron Morgan, Slighter, Piretti, Palombi, C&L/350 Milled, and others, Sunset Beach came to my attention. It happened that the company was running a special price on some of the marquee putters, so I contacted them about a quote.

One of things I love most about dealing with small golf companies is the personal attention that you receive. If you want to buy a Rossa or Cameron putter, you have to go to Golfsmith or Edwin Watts and pick up what they have on the rack. When I contacted Chris Jordan (president and owner of SSB), I received several personal emails from Chris attempting to set up a phone conversation. When we were able to talk, Chris spent a good hour (maybe more) talking with me about his company, what his goal was in creating the company, and how SSB could meet my needs. Originally, I was on the fence about whether SSB would give me something I really wanted, but the phone conversation with the president of the company made me confident that my concerns would be addressed.

Sunset Beach Golf is a company started by Chris Jordan–former mini-tour player–to create custom putters at reasonable prices. Chris and I had a good conversation about a putter we both loved and enjoyed, the Newport Beach. Back in the day when balata golf balls were king, the Newport Beach was a great putter–responsive, soft, a true gem. However, as the Pro-V1 emerged as the dominant golf ball, the Newport Beach lost its remarkable feel. Chris Jordan started making his own putters to bring back the feel he once had with the Newport Beach even when using a modern golf ball.

What emerged was a company dedicated to custom work. After teaming with LaMont Mann (of MannKrafted golf, mannkrafted.com), Sunset Beach was born.

Sunset Beach offers a variety of standard head styles that can be shaped and ground to exact weight, shape, and look. The standard head shapes are offered with any variety of neck styles–in Chris’s terms, “any neck you can think of, we can do it.” The company offers a number of custom finishes and platings, including colored polymer platings, which offer the maintenance of stainless steel with the feel of carbon steel. In addition to the standard offerings, Sunset Beach can create custom milled or handmade putters as well in virtually any shape or style imaginable. Sunset Beach also offers custom stamping options.

My SSB was an attempt to create the Newport Beach in a heavier weight head. The Newport Beach is a 330-gram putter–I wanted the same putter in 350 grams. After filling out an order form, I provided Chris with a map of some stamping options. We discussed finishes, grind options, weight options, face milling patterns, and colors for stampings. What came out was one of the most beautiful putters I’ve ever seen.

Sunset Beach offers customization options just like Byron Morgan, who we reviewed earlier. However, what is great about Sunset Beach is that the cost is minimal when compared to Byron. Chris Jordan talked to me about a custom offering that he had quoted for a customer. When he made his quote, the customer stated “you’re cost is 1/3 less than everyone else I’ve talked to.” Moreover, what you get is a truly custom option. Literally ANYTHING you can think of, Chris and LaMont can create it.

Moreover, they’re super guys to deal with. They both kept me well-informed on the progress of my custom putter, and, although there were some delays due to unforeseen circumstances, I was never without information about what was going on with my putter. I simply cannot say enough good things about Sunset Beach.

So, how about the quality? Well, the inaugural round happened to be my first ever round at East Lake Golf Club (site of the Tour Championship). I rolled almost 120 feet of putts, taking just 29 putts to shoot a one-under par, 71. This putter is in my bag for good.

Price: 9/10
Value: 10/10
Time (order to putter): 7/10
Quality: 9/10
Customization: 9/10
Finish: 8/10
Customer Service: 10/10
Communication: 10/10

Overall: 9/10

For other custom made putter views, visit SSBeachgolf.com, or search on forums, e.g., www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/386679-beautiful-putters-from-sunset-beach/

Update 7/14/2012
We’ve had some questions come up recently that we thought would be helpful to answer in the body of this post rather than in the comments.

First, SSB putters are made in the USA. This was one of Chris Jordan’s major goals, as he’s stated to me several times. Initially, they made some heads in China because they couldn’t get a good enough price from a US supplier, but they have since increased volumes and found a US shop that will machine for a reasonable price. Contrary to popular belief, very few putter makes–even custom putter makers–make each and every putter by themselves in their own machine shops. Most outsource the raw machining and perform custom operations, including finishing, stamping, one-off milling (like my sound slot above), welding, making sight lines or dots, and grinding to weight. Even Byron Morgan does pretty much all of the finish work in his shop, but he doesn’t mill most of the putters he makes. Some putters made by LaMont, Byron, and Slighter are truly “hand made” in that they personally performed each and every step of the milling. This is not the case for most putters. However, it does not decrease at all how “custom” the putter you get from SSB is.

Additionally, it should be noted that LaMont is one of Byron’s biggest fans. None of this post is intended to suggest any slight toward Byron–he makes incredible pieces. In fact, Byron started LaMont on this career, to the point of even supplying LaMont with unfinished anser-style heads so that LaMont could offer that line. However, with SSB, the value for the price is every bit as good as a Byron putter. LaMont’s work is very, very high quality–if you haven’t seen his recent customs on facebook, you’re missing out. And what Sunset Beach offers in the way of customization is an excellent option for someone who wants a custom made putter without breaking his bank account.