I thought over this post for quite awhile on Friday night not really knowing what to say or how in depth to go with it. Byron Morgan passed away late last week and it has quite literally left me without words, but not acknowledging the life of one of the greats was totally unacceptable to me. If there ever was a legend of modern putter making and the whole boutique putter industry, it was Byron. This man set the bar for so many great putter makers while also showing many of them the ropes to hone their own craft. His designs are elegant, unique, creative, and brilliant. To own one of his putters is an absolute privilege.
My Byron Story
There’s so much I could go on and on about in regards to Byron, but instead I’ll just tell my story of my one small interaction with him. The man has ALWAYS been one of my favorite putter makers by a mile. I had been a fan of Byron’s work for years, buying and selling Byron putters on the secondary market one day dreaming of ordering my own custom-built flatstick. Right around 2015, Byron announced his latest take on the classic Anser 2 style head, the 615, and made a small “first run” available to the public early. I decided the time was right and sent an email off to Byron. Following a quick reply answering a few of my questions, I filled out a form and sent my payment.
Then out of the blue one Saturday morning, my cell phone rings and shows a call from Huntington Beach, California. Though not sure who would be on the other end, I knew this region to be one of the anchors of American golf business so i picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Hi, this is Byron Morgan. Is this Bill?”
He said he was working on my putter right then and asked me a few clarifying questions. But next he offered a few suggestions that differed from the original request and explained why they would be better. The way he spoke to me and made me feel part of the process, HIS process, made me feel important. Then he just started chatting with me. Getting to know me, the guy he was handcrafting a putter for. It was great. I thanked him, said goodbye, and we hung up. Five minutes later, he called me back just to ask me some questions about the non-putter portion of our conversation. We talked for roughly another 20 minutes, and about 10 days later my custom 615 was at my door. Better than I ever dreamed of.
To Byron Morgan!
If you’re a big golf forum follower and reader, you can find countless threads about Byron and people having similar experiences to mine. It wasn’t just that Byron made a legitimately hell of a great putter, but he was an absolute pleasure to interact with and be involved with. I was always so jealous of the people that got to go meet him at his old shop in California to see the man at work, crack a few jokes, and maybe go have a few tacos.
To say Byron was one of the best to ever do it is an understatement. His work is amazing, but everyone that knew him would tell you that’s no surprise. He was a tremendous talent, wonderful human, and an inspiration to many. His work and his friendship to the golf world will be greatly missed and his legend more than deserves to live on.
We’ll all miss you, Byron.
