Scotty Cameron Circle T

As a kid I remember walking into my local course’s pro shop and drooling over the row of beautiful Scotty Cameron putters lined up against the wall. The first putter line I remember catching my eye was the Teryllium family with shiny “coppery” face inserts and polished black heads. These putters weren’t just beautiful, but they felt amazing too. As far as any of us were concerned, there were these putters, and there was everybody else. Well, at some point around the late 90s/early 2000s, people started to notice that players on Tour were playing Scotty Cameron putters, but theirs had little features like a small red dot drilled into them, or a seemingly random “T” stamped into them somewhere. Thus was the beginning of the ever-exclusive Scotty Cameron Circle T putters.

Over time, that T stamp turned into a T surrounded by a circle stamped in some random place on the putter. This would start being referred to as the “Circle T” (aka “CT”) and was a “Tour Only” stamp reserved for putters made available to the pros straight from Scotty and his small team. And those small red dots drilled into the putter? Those would evolve into the cherry bombs we know today in various Scotty putters. A certain putter that is arguably the most famous putter of all time really set the cherry bomb trend. Over time, these Circle T putters became highly coveted, but also became easier to obtain by us mere mortals. Circle T was no longer “for Tour use only”.

The Evolution of “Circle T”

The Circle T was originally Scotty Cameron’s way to designate something was made for a Tour player. As the stamp evolved into the Circle T and appearing on more putters in the bags of big professional names, so did the Circle T’s mystique. Next thing you know, the brand started making limited release headcovers with the “CT” on it for the pros. While us common people we’re buying the regular limited headcovers, the pros had their own exclusive “CT version”.

As the Circle T fad was taking hold, pros also started having more and more unique putters made. From “Tour only” stamps like the jester and Hot Head Harry, players started coming up with some pretty sick putters. (I specifically remember a bunch of Dustin Johnson putters that were incredible!) Players were also bagging different shapes, finishes, necks, and weights that the public could only DREAM of. This only captivated golf collectors around the world even more.

While Circle T gear was becoming common out on Tour, it was still extremely rare but not impossible to get your hands on it. Golfers were occasionally able to acquire CT putters and covers from pro caddies and players themselves, but that was about it. OR you could spend a couple thousand dollars with one of the four Scotty Cameron “Tour distributors”. (I can’t remember if the Japanese ‘Museum & Gallery’ was considered one of the four distributors.) These distributors would get shipments of incredible one-off Scotty putters and accessories that even Tour players would drool over. Circle T putters and covers were now obtainable for the public albeit at a massive price tag and extremely low quantities.

The Circle T’s “Downfall”?

Scotty Cameron’s Circle T designation was it in terms of collectible putters and golf accessories for the better part of at least a decade. Super rare putters with premium craftsmanship. Unimaginable combinations of stamps, welds, paint, finishes, and accessories. Scotty was clearly standing at the top of this mountain. And so were the prices. I’m talking 5 digits in some cases…

With the boutique putter/accessory trend growing, and Scotty still clearly at the top, the Cameron world saw some major changes. First, Scotty opened a retail location in Southern California simply known to collectors as “The Gallery”. The Gallery is popular amongst Cameron collectors for it’s abundance of rare headcovers, putters, and pretty much anything you can imagine Scotty Cameron. Then Scotty opened another store in arguably the biggest region of SC collectors – Tokyo, Japan. So that leaves us with two official Scotty stores, four partner distributors, and the original Japanese Museum & Gallery.

Fast forward, Scotty Cameron has two of his own brick and mortar stores (as well as online) selling the almighty Circle T. While at first, it was another avenue for unique “Gallery Only” products, collectors also started noticing more quantities of limited products. Including Tour-only putters. Scotty’s shops started releasing larger numbers of limited gear through the shops thus diluting the market and the intrigue. Or at least that’s my opinion. THEN, with these new stores selling these exclusive products with no middle men, ties started getting cut with longtime, loyal distributors. It was at this point, in my opinion, the Circle T lore transcended cool “Tour Only” and became nothing but a luxurious marketing tool.

By the way, trust me, I’m well aware Scotty’s still laughing all the way to the bank…

My One and Only Circle T…Forever

Being a huge golf gear nerd, I of course was/am not immune to the mighty Circle T! I want to be clear, I think Scotty is still able to make some really great stuff, and love a lot of the stuff from the past. I’m just sort over the whole “hype” and there are a lot of premium putter makers I’d prefer to support. (PS. Don’t even get me started on how saturated that markets getting, but there are some GREAT ones.)

Over the years, I’ve actually had a few “Circle Ts” come and go. I’ll admit it, I’m a sucker for classic Newport 2 (like Tiger’s) and Timeless shapes from over the years. Well many moons ago, I decided I wanted to find the perfect Scotty Tour putter for the collection. Things came together at the right time and place, and the Timeless SSS pictured here came across my plate. It really hit all the right notes for me. I couldn’t find any other ones like it, had a perfect blend of tasteful and unique stampings without going overboard. A GREAT face milling, heel bomb, site dot, and most importantly, no initials.

As it turns out, I would later run across the original owner of this putter and he gave me the backstory. Back in the day, you’d have to pay, but you could custom order “Tour Only” putters through one of the Scotty distributors. This gentleman placed what was one of the last custom orders before Scotty shut down this program, and it was this putter. For whatever reason, the putter just never clicked for him and on its journey it went. Fortunately, the guy had good taste and the rest is history. The only thing I’d change is MAYBE a classic tri sole…

Final Thoughts – Scotty Cameron Circle T

As the Circle T hype continued to climb, so did demand for more affordable boutique options. Other respectable boutique putter makers that were already well-established in the game had the opportunity to emerge with more affordable products. In many cases, the craftsmanship is even better too. Names like Byron Morgan and Bettinardi began to receive much-deserved closer attention. (Remember when Bettinardi was helping Scotty in the early days?) Now it seems like you can’t scroll through social media without stumbling on a new putter maker cranking out a slick piece of gear. Sure, there are many greats that came before, but there’s no argument that Scotty Cameron and the Circle T paved the way for the modern boutique custom putter demand that exists today!

These days, my beloved Timeless is largely sitting in the collection should it need to be called on for play. My journey through the Cameron world simply brought me to other manufacturers that I like more. A couple of my favorites are Black Lab Golf and Scott Readman Concepts. Both of these brands produce excellent products at way better value and have proven quite difficult to knock out of my bag over the years.

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