THE RAY COOK PUTTER COMPANY <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From Tuning Fork to\n\u201cVi – Bra \u2013 Grov \u201c Putter <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After conducting a\nsearch of the web for information regarding Ray Cook and the Ray\nCook Putter Company, one concludes Ray Cook cut the lines on the top of his\nputters to assist the player to align the putter head for the putt. In fact, one\nsite claims Cook was the first to do this. By researching Cook Company advertising in the USA and Great\nBritain, it appears the marketing strategy for the Ray Cook putter changed in\n1974. This closely corresponds to the sale of the company from Ray Cook to Bob\nOlson. Was alignment Ray Cook\u2019s original philosophy behind his putters.? This\narticle reveals Cook actually had another thought in mind. . <\/p>\n\n\n\n This investigation tracks the Ray Cook Putter Company history for\nthe decade (1963 \u2013 1973) while Cook\nowned it. The local newspaper, The San Antonio Line became fixated on the local success story. The\nreporters followed every step of the company\u2019s development. The local gossip reporter, Bruce Wilson,\nprovided weekly updates, who won on the PGA Tour using a Cook putter\nmanufactured in San Antonio. \u201cHe\u2019s No. 1\nin Mallets.\u201d \u201cThree in a Row a Record\u201d. Ray Cook, through his famous putter, certainly\nplaced San Antonio on the world stage. Fortunately on three occasions, Cook reminisced about his life and his putter. In particular, Ray shared his initial steps leading to the production\nof the world\u2019s most successful mallet putter. This article describes how Ray\nutilized the basic principle of a tuning\nfork experiment, he saw in boot camp, to create his famous putter. He believed the vibrating metal idea could be\nused in the design of the perfect putter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Born in Hill, Texas in\n1926, Rayburn \u201cRay\u201d Cook lived his entire his entire 88 years in Texas. His\nparents farmed in the region their entire life. His parents John and Mattie had\nseven children: six boys and one girl. During the difficult Depression years\nthe boys typically had chores on the farm. Ray\u2019s world changed from farming to\noffice work to manufacturer after the War. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRayburn (Ray)\ndeparted his earthly home on Thursday September 18th<\/sup>, 2014 after a\nprolonged illness in Abilene , TX. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ray produced the most\nsuccessful mallet putter ever produced. He\ntravelled the world to sell his famous putter, but he basically spent his\nentire life within two hours of Hill, TX his birthplace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While serving in boot\ncamp in 1942, Ray showed how a simple problem inspired him to create a\nsolution. His first patent showed his\ningenuity, his practical nature, and his\ndedication to solving a challenge . Like all GI\u2019s Ray smoked. While lying on his bunk bed with\nhis ashtray next to him, his cigarette fell from the rim onto his bed. The\ncigarette burnt a hole in the blanket\ncosting him $6.65. With this penalty as\nan incentive, he set about to invent an ashtray that prevented the cigarette\nfrom falling off the rim. Soon he had his first patent \u2013 a double rim ashtray-\nsolving the dilemma and saving his fellow GI\u2019s money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the War, Ray worked as a government stenographer writing\nletters. This constant writing caused blisters to form on his writing fingers. To resolve this dilemma, he patented a new\ntype of pen to eliminate writers cramp, \u201cincluding one which cannot make\ncalluses on the finger of even a 10-houraday note taker\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Several years later\naround 1949, Ray returned to his thoughts regarding the tuning fork experiment\nhe saw in boot camp. Working in his government office by day, Ray began assisting in Ed Carpenter\u2019s driving\nrange shop. Access to the workshop, rekindled his idea that he could expand on\nthe tuning fork principle to create the perfect putter.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe devoted the next\nfifteen years (1949 \u2013 1964) to develop a\nputter utilizing the vibrating metal principle shown in the tuning fork to create\na vibrating metal putter. In the workshop he began to toil night and day to add\nthe tuning fork principle into a putter. To give the proper feel. I\nexperimented with virtually every putter on the market, spending thousands of\ndollars and hundreds of hours to prove my idea that I gathered from the tuning\nfork experiment showing the vibrating\nmetal. I wanted to give the golfer\nbetter feel when stroking the putt..\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n He probably purchased\nthe Freddie Haas aluminium putter, the Claremont model, produced from 1950 \u2013 1955. Although the Haas\nputter has a much lager head than Cook\u2019s first model M-1, it is very similar in\nshape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally in1963, he\nsolved the challenge. By cutting a horizontal groove about \u00bd\u201d from the hitting\nface, he had the putter with the vibrating head. The vibration produced when\nthe ball was struck by the player gave the player the best feeling putter on\nthe market. Cook called his mallet\nputter – the VI – BRA \u2013 GROOV. Translated this meant the \u201cvibrating groove\nputter\u201d Initially, the lines Cook cut in the head of the putter were not for\nalignment. The vertical lines represented the width of the golf ball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow Cook\u2019s VI \u2013 BRA \u2013\nGROOV putter assists the golfer: <\/p>\n\n\n\n The GROOV parallel to\nand \u00bd inch back of the face creates a FLOATING face, which directs VIBRATIONS\ndirectly into the shaft and HANDS giving better FEEL and better judge of\nDISTANE. The WIDE sole makes for a smoother stroke even if the player bumps the\nputting surface. With the shaft attached at the sole the player FEELS all the\nswing weight. The putter is made of extra sensitive metals for better feel upon\nimpact..\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cook proved to be not\nonly an inquisitive and investigative guy, but also he had a knack for marketing a product. Each year the\nPGA Tour made its annual stop in San Antonio. Ray devised a method so all the\nPGA players would use his putter. He offered an additional $1,000 to the winner\nof the Texas Open on the condition the player only had his Ray Cook\nVi-Bra-Groov putter in his bag for the final round. To the pros an extra grand\nwas not peanuts. Ray gave the players free putters. Most players instantly\naccepted his offer. To increase the incentive in succeeding years, Ray\nincreased the bonus to $5,000 for first place and smaller amounts for placing\nsecond and third. Soon he had many of the top PGA players such as Billy Casper\nand Bruce Crampton using his putter. In 1966, his business took a giant leap\nwhen he joined the San Antonio Trade Mission to Europe. Utilizing this\nopportunity, Ray returned home with distribution contracts in Germany, England,\nFrance and Scandinavia. Next he was the first to sell putters to the expanding\nJapanese market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c Back home after\ntheir successful trade mission junket, San Antonio manufacturer Ray Cook has\nreceived notification that his firm now has letters of credit on file with\nbanks in England, Scotland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden.\u201d Morris\nWilson local gossip[ column in San Antonio Light Headline VI-BRA_GROOVE wins again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Within three years he\nhad five additional patents covering variations in his original design <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCook\u2019s Vi-Bra-Groov\nputters, which didn\u2019t hit the market\nuntil April, 1964, now win more money on\nthe PGA Tour and in other parts of the world than any other weapon used on the\ngreens.\u201d British Open Roberto de Vicenzo 1967, US Open Orville Moody 1969,\nColonial Invitational at Houston Bruce Crampton 1965 and Billy Casper 1968,\nTexas Open San Antonio Bruce Crampton 1964 and Harold Henning 1968 Champions\nInternational de Vicenzo 1968, World Series of Golf Moody 1968.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ray began to maintain\ndiligent records of the winners on the tour who used his mallet putter to win.\nBusiness began to soar. By 1969 he needed to expand. He could not supply the\ndemand with his four original staff members. His first staff members included:\nFritz Opris, foreman and Vice \u2013President, \nwalked out of Hungary along with his mother and Aunt into Austria during\nthe Russian invasion in 1956. Rudy Martinez, the second of the two- man\nproduction staff originally worked as a\ndelivery man. Ray trained him to operate the precision machine to make the\nputters to satisfy the world demand, Jo Anne Brotherton\u2019s roots rested in the\nCherokee Nation like Ray\u2019s, worked as the secretary, auditor, and bookkeeper. Basically she \nled the operation to a world successful enterprise. \u201cShe was the glue\nthat held everything together.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the new facility,\nhe expanded to twenty employees. He always maintained his loyalty to the local\nPGA professionals who operated the golf shops across America. The Ray Cook putter\ncould only be purchased in the local pro shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1973, \u201cthe total wins\nsince 1967 is 135 major events including the US Open, the British Open, the\nMasters, the PGA, the World Series of Golf, and the World Cup have been won by\nplayers using his Ray Cook mallet putter. He was the number ! mallet putter\nproducer in the world\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the San\nAntonio Line reporter Johnny Jones: Jan 19, 1973: \u201cThe small Basse Road\nmanufacturer, Ray Cook utilizing his\ningenuity to make advancements to his basic aluminums mallet putter now holds\nmore patents for golf putters than any other person in the world.\u201d The little\noperation produced 50,000 putters per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ray Cook\u2019s big break\ncame when the Hogan Company asked him to design and manufacture a putter for\nthem: \u201cThe putter business will be bigger than Ray could ever have imagined\nwhen he began in 1964. He has in his possession a contract to design and\nproduce all THE putters for the famed\nBen Hogan line of clubs. Within two years Cook expects his plant will be producing\n70,000 putters annually. The Hogan putters will follow the T groove principle\nbut won\u2019t be like Ray\u2019s regular Vi-Bra-Groov putter for his regular business\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n In late 1974, at what\nappears to be the height of his putter business, Cook sold the operation to his\nlong-time friend and partner Bob Olson. Ray designed the putters and marketed\nthem. Olson actually manufactured the aluminums heads Ray created. Olson did\nnot just purchase the most successful mallet putter business in the world he\nalso had a vision to expand the Ray Cook Putter company to new levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Bob Olson, who holds\nthe patent on one of the best cigarette filters ever made, has bought the Ray\nCook Putter Company.\u201d September 17th<\/sup>, 1974. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The sale from Cook to\nOlson occurred in a very unusual way. \u201cI (Olson) had known Ray for over 45\nyears, manufactured all the putter heads for him. We had the same CPA firm and I found out Ray\nwanted to sell his business. So in two weeks I owned a putter company. Most of\nthe putters are still the original ones designed by Ray.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olson immediately changed the marketing\nstrategy for his newly acquired Ray Cook\nPutter Company. Under Cook, a golfer could only purchase a Ray Cook putter from\ntheir local pro shop. Olson immediately patented a putter for the retail market\nthe \u201cAmerican Open\u201d putter. These putters sold throughout the US in hardware\noutlets, department stores, and golf discount outlets. The pro shop models sold\nfor about $50.00. The American Open model sold around $25. We have constructed\na new factory to enable the company to expand into the retail market. As\nmentioned at the outset of this article, Olson also began advertising the lines\non the putter head assisted the player to align his body parallel to the putter\nline. The also changed the company markings on the putters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In !975, Bob Olson\npatented a new model of the original Ray Cook putter. Olson called the new\nputter \u201cTwo Heads are better than One.\u201d The patented Ray Cook Vi-Bra-Groov\nseparates the blade from the mallet to combine the feather touch sensitivity of\na finely balanced blade putter with the confidence building stability of a\nmallet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Bob purchased the\nCook operation, Ray had representatives in 43 states and ten countries\nincluding Japan. After two years Olson advertised he had sales people in all 50\nstates. Proudly Olson told the San\nAntonio Light newspaper on May 23, 1976: \u201c Only 10% of all the putters are sold\nat pro shops. Some of the manufacturing steps have been reduced in the American Line, but the retail\nmodel is in a highly competitive market but still has the Ray Cook quality. The\ncompany has made a profit each year since its inception in 1964. The past two\nyears we have set records for sales and profits. The Ray Cook putters are sold\nthroughout the US and in the Scandinavia countries, Great Britain, Europe,\nSouth Africa, and Japan. The company holds more patents and registered\ntrademarks than any other firm\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the 1978 interview between\nPaul Christian, the San Antonio Line business reporter and Bob Olson, Bob described\nhis successful company: \u201cCurrently\nwe manufacture 31 different models \u2013\nboth mallets and blades. Olson won\u2019t divulge just how many are made each year ,\nbut representatives sell the putters throughout the US and in 15 foreign\ncountries the biggest markets being Great Britain, Scotland, and Japan\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n .<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Nov 1979 Bob Olson\nand his partner Jim Braun sold the Ray Cook Putter Company to Bob Coleman , a\nUniversity of Oklahoma graduate with an accounting major with an extensive\nbackground in computer science. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Coleman divulged one\nof Ray\u2019s original errors: \u201cUnfortunately probably because of lack of business\nexperience, Ray made a fundamental error in the early years of the operation. Ray\ndid not register his patents internationally. Today we suffer from that error.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n ANNOUNCEMENT BY FREEDMAN COMMUNICATIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Legendary Ray Cook Putter Brand and Assets to be Auctioned <\/p>\n\n\n\n June 8th<\/sup>, 2010\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe legendary Ray\nCook brand has played a significant role in the success of many golfers for\nnearly 50 years. We are excited to present this opportunity to potential buyers\nwho want to leverage this established golf equipment brand. It is a perfect fit\nfor any company looking to develop or expand a quality putter line under a\nrecognized and respected name. The Ray Cook brand has stood the test of time,\nas golfers worldwide, including scores of tour players have elected to carry\nand use Ray Cook putters.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon purchasing the Ray Cook Putter Company in September, 2010\nRock Bottom Golf , the top internet golf retailer, posted the following note on\ntheir website: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince 1963, the name Ray Cook, has been synonymous with success on the PGA and LPGA circuits, as the best players in the world have used Ray Cook putters. The Ray Cook putters are credited with over 200 tour wins and is the only independent putter company to notch a tour victory in every decade since the 1960\u2019s \u201c <\/p>\n\n\n\n The BC Golf Museum has 5 original Ray Cook putters in the collection. We are seeking to expand this collection. We do not have an original Hogan putter designed and manufactured by Ray Cook. These putters have the markings ” DBRC ” and ” SA ” . <\/p>\n\n\n\n Contact us at email: office@bcgolfhouse.com <\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" THE RAY COOK PUTTER COMPANY From Tuning Fork to \u201cVi – Bra […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itbcpro.ca\/bcgolfhouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itbcpro.ca\/bcgolfhouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itbcpro.ca\/bcgolfhouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itbcpro.ca\/bcgolfhouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itbcpro.ca\/bcgolfhouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itbcpro.ca\/bcgolfhouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itbcpro.ca\/bcgolfhouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itbcpro.ca\/bcgolfhouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itbcpro.ca\/bcgolfhouse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}