By: Wayne Freedman, ABC Channel 7 News 

Congratulations to my friend, David Butler (a.k.a. Dr. Grip) of Half Moon Bay. After more than half a century of building and perfecting other brands of clubs, he has designed his own. Based on early results, his ‘Butler' irons are already big winners. 

David's son, Robert, christened the first official set  by scoring a hole-in-one on the 218 yard, par 3, 17^th on the Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay. It was his first round with them. He used a 5-iron. Two days later, David and Robert won their flight in the Half Moon Bay club championship.

Three weeks later, Carlmont High School's Joanne Lee took her set of Butlers to Lake Merced, and qualified for the U.S. Women's Open. She's eighteen years-old, and also headed for USC on a full golf scholarship.

There's more. Joanne's teacher, David Balbi, is also using them. He reported another near ace the first time he used his 8-ion on the par 3, 17^th at Pasatiempo. "I would have retired the club then and there," said Balbi.  "I would have mounted it with an inscription reading, ‘This club is perfect'". 

 At address, Butler's double nickel, double chromed, cavity back irons look like blades, with a thin top line. The soles are somewhat wider, but not unwieldy. They have one degree of progression, allowing good players to take divots, even on hard ground.

 I, too, have begun using the irons, even though I never thought another set could push my beloved Mizuno MP-60's onto the shelf. Butler built those clubs, as well.

 As one of those typical golfers who misses towards the toe, I am missing better, and  hitting straighter, more pure shots. I have also gained distance, due partially to higher swing speeds from the lighter shafts (about 6 mph), but also because Butler forged the heads from 1035 carbon steel, which has more density and a greater rebound factor than the more traditional 1020.

 All of those elements create a  higher sense of fidelity when swinging. "Most players, with other clubs, never feel the head," says David.

 Not anymore. As Joanne Lee describes it, she can actually feel the shaft's spine snap into place just before hitting the ball. I would agree with that description, and add that never has an iron felt more buttery and responsive. With these irons, I am like a country fiddle player trying to figure out a Stradivarius.

 "It's a real pleasure to put these in people's hands, and to see their reactions," says Butler, who spent his college years playing football for Woody Hayes at Ohio State. 

"I'm almost 70. I don't hit the ball like I used to. But, I love the satisfaction of building clubs, and watching people play well with them." He does. When sees somebody make a great shot with his clubs, the guy just smiles. 

The magic happens in the fitting and building.  Even Butler admits that he gets carried away in the process. He is a mechanical engineer by design, and a former chief of power trains for Chrysler Corporation. He's supposed to be retired, and limits business to two fittings and sets per week. "Otherwise, it takes too much time," says David.

As with any other customer, Butler spent hours with me, looking to identify the correct combination of shaft length and flex. I must have hit four-hundred balls in front of his launch monitor, into the range. He has a bucket of 6-irons, all fitted at different lengths, lies, and flexes. 

David estimates fifteen steps in assembling each club. If you multiply that by eleven irons, it adds up to a tedious, day-long process. I know this from experience, because Butler made me do much of the work in putting together the set. "Sometimes, I'm in here until 3:00 in the morning."

 "Why bother?" I asked him. "Supposedly, you retired."

 In what amounted to my first immersive club making lesson, we began by weighing each individual iron head, then the shafts, and also grips. Yes, even the grips. We searched through eighty of them, seeking eleven grips at exactly 59.5 grams. "You're serious about this?" I asked.

 "If you make one small mistake, it can resonate through an entire set," Butler lectured.

"I even weigh the weights."

There's more. Butler frequency tests the shafts, and matches them, as well. It's the difference between throwing a set together, and creating something that becomes greater than the sum of its parts.Lining up the shafts and their bend points.  Each M80 shaft is designed for a specific iron. 

And so, the blend between art and science in creating the tools of so much pleasure, pain, consternation,  self-deprecation, elation, and on, and on, and on.   Anybody can stick shaft into a head,  and call it a golf club.

 But a lasting instrument that becomes an extension of your golfing spirit?  That is another matter, entirely.