Re: Master Scotty Cameron Putters: Worth It or Not? Thread
Originally Posted by
iacas 
Frankly - and this will be the last post on this slight diversion from the topic - I still see a fine line.
The people who deem them "worth" their money seem to almost always seem to say "they're worth it to me, and I love mine." The people who, like yourself, don't seem to believe they're worth it almost always seem to say "they're not worth it, you shouldn't waste your money."
The difference being there's the hint with the latter that you're being TOLD you're stupid for spending the money, and with the former, people treat it more as their personal opinion. Virtually nobody who says "they're not worth it" says "They're not worth it for me, but I'm sure other people see value in it, and that's fine." It almost always seems to come off as "you're all wasting your money. I can get model XYZ for $119!"
Just a general feeling about the tone, which is admittedly difficult to read online, but as someone who doesn't really care what anyone thinks about MY equipment, I don't believe I've "read into" something that's not there. Maybe, though.
If you aren't sure what I mean by the above, I'm not sure how to put it another way.
P.S. For example, this seems very much to be "pushing value judgments on others." He specifically says "your head," not "my head," and he doesn't say "I agree, no way is a putter worth $300 to me." You might argue that such is implied, but I'm not a big fan of assuming or implying, particularly when it's contradicted by "your head" immediately afterwards.
P.P.S. And people aren't criticizing your opinion - they're criticizing the way you've expressed it and the way you seem to be making that judgment on behalf of them. Again - take it to PMs if you have more to say, please. I don't, though.
You certainly seem to like to have the last word.
The fine line you describe seems simply to be the boundary between a point that you either agree or disagree with.
As for my original post on the topic, you have snipped part of it.
I said: "If it helps you putt better then more power to you..."
Nobody has yet asserted that these putters have some intrinsic physical value or superior technology that makes them worth $300. I seem to read that they are worth more because they instill confidence, etc. That sure seems to be to be a mental thing, i.e. "in your head..."
Putting is a HUGE mental thing. I have a garage full of "retired" putters. I could have bought several Scotty Camerons. Just look at all the ways golfers try to cure their putting woes: weird grips, long putters, huge putter heads, etc... I feel the uber-expensive putters fall into the same category.
The OP said he was considering buying a SC putter and asked if they were worth it. My advice was simply that I don't think they are worth the money. That is not the same as telling you or any other SC owners that "you shouldn't have wasted your money." You ARE reading too much into it and putting words into my mouth. I never said "you're stupid for spending the money..."
What's happening is that I've interrupted the Scotty Cameron self-congratulation party and suddenly you begin to have doubts in the back of your mind and start thinking that maybe you did spend too much for that putter. And that doesn't make you happy. Now I am rude and judgemental. Further evidence that the whole thing is mental.
Can anyone dispute my assertion that SC Putters are an example of the Veblen effect?