High schooler designs, builds own putter

RICE LAKE, Wis. -- Sam Burdick didn't want to be one of those golfers who blames the club for his mulligans. So he made his own.

Over a span of about four months, the Rice Lake senior designed, engineered, manufactured and is now using his own custom made putter -- the Burd Snipe.

"I just thought, it would be sweet to not have any excuses," Burdick said. "Now I can only blame myself."

Burdick, the No. 1 golfer on the Warriors boys golf team, first came up with the idea to design his own putter when he found himself with a wealth of free time in his independent study for manufacturing. Given a work packet meant to cover nine weeks of training in the SolidWorks computer aided design program, Burdick completed the material in about three and a half. From there, he began to brainstorm other ways to spend his time.

Burdick kept a list of ideas in his phone, including laser engraving his wedges and making a personalized marker. He added 'make your own putter,' before deciding the project would probably be too out there and deleting the note. But he drew up a design anyway, and -- with a nudge from his teacher -- started to look into what it would take to engineer his own club.

The design might look a little funky to some, but the club works like a charm.

Burdick designed the club head with most of its weight balanced to the outside, which does a better job of stabilizing the head when it comes into contact with the ball. The bottom of the putter is curved to go with the grain of the grass, allowing for more control of the putt. And the Snipe's face is grooved to limit the number of contact points, making a quieter "click" when striking the ball.

"Everything's exactly the way it's supposed to be," Burdick said.

Over the four months he spent designing, testing and making the club, Burdick used every resource he could at the school. He would hold conversations with his physics teacher to determine what materials to use for the best outcome. He worked with his math teacher to figure out the specs. His art teacher helped him design a custom logo. And of course, the tech ed staff helped Burdick actually make the putter.

Once Burdick had the 3D model in hand, he brought it to Rice Lake principal Curt Pacholke, who secured a full-sized CNC machine and other tooling for the school.

Once Burdick had the proper tooling, he could finish the club.

"It's been a great process," Pacholke said. "If we can take one thing away from this, it's that if you have kids like this who have a pathway of something they want to do, feed them, give them what they need to do it and get out of their way."

Burdick has plans to sell his club for $200 apiece. He already has received five orders, and will have a model at the pro store at Rice Lake's Turtleback Golf Club, where he works, and in the pro shop at Sarona's Butternut Hills, the course he grew up on.

He intends to use the money to help pay for college. Burdick was accepted to the University of Wisconsin's school of engineering, which he plans to attend in the fall.

For now, Burdick has been enjoyed using his homemade putter, and at the Big Rivers meet Monday at Troy Burne Golf Course, the difference was noticeable. Burdick took 10th, but more impressive was his putt count -- he estimates about 27 putts on 18 holes.

"The putter's got a very natural feel, it lines itself up with the ball pretty well and Sam's putted fantastic with it on some very fast greens," Rice Lake golf coach Tom Germanson said.

For Germanson, one of the most exciting aspects of Burdick's project was getting the opportunity to learn from one of his players.

"That part was neat, because I've never had a student or golfer in 13 years make their own club," he said. "Actually, I don't think anybody has."

This article was written by Jesse O'Brien from The Leader-Telegram and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.