Bill Vogeney continues his series of articles on collecting Scotty Cameron putters.
From The Golf, Spring 2024
By Bill Vogeney
It’s surprising how many serious golfers know who Scotty Cameron is, but don’t know he was under contract to Mizuno three years before he joined forces with Titleist.
Less than two years after making his first handmade “Scott” Cameron putters for players on the PGA Tour, Scotty signed with Mizuno and introduced his initial two models for the retail market, the M-100 and M-200, at the 1992 PGA Merchandise Show. Both were crafted from the same raw head, milled on a computer numerically controlled (CNC) milling machine, with the only difference being a small mill cut into the flange of the M-200 that created an alignment aid.
Admittedly, these putters did not sell that well when introduced. Not many of the major golf retailers at the time carried them, and if they did stock them, they often held onto them for a longer time. I recall walking into a golf store in Atlanta around 1998 that catered to Japanese transplants in the metro area. They carried high-end brands like Miura along with the major US-based manufacturers, and Japan was Scotty’s target market when he started his career. Yet the store probably had 35 to 40 brand new Mizuno Cameron putters in stock, six years after they were first produced.
In 1993, Scotty and Mizuno released two more models, the M-300 and M-400, which were made in very limited quantities. The M-300 was a blade style with a thinner flange and more rounded in the heel and toe than the original M-100 and M-200. The M-400 was a mallet style that would later provide the inspiration for two of Scotty’s own Scottsman models in 1994, and two of his designs for Titleist in 1995. Within a short period of time after the release of these new models, Bernhard Langer won the 1993 Masters using a putter that was supposed to be part of the upcoming 1994 Mizuno Cameron lineup. It was Mizuno’s lack of promotion after the victory that caused Scotty to leave the company, limiting production of these models. It’s thought that less than 500 M-400’s were made, and perhaps 100 to 200 M-300’s.
If you’re lucky, you might find one of three other Cameron Mizuno models, the I, II and III that Scotty designed solely for the Japanese market. They are very hard to locate in the United States and appear to be as rare as his M-300 and M-400 designs. After 25 years of looking for these, frankly I’ve seen more of these putters that were tweaked for the tour, often with a different neck or some of his early tour markings.
These Mizuno models represent a great place to start collecting Cameron putters. Since the M-100 and M-200 are more plentiful, it’s wise to find the best example possible. Here’s my estimate of current values (U.S. dollars):
Next time I’ll focus on other early Scotty Cameron putters he designed and produced before joining Titleist.
