Jim Miller-Melberg and the Golf Invention
Jim Miller-Melberg was a fine golfer, out-hitting younger players even as he played into his 70s. He was a fun partner with a hearty laugh, full of stories and quick to quote Shakespeare after watching a partner short a putt: “A coward dies a thousand deaths!”
(Courtesy Dave Bogart)
His favorite golf course was Lincoln Hills in Birmingham, Michigan, appropriately nestled behind the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center that counts fellow sculptor Marshall Fredericks as a charter member. In the late 1990s, Miller would play a round every Friday first thing in the morning. One of his regular partners was a fellow early-riser named Dave Bogart. A local historian, Bogart enjoys stories and interesting people, and Miller certainly fit that description.
Bogart and Miller Back in the Day (Courtesy Dave Bogart)
As Miller and Bogart got to know each other on the golf course every Friday morning, they shared ideas. Bogart had been working on an invention – a rebounding putting trainer. Miller was curious about this project and was soon enthusiastically collaborating with Bogart, who hadn’t yet come up with the ideal prototype. This was a job for a sculptor! Miller used his constellation of skills to turn the putting trainer into a work of art. He also gave it a name, “Scuffty,” a Scottish word for a hint or tip that his father-in-law would use when giving Miller advice on the golf course. Ad copy explained how it is used:
The Scuffty engineered rebounding putting trainer - Makes good putting automatic. The Scuffty putting trainer lets you get a lot of putting practice in a short period of time. Set the Scuffty three to five feet away (more as you get better!) on a smooth carpet. Putt at the Scuffty so that the golf ball bounces back to your putter. Repeat! The Scuffty has been engineered to return the ball to your putter with minimal energy loss.
The Scuffty engineered rebounding putting trainer - Makes good putting automatic. The Scuffty putting trainer lets you get a lot of putting practice in a short period of time. Set the Scuffty three to five feet away (more as you get better!) on a smooth carpet. Putt at the Scuffty so that the golf ball bounces back to your putter. Repeat! The Scuffty has been engineered to return the ball to your putter with minimal energy loss.
The Scruffty (Courtesy Dave Bogart)
Cast of three pounds of stainless steel, the Scuffty is a thing of beauty, and it works! Best of all it comes with a 1,000 year warranty, provided that is kept in a cool place, since (warns the manual) it will melt at 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit!
(Courtesy Dave Bogart)
[Source: Bogart. Details in Sources Page]
