Letter
from the President
Inventor,
Designer, Maker and Artist
Welcome
to our updated website! My name is Dave Billings, and I
am a golf club designer, inventor, maker and all around
equipment junkie. I have been designing golf clubs and inventing
golf club technologies since I was 13. I have worked in
the golf industry for 20 years, and worked for or with some
of the top equipment companies in the world, down to fledgling
start-ups, and virtually everything in between.
Dogleg
Right was founded in 1994 with one of my life-long friends,
and then expanded with the help and support from family
and friends, a brave and generous group of investors, loyal
suppliers and customers, and a lot of hard work, persistence
and perseverance by everyone. It has truly been a team effort.
In the past dozen years, we have lived the full range of
experiences and have had many blessings. From Hall-of-Fame
golfers using our innovative designs at the Masters; to
breakthrough wins for professional players who credited
our designs as helping make the difference in their games;
or to the personal satisfaction reading a letter from a
passionate golfer who found a new joy in owning a piece
of equipment that helped revive their enthusiasm and enjoyment
of the game.
One
challenge is a constant for me: always striving to do better,
to improve and move forward. For me, this challenge and
opportunity has led me full circle, in many ways. My first
golf club designs as a teenager were pretty wild, with rocket-assisted
power, and numerous other crazy ideas unencumbered by any
knowledge of the stringent Rules of Golf. Yet, today I am
striving to offer what those early designs provided: state-of-the-art
technology, innovation and increased utility and performance.
However, the challenge that I have come to embrace with
my new work is achieving these advantages in a traditional
and yet creative aesthetic that hopefully appeals to the
finest tastes. Trying to improve upon the best is no small
challenge, and one that motivates me immensely.
The
aesthetic aspect has also come full circle for me. You see,
I was raised and trained as an artist. I drew before I could
walk, poured bronze sculptures as a TA at SMU while still
in middle school, and lived in Italy carving marble during
college. In art school, you study, practice and learn the
techniques used by the masters before you can branch out
to find your own style.
And
now, in my putter design, I still study, practice and emulate
the techniques and designs of our masters, including my
industry heroes such as Karsten Solheim, T.P. Mills, Ray
Cook, Scotty Cameron and many others. I want to pay homage
to these pioneers in our special part of the game; I also
always strive to put my own creative twists on my work,
and hopefully add something to the art. I hope my passion
for my work shows in each and every putter we make, whether
a production model crafted at our Shop, to a personal hand
finished ART putter that I make in my Garage.
My
goal for this new line is to provide the ultimate combination
of tradition, technology, beauty, performance and customization.
As we launch our first MACHINE Putter models, I understand
that we are nowhere near reaching these lofty goals. These
first models are a product of that journey, and hopefully
these early efforts have their own beauty and history too.
Thank you for your time and interest in our work.
Sincerely,
Dave Billings, Designer and Maker