It is never a good sign when the namesake of a company leaves said company. I mean, when the clown walks out of McDonald’s in his big red shoes, it’s all over, right?

So when I received a press release two days ago announcing the resignation of Bruce Sizemore, Jr. from boutique putter company The Sizemore Collection, I felt my heart sink a bit.

You see, I test an awful lot of putters. In fact, I go through putters faster than some golfers go through beers. But during last year’s season, after dutifully testing and reviewing each new putter (some of which were truly excellent in their own right), I’d keep coming back to Sizemore’s SM-2 mallet.

And a few weeks ago, when I snaked in a 12-foot, downhill, sweeping left-to-right breaker for eagle on a 306-yard par-4 at the opulent Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale with that same Sizemore putter, it cemented a place in my bag for the foreseeable future.

So, as I say, when word came down that Sizemore was resigning, I had to get more details.

On the phone today with Sizemore, he explained to me that his departure stemmed from disagreements with his business partners – partners who had no experience in the golf business prior to the partnership – over the direction of the company. And these disagreements threatened to affect the quality of Sizemore’s prized creations, he said.

“I design the finest,” said Sizemore, without any hint of braggadocio, “and that’s the way I want it to stay.”

Sizemore explained that his departure was essentially only a change in venue for him. He’s continuing to design putters. “My own stuff done my own way will be an even further improvement,” he predicted, and promised new designs and new trademarks, all with only the highest quality.

“It’s not about making a million dollars,” continued Sizemore. “It’s about making simply the world’s finest equipment, with the best designs and the best craftsmanship. We’ll have some cool stuff going forward.”

This is a distinct relief to golfers who have found Sizemore’s eye-catching, artistic putters to be just short of magical on the greens.

As for me, I’ll be looking forward to testing some of that “cool stuff” that will be “an even further improvement” over my current eagle-hunting model.

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