Ryohei Fujimoto is the third generation family member that was passed on with an important piece of advice from his grandfather Minobu Fujimoto. The hammer forged swan neck is what was used to represent the family name in the late 60’s when milled putters did not exist. While most putters during this time were casted, blacksmith Minobu Fujimoto altered forgings of #2 irons into putter shapes believing that players would find a difference.
Minobu Fujimoto’s forged putters soon became popular amongst golfers and other blacksmiths started making them too. A western golfer that worked at the Kobe harbor, approached Minobu Fujimoto at the golf course and asked if he could make him a face-balanced model. Not only the idea of a face-balanced putter was new to Minobu Fujimoto, but it was also near impossible to have the club neck places on the heel. After months of countless trials and errors, he finally perfected to shape a beautiful swan neck from an iron neck, successfully moving the balance point from a toe hang to a complete face-balance. Through word of mouth, the forged swan neck putter was a huge success in Minobu Fujimoto’s career and he became well respected from many factories in the Ichikawa town.
