Not all custom putters are created equal. That became abundantly clear this week at the American Century Championship when former NBA star Vince Carter pulled out a true one-of-one from his golf bag — a Tad Moore blade made specifically to commemorate several of his greatest dunks.
If you’re unfamiliar with Carter’s resume, head over to YouTube and prepare to pick your jaw up off the floor. There’s a reason why he holds the nickname “Half Man, Half Amazing.” Before Carter dunked over a 7-footer during the 2000 Olympics, he produced arguably the greatest performance in NBA Dunk Contest history months earlier during the league’s All-Star festivities. (Go check out Carter’s performance if you’ve never seen it.)
The four dunks he executed during the contest — a reverse 360, between the legs, from the free-throw line and arm in the rim — are some of the most iconic throwdowns we’ve ever witnessed. Some moments from the dunk contest have even been turned into viral GIFs.
“The dunk contest was special to me because a lot of those dunks, like the free-throw line, I did for the first time that night. I changed my dunk routine and it worked out,” Carter told GOLF.com. “The rest is history.”
In the aftermath of All-Star weekend, Carter recalled receiving a call from someone who wanted to make him a putter to commemorate the moment.
“They said, ‘Hey, we want to make you a putter,'” Carter said. “I was just getting into golf as far as what I liked, and next then I know, I say, ‘Alright, cool,’ and I get the putter. “
The putter he received from master craftsman Tad Moore even blew Carter away. On the face were milled images of Carter throwing down all four of his famous dunks. Moore even added Carter’s initials and jersey number (15) with a purple paint fill — he was playing for the Toronto Raptors at the time — on the backside of the putter head.
“I putt pretty well with this,” he said. “This is like my baby; wherever I go, he goes.”
Carter has been using the putter for more than two decades and has made his fair share of big-time putts with it over the years. Burying a putt that connects with the dead-center is nice, but even Carter admitted a make from just off the toe is extra-special.
“Whenever I putt well, particularly off the toe, and it goes in, I thank my four guys down there,” he said with a smile.
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