The man who has hit a golf ball farther than anyone in recorded history has signed a deal for the club that moves it the shortest distance.
Kyle Berkshire, the four-time World Long Drive Champion, has joined Makefield Putters, a small Pennsylvania company that mills its putters from a single block of steel in Bensalem, just outside Philadelphia. The partnership was announced Monday.
Berkshire owns the longest fully verified drive in history at 579.63 yards and a ball speed of 241.6 mph, which Makefield describes as the fastest ever recorded. None of that matters much on a 6-footer, and Berkshire seems to know it.
"Every drive I've ever hit, no matter how far, ended with a putt," Berkshire said in the release. "When I rolled a Makefield for the first time, the ball came off the face different. No skid, no hop, just rolling on my line immediately. I've spent my career chasing speed. This putter is how I'm going to chase scores."
The bigger headline might be the ambition attached to the deal. Berkshire has publicly set a goal of competing on the PGA Tour, and Makefield says he wants to be the first player to win a major championship with one of its putters in the bag. It is a long way from a long drive grid to a major leaderboard, and plenty of long drivers have talked about making that jump. Few have done it. But it is a more interesting goal than "keep hitting it far," and the putter is the right place to start.
What Is Kyle Berkshire Putting With?
Berkshire is gaming the Makefield VS in black, which the company calls its original design. The build:
| Component | Spec |
|---|---|
| Head | Makefield VS, Black |
| Shaft | KBS CT-Tour Double Bend, black gloss |
| Grip | Garsen Quad Tour, red |
Makefield says the exact setup is available to buy through its website. The release does not list a price.
The headline tech is what Makefield calls patented Radial Cusp Face Technology, which the company says eliminates the skid phase at the start of a putt, the brief moment where the ball slides before it starts to roll. Makefield says that claim was verified through independent Quintic Ball Roll analysis measuring more than 60 parameters of impact and roll. Quintic is a well-known putting analysis system used by fitters and coaches, though the release does not publish the test results themselves. Makefield putters also use what it calls the Path-of-Inertia X-3 Weight System.
Reduced skid and faster forward roll are claims almost every putter face technology makes in some form, so the honest read is that Berkshire likes how it feels off the face, and Makefield has a test it points to. Whether that translates to fewer putts is something only his scorecards will answer.
Who Is Makefield Putters?
Makefield is a Bucks County, Pennsylvania company that bills its putters as 100 percent made in America. Every head is CNC-milled from a single billet of steel at its facility in Bensalem.
It is not a household name, and this is the kind of deal that changes how many people have heard of it. Makefield's ambassador roster before Berkshire included major champion Hal Sutton. Adding the most recognisable long drive athlete in the world gives the brand a very different audience: younger, extremely online, and very used to watching Berkshire on social media.
"Kyle has already done something no human has ever done," said Everett Farr, Makefield's founder. "When the most explosive athlete in golf tells you the thing he trusts is your putter, that says everything about why we build them the way we do. We're proud to be in his bag for whatever he does next."
Why Does the Berkshire Deal Matter for Makefield?
Small putter brands live and die on credibility, and credibility in this category usually comes from tour players. Makefield has gone a different route: a long drive star whose audience reaches far beyond traditional golf media, paired with a stated goal that, if it ever happens, would be one of the better stories in the game.
The pairing is a good hook. The longest hitter in golf putting his name on a putter is the kind of contrast that sells itself. The real test is whether Berkshire's PGA Tour push gets far enough for that putter to be seen under pressure on a Sunday. Until then, it is a smart awareness play for a made-in-USA brand most golfers have not heard of yet.
