David Butler — BSME, MBA, California PGA Master Clubfitter. His career spans engineering, aerospace, automotive, semiconductor operations, and high-performance competition. That rare combination of technical discipline and competitive insight shapes everything behind The Golf Ball Fitter.
His path to golf ball fitting started at Ohio State in the 1950s, where he watched a young Jack Nicklaus play and never forgot it. Decades later, after a long career in engineering, his wife Mary told him to find something to do. He walked into a golf store in San Mateo, saw a "Help Wanted" sign, and took the job — and that's where the name Dr. Grip was born.
That led to grips, then custom Butler Irons, then a fitting studio in Half Moon Bay — where even Neil Young stopped by. He became a Miura Golf dealer, invested in TrackMan, and was recognized in Golf Digest as one of the top fitters in the country. But one question kept nagging: the clubs are fit — what ball should the player use? So he built a physics model validated against Tour player data, then rebuilt it with AI into the tool you're using right now.
BSME & MBA
Engineering foundation and business leadership
Chrysler Corporation — 15 years
Chief Engineer & Manufacturing Executive, including 8 years in South America and Europe
NASA / Lockheed — Honorary Member
Problem-solving tools for the Magellan 2 Venus probe
Silicon Valley — 25 years
Engineering consulting and quality improvement
National Semiconductor — VP of Operations
The Golf Ball Fitter
Master clubfitter, Miura dealer, TrackMan specialist, physics-based ball optimizer
That's The Golf Ball Fitter.