Ever since we spotted the Titleist Scotty Cameron X5 and X5R putters on the putting green at this year's Open Championship we've been waiting to tell you about them.

On

TheOpen putting green new @ScottyCameron X5R Tour. 2 shapes with aluminium sole plate wrapping round base to top pic.twitter.com/z1OzW0LSGz

— Golfalot.com (@Golfalot) July 16, 2014

The Futura putters are easy to spot with a futuristic mallet shaped wing back design all focused on providing more stability and less twisting for more reliable performance.

Scotty Cameron explains how the Futura putters fit into the overall range:

We have three lines of putters, but this is the most futuristic, the most high-tech. Futura is different because in order to get high MOI, we have to get the weight wider and further back.

High MOI

The Futura range is Cameron's highest MOI range of putters and the Futura X5 and X5R models enhance the range with a new blend of aluminium and steel that has given Cameron scope to relocate weight to the perimeter.

The putters are constructed with a precision milled 303 Stainless Steel Body coupled with a high grade 6061 aluminium soleplate, with a centre section made from a lighter aluminium extending into the wings of the club.

Using aluminium enabled Cameron to hollow out the area under the sole plate of the Futura X5 and X5R putters and redistribute this to the distinctive wings to increase stability. Forgiveness is accentuated further by heel-toe weights located directly under the face and these, together with a thicker face and top-line also made possible by the weight savings, help to improve the sound and feel of the putters.

Cameron explains:

The concept has always been about moving the weight back and out. When we do that, the putter becomes more stable and the resistance to twist becomes a lot better. So with X5 we’re using different materials like aluminium and stainless steel and getting that weight where it’s needed most.

Face Balanced Design and Shape

A new single bend shaft featuring a higher bend point has allowed for a true face balanced configuration and was developed as a result of feedback from players on tour.

Cameron explains the reasons behind this and the benefits it provides:

We had many players say they wished that the shaft leaned at their target or on their line, so we worked to find the proper offset and lean of the shaft so, at address, the bend lines up, pointing at your target. That was a key one because the mechanical-industrial shape of the head and the clean mechanical-industrial bend match perfectly. What I didn’t want was a heavy, flowing bend onto a mechanical head.

This face-balanced style design is ideal for players looking to execute a more square-to-square stroke and the larger head of the mallet styled putters makes the club look and feel more stable on the ground.

Vertical and horizontal sight lines for easier alignment have been added whilst a Silver Mist finish contrasts with the black aluminium sole plate and centre for a distinctive look. The X5 is a more mechanical shape whilst the X5R has a more rounded outline, both styles created to suit the eye of the player rather than provide any difference in performance.

The Futura X5 putters come complete with a matching 10-inch Matador Red Midsize grip, that at 77 grams has been designed to work specifically with the Futura X range.

Futura X5 Dual Balance

Scotty Cameron introduced their Dual Balance putters earlier in 2014 as a response to the governing bodies outlawing of anchored putter strokes and the Futura X5 is available in a Dual Balanced version.

The Futura X5 DB has a 50 gram-heavier head and a 50-gram counterweight in the butt of the shaft that allows players to make a proper stroke when the longer shaft is pointed at their mid-section. Futura X5 DB putters are a standard length of 38 inches with a 15 inch grip to allow players to grip below the counterweight to encourage a more stable stroke.

Plugged-in gearheads have heard the whispers: Alex Dee, of Fujikura fame, the Ventusmaker, has left the company and hung a shingle of his own. Some may have seen our photos of the new company’s wares from the PGA Show’s Demo Day and wondered “What’s going on here?” Beyond this, however, we haven’t had much to report on the newly formed Aretera Golf.

That is, until now. Dee and company gave us a quick peek behind the curtain as they gear up for their first release.

Highlights from our conversation below, presented in a sort of F.A.Q. format, answering the most common questions we’re hearing from GolfWRXers.

What is Aretera Golf?

A graphite shaft company. But let’s start with the name: Aretera (ah-reh-tay-ra). The root is derived from the Greek word for excellence and an individual’s fulfillment of purpose. It’s no stretch to say that for the “dream team” at Aretera (Alex Dee’s words), all accomplished industry veterans, this effort represents a point of career culmination. All were at a point in their careers where they wanted to take the plunge, try something new, build something from the ground up, and produce a product that sacrifices nothing in the pursuit of quality and performance.

Who are the key players at Aretera?

Alex Dee: 25-year Fujikura engineering veteran, his credits include the Vista Pro, Axiom, Pro, Speeder Pro, Motore, Blur, Ventus, and Ventus TR lines of shafts and developing the company’s Enso motion capture system, as well as revolutionizing the company’s in-house testing systems.

Bill Stiles: From initial product concepts to production across a global supply chain, Stiles has done it all in his 25-plus years in the industry, working with every major OEM and aftermarket shaft maker.

Michel de Fontaine: The “operations guy,” de Fontaine has worked as an executive in the consumer products and sports sectors over the past 20 years with experience in both startup and high-growth companies.

How is Aretera making golf shafts differently?

Technology: Dee told us that extending the concept of a full-length pitch material further, literally, Aretera is utilizing a high-end multi-ply material throughout the shaft to a degree that would never be cost-effective for a major shaft company selling to OEMs. “We’re hungry and we can pull this off,” Dee said.

While we don’t have full details of the technology Aretera is leveraging, we do know it is a high-end carbon fiber that’s thin, light, and super stiff, and it is used throughout the entirety of the shaft. Additionally, it is configured “off-axis” throughout the shaft, that is, at 45 degrees, to reduce twisting, and as it is a woven material, it’s capable of absorbing load in four directions for greater stability.

“I like to think that you’re using more of the shaft’s length to store power and release it and to store different loading on the shaft and distribute it,” Dee said. “There’s stability in that. There’s integration in that. You’ll feel it. There’s connectiveness in that.”

He added, “A lot of shafts have had to sacrifice feel to get stability. We’ve found ways to get it back. And it’s not a compromise.”

Graphics: In keeping with Aretera’s strategy of allowing “the fitter to be the hero,” the company has taken an interesting approach to its shaft graphics. In addition to doing away with flex designations, each shaft features three rectangles that are shaded to indicate the relative firmness or flex of the butt, middle, and tip of the shaft. This serves as a handy reference for both fitter and player in communicating how the shaft functions throughout the golf swing. Additionally, graphics for an “active” tip shaft are blue and charcoal for a firmer tip.

Flex: …is a four-letter word, for the company. Acknowledging that fitter education will be a key component of the company’s early strategy, and while not the first in the industry to do it, Aretera is fully committed to banishing “flex” from the discourse around shafts, calling it a “relative” and “nonstandard” term that harms more than it helps fitters (and players). In place of standard R, S, and X flexes, the company is using numbers 3, 4, and 5, with an indicator of weight coming first. For example: a 65-gram “S” flex shaft is indicated by 65-4.

Distribution: Aretera shafts will be available via fitters (appearing in a major national club fitter soon), on tour, and at select pro shops. The company does not plan to sell via OEMs.

What’s next for Aretera?

After a soft launch of its first shaft at the PGA Show, the company is ramping up production for distribution via top fitters and courses.

Expect to see an Aretera shaft in play on the PGA Tour soon as the company has a rep who will be active throughout the PGA Tour’s West Coast swing.