Started Thursday at 03:24 PM, Please put and questions or comments here, Please put any questions or comments here, Please put any questions of comments here. BombTech Golf Reviews (These Golf Clubs Any Good? Look at many of todays hybrids. I think all the readers as well as the golfspies would love to learn as much about these past designs as possible. By the Roaring '20s, A.G. Spalding & Brothers was using the process of "drop forging" to manufacture metal club-heads. My golfing buddy borrowed my old set, including the driver and had one of his best rounds ever. Theres even premium urethane cover options (Pro V1 and X styles) for ~$15 a dozen. Thank you for your research efforts. What a great list! Would you make an iron set out of stone? Balata covers. I want to say they were called Ironwoods but I cant find them on the internet maybe they were just in one of my wild dreams!! Model Summary Color chart indicates best . Hope you all enjoyed a look back at some of the craziest irons ever made. I may be way off they had a a plain face -but the back was a series of round holes -like a honey comb design does any one remember these what were they called and who made themmy friend died so I cant ask himanyway thanks. TaylorMade then entered the bidding but, after 30 rounds, Callaway wound up buying Top-Flite free and clear for $175 million. the only problem I have had{although the have to be at least 30+ years old},is graphite cracks. That means providing you with equipment reviews you can trust, In addition to being a prolific golf club designer and inventor of innumerable gadgets and gizmos, I have led a fascinating life, as you can see by a brief look at a summary of my biography.. Starting in 1900, Spalding opened club-making factories in London and in Fife, Scotland, producing forged iron heads for Spalding clubs sold both in the UK and U.S. I wonder how much influence he had on those? As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. lol! An excellent article well researched Both were smart, competent leaders but had little golf experience. That debt burden, however, finally proved fatal. Wright was the driving force behind Bostons Franklin Park golf course, the first municipal course in the U.S. Bostons other muni is named after Wright, who donated the land for the Donald Ross design. I bought a set of blue-backed Uniques back in the early 80s. I actually have these clubs. What about Goldwin?? They preceded hybrid irons by 20 years or so. The set I found is 2-9, but the 5 iron is gone. Getting sold doesnt have to be the end of the world, but it can be if the buyer doesnt do their homework and pays too much. Now I need some crazy Loudmouth pants and a pink ball. "https://www.facebook.com/swingyard/", The Roaring 20s gave us Babe Ruth, Knute Rockne, Jack Dempsey, and Red Grange. The company's unique "baseball mark" A.G. Spalding had helped put baseball on the map--was stamped on the clubs and below it "Made in Great Britain" appeared. or Best Offer. Their original design was a smaller headed Tony Penna model Innovator, they became the n1 and then the Bears came out when oversize irons hit the market. GolfWRX_Official Great research John with some very interesting history facts about the company and its equipment. All Irons for men were 37. Club-makers traditional method had been to shape metal heads with an anvil and forge. Im not sure how rare they are, but youd think there would be a trace of them somewhere. FIND A SET! C $75.53. How about the Spalding Exec SE. He would hold up the club so they could see the 7 on the bottom and with a big grin say I hit a 7 iron. I have a full set of Exec XE irons. When Did Spalding Stop Making Golf Clubs. In 2012, Callaway sold Top-Flite to DICKS and Hogan to Perry Ellis. Alternatively, you can look on a discount site like Rock Bottom Golf. I still have several sets of Hogan forged irons, Hogan/Bettinardi putters, several dozen Apex, and Tour Deep balls. a beginner could really benifit from the Nike slingshot, they are easy to hit. They are also perfect in a steep slope due to the curved bottom of the club head. I used to have a set of Ajay Pro Classics that were my dads. Lots of wackiness. They are similar to the Nike slingshots as they have a powerbow looking thing on the back of them. The Ping Zings were the worst! The company was founded in 1973 and today produces high-quality golf clubs using the . MyGolfSpy, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Not to belittle them because KKR is incredibly successful, but they didnt know the golf business the way we did, says White. does ohma have a child [email protected] buy all 6 get free shipping) Let me know by ebay . They introduced the Browning 500 Series to counter that effect.But, they waited too long and by that timethe party was over! [email protected] Needed a set of clubs to play for a few days and found these. A very interesting stroll down golf history. "@type": "Organization", Although they did have issues with the shafts actually wrinkling due to the configuration of the shape of the toe on this ironcrazy little factoid. HellI know I dont and I have been involved in some type of internet golf business since[], THE WINNER OF THE CONTEST: Farve The Looper (CONGRATS!) Press J to jump to the feed. GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, February 13. The new club are really pretty, but no better than the original slotlines which I used to have. Wilson never really recovered after Pepsi bought it in 1970. What can you find out about Wilson x 70 irons. My high school graduation present from my parents back in 1973 was a set of Executive clubs (back when the irons were forged before they were cast). In 1938, the USGA passed an edict limiting players to 14 clubs. General Albums. The 500s have less offset than the 440s. 5 Testers Needed! Spalding hired Tom Bendelow as his designer, and Bendelow went on to develop many courses still in use today. The shaft collapses to 18 inches so it is great for travelsure beats the cost of checking a golf bag these days. Within weeks, Top-Flite filed Chapter 11. He struggled quite a bit with the change.. The chrome werent as good. Under Chapter 363, it bid $125 million for Top-Flite. Recently I bought another set (I keep an eye on E-Bay for them) so I could have extras & other club sets for friends that come into town. I had a VAS 5 iron. They owed more to its creditors than Spalding was worth. They dropped the Tour Edition moniker and focused on the expansion of their touring staff on the PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA tours. Spalding got so inventive with their clubmaking, they had golf bags around America sporting 20-30 clubs. In fact, one of Spaldings most popular models was the Bobby Jones collection, selling two million sets between 1932 and 1973. White says the KKR leadership team was much more hands-on than the Cisneros brothers had ever been, which is understandable if you just shelled out a billion simoleons for a sporting goods company. Spalding Executive clubs were established in the 1960s, with the Top Flite Executive Synchro-Dyned golf clubs being the first in a super popular series. Spalding, seemingly, was on top of the world. Ive got other odd clubs, a clear/see thru 5W, 68 & 73 degree wedge (of course, they may not be considered crazy. Much cheaper than renting. But just because it was wacky did not mean it was not a hellova seller. The woods were the strangest looking things. With the help of computers, we designed a unique shape we call the `Bull Nose which extends the toe weight out far enough to balance the head without creating an elongated appearance. This is the story of Spaldings Final Countdown. BarbaJo, you da man! He loves telling stories, writing about golf and golf travel, and enjoys classic golf equipment. Wed have monthly meetings at their West 57th Street offices in New York. In the late 70s I also had a set of Unique irons which were great apart from the plastic covers covering the cavity back constantly falling out. Money put a few of these clubs on touralthough that does not mean they were worth a penny. Remember all the other clubs, good to read. Return Policy > WORLDWIDE SHIPPING. I have a set of Spalding exec XE love them- I dont play more than 5-6 rounds a year now, but they are so consistant , I could go a year between swings and still play the same- got them back in 1980- ish. We have been making them since 1992ship them all over the worldto soldiers, traveling execs, private pilots, cyclists, retirees that want to walk but cant lug a full set, and many other categories. Spalding spent over 125 years as a sporting goods giant. Whats more, KKR continued adding to its golf empire, buying Etonic in 1996 and Ben Hogan a year later. Callaway wound up suing Spalding for using its imagery on Spalding packaging. spalding executive golf clubs please read DESCRIPTION BEFORE BUYING . Irons made during that time are distinguished by an anvil cleek mark. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. I tried to hit it oncenot a good idea! When we got out there, his Black Dot was split all the way to the liquid core I played D1 golf in college and we got three Red Dots for every match. The ball was introduced in 1900. Reach and the Wright and Ditson sporting goods companies. Inside cavity: blue/back button; EXECUTIVE x EZ. Duclos, a former flight engineer worked on the Skylab and S-IVB (third stage of the Saturn V rocket, responsible for getting the Apollo module from the Earth to the moon). words that have to do with clay P.O. I played them for years, they were solid, and they looked really good at address for their time period. I have one of those! Various . During his time with Spalding, Stewart dropped from 6th to 123rd on the money list, with his only win coming at the 1995 Houston Open. Albert Spalding was a superstar. While theyre old-school, Spalding clubs are made to high standards and are built to last, making them a great option if youre looking for a cheap and cheerful set of clubs. They also said this, Because titanium is 40% lighter than steel, yet incredibly strong, the Ray Cook design team was able to create club heads substantially larger than standard oversize irons and add significantly more mass in the heel and toe. Bought a set for $25 as to help out a young lady with cancer. (ENTER TO WIN) Super cool contest we have for you fellow GolfSpies today! Im a sucker for the odd things, I also had a Power Pod(big mistake). Your email address will not be published. & Bubba Dickerson won the 2001 US Amatuer with a set of Nicklaus Bears! "dateModified": "2022-05-12", I am a self-admitted admirer of Mr. Hogan having owned more than 2 dozen sets of various Hogan iron sets over the years and a former member of the only club to have a Hogan-designed course (actually 27 holes). I was interested in golf until around 2001 and soon discovered spoiling was on anachronism at that point. The Browning 440s took my game from the 150s (Wilson clubs) to the low 70s. President Spalding EXECUTIVE Iron Set. Maybe it is a good idea or maybe it is not. Too bad. Who Makes Dunlop Golf Clubs? info@pgatradein.com Mon-Fri: 9AM - 5PM EST . I just love them! what is spanish colonial music? Latitude Irons also give the golfer an added patented design feature of dual skids on the sole. pend. beneath. During the time of the KKR takeover I was employed as the Managing Director in Australia/ NZ remove head from shaft? Who knows what might have happened if someone else had gained control, Im 75 and recall that my Dad was a Spalding Dot guy. Like previously stated the Slotline Lowpro irons were for the most part an exact copy of the Browning 440 irons. Sign In. I STILL play with my Spalding Executive set 2 SW. spalding executive irons- does anyone remember these? single, replacement or add-on golf irons and wedges for Spalding Executive x EZ Oversize Irons. So, if youre buying or selling Spalding clubs that are in reasonably good shape, you can set your expectations around $100 to begin with. The company also announced an alliance with Bob Bettinardi to create a line of high-end Hogan putters. Just came back from the PGA Tour Superstore after reading this site last night. The company experimented throughout the 1920s and 1930s with lathe-turned hickory shafts that featured circular ridges spaced at standard intervals down the entire shaft. Man, some of my favorites on this list. Non-Tapered Golf Grips: 8 Facts to Know Before You Buy! it was at my range's rental bin. I asked him about it and he said he had shown it to Spaulding, Wilson and MacGregor and their response was It will never sell!!!! Even tho I play with graphic shafts I really like the way those play. Got them for $200.00 which was a really great price other pro shops were asking $450.00 for a set. Just found and bought a set of Lil David Slingers. It made its mark in the 80s through leveraged buyouts buying undervalued or poorly managed companies with other peoples money, improving their bottom lines, and then spinning them off at a profit. Jeff Sheets had been Director of R&D for Top-Flite since 1995, and his first club for Hogan became a legend. Mr. Adams had just formed Taylor Made Golf in late 1978 and this was their first showing in the market. You cannot do that with any other club. In the 1960s, Spalding introduced the Spalding Executive line of clubs and balls and the Top-Flite Elite Professional irons with the Bird on Ball logo. i used to work in a golf shop in ohio and we had the worst set i ever saw. GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, Tuesday at 04:47 PM, GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, February 20, GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, February 13, GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, February 6, GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, January 31, By That might be because Golfsmith acquired them back in 2003. These articles are easily my favorite content any of the golf sites out out. We stand behind our clubs and want you to be satisfied with them. I have not 1 but 2 sets of Browning 440 irons. They were good at it too, in one year selling off companies for more than $7 billion they had bought for only $1 billion. Never met a set of strange clubs I didnt want to try. Just got Calloway X20s last week. I might suggest you also include input from Tom Stites who worked for Hogan in the 1980s before heading up Nikes golf (mis)adventure. That was a great history lesson!!!!! One of my favorite balls back in the late 80s was the Top-Flite Plus. Sold millions of those over the years. There are still folks around from when Mr. Hogan ran the company and I am sure you can get some keen insights not only of the company but of Mr. Hogan himself. We had hybrids back in the 80s. Those and the Ram Tour Grinds that Watson played were my bucket list irons, but never could afford them. Can anyone ballpark an estimate on the value of a set of Samurai clubs? and they wonder why they went out of business. It came with Driver, 3W, 5W and 3-PW. What the hey. MyGolfSpy is jumping into the DeLorean and taking a 1.21 jiggawatt-fueled look at the long life and quick death of Spalding Golf. Mismanagement and a growing golf market led Spalding to cease manufacturing golf products, selling off popular brands like Top Flite to Callaway in the early 2000s. Thats great. I actually have a set of 440s I bring them out every year or two when I am hitting the ball poorly. ENTER NOW! The greatest golfer at the time plays Spalding? And continuity, leadership, and smart decisions matter. Had 3-PW plus 1, 3, & 5 woods. Did you forget about Zevo Golf? *chuckles* Maybe its a good thing I took a 30 year golf hiatus. Peter F. Stevens is an award-winning author and journalist whose 10 books include "The Voyage of the Catalpa." "height": "342", Golfers may also like: PGX Offset Golf Driver Review: is it any Good? I saw the Cisneros brothers maybe once in my time there, he says. I had never seen the Fila irons before now. I remember a set called Canon I think, possibly a Spalding brand. Jim, If you are interested in writing about the history of the urethane covered golf ball at Titleist, I can provide all of the facts. Never get tired of reading these types of articles. money, time and performance. Spalding Executive Left Handed Golf Clubs There are several different types of left-handed golf club sets, so which one is the best for you? Goldwin was a San Diego company, years ahead of its time. The top of the club head is horisontal and is easy to set up perpendical to the target. We (and tour players) figured out it was very stable in the wind and was 2 clubs longer with the irons. The Early Years of Spalding Golf Starting in 1900, Spalding opened club-making factories in London and in Fife, Scotland, producing forged iron heads for Spalding clubs sold both in the UK and U.S. Titleist has been the Ball King for so long, its hard to remember a time when it wasnt. Throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s, Spalding and Titleist were running neck and neck in golf ball production. I remembered them from this article. The Top-Flite line was to feature investment-cast irons and Strata balls sold through pro shops and off-course retailers, while Spalding was to be the value/recreational line sold pretty much everywhere. Spalding spent the last half of the 20th-century battling with Titleist for golf ball supremacy. Different, yes, but they are the only ones where you can really aim at the target! In 1892 Spalding went into acquisition mode, buying up two key competitors: the A.J. The latter is notable as the Wright of Wright and Ditson is one George Wright, a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Boston Red Stockings and a major mover and shaker of turn-of-the-century golf. I also had a set of Ping Zings too.. My partner had that set of Cleveland VAS and believe it or not we had a partner that bought a used set of Slingers I agree, though it does deserve a deep dive. At the same time, the Spalding Top-Flite Syncrho-Dyned irons (released in 1953) were well received, thanks to their flex shaft and copper undercoating. }, The remaining golf company was re-named Top-Flite. You might be wondering how the hell did a Ping iron make the listbut look againthis one definitely deserves to be on the list for Wackiest Irons. The Spalding brand, however, is still alive under the Russell Athletic umbrella, making basketballs and apparel. Paste as plain text instead, Great article takes me back to nostalgia. And although Spalding would show operational profits, debt service kept turning those profits into losses. Does Spalding make golf balls? Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. The Spaulding Executive was just too far ahead of its timegreat club! Again THANK YOU FOR THE GOLF LESSON!!!!! TaylorMade, by comparison, has been sold twice in the past four years. Yes it has some smoother lines compared to some of the other clubs on the listbut you put that PowerBow as Nike says on any of those other irons and it is a dead ringer for this list of crazies.