Oddity? Some crazy lookin clubs, Why didnt you include the 1st set of Ping Irons? It became the most consistent and durable golf ball ever made. As a golfer of a certain age, these history articles are fascinating! Only until tomorrow until my hybrids come in and boom they're gone. Spalding Golf Clubs: Do Still Make Them & How Much? He loves telling stories, writing about golf and golf travel, and enjoys classic golf equipment. Great article takes me back to nostalgia. Perhaps you are thinking of the Browning 440 Plus which had more of a standard face depth. * Note: These irons were designed by Duke Duclos. Estimated resale value today:. my Dad is still pulling new 90s & 2000s Top Flights from the closet to play lol. The stickers are silver, but the Slinger logo is a black heavy type face and says pat. Thanks for the article. Among Jones innovations: the first matched set of steel-shafted irons, the first set of irons with the sweet spot in the center of each club (denoted by a circle of dots on the clubface), and an iron set where the scoring irons were one length, the mid irons were one length, and the long irons were one length. } The 1968 arrival of the Executive MV2 Bird Over Ball clubs are among some of Spalding's most easily recognizable clubs. They also made a set made entirely of woods. Of course, it is the Indian not the arrow to some extent, but he does well. Knowledgable folk say its all in the mind. I have no ideabut I sure loved my Tommy Armour silver Scotts. Today, Spalding focuses nearly all of its commercial interests on basketball, producing balls, hoops, rims, and nets. Well done. Great list! I dont think I paid more than $300 for all four sets combined- Im a Salvation Army searcher. What a mess that design was! And I remember drooling over those Tour Edition Custom blades in the pro shop. Hope you all enjoyed a look back at some of the craziest irons ever made. Starting in 1900, Spalding opened clubmaking factories in London and in Fife, Scotland, producing forged iron heads for Spalding clubs sold both in the UK and U.S. Tom Farrell. Those were first made around the end of the 19th century during the hickory era. Players would switch balls during a round as conditions warranted. I accidentally broke it in the late 1970s the shaft was installed over a milled section of the hosel! Both were smart, competent leaders but had little golf experience. The plan was to position Hogan as the premium forged line sold through pro shops. It was a time-consuming, costly and inconsistent process. You find them on eBay Gary? 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. Our mission is #ConsumerFirst. It felt like a rock but flew like a rocket and weekend warriors bought them by the bushel. lol..!! In 1977 while having molds made for my new line of Irons at a mold makers in Oxnard California, I spotted a very interesting club in a bag at the rear of the shop. I remembered them from this article. On top line: OVERSIZE. i think special t golf was the only people dumb enuff to handle these. As the 21st Century dawned, it had impressive sales and deep-pocket owners, but in reality, it was staring down the barrel of a gun. How about Hogan Magnums and Magnum Plus irons big cavity backs from the 1970s. As a former pro athlete, Spalding saw the value of using professionals to help promote both the game and his products. Zevo was a great brand and I played a Zevo Zv2 hybrid for almost 6 years because it was so easy to hit and had incredible feel. I have a set of Fila Solerno irons/fairway woods that I havent been able to find anything about on the internet. In 1880, Spaldings League Ball became the official baseball of the National League (and later of the American League), a position it held until 1976. 2 Iron Spalding . 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. I love it but was told it is no a legal putter. Although the Inertial irons werent so lucky. Welcome back to the latest installment of Historys Mysteries. "mainEntityOfPage": "https://swingyard.com/spalding-irons-by-year/", I just picked up 6 thru 9 of the Browning 440 Plus irons at the Goodwillcant wait to try them out. "https://www.pinterest.com/Swingyard/blog/" A set of wedges were introduced several years ago claiming to be New and the best thing since sliced bread, but they looked strangely similar to the Golden Touch irons. Spaldings buddy Wright had been doing the same thing since 1892. It was just crazy how many golf balls we would sell through Wal-Mart in 18-ball pack, adds White Wed get orders on the fax machine for 50,000 18-ball packs, and theyd want them in two weeks.. The Spalding Top-Flite first came out in 1970. In 1998 Spalding released the Top-Flite System C and System T golf balls which, Spalding claimed, were designed to perform best with two top-selling drivers of that year, the Callaway Big Bertha and the TaylorMade Ti Bubble 2. John is an aging, yet avid golfer, writer, 9-point-something handicapper living back home in New England after a 22-year exile in Minnesota. They come as a set and include eleven clubs, a golf bag, and head covers. It was if I walked into the store from a time machine. Havent been able to give them up since my Dad died in 99, Does anyone remember a set of irons made in the 80s (I think) that were actually a bunch of small woods, even the PW was made from wood. Wide sole. GolfCartReport.com, Golf Undershirts (20 To Try On The Market Today), Do I Need Longer Golf Clubs? I think you are talking about the Spaulding Executive XE irons,ahead of their time,I played a set for a couple of years then sold them, looking back I wish I hadnt. By the early 1920s, Spalding began using a mechanical hammer to drop-forge heads in an assembly line, making the process faster, more consistent, and considerably less expensive. we closed and then were just screwing around with some of the rental clubs. One of the most famous Spalding clubs was the Cran Cleek (club with a narrow face and little loft) for poor fairway lies and even putts. (ENTER TO WIN) Super cool contest we have for you fellow GolfSpies today! At the 2003 PGA Show, Hogan introduced the Apex 50 blade commemorating its 50th anniversary, the game improvement CFT irons, and the Carnoustie and Riviera wedges. Cleveland VAS was really great Iron. BarbaJo, you da man! Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. 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. Looking through eBay listings, you can find a range of vintage Spalding golf clubs in various conditions to suit different budgets. And although Spalding would show operational profits, debt service kept turning those profits into losses. Are these considered weird? We knew something was up, recalls White. Like previously stated the Slotline Lowpro irons were for the most part an exact copy of the Browning 440 irons. BombTech Golf Reviews (These Golf Clubs Any Good? Spalding used to own Top Flite before selling the subsidiary to Callaway. I got an incomplete set at the Salvation Army for $15. I am surprised no one ever mass marketed them. Every iron ever made is ugly as hell when you hit it off the hosel. What was wacky about the Bears? Couldnt decide between the Slotlines emax and the 845s. I owned two sets of Unique ironsstarting in 1976. spalding golf clubs any good. By this time, Spalding was making everything from barbells, dumbells, punching bags, and rowing machines to fencing blades, whistles, shot puts, javelins, and golf clubs. With a few months of work and some radical design modifications it was turned into the first modern Metalwood. In 1962, Pyramid merged with Dunhill International and the AP Parts Corporation. Would you make an iron set out of stone? Its high point came in 1998 when Mark OMeara won the Masters and the Open Championship for Spalding. The Executives were the bomb back in the day. i was pretty impressed with the club. I actually have these clubs. 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. That might be because Golfsmith acquired them back in 2003. Geek Golf Great stuff. All Irons for men were 37. I cannot find any information on this club, maybe they were a golfsmith thing from early 2000s?? Its an interesting question to ask about a company that was a factor for over 125 years. In 2001 Spalding launched a $17 million ad campaign for Hogan and Strata. He changed from forged blades and balata balls to cavity back, investment cast irons and sold core balls, White tells MyGolfSpy. So for those of you who own a set and are fellow collectors of the ridiculoustoday is your day to shine. 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. Just came back from the PGA Tour Superstore after reading this site last night. One day, I was caddying for him and he crushed a drive, but about 100 yards out, it just fell out of the sky. When Did Spalding Stop Making Golf Clubs. These irons actually performed quite well and had many copy cats of it down the road to prove itincluding another iron that made the list at #12 Slotline Lowpro iron and the Titleist Super Slim irons. This new construction was a major technological advancement in golf balls. They are exactly like the Cleveland Ironwood set you see now, but it was made y..e..a..r..s ago. Thanks for the history lesson and walk down memory lane. I was the person responsible for introducing urethane prepolymers to Dr Shen Shen Wu, Titleist R&D chemist. What about the old Bullet Driver that was hollow in the center (like an inverted U shape)? But just because it was wacky did not mean it was not a hellova seller. I speak with Nat Rosassco, former owner, of NorthWestern golf at least every 7 to 10 days and he holds Pat Simmons as one of the best club designers of all time as well. Fugly yes looks kinda like a pancake spatula at address but effective. Those are the reasons they work. Almost , http://www.intheholegolf.com/store/f2is.html. Albert Spalding was a superstar. Those and the Ram Tour Grinds that Watson played were my bucket list irons, but never could afford them. KKRs $25 billion takeover of RJR Nabisco was chronicled in the book (and tv movie) Barbarians at the Gate. By 1970, the ownership group morphed into the Questor Corporation, and Pyramid Rubber was rechristened Evenflo. But more trouble was coming for Spalding. [email protected] That year Spaldings sales topped $537 million, with over $400 million coming from the golf division. Somehow they squeezed 492 dimples on them Those balls were rocketships. Ironfinder has a good selection of individual Spalding Executive MV2 bird over ball golf clubs in stock to help you replace a missing single golf iron. I had released it into the foreign market through a network of distributors mid in 1978, where it was well received. ), Takomo Golf Clubs Review: (As Good as Expected? werent as good. Ive got a set of graphite Samurai ironwoods years ahead of their time lying around in the basement, I think. From 1932 until 1973 two years after Jones death Spalding sold over 15 different models and two million sets of Bobby Jones clubs. But Zevo Golf is one of those on this list that was a pioneering. Tommy Armours ownership circus eventually turned it into the Sports Authority (and now DICKS) house brand. One of my buddies gave me a Tiger Shark wedge the one with 3 different alignment lines, concave dimples on the face instead of grooves, and a funky dual bounce sole configuration. But the funky look kept me from ever thinking about buying a whole set. Its impossible to overstate Albert Spaldings vision and ambition. Spalding decided it would be good business to provide golf course design services free of charge to anyone with the money and inclination to build one. Norman credited the extra spin of the Tour Edition for winning the 1986 British Open. An excellent article well researched Is it worth getting a new set of clubs, or should I focus on getting spikes and a gloves, ( I currently golf in thing sandles) 0. As a former professional player, Spalding recognized the need of enlisting the assistance of experts to promote both the game and his merchandise. Men's Right Handed. Yes, it did. Albert Spalding died in 1915, but his company continued to flourish. *We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Ive owned a set of VAS, Zings, Slingshots and the Spaulding Execs (for vintage golf days). The Endo-forged Hogan Apex Plus cavity back irons came soon after, along with a solid-core Hogan Apex ball. And Jim Furyk won the 2003 U.S. Open with the new Strata Ace, which featured playing card suits (a la Penfold) instead of numbers.