They got so popular at the time that it scared club makers badly (Every set was pretty much custom built then), and Golfing associations banned the club from play. They are similar to the Nike slingshots as they have a powerbow looking thing on the back of them. Laugh if you must, but the design works. Ive got a set of graphite Samurai ironwoods years ahead of their time lying around in the basement, I think. The company also announced an alliance with Bob Bettinardi to create a line of high-end Hogan putters. From the 1950s to the 1990s Spalding was in the bag for many major victories, and was played on municipal courses across the country. I tried to hit it oncenot a good idea! Therefore, the Top Flite clubs produced in the nineties and early naughts are technically Spalding golf clubs. spalding golf clubs any good. You can post now and register later. So we thought if it was as crazy looking as the original it had to be on the list but a little further down. In one sense, Spalding suffered the same fate irrelevance as did fellow legacy golf brands Wilson Staff and MacGregor. The shaft collapses to 18 inches so it is great for travelsure beats the cost of checking a golf bag these days. Those and the Ram Tour Grinds that Watson played were my bucket list irons, but never could afford them. Make Request. Read on to learn more about the history of Spalding clubs and what you can expect from various models. Great collection! The Browning 440 was a marvelous clubas you say off the fairway!!! With Spalding's mass-market success breeding scores of imitators, players could pick and choose from countless club lines. It was in A Disordly Compendium of Golf I cant find my copy (actually havent seen it in a few months) but I know it was in there. His stuff was marvelous and all original. Goldwin was a San Diego company, years ahead of its time. info@pgatradein.com Mon-Fri: 9AM - 5PM EST . Men's Right Handed. Their president at the time said this about the newly released irons, Titanic irons are the first long irons even God and you can hit. Now that is a bold statement that should of had you guys flocking to purchase these beauties. "@type": "ImageObject", Since you mentioned it in the article, how about doing the history of Ben Hogan golf from its inception in 1953 to itd ultimate demise under Callaway and then its resurrection in 2015. Shallow faces (not as shallow as the 440 of course) and less offset than many of the long irons they replace. Played dots a bit but later played a lot of Top Flites because I was a teenager, and the balls did not cut (this was back in the days of balata balls that cut if you looked at them hard). Some crazy lookin clubs, Why didnt you include the 1st set of Ping Irons? Overall, Spalding clubs arent worth a great deal of money today, but theyre a good option if youre hoping to pick up an affordable set of clubs to get started with. Brilliant writing! and they wonder why they went out of business. Make sense as I do have a Johnny Miller PW which looks just like an X 70. Nabbed them just for the pure ugliness. Jones immediately put his Georgia Tech engineering degree to good use. 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. Thanks, John. Needed a set of clubs to play for a few days and found these. Club-makers traditional method had been to shape metal heads with an anvil and forge. As a designer, the design is perfect and although they look funny, they were a great club, ask Cory Pavin. It was a low loft club used for poor lies and putting. 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. In fact, one of Spaldings most popular models was the Bobby Jones collection, selling two million sets between 1932 and 1973. A request, could you do Sonartec at some point? I also have a set of Browning TR600s. OK. Ive got some irons sets you have up (Fila, Cleveland, Slotline, and the Tiger Shark). Basically, the new irons are all the same cavity backed design tweaked for the metal content and painted pretty for your golf bag. These were great clubs. Bird on ball was a very popular club. Spalding hired Tom Bendelow as his designer, and Bendelow went on to develop many courses still in use today. Albert Spalding died in 1915, but his company continued to flourish. It is more of a you gotta be kidding me), an Integra 650 cc driver (you have to dig a ditch before you swing), etc. Not the first or the last business to be destroyed by KKR. For more than 25 years, he has contributed to a wide array of publications including "American Heritage," "American History," "Yankee," "VFW," "Golf," and "Golf News." Money put a few of these clubs on touralthough that does not mean they were worth a penny. *chuckles* Maybe its a good thing I took a 30 year golf hiatus. Yes, it did. There are a couple different models of this iron. Back in the day (early-60s), I caddied at a CC in so. Maybe it is a good idea or maybe it is not. My woods are Taylormade Burners 1 & 3, and I have two Mizuno hybrids. Although they wont win any awards for innovation, Spaldings Molitor clubs are a decent game improvement set and a good option for beginners. BarbaJo, you da man! In 1910 Spalding started making fairway clubs made of aluminum, and heavier lead face putters. Although the Inertial irons werent so lucky. The 300XXL Driver was so lightawesome clubhead speed ! By the following year, Spalding began making clubs in the U.S. The Top-Flite acquisition made it a player. It is the Super Stick. Forward-face progression creates a hitting surface 20 percent larger than standard and 5 percent larger than over-sized irons. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I tried to restore them by getting some original Browning grips (brown rubber with the Browning deer logo in gold) and exchanged several e-mails with Browning in Belgium would not sell me any. And continuity, leadership, and smart decisions matter. The RB880 s by Northwestern are also knockoffs of the Browning 440 s. I bought my first set of real golf clubs around 1991 or 1992, the Spalding Executive. Anyone ever hear of anything like that? my 5w distance matches my friends new drivers in distance off tee,,they are amazed. No copy for them. Well today is going to be a little bit different. Peter lived in Ridgefield,Ct. John, Happily, I can say that I have seen these over the years, but none of them ever made it into my golf bag. There was a time that Spalding golf clubs were among the best in the business. However, the name of their popular brand Top Flite was sold to Callaway, and is used for discount clubs and balls. Im sure Scott White would love to contribute. and had a driving range there for many years. Theres even premium urethane cover options (Pro V1 and X styles) for ~$15 a dozen. Weve done a mini-history on the Hogan Company, with input from a couple of longtime Hogan employees. Yes, it sold a ton of golf balls, but as one former employee told us, the brand was decidedly blue-collar and not focused on the golf professional. And if the Nicklaus Bear irons were used to win the US Amateur, they shouldnt be on a worst irons list either. 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. Might need to get a full set of Tiger Shark irons to match the wedge!! The result is the easiest-to-hit long irons ever. Hmmmare you wondering why all irons arent made out of titanium then? I still think there were others that deserved some consideration. Im not talking a couple of degrees, but for one shot you could make it a 5 iron and the next (with a quick adjustment) itd be a PW. My Uncle had the Executives and my Dad had the XL-4s. But, they were NOS (New Old Stock) and with Ohio State grips and headcovers; so a diehard Buckeye fan. What about the Porsche irons? I will let the then Chariman of FILA Golf tell you a little bit about these 1994 released set of ironsand take you back in time like you were there for the original launch: Never before have so many game improvement features been built into one club. Today its hard to fine a wooden golf club in a bag!!!! 1983 By 1910, the company was selling aluminum fairway clubs and its Gold Medal series (1910 to 1919) featured aluminum bronze. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. How about the Spalding Exec SE. Both are really great. Way ahead of their time in the perimeter weighted genre. I can't imagine them being worth a shit. Iomic Golf Grips: 8 Key Facts Before You Buy. I know this is coming way after the article was published but I have a set of irons that are branded Fairway and the model I believe is Spider. But under Section 363 of Chapter 11, a seller can sell assets without having to negotiate with its creditors. Great looking blade and the low COG really lets one hit it high. Also, consider TaylorMade sold last spring for $1.6 billion, while KKR paid nearly $1 billion for Spalding in 1996. We knew something was up, recalls White. We have a new #1 For Craziest Iron Ever Made! For years the #1 spot for craziest iron ever made was held by the infamous Cleveland VAS irons (now #2). Started Yesterday at 04:29 AM, By Steve Almo He has provided some keen insights from his time with Mr. Hogan in other articles and podcasts. Driver to 15 wood. The Spaulding Executive was just too far ahead of its timegreat club! How about Hogan Magnums and Magnum Plus irons big cavity backs from the 1970s. 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. Copyright 2023. My wife says I never met a strange-looking golf club I did not want to own and play with. does ohma have a child [email protected] buy all 6 get free shipping) Let me know by ebay . Make Request. I am on my 2nd set.I used to lovem and had friends that bought as they loved the ball flight and were also a great set of chippers. These irons which I dont know who actually designed were called the Ray Cook Titanic irons and were made back when Scotty Cameron was a putter designer for the company. Spalding stopped making clubs in 2002. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. } 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. Executives were my first set as wellI thought they were a great starter set. ), shoplifted about four dozen balls each from a failing department store in New York City. If you have a vintage set of Bobby Jones Spalding irons that are in great shape, you might be able to sell them at a slightly higher price, but theyre not worth a great deal of money in the current market. They had a premium Molitor ball at the then scandalous price of $2. Made from 1989-1994 and originally sold for $680. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Both were smart, competent leaders but had little golf experience. I actually have a set of 440s I bring them out every year or two when I am hitting the ball poorly. The chrome have a putter,,that comes in a case,,like a pool stick,,on thecourse when its time to put,,i take it out,each piece screws together to form the putter,,,,,,,putts really good,,,. I think all the readers as well as the golfspies would love to learn as much about these past designs as possible. Tommy Armours ownership circus eventually turned it into the Sports Authority (and now DICKS) house brand. Until the USGA banned deep-grooved irons, Spalding's Stop 'Em and Dedstop clubs brought a smile to countless players' faces. In that year, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) took shape, and many of the fledgling tour's stars already had endorsement deals with Spalding. But the funky look kept me from ever thinking about buying a whole set. Irons made during that time are distinguished by an anvil cleek mark. My Nike Slingshots is the best set I have ever used. MyGolfSpy, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Spalding did have high hopes for the Hogan brand. I used to have a set of Ajay Pro Classics that were my dads. Spalding, however, never dominated the pro game as Wilson and MacGregor did. 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 got balls, well ProV1's anyway. ***GIVEAWAY*** Cleveland CBX ZipCore Wedge! i was pretty impressed with the club. 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). "https://twitter.com/_swingyard_", 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. Spalding stopped making golf clubs in 2002, and their last clubs were branded as Top Flite Oversized irons. Irons made during that time are distinguished by an anvil cleek mark. I STILL play with my Spalding Executive set 2 SW. when I got my samurais,they were expensive,,but you can get them ocassionally on ebay,,picked up a 6iron for 15$. Would the F2 wedges still be legal if the crank were a few inches further up but still keeping the same angle please. i was hitting 8 iron and was suprised how high the ball flight was. ), Finn Scooter Golf Reviews (Are These the Real Deal? From 1932 until 1973 two years after Jones death Spalding sold over 15 different models and two million sets of Bobby Jones clubs. "dateModified": "2022-05-12", Win a bunch of BogeyPro swag! The strangest set I play with at the moment is a matching set of 3 through 15 fairway woods made by Protactic Golf in Chicago (part of the remains of Northwestern Golf, I think). The set I found is 2-9, but the 5 iron is gone. Turns out it was just 20 years ago. During their time together, Vardon and Spalding agreed the best way to grow the game in the U.S. and grow the market for Spalding golf products was to build more golf courses. He also was one of the best designers in the golf biz. The woods were the strangest looking things. It is my Go To clubmy favorite. Golfers have always known that deep-grooved irons produce better control and spin. Hope you find this one interesting!!!! Scott Stallings - WITB - 2023 Genesis Invitational. Spalding used to own Top Flite before selling the subsidiary to Callaway. Box 4666, Ventura, CA 93007 Request a Quote: comelec district 5 quezon city CSDA Santa Barbara County Chapter's General Contractor of the Year 2014! Perception-wise that made Spalding a second-tier, big-box company compared to Titleist. Another great history piece. He traded a set of classic Burke PunchIrons to get the Lynx. My first clubs were Spalding top flites. They all looked like mini woods. Wish the 5 iron would have been there. "https://www.instagram.com/_swingyard_/", 2 iron sw. Let me know if anyone is interested. These gentlemen used them to win large amounts of money on the course from unsuspecting victims. During that time, Spalding ownership changed hands a half dozen times, and saw the same fate as MacGregor Irons. Golf bags bulged with 20 to 25 clubs, and the USGA, fearing too many specialty clubs had watered down the skill required in golf, took action. Love them oldies. Say what you will but I own a set of Ray Cook Titanic irons. I remember a set called Canon I think, possibly a Spalding brand. It became the most consistent and durable golf ball ever made. As a former pro athlete, Spalding saw the value of using professionals to help promote both the game and his products. Well done. Welcome back to the latest installment of Historys Mysteries. 2 Iron Spalding . I didnt realize Spalding was still a player as late as 2000. Jim also marketed the first Graphite Shafts sold under the Aldila name. When my father would shot a 215 yard iron into the hole, his fellow golfers wold ask him what club he used. It adjusts to every loft in a full bag, plus half lofts. 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.. When he would get ready to play, he would hold the club so that the sole was visible to everyone. $89.99. Whats troubling to us is the extent to which a reputable company that has its own trademarks and has invested a lot of money and time feels it needs to become a predator on somebody elses goodwill to sell its products, said Callaway chief Don Dye at the time. 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). This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It wasnt the shank that bothered me, it was waiting for it to happen that was the problem.
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