SLAZENGER VINTAGE BLADES

25/03/2016

Hello everyone,

6 months ago I started collecting vintage blades Slazenger, Wilson, Mizuno, Swilken, Australian Blades etc...

As I have not been able to find The golf club identification & price guide, does anyone know anything about ?

- Slazenger Plus

- Slazenger Signature

- Slazenger Supremo

- Slazenger Challenge

- Slazenger TPM

Yes I am a Slazenger nostalgic...

Herewith I put some pictures, the blades of those days look so nice. I play them from time to time.

And what about Wilson FG55 ? Somebody wrote that they did not exist on Golfwrx... have a look at the picture. They are beautiful too.

I also have Mizuno TP9, TP11, TP19, T Zoid Oversize etc...

But my woods are always modern TM SLDR... because they are much easier to play...

Thanks a lot in advance for your help.

Best regards,

Anthony

From Brussels...

Is there anybody else also collecting that kind of irons in Brussels (Belgium) ?

Well done on picking up that set of TPMs on UK eBay recently. They look immaculate !

The Seve irons you have were cast I think ... there were better sets (e.g. the forged 'Seve blade' - see ad below) that also had his name on them ... plus also the SB-02 set that was top drawer ..

Your "Seve" set may have been re-shafted (?), as I'm pretty sure the original ferrules on this model were red/yellow as a nod to the Spanish flag.

Anthony-

The Wilson Staff Tour Blade FG-55 model looks like a forging specifically for your side of the pond.

What with FG-48, FG-51, and FG-53 models being offered from Wilson, yours are some of the very few Wilson irons shown with FG-55 designation

Wilson Staff Tour Rep Joe Phillips had the JP-series stamp for his wedges, JP 50, 53, 55, 56, 57, 60 are shown in the 1991 catalog, so this seems as good an educated guess as any.

Frequent contributors to Golfwrx have commented on the Wilson Staff custom program, but it appears Wilson, citing employee turnover in 2014, has discontinued access to their records for custom stampings.

It's not that Wilson didn't have them, they "made a corporate decision" to close access to them.

Anthony, first and foremost your city is in my thoughts and prayers.

Nice stash you have there, and you owe it to yourself to have a go with some persimmon when you take a set of these out. You'll be glad you did.

Anthony-

+1 with Old school....

Well done on picking up that set of TPMs on UK eBay recently. They look immaculate !

 

The Seve irons you have were cast I think ... there were better sets (e.g. the forged 'Seve blade' - see ad below) that also had his name on them ... plus also the SB-02 set that was top drawer ..

 

 

 

 

Your "Seve" set may have been re-shafted (?), as I'm pretty sure the original ferrules on this model were red/yellow as a nod to the Spanish flag.

Thank you so much for that folder picture. Indeed I also have the Seve blades and hope to be able to get the SB02 iron set one of these days.

Best regards,

Tony

Anthony-

 

The Wilson Staff Tour Blade FG-55 model looks like a forging specifically for your side of the pond.

 

What with FG-48, FG-51, and FG-53 models being offered from Wilson, yours are some of the very few Wilson irons shown with FG-55 designation

 

Wilson Staff Tour Rep Joe Phillips had the JP-series stamp for his wedges, JP 50, 53, 55, 56, 57, 60 are shown in the 1991 catalog, so this seems as good an educated guess as any.

 

Frequent contributors to Golfwrx have commented on the Wilson Staff custom program, but it appears Wilson, citing employee turnover in 2014, has discontinued access to their records for custom stampings.

 

It's not that Wilson didn't have them, they "made a corporate decision" to close access to them.

Hello,

Thanks a lot for your answer. It is very interesting. Nowadays I often play with the Wilson Fi5 I like very much.

Best regards,

Tony

Anthony-

 

+1 with Old school....

Hello,

Thanks for your answer. When you have a look at present tour blades, they look quite similar to our "vintage ones"...

Best regards,

Tony

Anthony, first and foremost your city is in my thoughts and prayers.

 

Nice stash you have there, and you owe it to yourself to have a go with some persimmon when you take a set of these out. You'll be glad you did.

Hello,

Thanks for your sympathy. My wife uses taking that metro at that hour every Tuesday with my son (1 year) to go to Finnish child activities next to Maelbeek Metro station. Fortunately, I could reach her after the airport blast and say to her not to go to that activity...otherwise she would have been an extra number on the list with my son. I am very sad that religious fanatism can kill so many innocents everywhere in the world.

Thank you also for your golf answer. Usually sellers sell their vintage iron sets with some woods so I have a few ones also that I will also try when my level will be better. 25 years ago I remember having hit a persimmon driver about 450 yards (downhill) what I have not done yet with a modern driver. With more spare time, I will surely play them again.

Best regards,

Tony

Tony,

It is a very sad day indeed when the human race cannot find common ground, and we kill one another because of differences of opinion. My city, Charleston, South Carolina, was stricken not too very long ago by the massacre at Mother Emanuel (AME) church. The healing process is slow, but hopefully your community will rally together and come out stronger on the other side. Our prayers are with you all during this Easter season.

Randy

Tony,

WOW! fantastic sets.

Those Slazenger TPMs are unbelievable.

Thanks for sharing and good luck in your collecting days.

God bless.

Man, you hit the jackpot with those blades!!

I just came across this thread... I recently was able to finish my own set, they are also Slazenger but they were marketed for the US, from what I was told... they do have the spanish glag ferrules but the signature is slightly diffefent.

Btw, i would love to find the Supremos somewhere... never seen them on ebay!

I just came across this thread... I recently was able to finish my own set, they are also Slazenger but they were marketed for the US, from what I was told... they do have the spanish glag ferrules but the signature is slightly diffefent.

 

Btw, i would love to find the Supremos somewhere... never seen them on ebay!

Mostly know about the 80s and 90s sets. The Slazenger USA signature set above and the OP's signature set are both cast rather than forged. There was also a Seve 276 that is cast. The TPMs and Supremos had various iterations and were all forged I believe. There are TPMs exactly as above but with different colours for the dot that I think denote different weights? There is an earlier TPM model the TPM Supremo, which has "TPM" inside a red circle and a red "Supremo". There are also Supremos without and then, later, with Seve markings. Then Slazenger moved into the Seve signature blades like the SB02. Slazenger had other forged offerings such as the Crown Sterling, Crown Limited and the Ambassador blade (the latter looking like the Norman signature MacCobras. Although not Slazengers, I've always considered the Sounder Blades and Sounder SBIVs to be part of the same family of blades because of the Seve connection.

You'll see the early forged TPM Supremos here (think this is the first Slazenger model played by Seve), as well as the forged Seve signature Supremos:

http://www.golfwrx.c...0#entry12846340

There is a bit about the forged Crown Sterlings here. Very rare set because of the premium original price. These are a more a blade than a cavity back - they are quite compact and the cavities are not the deepest or most extensive. As an early example of a forged "cavity", entailing manufacturing difficulty, I guess this partly dictated the premium pricing.

http://www.golfwrx.c...g-forged-irons/ .....

.... and also the Crown Limited blades:

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1124167-slazenger-crown-limited-forged-irons/

Forged Sounder Blades::

http://www.golfwrx.c...er-seve-blades/

The forged Ambassadors, forged Crown Sterlings and forged SBIVs::

I don't know of many other forged Slazenger offerings from the 80s and 90s. Most production was cast. Those offerings that were forged benefited from the association with Dunlop/Maxfli, to the extend that you often find triple plating - copper/nickel/chrome - like on several forged Maxflis. Sadly don't know too much about Slazenger in the 70s and earlier (going right back to Slazenger/Gradidge). Clearly there were ties with Nicklaus at one point, Ping and Hogan. Many of the Slazenger/Gradidge irons from the 40s to the 70s that I have seen have been of the "forged rustless" or "stainless" type, presumably manufactured in Scotland.

I like the look of those pinned Slazenger Plus Internationals which I'd guess are from the 50s or 60s.. I can't see any "rustless" or "stainless" markings, so would suspect they are forged + plated and probably not from the Scottish foundries?

At about 11 minutes in, you can see Seve and Nicklaus having a small exchange about the Supremo Seve signature irons. Seve has some lead tape covering his signature.

[media=]

Ever heard of Slazenger Prestige MBs?

Ever heard of Slazenger Prestige MBs?

Now you mention it, yes. I recall seeing some once and I think they resembled Mac VIP Ltd step soles. Something like this with a slightly lopsided wing back muscle, raised up from the sole:

TPMs were a stunning set of irons. I had a sand iron for a while. They were made one degree upright to promote a draw....useless if you need 2 flat like me but felt great for a cast head.

Never seen those Ambassador heads but love the shape.

TPMs were a stunning set of irons. I had a sand iron for a while. They were made one degree upright to promote a draw....useless if you need 2 flat like me but felt great for a cast head.

Never seen those Ambassador heads but love the shape.

Were those "swing weight" TPMs really cast? I've never seen one in person. For sure the previous iteration with the red markings (TPM in circle, supremo etc) were forged.

Played TPM's through until my second year as Pro in 2000 and still got them sitting in my teaching office. There was something in general about Slazenger SW's with the broad sole and squarer profile that i still love and always look for the shape in sand and lob-wedges. Do challenge my county squad when they start going on about how they want blades and say ok see if you can break 80 with a real set!!!!

TPMs were definitely cast. If you want to sort out your county players may I suggest Maxfli DP30s or MP11s....both a tad on the small side...

TPMs were definitely cast

Interesting that the "swingweight" TPMs were cast, whereas the earlier version were forged.

Just got a set of the extremely rare Supremos, I was starting to think that they were a myth and that they never existed...the Unicorn of forged blades... Can not wait to play a round with these!

We will need updates on if their performance is as good as their appearance.

ska, those look incredible! Hope you hit them well and fall in love ?

We will need updates on if their performance is as good as their appearance.

As much as I would love to say that the Supremos are equally as goood as the Crown Sterlings, I have to admit that for my game, the Crown Sterlings are superior clubs. I lost yards with the Supremos, but they are probably more workable for a scratch-7 golfer. I love the look of the Supremos, and I am glad I got them. Addressing the ball in a long par 3 with their long irons... man thats something else....but the Crowns, I coukd easily keep them in my bag and never miss my modern Mizunos.

In a sick, twisted sort of way, I am glad you said the Crown Sterlings outperform the Supremos. Mine are scheduled to arrive at 3 this afternoon.

They just arrived. Used, but not abused, as they say. While throw some pics up after I polish them up a bit.

I must say I am somewhat surprised at just how much they resemble Hogans. Could have put the Higan name on them and an Apex shaft and I wouldn't have known the difference.

Really like the way they feel in my hands. Don't think I'll have a chance to go to the range before I play again, so, I'll do the Baptism by Fire method. Won't be the first time.

They just arrived. Used, but not abused, as they say. While throw some pics up after I polish them up a bit.

I must say I am somewhat surprised at just how much they resemble Hogans. Could have put the Higan name on them and an Apex shaft and I wouldn't have known the difference.

Really like the way they feel in my hands. Don't think I'll have a chance to go to the range before I play again, so, I'll do the Baptism by Fire method. Won't be the first time.

Nice! I wanted to keep them classic looking and got Golf Pride Victory grips for them, but they only come in regular size... for the Supremos I went with Lamkin wrap-tech grips, my Midsize preference. Looking back, I wish I had gone with the Lamkin for the Crowns.

Question: so this is killing me. When you guys play old school clubs, particularly blades... do you also feel like you are off by one club in your distances? I know technology has come a long way, but I catch myself sometimes blaming my technique for a shot that comes up short when in reality I should just club up and just enjoy the round... do you guys feel the same way? i always end up trying to kill the ball to get to the distance I get from my modern day Mizunos, resulting in poor contact, fat shots, shanks...

They just arrived. Used, but not abused, as they say. While throw some pics up after I polish them up a bit.

I must say I am somewhat surprised at just how much they resemble Hogans. Could have put the Higan name on them and an Apex shaft and I wouldn't have known the difference.

Really like the way they feel in my hands. Don't think I'll have a chance to go to the range before I play again, so, I'll do the Baptism by Fire method. Won't be the first time.

 

Nice! I wanted to keep them classic looking and got Golf Pride Victory grips for them, but they only come in regular size... for the Supremos I went with Lamkin wrap-tech grips, my Midsize preference. Looking back, I wish I had gone with the Lamkin for the Crowns.

 

Question: so this is killing me. When you guys play old school clubs, particularly blades... do you also feel like you are off by one club in your distances? I know technology has come a long way, but I catch myself sometimes blaming my technique for a shot that comes up short when in reality I should just club up and just enjoy the round... do you guys feel the same way? i always end up trying to kill the ball to get to the distance I get from my modern day Mizunos, resulting in poor contact, fat shots, shanks...

No never. I don't reference (or even think about) modern clubs when using vintage gear. I focus on what I have to hand - distances, gapping, manufacturing shots etc - appropriate to what I am playing at the time.