Dunlop Maxfli Original Blades

Hi there,

I'd like to ask all of you if you have any information about the following irons:

- Dunlop Maxfli Original Blades

What year were they released to the market? Were they used by any Tour Pro? Any extra information about them would be more than welcome. I couldn't find anything on the internet...

Find attached a picture of the clubs. Many many thanks in advance.



Good golf! Alex

I like the shape but are they cast or forged?

Nice looking clubs. Never seen them before. The Maxfli Australian Blades are very well thought of and still very desirable to both play and collect. There are several years in throughout their history where new models weren't produced. I'm going to guess this is a set that fits somewhere in one of those gaps... maybe built for a market where the Australian Blade wasn't available.

I like the shape but are they cast or forged?

I don't have any info about them at all... This is why I'm opening this post hahaha.

The only thing I know is that the clubs were on the market around late 60s early 70s because my club pro told me so. He remembered that the clubs were out there when he started playing the game.

It's so hard to get more info about them...

Nice looking clubs. Never seen them before. The Maxfli Australian Blades are very well thought of and still very desirable to both play and collect. There are several years in throughout their history where new models weren't produced. I'm going to guess this is a set that fits somewhere in one of those gaps... maybe built for a market where the Australian Blade wasn't available.

Thanks for the info! :)

Calculated guesswork time, from the bowels of my rusty old brain........

Maxfli were Dunlop's top iron range from the 1930's onwards, often being given the name of Dunlop's top Staff Pro of the day, i.e. Maxfli Peter Thomson, Maxfli Roberto de Vicenzo etc.

This practice ended in the early 1970's (I seem to remember the Maxfli Tony Jacklin model), and the Maxfli Australian Blades appeared around 1977.........

So I'm GUESSING that the Maxfli Original Blade could have been from around 1975? Possibly Japan only? Lovely looking irons, definitely top of the range!

Calculated guesswork time, from the bowels of my rusty old brain........

 

Maxfli were Dunlop's top iron range from the 1930's onwards, often being given the name of Dunlop's top Staff Pro of the day, i.e. Maxfli Peter Thomson, Maxfli Roberto de Vicenzo etc.

This practice ended in the early 1970's (I seem to remember the Maxfli Tony Jacklin model), and the Maxfli Australian Blades appeared around 1977.........

So I'm GUESSING that the Maxfli Original Blade could have been from around 1975? Possibly Japan only? Lovely looking irons, definitely top of the range!

WOW! Amazing information rich13. Bit by bit I'm getting to an approximate year and main features of these lovely irons.

Why do you say "Japan only"? Would this be the reason why they are so rare? I mean, if you text Dunlop Original Blades in google you barely find any pictures of these clubs...

Thanks again! Alex :)

Great set of club / find !! And amazing to hear the History !!!

Calculated guesswork time, from the bowels of my rusty old brain........

 

Maxfli were Dunlop's top iron range from the 1930's onwards, often being given the name of Dunlop's top Staff Pro of the day, i.e. Maxfli Peter Thomson, Maxfli Roberto de Vicenzo etc.

This practice ended in the early 1970's (I seem to remember the Maxfli Tony Jacklin model), and the Maxfli Australian Blades appeared around 1977.........

So I'm GUESSING that the Maxfli Original Blade could have been from around 1975? Possibly Japan only? Lovely looking irons, definitely top of the range!

Good information, thanks.

I thought that Maxfli started around the 1960s, do you have any pictures of the early stuff?

Below are the Maxfli models I've come across, most of these would have been available in the UK:

(Not in any date order)

Maxfli

Maxfli Max 357

Maxfli 357

Maxfli A10 Tour Limited

Maxfli Australian Blade

Maxfli Australian Blade TM-92

Maxfli DP-30 Pro Model

Maxfli Integra

Maxfli International

Maxfli Meteor oversize

Maxfli Original Blade

Maxfli Power Flex Cavity

Maxfli Pro Special

Maxfli Revolution

Maxfli Roberto De Vicenzo

Maxfli Tour Ltd

Maxfli Vicenzo

So... Nobody knows anything else about them?? : (

Jiggered, you've come up with a great list there. I'm betting many of those models weren't available here in the States. And I see the "Original Blade" is on your list so it very well may have been only available in Europe, Japan, or somewhere else like that. It would have been very common for that to happen.

So... Nobody knows anything else about them?? : (

Sorry, doesn't look like it.

But more importantly, have you hit them yet and how do they play? :D

(And whereabouts in the world are you?)

Jiggered, you've come up with a great list there. I'm betting many of those models weren't available here in the States. And I see the "Original Blade" is on your list so it very well may have been only available in Europe, Japan, or somewhere else like that. It would have been very common for that to happen.

Very true, there seems to have been quite a difference in the offerings of Dunlop Europe, USA and Japan, probably true of many global manufacturers around the 60s/70s.

Some should be familiar to you like the Maxfli Revolution which I think was available in Europe and the US, and a very successful club too.

So... Nobody knows anything else about them?? : (

 

Sorry, doesn't look like it.

 

But more importantly, have you hit them yet and how do they play? :D

 

(And whereabouts in the world are you?)

Hahaha I'll probably go to the driving range and use them this weekend. I'll let you know!

I'm from Alicante in Spain. Idk how the clubs got here but I found the whole set in an antiquary shop... I was lucky ? that day I guess... ?

Thanks for all the comments. Alex:)

Here's the Maxfli Robert de Vicenzo (1970) and the Maxfli International (1976).

Those ferrules and the “dots” framing the grooves remind me of my 1970 Haig Ultras I played 15 years ago.

I’d think these Maxflis are from around the same time. (Not that the were the same manufacturer, just same aesthetics of that era)

I just took a look through my Maltby Club ID Guide, I didn't see any reference to any model with an "Original Blade" stamping.

The Australian Blades first show up in the Guide in 1976.

Those ferrules and the “dots” framing the grooves remind me of my 1970 Haig Ultras I played 15 years ago.

 

I’d think these Maxflis are from around the same time. (Not that the were the same manufacturer, just same aesthetics of that era)

Yeah, everybody tells me they are from the early 70s so I think it should be true hahaha

But still, idk the reason why it's so difficult to find information about these specific set of clubs...

I normally just stay in the background, but your new irons drew me out of hiding.

The person who could probably nail these down for certain is Tad Moore. He's on here often and is always open to help so perhaps he'll chime in. Until then here's what I can offer.

Maxfli liked to play around with their logo and face designs as well as stock shafts. Based on the logo and face, these heads should be from the year 1969-1970. The face design tell is the diamond shapes bracketing the face similar to the 1969 Tony Jacklin model. The script tell is distinct "M" combined with the trailing "i" found only on the 1970 Flatback model.

Next is the head shape and subtle "wing" back which is normally indicative of a Dunlop Japan design over their Hoffman foundry heads of that time period. It's less pronounced than the double wing Jacklin model though.

Once again, I'd defer to Tad, but my bet is these are a 1970 Japan foundry design that was probably made for a specific project or fixed Asian or UK seller. Dunlop did special projects like this back then and this would explain the limited information and combination of design features. Hopefully Tad will offer some more specific help. Nice find!

I normally just stay in the background, but your new irons drew me out of hiding.

 

The person who could probably nail these down for certain is Tad Moore. He's on here often and is always open to help so perhaps he'll chime in. Until then here's what I can offer.

 

Maxfli liked to play around with their logo and face designs as well as stock shafts. Based on the logo and face, these heads should be from the year 1969-1970. The face design tell is the diamond shapes bracketing the face similar to the 1969 Tony Jacklin model. The script tell is distinct "M" combined with the trailing "i" found only on the 1970 Flatback model.

 

Next is the head shape and subtle "wing" back which is normally indicative of a Dunlop Japan design over their Hoffman foundry heads of that time period. It's less pronounced than the double wing Jacklin model though.

 

Once again, I'd defer to Tad, but my bet is these are a 1970 Japan foundry design that was probably made for a specific project or fixed Asian or UK seller. Dunlop did special projects like this back then and this would explain the limited information and combination of design features. Hopefully Tad will offer some more specific help. Nice find!

Wow! Nice guesses Junah! All your arguments are very solid:)!

I'm really thankful for your information. Let's hope this "Tad" shows up and help us to confirm some of your theories.

Good golf! Alex

You're welcome Alex.

FYI, if you Google Tad Moore you'll find his website and can learn about him and all of his designs like the TM-92 Australian Blade irons and many others. You can also send him an email through his website. He's a great guy and will normally respond back to you.

You're welcome Alex.

 

FYI, if you Google Tad Moore you'll find his website and can learn about him and all of his designs like the TM-92 Australian Blade irons and many others. You can also send him an email through his website. He's a great guy and will normally respond back to you.

I've just contacted him. Let's see if he can help me. I'll let you know. Thanks again. Alex:)

Tad is the man.

Calculated guesswork time, from the bowels of my rusty old brain........

 

Maxfli were Dunlop's top iron range from the 1930's onwards, often being given the name of Dunlop's top Staff Pro of the day, i.e. Maxfli Peter Thomson, Maxfli Roberto de Vicenzo etc.

This practice ended in the early 1970's (I seem to remember the Maxfli Tony Jacklin model), and the Maxfli Australian Blades appeared around 1977.........

So I'm GUESSING that the Maxfli Original Blade could have been from around 1975? Possibly Japan only? Lovely looking irons, definitely top of the range!

 

 

 

Good information, thanks.

 

I thought that Maxfli started around the 1960s, do you have any pictures of the early stuff?

Below are the Maxfli models I've come across, most of these would have been available in the UK:

(Not in any date order)

 

Maxfli

Maxfli Max 357

Maxfli 357

Maxfli A10 Tour Limited

Maxfli Australian Blade

Maxfli Australian Blade TM-92

Maxfli DP-30 Pro Model

Maxfli Integra

Maxfli International

Maxfli Meteor oversize

Maxfli Original Blade

Maxfli Power Flex Cavity

Maxfli Pro Special

Maxfli Revolution

Maxfli Roberto De Vicenzo

Maxfli Tour Ltd

Maxfli Vicenzo

They also had a left handed Bob Charles model.

I normally just stay in the background, but your new irons drew me out of hiding.

 

The person who could probably nail these down for certain is Tad Moore. He's on here often and is always open to help so perhaps he'll chime in. Until then here's what I can offer.

 

Maxfli liked to play around with their logo and face designs as well as stock shafts. Based on the logo and face, these heads should be from the year 1969-1970. The face design tell is the diamond shapes bracketing the face similar to the 1969 Tony Jacklin model. The script tell is distinct "M" combined with the trailing "i" found only on the 1970 Flatback model.

 

Next is the head shape and subtle "wing" back which is normally indicative of a Dunlop Japan design over their Hoffman foundry heads of that time period. It's less pronounced than the double wing Jacklin model though.

 

Once again, I'd defer to Tad, but my bet is these are a 1970 Japan foundry design that was probably made for a specific project or fixed Asian or UK seller. Dunlop did special projects like this back then and this would explain the limited information and combination of design features. Hopefully Tad will offer some more specific help. Nice find!

Whoa now, Dunlop made a Maxfli Tony Jacklin model blade?! Sorry for the thread-jack but I would be totally interested in seeing something like that. If anyone knows more of this I'd love to hear about it.

I normally just stay in the background, but your new irons drew me out of hiding.

 

The person who could probably nail these down for certain is Tad Moore. He's on here often and is always open to help so perhaps he'll chime in. Until then here's what I can offer.

 

Maxfli liked to play around with their logo and face designs as well as stock shafts. Based on the logo and face, these heads should be from the year 1969-1970. The face design tell is the diamond shapes bracketing the face similar to the 1969 Tony Jacklin model. The script tell is distinct "M" combined with the trailing "i" found only on the 1970 Flatback model.

 

Next is the head shape and subtle "wing" back which is normally indicative of a Dunlop Japan design over their Hoffman foundry heads of that time period. It's less pronounced than the double wing Jacklin model though.

 

Once again, I'd defer to Tad, but my bet is these are a 1970 Japan foundry design that was probably made for a specific project or fixed Asian or UK seller. Dunlop did special projects like this back then and this would explain the limited information and combination of design features. Hopefully Tad will offer some more specific help. Nice find!

I normally just stay in the background, but your new irons drew me out of hiding.

 

The person who could probably nail these down for certain is Tad Moore. He's on here often and is always open to help so perhaps he'll chime in. Until then here's what I can offer.

 

Maxfli liked to play around with their logo and face designs as well as stock shafts. Based on the logo and face, these heads should be from the year 1969-1970. The face design tell is the diamond shapes bracketing the face similar to the 1969 Tony Jacklin model. The script tell is distinct "M" combined with the trailing "i" found only on the 1970 Flatback model.

 

Next is the head shape and subtle "wing" back which is normally indicative of a Dunlop Japan design over their Hoffman foundry heads of that time period. It's less pronounced than the double wing Jacklin model though.

 

Once again, I'd defer to Tad, but my bet is these are a 1970 Japan foundry design that was probably made for a specific project or fixed Asian or UK seller. Dunlop did special projects like this back then and this would explain the limited information and combination of design features. Hopefully Tad will offer some more specific help. Nice find!

You need to come on out and post more. Don't anyone bite on here well maybe one and he has had his rabies shot. From what you just posted you seem to have a great knowledge on Maxfli clubs and that would be a great read in this corner of the world

I'll second that. Well put as usual Stu.

yes - motion passed, and Stu - your usual Southern hospitality brings another loyal vintage golf lover into the fold.

Learned things about Maxfli irons I didn't know, but we all know they had some beautiful designs.

I think that at one time, David Graham played them, as well as MacGregor - depending on where he was in the world, as it was not unusual for pros to have different contracts with different companies in different parts of the world.

One thing everyone should remember whenever looking at old Maxfli models, or any old Dunlop subsidiary (like Slazenger) is that at one point there were 4 different companies with rights to those names in different parts of the world. The US, Australia, Japan and the rest of the world were all run by different parent companies that changed over the years and in some cases ended up swapping the rights...i.e. Dunlop Japan has been a part of SRI Sports (same company that owns Srixon) since the 1960s, but a couple of years ago they became joint owners of Dunlop USA with Sports Direct.

The companies all had some sort of agreement, but it was never quite clear what it was. That's why you see things like Maxfli Australia putting out a ball called the Maxfli Revolution that was completely different than the original US version or the versions that were out recently.

Maxfli irons from around 1935