Least Punishing Wilson Staff Blade

[ScooterMcTavish]

Coming around Randy.

Looks like spring is here, then we get a bit of snow. Main problem has been overnight lows and daytime highs have been below normal, meaning the green stuff is having a hard time getting going.

Hoping with some warmer weather this weekend and a bit of rain we may see some courses other than the "look at us we opened first" courses opening by the end of April.

[BigCountry87]

[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1428278121' post='11290603']
With the Wilson Blades it is all going to depend on what you are looking for. The fg17's are considered the last of the Wilson vintage even though they were an early 80's design. Have played the older Staffs, the 17's, the 80's Staff remakes and the 51's. Most Wilson guys are in love with the 17's (great sticks.). The 51's are more modern, in shaft length, head size and lofts. My favorites from a playing prospective among all the Wilson's are the late 80's Fluid Feel remakes. All depends on what you are looking for. Thete has also been some buzz about the newer Wilson blades, especially the one made exclusively for Edwin Watts.
Late 70's Staffs and the 17's are more of a muscle back design than flat back.
Just my take, am sure more knowledgable guys on here will chime in.
[/quote]

[BigCountry87]

[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1428278121' post='11290603']
With the Wilson Blades it is all going to depend on what you are looking for. The fg17's are considered the last of the Wilson vintage even though they were an early 80's design. Have played the older Staffs, the 17's, the 80's Staff remakes and the 51's. Most Wilson guys are in love with the 17's (great sticks.). The 51's are more modern, in shaft length, head size and lofts. My favorites from a playing prospective among all the Wilson's are the late 80's Fluid Feel remakes. All depends on what you are looking for. Thete has also been some buzz about the newer Wilson blades, especially the one made exclusively for Edwin Watts.
Late 70's Staffs and the 17's are more of a muscle back design than flat back.
Just my take, am sure more knowledgable guys on here will chime in.
[/quote]

[BigCountry87]

Thank you oldschoolrocker for your input. With that I've narrowed it down to the tour blades or the fg 17s. I guess my question for you though is, is there anything different between these two clubs? They look very similar and I'm curious if I'll really notice anything different between the two clubs? Also I know the remakes that you talk about that you love are fluid feel clubs which I know have a nice touch to them. Would you say that the 71 dynapower(button backs) have a similar feel since they are fluid feel as well?
SccoterMcTavish that is amazing of you! How are they condition of the clubs? Do you have pictures of them by chance? That may be convincing enough to jump on the fg 17s that I know so many people love.

[BigCountry87]

Sorry for those two previous replies as well oldschoolrocker. I'm still getting used to actually making comments on a forum instead of just reading the replies.

[oldschoolrocker]

No problem BigC. The fg17's have a cult following, almost iconic in nature. Myself, I saw very little difference between the two. The "Buttonbacks" have their own admirers as well. I think the differences in the remakes perhaps would be shaft and loft related. I have a set of '74 Dynapowers, with the screw in weight, that I think feel as good as any. You can't go wrong on Scott's offer.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Thank you oldschoolrocker for your input. With that I've narrowed it down to the tour blades or the fg 17s. I guess my question for you though is, is there anything different between these two clubs? They look very similar and I'm curious if I'll really notice anything different between the two clubs? Also I know the remakes that you talk about that you love are fluid feel clubs which I know have a nice touch to them. Would you say that the 71 dynapower(button backs) have a similar feel since they are fluid feel as well?

SccoterMcTavish that is amazing of you! How are they condition of the clubs? Do you have pictures of them by chance? That may be convincing enough to jump on the fg 17s that I know so many people love.

 

Hey BC,

 

Think I have a picture somewhere out there on the interwebs.....let me see....

 

Ahhh, here we go.

 

 

 

 

They are in average used condition, with "used one round" Black Widow grips on them. I did a bit of paint fill so the number on the soles are white, as is the "Tour Blade" stamping. One has an aqua colored "FG-17" on it - part of a project I never got to finishing. Either way, a little acetone, and they would be back to their black/red original colors. 3-PW, with the PW beat up worst of all the clubs.

 

Edit - And no, the bag is not included,

[Bad9]

This one is still waiting for some FG51's or similar to fill it up
[attachment=2701591:Wilson Bag.jpg]

[BIG STU]

[quote name='8thehardway' timestamp='1417711797' post='10542357']
[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1401976749' post='9435063']
Well, you come to da right place. In my opinion, and I have played them all, the best Wilson blade is either the fg17, or the late 80s remake of the Staff Fluid Feel. The fg51 is a decent club in its own right, and I had them in the bag for a couple of years, but the larger head is not to my liking.
A world of difference between the 17 and 51 head design. There is also a fg53 which is a remake of the Wilson Gooseneck that is a channel back longer blade design that I find works well in soft turf conditions. A bit more rounder sole that doesn't dig.
Like Scott mentioned there are some real good deals on early Wilson's to be had.
[b]I have also heard some great things about their club that was made exclusively for Edwin Watts. Sharp looking remake of the fg17 design with a few modern changes. A really sharp solid performing club.[/b]
[/quote]

I don't belong in this forum and I'm not a blade player but I can add info as I did some research for a friend two years ago and he ended up buying this set new from Edwin Watts for $189 (with free shipping and including a $10-off coupon) 4 - 9, GW and PW. That price is not a typo; back then some enterprising fellow sold 12 sets on ebay between $289 and $349 and had Watts drop ship (free) to the winning bidders.

Conclusions first, we decided the clubs were an attempt to introduce blades to the average golfer - the heads were slightly larger than the random blades played by some friends and the shaft weight was only 105 grams (per the Watts website). Watts did not publish any other specs but they felt like a regular flex to me (80 mph s/s) and my friend (90mph s/s).

There are posts on golfwrx perhaps 4 years back describing their sweet forged feel and great price (back then $499 and eventually $399) (search for Wilson Staff Tour Blades). I'm guessing Watts was dumping excess stock because they sold out a few weeks after my friend pulled the trigger.

They are easy to hit, even with my swing speed... except for the 4 iron which looks like a razor blade on a stick and intimidates the hell out of me but my friend has no problems. Sets come up on ebay now and then and from my very limited experience with blades they are worth getting.
[/quote]I had never heard that term before but like that "razor blade on a stick" We always refered to them and other old blades as "butter knives" Stick around in our end of the world and like OSR said feel free to comment any time

[BigCountry87]

Scooter those are great looking clubs and I love the color scheme you had planned for it. No need to acetone it, I would rather finish what you started. Ha and thank you for clarifying that the bag is off limits. That thing popped out at me at first glance. But if you really are ok and willing to part with those clubs I would be more than happy to give them a good home and hopefully do them justice on the course. Oldschoolrocker you were right, it is a great offer that I should jump on. Thanks to both of you guys as well for all the info on these timeless classic clubs.

[oldschoolrocker]

You are welcome BC, just passing on what little info I have gathered through personal experience, and tons more what I have learned here that the guys are willing to share.

[Forged4ever]

Morning Bad

I hope all's well and you're having a good start to the season!

Asking which Staff blade is most forgiving/least punishing is sorta like asking which gun in the S&W line up is least deadly, lol.

Having played them from 1967-1987 and then finishing the '12 season with the 59s in the bag over my Mizzy 68s, they are all phenomenal irons, though the 51s were a touch too long, heel-toe, for my eye after going with Mizzy amd having the 87s in the bag.

That being said, Payne thought that the 51s were the finest irons that he'd ever hit(He won his Opens with em)-

I would agree with Scooter that the new editions, the 100 year Centennial commemorative irons are probably the "least" punishing on a heel-side miss.

I hit the 8i-PW and while no blade will soften a toe side miss, they seem to react better to a heel side miss than my 59s.

They remind me of the Mizzy 69s, in that there's a little more "meat" in the muscle pad, a touch more offset and a tad larger profile.

Not a bad thing, it was just their attempt to make a blade more "playable" for a larger segment of the golfing population.

Between the 51s & 59s, I'd take the 59s all day, every day-

They are some Bad A** Blades!!!

Regardless, the best with your search and have a great season

Fairways & Greens My Friend,
Richard

[ScooterMcTavish]

Love those clubs Richard.^^^

BC, PM me your official mailing address and I'll get you a price. Was going to offer them to a young guy I work with who's staring out golfing, but I have a feeling he would get frustrated with having to hit the ball with them (vs. throwing a ghastly-looking, plastic covered frying pan at the ball).

He's a millennial BTW. LOL.

[shaunG]

LOL, none of them.

 

Staffs are funny clubs - some people in this forum love them, and others talk about how hard they are to hit. Compared to many blades, they can be a bit of a challenge with the lack of offset, and traditionally smaller head design. However, like any club, the more you practice and play with it, the better it works for you. These are not "point and shoot" irons - they are precision tools that it takes some time and effort to get mastery of.

 

This being said, there are a number of guys around this forum (myself, oldschoolrocker, froth) who happily play FG-17s. They have a nice forging, are usually easier to source, and do have a sweet spot you can find on them. Plus you can move the ball if you so choose. Most seem to come with some variant of dynamic gold shaft though, so they tend to be a bit of a lower launching club.

 

Haven't played the FG-51s myself, but would imagine they play similar to the FG-17s.

 

If you can't find FG-17s, the slightly older (?) Wilson Staff Tour Blade looks to be an almost identical club. I also wouldn't stop your search at the 80's - some of the 70's Staff models look quite nice, like these '71 buttonbacks.

 

 

These at least look like you could hit them.....I had a set of '63 Turfriders that were near impossible to hit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought a set of these on ebay. They kicked my fg tour m3s out of the bag. LOVE THEM!

[stevemcgee99]

Seriously, I'm finding the '56 Dynapowered pretty easy to hit. Including the 2 iron. This is compared to my Hogan PCs.

[Forged4ever]

LOL, none of them.

 

Staffs are funny clubs - some people in this forum love them, and others talk about how hard they are to hit. Compared to many blades, they can be a bit of a challenge with the lack of offset, and traditionally smaller head design. However, like any club, the more you practice and play with it, the better it works for you. These are not "point and shoot" irons - they are precision tools that it takes some time and effort to get mastery of.

 

This being said, there are a number of guys around this forum (myself, oldschoolrocker, froth) who happily play FG-17s. They have a nice forging, are usually easier to source, and do have a sweet spot you can find on them. Plus you can move the ball if you so choose. Most seem to come with some variant of dynamic gold shaft though, so they tend to be a bit of a lower launching club.

 

Haven't played the FG-51s myself, but would imagine they play similar to the FG-17s.

 

If you can't find FG-17s, the slightly older (?) Wilson Staff Tour Blade looks to be an almost identical club. I also wouldn't stop your search at the 80's - some of the 70's Staff models look quite nice, like these '71 buttonbacks.

 

 

These at least look like you could hit them.....I had a set of '63 Turfriders that were near impossible to hit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought a set of these on ebay. They kicked my fg tour m3s out of the bag. LOVE THEM!

THESE, the '78 Tour Blades, are my favorite Staff blade, behind only the 59s-

 

Like OldSchool said, they all are great irons, ya can't go wrong with any of them, it just depends on your tastes.

 

A short story about my first set of BBs. As I've mentioned before, My Grandmother would give me her Staffs every two years, when Staff would give her a set, and I would just have them cut down a shade and she played the equivalent of the Men's Regular. Well, she won her last Women's Am in 1974, four months before she passed from cancer.

 

Well, when she passed, it was quite the funeral. As I have mentioned, my teacher Pete Snead, who was her Mixed BB partner 15-18 years before, spoke. His Brother Sam, who also teamed with her in 3-4 mixed events, was there. Harvie Ward, the Legendary Amateur, was there. Joseph Dey, recently retired as the Executive Director of the USGA(He was a Putz and I've got a hilarious story about him & Sam, lmao) was there. It was quite the send off.

 

Well, my Mother had given me my Grandmother's irons that she had recently won the Am with, which were another set of '71 BBs, identical to the ones that she had given me the season before. My Grandmother's favorite iron was a 7i, both on the course and also off, she carried one with her everywhere, tossing it in the back seat and swinging it where ever and when ever she could, lol.

 

She was an elementary school principal and she would keep the 7i behind her desk and she would practice her pitching stroke whenever she could. Well, she was laid out in the funeral home and looked Beautiful, especially considering that the cancer had really ravaged her the last 4-6 weeks.

 

Well, I had decided that she should be buried with her 7i. The Funeral Director looked at me like I'd lost my mind(This was a look that I would see many times in the ensuing years, lol ;) ). He went straight to my Father, who said "forget it." Well, #1, she was his Mother-in-law, not his mother and #2, she couldn't stand my Father, nor he her.

 

So I waited till after the Director spoke to my Parents and before the public showing began, and no one was in the room and I brought it in from the car and tucked it down under her right arm/right side. I placed the blanket back as it was and you could not see it.

 

Long story short, my BaBa got buried with her favorite club!!

 

I told my Mother a few months later.

 

I just took the 7i from my set and was good to go.

 

Now, the Story about Sam and Joe Dey-

 

Sam hated Dey, and the feeling was mutual-

 

Joe Dey was a sanctimonious, self-centered, self-righteous P****(my opinion)

 

He resented Sam Snead and the life style that Sam lived, at least Dey's perception of that life style. Though it's a story for another day, Dey cost Sam his elusive US Open title as much if not more than Sam did himself.

 

Anyhoo, when Sam saw Dey walk up to the church and enter, he started swearing to Pete(Pete told me the particulars when I was in my early 40's), and that was it, he was leaving. Well, Pete reminded Sam that he was there for my Grandmother and not Dey, and his talk obviously worked, however Dey sat in the second row, with Mr. Ward, right behind us, and Pete sat to my left, as I was the last family member.

 

Sam was to sit next to Pete, however he refused to sit anywhere near Dey, and when we looked over, he was sitting in the middle of a bunch of my Grandmother's friends, peers and former students on the other side of the church, LMAO.

 

I didn't realize the absurdity of it until years later when Pete told me the back story, and I laughed so hard that I had tears in my eyes, lol.

 

Pete gave a great Eulogy and I got to say Goodbye to my Grandmother.

 

I know she would have wanted her 7i with her :)

 

Thanks for reading!!

 

Beautiful sticks Scooter & enjoy yours Sean!!

 

Fairways & Greens My Friends,

Richard

[oldschoolrocker]

Thank you for sharing that wonderful piece with us.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Awesome story Richard, and your new profile pic makes you look very dashing.

Hope you are getting out to swing the clubs a bit.

[Forged4ever]

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1429270479' post='11379263']
Awesome story Richard, and your new profile pic makes you look very dashing.

Hope you are getting out to swing the clubs a bit.
[/quote]Thank You very much Scoots and OldSchool

I know that I'm always moanin & groanin about "back in the day," however it has nothing to do with equipment, the tracks or even the game.

It was the People-

The Guys like Pete, or my first Pro, Gary, and I know that there were Guys(and Gals, and though she was an Am, my Grandmother was one. Mr. Pennick's "If You play Golf, You are my Friend" was her unspoken mantra) like them all through the game and all around the country, who really went way beyond the physical swing(and for the record, Pete said that one can tell all that they need to know about a swing from one's divot & ball flight) and the score card to being true Ambassadors for the Game.

I guess as I encountered these health "speed bumps," and as I saw my own mortality, I looked back and as one is prone to do, I waxed nostalgia, lol, to a kinder, simpler time, lol

Maybe it's just a case of selective memory, haha

Stay Well My Friends & have a great weekend

Golfingly Yours,
Richard

[ScooterMcTavish]

Hey Richard,

I believe Randy put it across well a couple of years ago, when he stated (and I'm going off memory here), that nostalgia is when we see beauty in the past, because we don't see in in our present.

You may have a few years on me my friend, but I too find myself yearning for a simpler time on a regular basis. I sometimes struggle with what "simpler" is, and possibly all us grown-ups yearn for the times before we had kids, mortgages, careers - back to the days when simple fresh baked goods from our Grandmas, a sunny summer day, and two or three old beat up golf balls and a used ladies 7 iron was all we needed to make us happy.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Hey Richard,

I believe Randy put it across well a couple of years ago, when he stated (and I'm going off memory here), that nostalgia is when we see beauty in the past, because we don't see in in our present.

You may have a few years on me my friend, but I too find myself yearning for a simpler time on a regular basis. I sometimes struggle with what "simpler" is, and possibly all us grown-ups yearn for the times before we had kids, mortgages, careers - back to the days when simple fresh baked goods from our Grandmas, a sunny summer day, and two or three old beat up golf balls and a used ladies 7 iron was all we needed to make us happy.

[Bad9]

Just as an update. I ended up not going so far back in time as I figured and not to a pure blade. Picked up a 3-P set of FI5 heads that I will shaft up with Xcaliber graphite shafts. I have gone to graphite in all my clubs other than the putter.

[ScooterMcTavish]

My FG-17s got delivered to BigCountry87 in Utah yesterday - wonder if he'll log back on and let us know how much he cried when he saw the size of the 3i?

[ScooterMcTavish]

And as one further update, so I sent BC my FG-17s which he apparently is enjoying. Great.

And then I sell my TM-92s - I just can't swing as hard as I need to with the shafts they had anymore. Recipient is glad to have won them. In fact, super glad. Good golf karma going on.

So in a search for a regular "lake set" (plus my PP $ is burning a hole in my pocket), I scared up a set of goosenecks on eBay for a super reasonable price.

For some reason, I feel like my two main sets should be Hogan and Wilson Staff.

[birly-shirly]

Good job on offloading your excess inventory. I've been staring that job in the face for most of this year, with a stated intention of getting down to only 1 set (and maybe a few spare woods, wedges and putters) kept in the house. The realisation that I could achieve this via sorting out some additional storage in the shed, rather than selling anything, can only be likened to a cloud lifting.

[ScooterMcTavish]

LOL, B-S. If I was actually offloading inventory, I'd be happy. Sets seem to keep sneaking in when I'm not looking.

Beginning of season:
At lake - Maxfli Flatbacks, Wright & Ditsons
At home - Eye 2s, FG-17s,, TM-92s

Now:
At lake - Maxfli Flatbacks, Wright & Ditsons, MacGregor VFQ
At Home - Eye 2s, Hogan Plus One, Hogan Bounce Sole, Goosenecks (on way)

Not to mention the putters and drivers and wedges I own, though I do have a pile of about 20 clubs to still give away. I've tried to donate the Macs to the Mayor of Winnipeg (no response to a letter offering them, pretty rude IMHO), and the Bounce Soles will be getting donated or given to someone taking up vintage golf. Think the Maxflis may also be given away in the near future when the right person/situation manifests itself.

Sigh.....

[bullrambler]

I'll add to the thread - with a set of 1978 Wilson Staff Tour Blade irons. They came with a Dynamic R flex so I found 2 DGS wedge shafts which were installed in the PW and 9 iron. The remainder of the iron were hard stepped twice with the OEM shafts. I had to add on some extensions up to the 3 iron and that brought them to modern length. New grips. bit of added swing weight and bent 2* flat. The play nice and I' still gaming them for the time being.

[birly-shirly]

nice work. no threaded hosels to contend with?

[TimV]

Hit my new old 73-75 Staffs for the first time today and loved them. These are the same as my first set of clubs but I haven't had a set of these since 1982. I didn't have any trouble with them and really had a ball. even hit the 2 iron off the deck a couple times.

[bullrambler]

It's been a while since I played Wilson irons and kinda forgot how good they can be. In another thread somewhere on WRX there was information shared about what clubs were played for some of the majors over a fairly long period of time. The 1978 set did not have threaded hosels.

Sometimes people ask which vintage clubs should I try and find...? Well, it's always a good idea to try and find the models that were proven winners. And some of the signature clubs are decent too. With some tweaking they can be set-up for anyone.

There are also some good cavity back irons out there, semi cavity backs and stainless irons that are good sets too. The vintage sets often times have weaker lofts so one may give up a few yards. Yet, this can mean not having to use a Fairway/Approach wedge in a Vintage set. If properly set-up one may not loose hardly any yardage at all....!