No new acquistions...?

[BIG STU]

23 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

And now this just arrived. The seller who sent me the laminate Slazenger by mistake let me keep that and just sent this - the club I actually bought. 

Did you also post this on Facebook on Persimmon golf society? If not there is one just like it---- I never forget a pretty woman or a pretty Persimmon wood

[TheDeanAbides]

13 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

Did you also post this on Facebook on Persimmon golf society? If not there is one just like it---- I never forget a pretty woman or a pretty Persimmon wood

Yes, it was this very driver, Stu. 🙂

[deejaid]

5 hours ago, BIG STU said:

Nice!! You have always had the talent to find the nicest stuff no matter the era or brand. And now you are becoming a Spalding Man----- LOL I have the note you sent me with the Macgregor Wedge head it is on my wall of fame in the shop---- " This belongs with you a Macgregor man not me a Hogan man"---- LOL times change

Well, I figure it’s kind of like women.  You try one out for a bit and while things are going well you think she is your type.  Then things go south so you move on to the next type of gal and that’s now your type.    
 

Whether a woman or a golf club, it’s all how they’ve been treating you lately that dictates whether or not they are your type. 😁

 

 

Not counting my dimple back early 1980’s Executives I’ve only had two classic sets of Spalding’s, the 54 Synchrodines and the 1980’s Tour Editions. The 54’s are gone but the Tour Editions have knocked my brand new set of Titleist 620 CB’s out of my bag.   I feel as can hit any shot with the Tour Editions on command.  I’ve never felt that way with any other club, ever.

 

Im not sure if I’m a Spalding Man, but I am most definitely a Tour Edition Man 😁

 

 

[deejaid]

7 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

I know what you mean. I'm only 5' 9" so the 50s stuff works just fine for me, but it's very short, and I wouldn't want to be over 6' and playing it. Glad you find a way. 

I’m 6’2” so in order to play 50’s era stuff I either need to extend the shafts or bend them pretty far upright.   When they have dried, cracking, old rubber grips it’s no problem modifying them.  But when you find a set with original leather grips, in my mind, you have no choice to play them as is.

 

Like I said, I had another really nice set of 58’s that I sold in the spring because I was tired of making myself fit the club instead of the club fitting me.   That’s why I’m unsure of these.   I bought them because I regretting selling my other set, but those were sold for a reason.   These might face the same fate.  They are so beautiful to look at though.   They would be a lovely wall hanger set too.

 

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

18 minutes ago, deejaid said:

I’m 6’2” so in order to play 50’s era stuff I either need to extend the shafts or bend them pretty far upright.   When they have dried, cracking, old rubber grips it’s no problem modifying them.  But when you find a set with original leather grips, in my mind, you have no choice to play them as is.

 

Like I said, I had another really nice set of 58’s that I sold in the spring because I was tired of making myself fit the club instead of the club fitting me.   That’s why I’m unsure of these.   I bought them because I regretting selling my other set, but those were sold for a reason.   These might face the same fate.  They are so beautiful to look at though.   They would be a lovely wall hanger set too.

 

 

So much of that resonates with me. I hate buying a set only to find that I have to contort myself to hit the PW. It seems that among older sets sold in Japan, a 35" or 35.25" PW was not uncommon. I can manage, but I'm not comfortable. I think it's one reason why I've found the older imported US sets easier to play; the specs are more in line with what I like.

Edited December 19, 2020 by No_Catchy_Nickname

[NRJyzr]

1 hour ago, deejaid said:

I’m 6’2” so in order to play 50’s era stuff I either need to extend the shafts or bend them pretty far upright.   When they have dried, cracking, old rubber grips it’s no problem modifying them.  But when you find a set with original leather grips, in my mind, you have no choice to play them as is.

 

Like I said, I had another really nice set of 58’s that I sold in the spring because I was tired of making myself fit the club instead of the club fitting me.   That’s why I’m unsure of these.   I bought them because I regretting selling my other set, but those were sold for a reason.   These might face the same fate.  They are so beautiful to look at though.   They would be a lovely wall hanger set too.

 

 

 

I have a similar problem, but in my case, it's more related to arm length.  I'm fractionally above 182cm tall (for my metric system inclined brothers/sisters), between 5'11.5" and 6'0".  And, it seems my arm between shoulder and elbow is shorter than even average length, much less for someone my height.  Made for some entertainment for the people running a Segway tour we took a few years ago.

 

When I bought my first set of Golden Rams, I found I should be playing a 63* lie angle with a 38" long club.  With the shorter club lengths of the 1950s sets, on average, it becomes a problem.  (I've since flattened my clubs slightly from that, possibly because my swing is a bit flatter than it was then)

 

It's the same issue with the club length at the shorter end of the set.  I can live with a 35" club as a "never take a full swing" SW or LW, but would prefer something a bit longer.  If I need to take full swings with them....  not so much.

 

I've mitigated this a bit, wearing True Linkswear shoes with their low profile, but that can only make up for so much.

 

So....  older clubs tend to be passed by yours truly.  <shrug>

 

[deejaid]

12 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

 

I have a similar problem, but in my case, it's more related to arm length.  I'm fractionally above 182cm tall (for my metric system inclined brothers/sisters), between 5'11.5" and 6'0".  And, it seems my arm between shoulder and elbow is shorter than even average length, much less for someone my height.  Made for some entertainment for the people running a Segway tour we took a few years ago.

 

When I bought my first set of Golden Rams, I found I should be playing a 63* lie angle with a 38" long club.  With the shorter club lengths of the 1950s sets, on average, it becomes a problem.  (I've since flattened my clubs slightly from that, possibly because my swing is a bit flatter than it was then)

 

It's the same issue with the club length at the shorter end of the set.  I can live with a 35" club as a "never take a full swing" SW or LW, but would prefer something a bit longer.  If I need to take full swings with them....  not so much.

 

I've mitigated this a bit, wearing True Linkswear shoes with their low profile, but that can only make up for so much.

 

So....  older clubs tend to be passed by yours truly.  <shrug>

 

I have a flatter swing too as I’ve worked a bit at flattening it and where I was once playing 2* upright and 1/2” over I am now just 1/2” over.  
 

To add another wrinkle, I’ve begun building my clubs using 3/8” increments instead of 1/2” ala Tom Wishon.   Starting at a 38.5” 5-iron working down 3/8” increments leave me with a 36 5/8” PW which is at least an inch longer than most modern pitching wedges, probably close to an 1.5” longer than a vintage wedge.

 

Ive so far built my 1982 Hogan Medallions and my Spalding Tour Editions with this 3/8” gapping and I am hitting the ball so well I really don’t want to play anything else that isn’t gapped this way if I’m playing for score.  Obviously we can enjoy classics without worrying about score but it isn’t as fun is it?

[TheDeanAbides]

49 minutes ago, deejaid said:

I have a flatter swing too as I’ve worked a bit at flattening it and where I was once playing 2* upright and 1/2” over I am now just 1/2” over.  
 

To add another wrinkle, I’ve begun building my clubs using 3/8” increments instead of 1/2” ala Tom Wishon.   Starting at a 38.5” 5-iron working down 3/8” increments leave me with a 36 5/8” PW which is at least an inch longer than most modern pitching wedges, probably close to an 1.5” longer than a vintage wedge.

 

Ive so far built my 1982 Hogan Medallions and my Spalding Tour Editions with this 3/8” gapping and I am hitting the ball so well I really don’t want to play anything else that isn’t gapped this way if I’m playing for score.  Obviously we can enjoy classics without worrying about score but it isn’t as fun is it?

Yeah, I'm all for playing classic irons, but I don't want to shoot 90 doing so! 

[Jiggered]

I'm lucky in being an fairly average 5' 10" so can adapt to most clubs.

 

I've bought a couple of sets that were long but the advantage is I can just grip down, lie angle isn't usually too bad apart from the below which are definitely a little on the upright side!  Nice original grips too.

 

[Swingingk]

4 hours ago, Jiggered said:

I'm lucky in being an fairly average 5' 10" so can adapt to most clubs.

 

I've bought a couple of sets that were long but the advantage is I can just grip down, lie angle isn't usually too bad apart from the below which are definitely a little on the upright side!  Nice original grips too.

 

Man I REALLY like the look of those!

[deejaid]

4 hours ago, Jiggered said:

I'm lucky in being an fairly average 5' 10" so can adapt to most clubs.

 

I've bought a couple of sets that were long but the advantage is I can just grip down, lie angle isn't usually too bad apart from the below which are definitely a little on the upright side!  Nice original grips too.

 

Wow!  Those are lovely.   Those grips do look really nice.

 

Pro Fit shafts so I’m guessing late 50’s early 60’s vintage?

[Jiggered]

3 hours ago, deejaid said:

Wow!  Those are lovely.   Those grips do look really nice.

 

Pro Fit shafts so I’m guessing late 50’s early 60’s vintage?

 

That's where I date them too.   I've seen an advert in a 1961 magazine and the Mark II came out about 1962 so late 1950s for release seems about right as they didn't release a new set every year back then like seems to be the case for some brands now!

[cold_war_era_golfer]

On 12/18/2020 at 7:44 PM, deejaid said:

These just arrived.  Don’t know what to do with them now that I am becoming a Spalding guy. 😁

 

1958 Wilson Dyna-Powered irons and matching 1958 Staff woods.  Irons are a set of 2-9 irons and woods are 1,2,3.  Too bad the original owner didn’t get the pitching wedge or 4-wood. 
 

This is the cleanest all-original set I’ve ever seen.   The irons still have the red scoring line paintfill and I’ve never even seen a set of these woods in person before.

 

 

Where these on eBay?

[cold_war_era_golfer]

On 12/19/2020 at 2:27 AM, TheDeanAbides said:

I know what you mean. I'm only 5' 9" so the 50s stuff works just fine for me, but it's very short, and I wouldn't want to be over 6' and playing it. Glad you find a way. 

I’m 6’2. Don’t really have an issue my arms are pretty long and I have a pretty average wrist to floor distance.

 

As some of you know I’ve also learned to golf this summer on vintage clubs and the Hogan book.

 

Previous summers with my k-mart Knight Lancers if shoot 43s at or 9 hole last month I shot a 29 with the 66 Dynapowers so I think you can adjust.

 

Maybe ignorance is bliss in my case? 

Edited December 22, 2020 by coldwareragolfer

[deejaid]

2 hours ago, coldwareragolfer said:

Where these on eBay?

Yes.  Did you bid me up? 😁

Edited December 22, 2020 by deejaid

[cold_war_era_golfer]

Just now, deejaid said:

Yes.  Did you bid me up? 😁

No I passed as to I just sold a mint seat of 58s and some 59 wedges.  But I thought about it! 

[LeftyMac]

Found a EoM 653 driver and 3 wood on Ebay to add to the collection.  The 3 wood was original including most of the serial number but the sole plate was almost falling off and the insert a little loose.  First time all the screws have come out without at least one refusing to move without resorting to a bit of heat.   Driver is next to get cleaned up.

 

[TheDeanAbides]

I've been playing around with the Dyna-Powered reissues some. I like the feel of them, but they're probably the hardest sounding and feeling forged blades I've ever hit. I wonder how different they are to the originals because they're also quite light, and if it wasn't for the aesthetics I'd slap loads of lead on the back. 

 

Has anyone been able to play them side-by-side or other 80s reissues?

[Terreb]

 

Here is my recent acquisition. Since I am not tied to any one manufacturer, I tend to look for clubs that are in real good condition. I recently found this one on facebook marketplace. I've never been a big fan of the look of the Hogan woods, but when I saw this one it changed my mind. I love the insert and the color of the stain, to me it's just beautiful.  I believe this is a 92 model year and I don't think it's ever been used, looks like brand new.

 

The last picture shows you how not to ship a golf club. It's amazing that there wasn't any damage to the club. 

 

 

[TheDeanAbides]

6 minutes ago, Terreb said:

 

Here is my recent acquisition. Since I am not tied to any one manufacturer, I tend to look for clubs that are in real good condition. I recently found this one on facebook marketplace. I've never been a big fan of the look of the Hogan woods, but when I saw this one it changed my mind. I love the insert and the color of the stain, to me it's just beautiful.  I believe this is a 92 model year and I don't think it's ever been used, looks like brand new.

 

The last picture shows you how not to ship a golf club. It's amazing that there wasn't any damage to the club. 

 

 

Terrible shipping; absolutely stunning example. 

[Foozle]

24 minutes ago, Terreb said:

 

Here is my recent acquisition. Since I am not tied to any one manufacturer, I tend to look for clubs that are in real good condition. I recently found this one on facebook marketplace. I've never been a big fan of the look of the Hogan woods, but when I saw this one it changed my mind. I love the insert and the color of the stain, to me it's just beautiful.  I believe this is a 92 model year and I don't think it's ever been used, looks like brand new.

 

The last picture shows you how not to ship a golf club. It's amazing that there wasn't any damage to the club. 

 

 

Lovely club, glad it survived shipping! 

I have a number of this Apex series and gamed them with Apex 4 shafts for the last couple of years but have never seen them with this I insert. All mine have the standard deep maroon inserts and black crown / toe stamps as shown on this un hit set.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Foozle
Add pictures

[Terreb]

Very nice set of Hogan woods there Foozle, those are perfection. 

 

According to the golf club identification guide the insert was only offered for the one year, 1992. 

[Stephen8802]

It was just a few weeks ago that I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything for a while because I have more than I can refinish in 2021. Turns out I lied...again. Oh well, I'm starting my buying hiatus for the nth time...There have been Zero days since my last needless impulse buy.

 

Then again, I've been looking for some '59 PT1Ws, they were only $35, and yada, yada, yada. They need some work, but nothing I don't know how to fix. The only major issue is that the driver sole plate needs to be replaced. I have a Velocitized driver I don't use that may be a suitable donor if I can't find a decent one for this club, but I'll look for a while since I don't want to cannibalize a viable club if I can avoid it. Anyone have an extra you are willing to part with?

 

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by Stephen8802

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Talk in other thread about the early metalwoods got me hankering after a set of irons I had back in my junior days that were stolen from me: Taylormade Tour Preferred TDs. I managed to score a set for a decent price on a Japanese auction site, though there were a couple of enthusiastic counter bidders.

 

They are stainless steel blades and the 3i and 4i are hollow (I think they are filled with a polymer foam of some sort)

 

 

When I played them years ago, I didn't think they felt particularly amazing, but after hitting the SW and 3i at the range the other day, I was pleasantly surprised. The SW has a DG S300 shaft and feels very smooth. The rest of the set have DG R300 shafts. I'm going to see how they play first, but they might get swapped out.

The black dot on the sole indicates standard lie, but I think they may have been adjusted at some point as when I measured the PW and 5i, the PW came in at just over 66* (upright!) whereas the 5i was 60.5* (bit flatter than I like). 

Has anyone any experience of bending cast stainless irons? Is it possible?

Anyhow, although back in the day I played these irons with a Mizuno persimmon driver (and I forgotten what my fairways woods were), I might have to get a couple of old metal woods now for a Late Eighties/Early Nineties nostalgia round.

 

Finally, here's a side-by-side at address comparison of the 3i (right) with the current Mizuno Fli-Hi #4 (left). They have almost identical specs. Notice how thin the topline of the Taylormade is compared to the Mizuno.

Edited January 8, 2021 by No_Catchy_Nickname

[Swingingk]

Nice score on the TM TP TD's Catchy.  They look to be in excellent shape too.  They really are a sweet looking blade and I've always been on the lookout for a set too.  Can you feel any appreciable difference between the hollow long irons and the rest of the set?   How do you find the "feel" as compared to forged steel?

[Foozle]

13 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

Talk in other thread about the early metalwoods got me hankering after a set of irons I had back in my junior days that were stolen from me: Taylormade Tour Preferred TDs. I managed to score a set for a decent price on a Japanese auction site, though there were a couple of enthusiastic counter bidders.

 

They are stainless steel blades and the 3i and 4i are hollow (I think they are filled with a polymer foam of some sort)

 

 

When I played them years ago, I didn't think they felt particularly amazing, but after hitting the SW and 3i at the range the other day, I was pleasantly surprised. The SW has a DG S300 shaft and feels very smooth. The rest of the set have DG R300 shafts. I'm going to see how they play first, but they might get swapped out.

The black dot on the sole indicates standard lie, but I think they may have been adjusted at some point as when I measured the PW and 5i, the PW came in at just over 66* (upright!) whereas the 5i was 60.5* (bit flatter than I like). 

Has anyone any experience of bending cast stainless irons? Is it possible?

Anyhow, although back in the day I played these irons with a Mizuno persimmon driver (and I forgotten what my fairways woods were), I might have to get a couple of old metal woods now for a Late Eighties/Early Nineties nostalgia round.

 

Finally, here's a side-by-side at address comparison of the 3i (right) with the current Mizuno Fli-Hi #4 (left). They have almost identical specs. Notice how thin the topline of the Taylormade is compared to the Mizuno.

Nice set!

These are a guilty pleasure of mine. My collection is based around pure blade irons, spanning early steel shaft "related" sets through to the onset of game improvement irons. These are then a bookend set and are as far as I am prepared to dip my toe into game improvement waters.

My understanding is that 1-5 are hollow to make the longer irons slightly more forgiving moving into pure blade from 6-SW.

In that respect they must be one of the first graduated sets? By the time you get to the 1 iron the head shape with the very broad sole is not unlike some of the modern 1 irons being produced now.

Overall quite innovative for 30+ years back whilst retaining clean blade good looks and playing characteristics. Enjoy! 🙂

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

7 hours ago, Swingingk said:

Nice score on the TM TP TD's Catchy.  They look to be in excellent shape too.  They really are a sweet looking blade and I've always been on the lookout for a set too.  Can you feel any appreciable difference between the hollow long irons and the rest of the set?   How do you find the "feel" as compared to forged steel?

 

There is a noticeable difference between the hollow 3 and 4 irons and the rest of the set. The hollow irons actually feel a lot like that Mizuno Hi-Fli I posted. As for the comparison with stainless blades versus forged irons, that's a tough question. I need to hit them with proper balls to be able to answer that properly, but that won't be happening for a few days as we have snow on the ground here. I can say that there's a noticeable difference with chipping. Forged irons feel better--sweeter--than the stainless irons. However, when I was hitting fuller shots with the Tour Preferred sand wedge at the range, it felt really good. These aren't the only cast blades I have. I have a set of Honma P737 cast blades from the same time period, and I've found that with them the short irons feel OK, but the long irons feel kind of "weak". They lack the sweet, pure feel of a forged blade when struck right. It's not awful so much as just unsatisfying. I think that's the best way I can describe it.

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by No_Catchy_Nickname

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

6 hours ago, Foozle said:

Nice set!

These are a guilty pleasure of mine. My collection is based around pure blade irons, spanning early steel shaft "related" sets through to the onset of game improvement irons. These are then a bookend set and are as far as I am prepared to dip my toe into game improvement waters.

My understanding is that 1-5 are hollow to make the longer irons slightly more forgiving moving into pure blade from 6-SW.

In that respect they must be one of the first graduated sets? By the time you get to the 1 iron the head shape with the very broad sole is not unlike some of the modern 1 irons being produced now.

Overall quite innovative for 30+ years back whilst retaining clean blade good looks and playing characteristics. Enjoy! 🙂

 

 

The 1i to 4i are hollow, and the 5i down to the SW are pure looking blades. I am pretty sure I had either the 2i or 1i as well. I've included a side-by-side comparison photo of the 4i and 5i to show the difference in the sole width.

I think you're right about it being one of the first graduated sets. I don't remember anything quite like them at the time. Back then, I actually found the thick sole of the long irons off-putting for fairway shots, especially when the fairways were baked hard in the summers. Now, I'm impressed with how sleek they look!

I find it interesting that they decided to provide "assistance" only in the long irons, whereas now combo sets usually go from blade to CB around the 7 or 8i, and may include hollow-body irons or pocket cavities in the 4i (and sometimes 5i), and drop a 3i for a hybrid. 

Edited January 9, 2021 by No_Catchy_Nickname

[deejaid]

On 1/7/2021 at 1:34 PM, Stephen8802 said:

It was just a few weeks ago that I promised myself I wouldn't buy anything for a while because I have more than I can refinish in 2021. Turns out I lied...again. Oh well, I'm starting my buying hiatus for then nth time...There have been Zero days since my last needless impulse buy.

 

Then again, I've been looking for some '59 PT1Ws, they were only $35, and yada, yada, yada. They need some work, but nothing I don't know how to fix. The only major issue is that the driver sole plate needs to be replaced. I have a Velocitized driver I don't use that may be a suitable donor if I can't find a decent one for this club, but I'll look for a while since I don't want to cannibalize a viable club if I can avoid it. Anyone have an extra you are willing to part with?

 

 

 

Yeah, that’s $35 well spent if you ask me.     Nice pick up.

[Swingingk]

32 minutes ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

There is a noticeable difference between the hollow 3 and 4 irons and the rest of the set. The hollow irons actually feel a lot like that Mizuno Hi-Fli I posted. As for the comparison with stainless blades versus forged irons, that's a tough question. I need to hit them with proper balls to be able to answer that properly, but that won't be happening for a few days as we have snow on the ground here. I can say that there's a noticeable difference with chipping. Forged irons feel better--sweeter--than the stainless irons. However, when I was hitting fuller shots with the Tour Preferred sand wedge at the range, it felt really good. These aren't the only cast blades I have. I have a set of Honma P737 cast blades from the same time period, and I've found that with them the short irons feel OK, but the long irons feel kind of "weak". They lack the sweet, pure feel of a forged blade when struck right. It's not awful so much as just unsatisfying. I think that's the best way I can describe it.

 

I suppose it stands to reason that they would feel noticeably different being of completely different construction.  The whole idea of this set is an interesting concept that appears to have been way ahead of its time in terms of marketing.  A more forgiving blade set when everyone else was going full cavity back.  Just a wild guess here but I'd guess they weren't all that big a seller back then, what with SGI's being all the rage and MB's being grandpas irons.  Who wanted to look like grandpa?  Now that blades are 'cool' again there are several companies making almost the exact same thing and it's a big hit.  Who'd a thunk it?