No new acquistions...?

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

On 1/8/2024 at 10:21 PM, FloggingOkie said:

Cleaned up these 73's. The two and eight both have a slight bow about mid shaft😠, I got several ideas pinging around in my head about what to do. Anyone tried fixing this, any tricks that help or any cautions to not try? Hard to believe I haven't come across this before... that I've noticed.

Yes, I've straightened a noticeable bow recently in a MacGregor RMT2 3iron. Hot air gun to just beyond touchable temperature and with hands either end of the club, lever it straight against a suitable surface, in my case my knee protected and cushioned with a towel...red neck stuff but it works. The old Pros tell about deliberately bending shafts...and straightening them again..by rubbing vigorously with a golf towel to get heat into it, and then bending over the knee. Often done on the course, I read.

[AdamMH]

6 hours ago, The Aspidistra in the Hall said:

Yes, I've straightened a noticeable bow recently in a MacGregor RMT2 3iron. Hot air gun to just beyond touchable temperature and with hands either end of the club, lever it straight against a suitable surface, in my case my knee protected and cushioned with a towel...red neck stuff but it works. The old Pros tell about deliberately bending shafts...and straightening them again..by rubbing vigorously with a golf towel to get heat into it, and then bending over the knee. Often done on the course, I read.

Huh. Interesting concept. I have some Golfcrafts to try that on...

[Stephen8802]

7 hours ago, The Aspidistra in the Hall said:

...he old Pros tell about deliberately bending shafts...and straightening them again..by rubbing vigorously with a golf towel to get heat into it, and then bending over the knee...

That's how we used to do it when I worked in a shop. I bent my 2 iron around a tree more then once trying to punch out and the pro I worked for would head up the shaft with a towel and then bend it back by rolling over his knee. I've done it myself since then and it works.

Edited January 10 by Stephen8802

[bcstones]

Stopped at a favorite thrift store in SA, TX....Picked up a set of Tommy Armour 855s Silver Scot (1 thru SW & a W4 60* wedge), circa 1995 & a Titleist stand-bag in perfect condition. Went looking for information, guess many posters also thought Tommy Armour irons were MacGregor (me included), not so. Good history on another site (where if I mention the name, my posting will be held for review here indefinitely - for some reason)...Maltby's has a pretty good history, unfortunately my  copy only goes to '93. Anyway, from what I gleaned - this version was an attempt to compete w/Cobra's something or other (the 845s was to compete w/the Ping Eye2...Hogan's Edge Forged competed w/the 845s, if memory serves correctly.

Anyway, still have a couple of months of OT for shoulder strain before full swing.

In the meantime, may all your putts go in on the 1st stroke!

 

Oh, sure would like to know what that yellow circle (looks like a "hazardous waste" or "nuclear material" signs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops...forgot to mention the shafts are all Tommy Armour Tour-Step II & the grips are Tommy Armour golf pride Tour Wraps

Edited January 11 by bcstones
senior moment - forgot

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

33 minutes ago, bcstones said:

Stopped at a favorite thrift store in SA, TX....Picked up a set of Tommy Armour 855s Silver Scot (1 thru SW & a W4 60* wedge), circa 1995 & a Titleist stand-bag in perfect condition. Went looking for information, guess many posters also thought Tommy Armour irons were MacGregor (me included), not so. Good history on another site (where if I mention the name, my posting will be held for review here indefinitely - for some reason)...Maltby's has a pretty good history, unfortunately my  copy only goes to '93. Anyway, from what I gleaned - this version was an attempt to compete w/Cobra's something or other (the 845s was to compete w/the Ping Eye2...Hogan's Edge Forged competed w/the 845s, if memory serves correctly.

Anyway, still have a couple of months of OT for shoulder strain before full swing.

In the meantime, may all your putts go in on the 1st stroke!

 

Oh, sure would like to know what that yellow circle (looks like a "hazardous waste" or "nuclear material" signs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops...forgot to mention the shafts are all Tommy Armour Tour-Step II & the grips are Tommy Armour golf pride Tour Wraps

 

What a great find. 

 

That yellow disk is odd. I wondered if it was the company logo, but The 845s don't have one, so it must be something different.

[ezgoer]

 Nice complete set pickup! Great bonus bag also. I have so many bags that stuff like this makes great easy quick CL or FB flips paying for my clubs. “But it ended up free honey”. 

 Wasn’t the 855 their oversized club? Suppose to compete against Zing’s and King Cobra oversize. 

 

[bcstones]

1 hour ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

That yellow disk is odd. I wondered if it was the company logo, but The 845s don't have one, so it must be something different.

The name "Tommy Armour" might be the same, as well as the company "PGA", but different owners....hopefully someone might have an idea.

 

 

50 minutes ago, ezgoer said:

Wasn’t the 855 their oversized club? Suppose to compete against Zing’s and King Cobra oversize.

I'd not come across the Ping Zing reference....tho, that might be why the King Cobra oversize was made. Makes me wonder if the '95 Hogan Medallion might have been an attempt to have an oversized iron....just a guess.

 

[Fellaheen51]

@bcstones  Great pickup.  Fond memories of TA 855's as they were my first set of new "real" irons when I started getting serious about playing golf.  Recall demoing them at the LGS and preferred them over E2's.  IIRC, quite a bit cheaper also.    Defiantly one of those classic sets that I wouldn't mind stumbling into one day.  Still have the W4 wedge in the garage, essentially unused.  

 

Yes, 855's were considered an oversized model.  The MPF data points still look good relative to more contemporary irons.  From the Maltby Guide descriptive, apparently the yellow "disk" indicates the "center of gravity logo".  

 

Edited January 11 by Fellaheen51

[Maine Golfer]

I see 845 or 855 knock off's all the time at Goodwills 

[bcstones]

3 hours ago, Fellaheen51 said:

From the Maltby Guide descriptive, apparently the yellow "disk" indicates the "center of gravity logo".

Thank you for the pic...my Maltby only goes to '93 - guess I'll start looking for the 4th edition.

 

 

58 minutes ago, Maine Golfer said:

I see 845 or 855 knock off's all the time at Goodwills 

I've always thought those "knock-offs" were copies of Pings...

 

you got me thinking - "define your terms for 'knock-off'....how come Hogan's Edge Forged irons, or Tommy Armour's 845's (or any other big name, for that matter) aren't considered "knock-off"...is the term only applied to smaller companies or places like Golfsmith or Golfworks/Maltby? If the Golfsmith "Tour Classic" irons are knock-off, then is the Harvey Penick irons also a knock-off? Or is it that if it's sold in a pro shop, then it's an iron "influence by" and if its sold via big box or any non-pro shop, then it's a "knock-off"...

[Fellaheen51]

21 minutes ago, bcstones said:

You got me thinking - "define your terms for 'knock-off'....how come Hogan's Edge Forged irons, or Tommy Armour's 845's (or any other big name, for that matter) aren't considered "knock-off"...is the term only applied to smaller companies or places like Golfsmith or Golfworks/Maltby? If the Golfsmith "Tour Classic" irons are knock-off, then is the Harvey Penick irons also a knock-off? Or is it that if it's sold in a pro shop, then it's an iron "influence by" and if its sold via big box or any non-pro shop, then it's a "knock-off"...

 

There's been innumerable golf clubs that have been "influenced by" predecessor designs.  Variations on a Theme.  Ping Anser's would be exhibit A.  But would not categorically call them 'knock-offs.  I apply that term to inferior quality clubs that attempt to mimic a specific type and brand of club(s) by direct copy with a slight variation in the naming.  As opposed to component heads that while perhaps similar, have a measure of uniqueness to differentiate.  Golfsmith prior (Snake Eyes were splendid heads) and Golfworks (Maltby) today market component heads.  

 

Perhaps parsing, but in my mind I've always attribute a difference.  A point that often gets confused when discussing club heads elsewhere in WRX.  These days, Maltby has heads every bit as good as OEM's.  But because they are not sold at your LGS or big box retailer, there's a connotation that they're of lesser quality.  Part and parcel of the big hype.  

[Maine Golfer]

Fly by night brands selling an 862 or something 

[bcstones]

4 minutes ago, Maine Golfer said:

Fly by night brands selling an 862 or something 

never come across something like that....are you thinking of any "brand" in particular?

[ezgoer]

767’s were an obvious copy and a plague on golf. I just picked up a set in an auction just for the DG 300 shafts. Unfortunately someone had no idea what they were doing tip trimming shafts and the long iron shafts are all over the place and useless. Only ended up getting 4 usable shafts out of the set but I got em for minimum bid and paid $9 for set. Sux but oh well 

Edited January 11 by ezgoer

[bcstones]

14 minutes ago, Fellaheen51 said:

 

There's been innumerable golf clubs that have been "influenced by" predecessor designs.  Variations on a Theme.  Ping Anser's would be exhibit A.  But would not categorically call them 'knock-offs.  I apply that term to inferior quality clubs that attempt to mimic a specific type and brand of club(s) by direct copy with a slight variation in the naming.  As opposed to component heads that while perhaps similar, have a measure of uniqueness to differentiate.  Golfsmith prior (Snake Eyes were splendid heads) and Golfworks (Maltby) today market component heads.  

 

Perhaps parsing, but in my mind I've always attribute a difference.  A point that often gets confused when discussing club heads elsewhere in WRX.  These days, Maltby has heads every bit as good as OEM's.  But because they are not sold at your LGS or big box retailer, there's a connotation that they're of lesser quality.  Part and parcel of the big hype.  

I agree with you...especially -  "...A point that often gets confused when discussing club heads elsewhere in WRX..." I've read absolutely scathing posts in other WRX forums. Here in the Classic forum, the attitude is balanced w/experience over the time/length of playing golf. 
Gotta admit, Golfsmith's Snake Eyes never really appealed to me, while their Harvey Penick were "splendid" heads (I have 3 RH sets & 1 LH set - which need to find good homes) - each their own.

[ezgoer]

Guess probably not tip trimming cuz it can only be done very little on those but you can tell they just used whatever they had and just butt trimmed to length. When you lay the entire set out next to each other the step progression stops after the 7 iron. Almost goes backwards so I maybe I can make a few more 7 iron shafts out of them? Hard to trust any of them until I disassemble and micrometer the tips and compare to a known correct shaft 

Edited January 11 by ezgoer

[Maine Golfer]

56 minutes ago, bcstones said:

never come across something like that....are you thinking of any "brand" in particular?

Z-model for fake Ping.  I find plenty of cool things, im not complaining. But really cheap 90s stuff is most of the thrift store stock in Maine, I find. 

[NRJyzr]

1 hour ago, bcstones said:

never come across something like that....are you thinking of any "brand" in particular?

 

On top of others already mentioned...

 

Big Bursar.  King Snake.  Some strange name designed to make you think of "Burner."  And so on.

 

Essentially the clone market.

 

[bcstones]

thanks for all the input on clones....I have seen the "Big Bursar", the "King Snake, and other bizare names...tho, if I remember correctly the Tour Model Z was a Golfsmith clone of the Ping Zing - it was well made. I've seen clones of Taylor Made, Cobra and a couple of others...I've no interest in the brands of Taylor Made, Cobra, Ram (the only Ping set I have is an original Eye2 set, all the others are "ho hum" to me)...so I wouldn't even bother with their clones (not even to try out), no matter how well made. 

I think I have one set of Golfsmith's Tour Model Texan 😂...I mean, somebody here in Tejas might like to give it a home 🙃🤣
 

[Shallowface]

22 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

What a great find. 

 

That yellow disk is odd. I wondered if it was the company logo, but The 845s don't have one, so it must be something different.

As the Maltby guide says, there were two versions of the original 855s.  Working from memory here, but I believe I have this correct.  The yellow logo version had more offset than the reduced offset version where the logo was black.  I can't recall for certain, but it may be that the 7-wedges had the same offset in both models, similar to the original Titleist DCI Gold and Black versions (the Gold had more offset in the 1-6 irons than did the Black model, but the 7-wedges were the same).  Those clubs all had the same designer, John Hoeflich.  He designed the original 845s as well, and later the TaylorMade RAC irons.  When the 845s were first out I recall there being a lot of clamor for a reduced offset version as the longer irons had a lot of it, but that wasn't addressed until the 855s and I don't think that club achieved anywhere near the popularity of the 845s.    

 

In later years after Armour changed hands there was a version of the 855 that had the black logo but had the offset of the yellow version.  I believe that version had parallel tip shafts as opposed to taper tip in the originals.

Edited January 12 by Shallowface

[Shallowface]

13 hours ago, Fellaheen51 said:

@bcstones  Great pickup.  Fond memories of TA 855's as they were my first set of new "real" irons when I started getting serious about playing golf.  Recall demoing them at the LGS and preferred them over E2's.  IIRC, quite a bit cheaper also.    Defiantly one of those classic sets that I wouldn't mind stumbling into one day.  Still have the W4 wedge in the garage, essentially unused.  

 

Yes, 855's were considered an oversized model.  The MPF data points still look good relative to more contemporary irons.  From the Maltby Guide descriptive, apparently the yellow "disk" indicates the "center of gravity logo".  

 

I always thought that W4 was a great wedge.

[bcstones]

I looked at both the 845s & the 855s 7 irons…sure can’t see much difference or why the 855s is called oversized? Without actually measuring them, all I can see is the toe of the 855s seems more pointy & the leading edge of the sole/face looks beveled.

 

[Shallowface]

8 hours ago, bcstones said:

I looked at both the 845s & the 855s 7 irons…sure can’t see much difference or why the 855s is called oversized? Without actually measuring them, all I can see is the toe of the 855s seems more pointy & the leading edge of the sole/face looks beveled.

 

It's been a long time since I've seen the two in person.  Is the size difference a bit more pronounced on the 8-wedges?  The 845s were pretty compact in the 8-wedges for GI cavity back irons. 

 

Armour called the sole design of the 855s the "silver ribbon sole."    

 

That's a nice pickup you made!  I certainly wouldn't have passed on them.  Clubs like those and the original DCIs did everything the EYE2s did and did it with more conventional styling. 

[ezgoer]

Is there an offset difference between the 845 and 855?

[Maine Golfer]

Yeah I have no use for "clones" or various off brands, to many good used things in the wild. I played some off brand cavity backs from the 90s in HS and everything else ive run into is better lol

 

 

 

[bcstones]

42 minutes ago, ezgoer said:

Is there an offset difference between the 845 and 855?

Doesn't look like it...the only real difference, other than what I posted above, is the lie angle - using the indicators on the shaft, the 855 marker is in the middle while the 845 is flatter (I think that is what it means when the marker is towards the rear)

[@_the_crook]

On 1/11/2024 at 7:57 PM, Shallowface said:

The yellow logo version had more offset than the reduced offset version where the logo was black.

This.....

[@_the_crook]

The tale of two wedges, SW from 845 & 855 (yellow logo).

They're almost identical in face size. 

 

[ezgoer]

So funny. My memory has me swearing the 855’s were bigger but the pictures don’t lie. The one picture it does look that way but think there’s a bit of fish eye going on. Maybe a slightly rounder top line. Little more rounded off toe. 

[bcstones]

4 hours ago, ezgoer said:

So funny. My memory has me swearing the 855’s were bigger but the pictures don’t lie. The one picture it does look that way but think there’s a bit of fish eye going on. Maybe a slightly rounder top line. Little more rounded off toe. 

the PR at the time claimed they were oversized....and that golf007 site claimed the same