Cuteright Sea Island irons/blades-just bought never just saw first time

[Cale]

I found these gorgeous clubs that I could not find any information about other than Mr. Cuteright himself. I guess he is the guy who made or at least designed them. Custom clubs it says. I attached pics of the shafts and the heads at all angles. Little nicked up but not bad overall. Looks like really soft forgings from the clatter marks. Paid $120 for them 3-pw. I fell in love with them because although the seller said they are vintage, they have a very modern day blade look to them. Please tell me what you know or think about these.

 

Are they worth anything to a seller that knows what these clubs are? Does anyone know what year they were produced? are these shafts good?

 

Was thinking about getting them refinished, maybe one club at a time for cost reasons. Maybe from the iron factory or something. Should I do that? I intend to keep them for a long time. They look like the blade I have always wanted.

[Oldplayer]

Very nice looking set. I've never heard of them either but to me they look quite modern. No earlier than the early 90's at an uneducated guess.
The Apollo shafts are not the most expensive but quite adequate in my experience. They are often used in component brands that are built to a budget. They are likely to be on the lighter rather than heavier side and should not play too stiff to flex.
If I had them I would get them bent to my lie angle and preferred loft gaps and they would be good to go. They do not need refinishing. They look only just broken in
Good luck with them.

[BIG STU]

I agree with Old Player overall on that. Apollo shafts are not all that bad if they are tipped and fitted to flex right. I think when we had the golf shop we had a set of those and I don't know the fate of them. My friend sold and bought so much stuff it was not funny. Those are a solid looking set of irons.

[majic]

Ray was the head pro at Sea Island and in his shop he sold custom clubs he made. These were my guess from late 80's early 90's. Ray is now at Idle Hour in Macon Ga. Nice clubs. By the way at that time zap polo shafts were a premium product played on Tour

[Oldplayer]

[quote name='majic' timestamp='1431829533' post='11571802']
Ray was the head pro at Sea Island and in his shop he sold custom clubs he made. These were my guess from late 80's early 90's. Ray is now at Idle Hour in Macon Ga. Nice clubs. By the way at that time zap polo shafts were a premium product played on Tour
[/quote]
Just a wealth of knowledge here at WRX. There is not many questions about clubs that cannot be answered around here!

[majic]

Wow my iPhone murdrered Apollo. These were very good shafts made in UK. Towards the end VJ and Steve Jones played the hump shaft.

[rex235]

Tad-

Those heads remind me of the kind Spalding used for Custom irons.

Also-

Steve Jones won the US Open at Oakland Hills CC using Cobras which had the "Hump" shaft.

Jones had advanced through US Open Sectional Qualifying at Columbus, OH, and....

Jones used a Bullseye putter.

Though it was marketed as a Scotty Cameron Bullseye by Titleist.....it had a few pieces of lead tape on the back of it.

[astamm8]

Furyk was a long time Hump shaft user as well.

[majic]

I made clubs for Steve. I have a set of his Appollo hump shafts.

[Cale]

[/qu[quote name='majic' timestamp='1431829533' post='11571802']
Ray was the head pro at Sea Island and in his shop he sold custom clubs he made. These were my guess from late 80's early 90's. Ray is now at Idle Hour in Macon Ga. Nice clubs. By the way at that time zap polo shafts were a premium product played on Tour
[/quote]ote]

Thank you for the more detailed info on these. I assume there are not a lot of these irons out there then. They just arrived today. Even though they are from the 80's and 90's in person they look like a mix between a Mizzuno mp68 and 2012 taylormade mb. Taylormade Mb with a mizzuno regression in surface area from topline to the turf. PW is noticiably taller with a rounded top line when compared to the 7 iron. The ferrules are all loose and kind of funky looking. Will probably have them replaced with a taylormade rac, r7, rll ferrule (compact black with one silver line). Shafts feel great though. Will definitely keep those. Almost feel like a kbs tour extra stiff in terms of swingweight. Feel soft on impact but with a firm tip. More firm than KBS tours. will provide a feel and performance report once I hit them at the range. The few little chip shots I hit with the pitching wedge tells me they are more on the butter soft side.

What kind of Ferrule would you throw on these to give them a little extra flair or make them pop? I was thinking a Taylormade RAC (same or similar to the r7-11's). Will probalby put a powder blue Premio grip on them.

[Cale]

Oh and how much do you guys think I could sell these for if I found the right buyer who knows what they are? Just wanted to see if I got a good deal. Will probably want to hold onto them as my set of blades. Recently sold my 712 mb's along with my d3 913 driver and adams speedline super fast ls 12 driver. Was able to buy these along with a set of pw-4iron Miura/MG cb 1005's in prestine condition. Regripped the Miuras and in love with them. Best set of irons I have ever owned or hit I think. So if these guys end up collecting dust in my closet and I become a certified WRX trader what should I list them for?

[SteveNZ]

[quote name='majic' timestamp='1431881866' post='11573874']Wow my iPhone murdrered Apollo. These were very good shafts made in UK. Towards the end VJ and Steve Jones played the hump shaft.[/quote]

*heads to the thrift shop looking for Zap Polo shafts*

:-)

[fluffy265]

[quote name='SteveNZ' timestamp='1432020389' post='11584378']
[quote name='majic' timestamp='1431881866' post='11573874']Wow my iPhone murdrered Apollo. These were very good shafts made in UK. Towards the end VJ and Steve Jones played the hump shaft.[/quote]

*heads to the thrift shop looking for Zap Polo shafts*

:-)
[/quote]

Be careful what you wish for Steve ... I stumbled across a guy not so long ago on your favourite local auction site that had a serious stash of new Apollo shafts for sale....

J

[BIG STU]

[quote name='majic' timestamp='1431881866' post='11573874']
Wow my iPhone murdrered Apollo. These were very good shafts made in UK. Towards the end VJ and Steve Jones played the hump shaft.
[/quote]Hireko Golf still sells Apollo shafts in fact they have the hump shafts. Now I don't know if they are the same as the older ones. I just looked at my new Golfworks book and they have started selling the Apollo shafts also. In fact both companies sell an Apollo light weight pre fitted and frequencied shaft that all you have to do is butt trim for size like the TT Tour Issues

[Nspiel58]

As I did some custom club building back in the late 80s and early 90s up here in Canada, the Apollo shaft brand was a nice alternative to True Temper. I recall making a set with these Spectre shafts and I believe they had a low bend point, for help getting the ball up in the air. Interesting they are tipped stiff. I recall "Masterflex", and "Shadow" shafts as well, and had no issues whatsoever with the quality. Nice blades, by the way. Good find.

[Oldplayer]

[quote name='Cale' timestamp='1431995731' post='11582334']
Oh and how much do you guys think I could sell these for if I found the right buyer who knows what they are? Just wanted to see if I got a good deal. Will probably want to hold onto them as my set of blades. Recently sold my 712 mb's along with my d3 913 driver and adams speedline super fast ls 12 driver. Was able to buy these along with a set of pw-4iron Miura/MG cb 1005's in prestine condition. Regripped the Miuras and in love with them. Best set of irons I have ever owned or hit I think. So if these guys end up collecting dust in my closet and I become a certified WRX trader what should I list them for?
[/quote]
Don't think you would get much for them. Certainly no more than you paid. They are very obscure so the brand has no cache at all.
Tad Moore was one of the few people in the universe that actually knew their origin!
Seeing that you can get a nice set of blades with quality shafts from a major OEM and probably newer than yours for around $100 I doubt they are gonna fetch much in the general market.
I know you said "to the right buyer" but I'm not sure that guy exists.
Sorry about being a downer but you did ask.

[millerlitenice]

http://www.pga.com/news/pga/ray-cutright-heads-2014-pga-america-national-award-recipients

[Cale]

So I have had a few range sessions with these. Not as soft as I was hoping for. Very tough to hit straight or draw it left. I believe this has to do with added weight via muscle toward the toe of the club. There is a lag that gives the ball a consistent right or clockwise side spin. Ray Cuteright must have made these to compensate for a swing that naturally sent the ball leftward or on a draw. It may have also just been the style to make the sweet spot more toe ward back in the day these were made, requiring a little more wrist action through impact. This particular set is also pretty flat in terms of lie angle. Having them bent upright a few degrees may resolve that issue, but I probably wont do that. I will probably just try to get what I can out of these as I do not have much use for them and they looked a little more perdy on the listing than they do in real life. This is because of clubs p-8. I really wish he would have grinded the top line down on these three clubs. It was club 7 through 3 that got me hot for these as there is a more boxy and triangular shape to those clubs. Wondering if I can grind the top line down a little more. My old man has a grinding wheel and brush. Just worried that all the chrome will fall off.

As for the shafts; these are probably not something I would want to stick in another set that I have. They feel just like a dgtt s300. Maybe even a little heavier and slightly more boardy. I tried to regrip these myself, and for the first time in my regripping career I could not get the darn thing to slide all the way down. I lost two grips. So the butt end of the shaft is probably a little bit fatter than the shafts one todays market which could also be contributing to the consistent fades that I am hitting with them. If I know it is going to be a fade on every single shot this may not be a bad thing. Only problem is distance. I lose about 10 yards so then I need to club up on every shot and a longer shaft makes it a little tougher to knock it stiff. So I don't know. I may tinker with them and try to get them dialed in if I get some extra cash in the near future. Either way they will be used at the range and not much more.

[oldschoolrocker]

Now, Is that "losing a club length in distance with respect to another club of the same loft, or number?"
Certainlly understand the expectations when waiting for a new vintage set to test and the disappointment when they don't feel as anticipated.
Sometimes, a minor tweak here or there can prove to be the remedy, but, at times is best to let them go and move on.
We all gravitate towards a particular look and feel in the irons, and thank the good lord that there are so many distinct styles to choose from.
I am sure if you wanted to part with these there would be someone more than willing to take them off your hands for proper compensation.

[Cale]

[quote name='oldschoolrocker' timestamp='1437173410' post='11969022']
Now, Is that "losing a club length in distance with respect to another club of the same loft, or number?"
Certainlly understand the expectations when waiting for a new vintage set to test and the disappointment when they don't feel as anticipated.
Sometimes, a minor tweak here or there can prove to be the remedy, but, at times is best to let them go and move on.
We all gravitate towards a particular look and feel in the irons, and thank the good lord that there are so many distinct styles to choose from.
I am sure if you wanted to part with these there would be someone more than willing to take them off your hands for proper compensation.
[/quote]

Well since you mention the Good Lord I will comply with your comment by stating that these clubs have grown on me and have now become beautifully imperfect like all of our Lords creations. Imperfect abnormalities are what give humans like golf clubs their unique traits that others will find attractive over time while many more will be neutral or turned off based on looks alone. In the past couple of weeks I have become inspired by the looks of the. They have grown on me and I now find myself in a holy union with these relics of a golfing legend, however, who the actual creator of these was is now open for debate. After a little more research on Google and this very website, I discovered that these clubs may be the work of Orlimar and that companies forging shop. Check out the pictures below. Stiking resemblence I must say. Maybe I should make a new post to get other peoples opinions on this matter.

[oldschoolrocker]

A lot of similar traits between those two for sure, and I am pretty certain as well that the rod Moses wielded was not a Wilson Staff, and the stone slung by David in his match with the Philistine was not a ProV.

[majic]

Orlimar did not make forging so. They had them made for them. My guess one of the small companies in the Himeji area of Japan made them.
They were nice forgings