Any Info on Macgregor Tourney Classic Pro-82 Irons?

[Ultimate Gaj]

Hi Guys,

I've just managed to get hold of a set of Macgregor Tourney Classic Pro-82 Irons in 3-SW. I've been trying to find out some info on them with not much luck. Does anyone know and can hopefully tell me anything about these irons? All I know about them I think is that there about 1999-2000 and they sure are nice looking!

Here's some pics for you to drool over! ??

[rex235]

Ultimate-

 

The appear to be the grind by a MacGregor supplier destined for sale on your side of the pond.

 

Tourney Classic? but not Tourney Custom?

One might check a few ads from back then, but I really like this design, and the finish.

Pro-82?

Sounds like something David Graham and their master grinders might have had a hand in, just before Graham made the move to Daiwa, but the blade design is more 985 style than muscleback VIP.

 

One more thing-most definitely RH ONLY.

[birly-shirly]

I can't help wondering how closely those heads resemble the late 80s Muirfield 20ths. Once Jack left MacGregor, it seems they were at a bit of a loss for what to stamp on the backs of their clubs. Lovely looking clubs though.

 

Gaj - you'll probably find this thread of interest. http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/499240-blast-from-the-past-macgregor-muirfield-20th-vs-jnp/

[rex235]

Birly-

 

+1

 

The answer to Ultimate Gaj's inquiry is in there about the Pro-82 Flatback forging (which look like David Graham's forged set).

 

Also thanks again for the link to Clay"Stinging Bee" Long.

 

.....Wish MacGregor offered LH irons for more than just Bob Charles during this period, but ....

[mocokid]

WOW GORGEOUS !! congratulations!!

[russad]

well worth drooling over, very nice!

[Ultimate Gaj]

Thanks everyone. Yeah there great looking irons, can't wait until they arrive! Thanks rex235 and birly-shirly for help, if anyone else knows anything please help any help is appreciated.?

[Ultimate Gaj]

I'm finally receiving the irons tomorrow, had to wait until I got paid so i'll update on here as soon as i've tried them. Any shaft recommendations? They have Brunswick 5.5's in but they might be a bit weak for me so i'll know when ive played them.

[oldschoolrocker]

Shafts are such an individual thing. If you have access to a good clubman, have him put a couple of different shafts in say, 7, and 6 iron, see what works best for you. I know I get real finicky about shafts, but I think they should carry as much credence as the clubhead design when deciding what to play.

 

[jonnygrouville]

Agreed. I only ever played S300s and would play nothing else. Vintage golf has really opened my eyes to other options. Some clubs I don't even know what they are, just go on feel and what works. Some are a joke and all over the place so have to reshaft, but a surprising amount either work or you can make them work.

 

[Ultimate Gaj]

Well I got the clubs yesterday and they are awesome! Nearly every shot was a nice high towering draw and the shot shape was so consistent. Luckily the shafts are actually longer then standard so I don't need to get extend them which is a big bonus! The heads are pretty small with a tiny bit of offset and just a nice clean look over the ball. Funny story with the irons, I contacted the guy when I brought them and he said that Sandy Lyle actually bent all the irons to STD STD loft and lie! And he played a round with them and said they were great clubs! I might bend them a bit stronger as they might be a bit to high launching when the wind picks up. I'll keep everyone posted.??⛳️

[rex235]

Gaj-

 

So you have an iron set that was actually used by a Masters Champion (Sandy Lyle)

 

Ground by Don White - "The King of Clubs"

 

Every Classic Players Dream.

 

Wouldn't do much good to be looking any further.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Regarding the Brunswick 5.5 shafts, I have those in a set of Mizuno MS-11s (TP-11s in the UK). I usually play DG X100, so I was a bit worried about using the Brunswicks, but they worked out OK.

However, and I think you've already found this, they do launch high, which makes them less than ideal for windy conditions. I took them out of the bag the last two rounds I played because it was windy.

The heads aren't pinned, are they?

[Ultimate Gaj]

Rex,

just wondering if you can confirm that they were grinded by Don just cant see anything that would show he did work on them?

 

No Catchy,

I bent them to my specs and they did launch better after but I still think they were a tad high. I wanted them slightly longer as well so i'm putting in some KBS Tour in Stiff. They should feel similar and hopefully launch a tad lower being a but stiffer. No they arent pinned thank god!

 

I still dont know the exact date or much in depth information about these irons yet so if anyone does know anything please let me know!

 

Sam :golfer:

[rex235]

Rex,

just wondering if you can confirm that they were grinded by Don just cant see anything that would show he did work on them?

 

No Catchy,

I bent them to my specs and they did launch better after but I still think they were a tad high. I wanted them slightly longer as well so i'm putting in some KBS Tour in Stiff. They should feel similar and hopefully launch a tad lower being a but stiffer. No they arent pinned thank god!

 

I still dont know the exact date or much in depth information about these irons yet so if anyone does know anything please let me know!

 

Sam :golfer:

 

 

Gaj-

 

You should ask Dave Wood, Clay "Stinging Bee" Long, or Jim Bode, since all three were at MacGregor Golf as well.

 

When I spoke with Don White in 2012 at Scratch Golf in Chattanooga, we got into who he had ground irons for-

There were some names even Patrick Boyd didn't know.

 

There is a chance someone else did them, but since they were ground for a Tour player....

[Ultimate Gaj]

I don't think the irons belonged to Sandy Lyle, I think the person I brought the irons off knew him and he told me that he tried them for a round and then had them all bent back to Standard loft and lie by Sandy Lyle. Still a great story though and you never know they could have been grinded by Don! (Fingers Crossed) :D I'm going to see what there like with KBS in today, hopefully there a bit more penetrating through the wind compared to the brunswick.

[nolixul]

Lovely clubs. I've had 2 sets of these, one with 5.5s and one with 6.5s. The latter were a great match with a much more penetrating flight - night and day. Believe the stepped Brunswick 6.5s have "cult" status. Can sometimes find them in old Rams and J's Pro Weapons.

[Ultimate Gaj]

Do you know what year they are nolixul?

[nolixul]

Just checked my old notes and it appears I didn't get fully to the bottom of this. As far as I could tell:

 

The Pro 82 forging from the early 80s and the models that followed (Muirfield etc) are well documented in the link given by Birly at Post #3. The "Tourney Classic" Pro-82s are I believe a commemorative model dating from about 1991, that reflect upon those earlier Pro-82s, Muirfields, VIPs etc. I also believe that they were made in and aimed at the Japanese market. Note that "MacGregor Japan" was still going strong well after the demise of the US based original company, and were not part of the Golfsmith sale. There are several "MacGregor Japan" forged muscleback models from the 90s and I believe that "MacGregor Japan" was still going strong at the high end of the Japanese market through until at least a few years ago. They may still be.

 

Some things that chime with timing and Japan etc: Brunswick were bought out by Royal Precision in 1996, so to have stock Brunswicks, the model must date before then. Both sets of Tourney Classic Pro-82s that I had were obtained secondhand from the Far East. I know that the original owners purchased the clubs in the Far East too. Tourney Classic Pro-82s feature in several Japanese blogs - but I have never seen too much written about them in the West. Also many more images stem from Far East websites rather than the West. You can also still occasionally find NOS Tourney Classic Pro-82s appearing for sale - but in the Far East. Having handled a few Japanese forgings (aimed at the Far East markets) from the 80s/90s - Daiwas, Marumans, Mizunos etc, there is a definite "look" to the Tourney Classic Pro-82s that suggests Japanese market. Can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there. I don't know who was doing the forging for "MacGregor Japan" in the 1990s but I would suspect Endo is a distinct possibility.

[Ultimate Gaj]

Thanks for all the info nolixul! that seems to make sense as I have seen a few pics of these irons on the internet all from the asian market. If they have been endo forged that would be a nice bonus as well! Thanks everyone for all the help! :golfer:

[rex235]

Gaj-

 

Nolixul has more than common knowledge about the Pro-82s. It is quite possible they were a "contract" forging done by someone "outside of the US", like my original post.

 

Don White was responsible for the MacGregor Golf forged iron work in the US, but again, these irons have more of a "David Graham signature" look.

 

That means the Australasian network.

[Matt70]

Gaj.

 

How are the irons now you've had them for a few months? What lofts did you bend the clubs too? I own 2 Don White sets and am curious. The head shapes look very similar to my Scratch blades that DW ground.

 

Cheers. Matt

[oldschoolrocker]

There's another thread "Macgregor Pro 82???" that should have some additional information.