What was your first set of sticks?

[strohmoose1]

My first set was a set of 1958 MacGregor Tourney PT1 CF4000 2-10 and 1,2,3,4 woods. Brand new cost me $125.00 from the 19th Hole in Columbus, Ohio. I was a proud kid!!!

[super20dan]

kenneth smith royal signet irons and wilson foremaster woods. a putter called a curly head(still have it)

[BIG STU]

First real set for me was a brand new set of Wilson Staff Patty Bergs. My Dad was a pro at a course an was at the time was a Wilson dealer. Played with them for a couple of years and earned enough money working around the course to purchase a set of Spalding Elite Irons and Power-Bilt woods driver 4 wood and 5 wood

[Skip Castaneda]

[quote name='rl4673' timestamp='1198174818' post='831535']
Spaulding Executives.. how I don't miss them,
[/quote]
The Execs were my first set I bought brand new. They were junk!!!

[Skip Castaneda]

[quote name='Ricco' timestamp='1327027629' post='4121843']
1959 I was 6 years old, bought Wilson Sam Snead Young Champs with silver dollars my Grandfather had been giving me. If I remember correctly they cost 36 dollars at the local Western Auto store. I lost track of them and last Christmas my brother gave me back the driver. About 2 months ago I walk into a thrift store and find the 3,5,7,9 and 3 wood. Sweet spot on these irons the size of a BB! I wonder what the silver dollars would be worth?
[/quote]
Western Auto? There was one of those in my hometown.....Woodland, California. I haven't thought of that place in years!

[Skip Castaneda]

My first set was a hand me down Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear irons. I don't remember what the woods were. I don't remember the putter either.

[Soloman1]

Oh no! I can't remember the brand, but I do remember it was a half set w/ 3-5-7-9 PW.

I usually remember things that happened 50 years ago in perfect detail, but can't remember what I had for lunch.

You know what? One day soon I'm going to play with a half set of irons again. Who needs all that extra luggage? That's why we have a brain, right? We were made to think our way around a golf course.

[GWD]

[quote name='Skip Castaneda' timestamp='1384514348' post='8152300']
My first set was a hand me down Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear irons. I don't remember what the woods were. I don't remember the putter either.
[/quote]

Fairfield !!! Right next door. I'm in Vacaville. Played Rancho Solano yesterday but prefer Paradise Valley. Paradise was packed since Rancho just aerated the greens. At least the greens were slow for once.

Anyway, I'm shamed and embarrassed to admit it but my first "set" of clubs was from about 50 years ago and was made up of found clubs.

We lived near a rinky-dink golf course. My dad played golf but didn't allow me to use his clubs. He paid me 5 cents for balls I'd find as I would sneak around the perimeter of the course early or late. A dollar went a long way in those days.

Every so often I'd find a club in the weeds. Don't know if they were thrown there or lost. But being 15 years old my judgement was a bit self-centered so kept the clubs.

I had a 3i, 8i, SW, and blade putter. My dad got me a K-mart driver for Christmas and I was set to go. Played with those clubs until college and then bought a half set D through SW of Tom Weiscoff over-length clubs from who knows where. Could not hit those at all - not a single club in the set. Money was tight so the clubs were endured until after college. Then the club-ho came out and it has been a never ending quest from there on.

[esketores]

I qualify in the don't remember category. I know my grandma bought me and my brother H & B 5 irons that were appropriate for our size. 9 or 10 years old.
The first set I remember were some used Patty Berg's with the "reminder" grip. 3, 5, 7, 9, PW

[guisician]

Total mix & match, accumulated in the early 70s (I think I was 12):

Spalding Epic 1 wood, whippiest shaft ever (garage sale)
Spalding 3 wood (garage sale) - driver mostly stayed in my thin, green vinyl Sunday bag (dept. store), so this got lots of play.
Northwestern 3 & 5 irons (dept. store bought)
AMF Voit 7 iron (dept. store bought) - still have this one, starting to refer to it as "Rosebud".
Thin-faced, rusted, grooveless pitching wedge from the 50s (garage sale)
Northwestern putter, pseudo-8802 style (dept. store bought)

20 years later, first matched set of irons - Tommy Armour 845s Silver Scots.

[Ironmaster Oddities]

I think they were Walter Hagens: 2-8, no lofted clubs. Tan Pyratone shafts. They were in our basement and were probably my mom's old clubs. she would have gotten them 2nd or 3rd hadn from somebody when she started playing in the late 1950's. the grips were perforated leather and dryer than a popcorn fart.
Wilson 1,2,3 Dutch Harrison woods. Again from the basement. probably my dad's.
Burke Dead-eye. Bulls-eye style. I was probably 13.
when I was in grade school, my dad sawed off a hickory spoon or 4-wood for me. might have had adhesive tape for a grip. I think he did it so he could take me to the driving range with him when he was "babysitting" me. there was an old fashioned drive in about 5 miles away. Mostly a teenager hangout called the Corral. I would hack a dozen of his red stripers and ask him for a quarter. then I would run inside and play the Baseball pinball machine. 3 games for a quarter back then.
On rare occasions, he would take me to the golf course with him. I would sometimes hack sty way down the first hole and then go fishing in the creek over by the 4th and 5th holes while my dad and his pals continued. This was back 1959 or 60. No kidnappers or pedophiles back in the day...or so we thought. Of course, I could have gotten hit on the head with a golf ball.
Great memories. Mostly of being with Dad, one of the all-time super guys on this planet. Don't really remember much about the golf; but the fishing wasn't bad.
Uncle Bob

[paparoy43]

My dad bought me the prettiest set of Ram Doug Sanders...aluminum shafts. I think it was 1969.

The woods were laminated and the most vibrant wood grains I have ever seen. My dad wanted me to play the game so bad and I thought that golf was the dumbest sport in the world. I told him I wanted to play a sport that was more masculine...like tennis!

We ended up selling those clubs a couple years later. I took the game back up in 1976 and ended up being a teaching pro.

Today I realize what a great opportunity I had back then.

Still wish I had those Rams...

[MatthewNoelSmith]

Tommy Armour 845s....loved them.

[Skip Castaneda]

[quote name='garywdixon' timestamp='1384536175' post='8153736']
[quote name='Skip Castaneda' timestamp='1384514348' post='8152300']
My first set was a hand me down Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear irons. I don't remember what the woods were. I don't remember the putter either.
[/quote]

Fairfield !!! Right next door. I'm in Vacaville. Played Rancho Solano yesterday but prefer Paradise Valley. Paradise was packed since Rancho just aerated the greens. At least the greens were slow for once.

Anyway, I'm shamed and embarrassed to admit it but my first "set" of clubs was from about 50 years ago and was made up of found clubs.

We lived near a rinky-dink golf course. My dad played golf but didn't allow me to use his clubs. He paid me 5 cents for balls I'd find as I would sneak around the perimeter of the course early or late. A dollar went a long way in those days.

Every so often I'd find a club in the weeds. Don't know if they were thrown there or lost. But being 15 years old my judgement was a bit self-centered so kept the clubs.

I had a 3i, 8i, SW, and blade putter. My dad got me a K-mart driver for Christmas and I was set to go. Played with those clubs until college and then bought a half set D through SW of Tom Weiscoff over-length clubs from who knows where. Could not hit those at all - not a single club in the set. Money was tight so the clubs were endured until after college. Then the club-ho came out and it has been a never ending quest from there on.
[/quote]
Hello! I play Green Tree often. I prefer Rancho Solano. It's a wide open course that suits my game. Paradise is a miserable course for me. You probably frequent the same thrift shops I do. Oh no! I just gave away a secret! Haha! Actually my secret is still safe, I didn't say which thrift shops I go to for clubs. Think Hamburger Hill in Vacaville.

[birly-shirly]

First clubs? A half set of Pinsplitter irons, a matching 3 wood, a Craigton driver, an "Ayrshire Golf" pitching wedge that was laughably flat and a half-hearted attempt at a bullseye style brass blade. I didn't have a sandwedge for several years. Half of those clubs had semi-detached grips. How did I ever get hooked on this stupid game?

[Birddog2]

PowerBilt (H&B) set I got at Kmart back in the early 80's...loved 'em.

[stixman]

As kids we used to get hickories from the local junk shop in Poole, Dorset. They didn't last long. Golf balls were in very short supply, this was the early 1950s, just post war, so we hit anything we could find. Fir cones, tennis balls, anything sort of round-ish served our purpose. However, one of those hickories, a baffy, lasted into my teens and was a go-to club when I was getting more into the game.
The first real set, when I was 14, was a set of Fred Daly Master Model by John Letters. They were great, but had uber-slick grips.. I managed without any wedge for many years, an explosion shot from sand worked.sort of OK, and the 9 iron served for pitching, The first sand wedge came along into my set in the early 70s.

[mr_divots]

I think the year was 1981 and grandma got me a set of Ram Tom Watson junior clubs. Persimmon driver and 4W I want to say, 5i, 7i, 9i, and putter I think it was. Little bullseye putter. Burgandy colored vinyl bag with a single nylon strap and one pocket.

It was waaaay better than set #2, which were my mom's hand-me-downs. Blue persimmons with a light blue vinyl bag with a white daisy on it. LOL!
My parents also got me a used girl's bike for my first bike. What the hell were they trying to do to me?? ha ha!

[MikeG]

[quote name='mr_divots' timestamp='1384725475' post='8163248']
I think the year was 1981 and grandma got me a set of Ram Tom Watson junior clubs. Persimmon driver and 4W I want to say, 5i, 7i, 9i, and putter I think it was. Little bullseye putter. Burgandy colored vinyl bag with a single nylon strap and one pocket.

[b]It was waaaay better than set #2, which were my mom's hand-me-downs. Blue persimmons with a light blue vinyl bag with a white daisy on it. LOL!
My parents also got me a used girl's bike for my first bike. What the hell were they trying to do to me??[/b] ha ha!
[/quote]
That's hilarious Mr (or is it Ms?) Divots. The fact that you survived all that is a testament to your inner strength. After going through something like that, a lot of guys would have ended up on Dr Phil at some point.

Back to topic. I don't remember my junior set, which were some used Spaldings (I think). First real set was '67-68 Top Flite Professional irons, and Izett woods. Both hand me downs from my dad. Still haven't found a 7 iron that I like as much as I liked the 7 iron from that set.

[bruinsPATSirish]

Tommy Armour Silver Scots!

[MyShortGameSucks]

Around 1978 - dad bought me a used 1/2 set of Hogan Apex irons. 3, 5, 7, 9 and E for equalizer! One of these days I am going to try and find a full set of those on eBay and get them restored refinished - for display Purposes only though. Buggered if I am going to try and hit hose things now :no:

[Kirasdad]

[quote name='Ironmaster Oddities' timestamp='1384552602' post='8155034']
I think they were Walter Hagens: 2-8, no lofted clubs. Tan Pyratone shafts. They were in our basement and were probably my mom's old clubs. she would have gotten them 2nd or 3rd hadn from somebody when she started playing in the late 1950's. the grips were perforated leather and dryer than a popcorn fart.

[/quote]

Dryer than a ...what?

Despite 10 years in NYC and 20+ in LA I am a dyed in the wool Midwesterner, and I have never heard that expression. I will, of course, steal it.

Thank you, Uncle Bob

P.S. - hope the tornadoes didn't give you a scare. Didn't read anything about Elkhart so no news is good news in this instance.

[arbyman]

In 1972 my Dad bought me a brand new set of wilson Sam Snead Blue Ridge 2-9 irons, 1,3,4 woods, and a hand me down Kroydon bullseye putter. I was 10 years old. I still have the complete set. Quite a contrast from the Ping G25 irons, hybrids, and Fairway wood with graphite shafts that I game today. lol

[oldschoolrocker]

Sweet that you still have them....

[ebeck66]

In the early 80's, my first full set was the Wilson Sam Snead Blue Ridge's, 1,3,5 woods, 3-9, PW in left handed. Eventually all the woods cracked and I had to move on to a new set which were Pings.

[llewol007]

For me it was an old set of hogan apex's that got my swing to where it is today. I've gone thru ping zing, eye 2, lynx black cats... thank you fred couples... then dci b, then mizuno t zoid, mp 14, mp 32, 33, cleveland cg1, bridgestone j36, j40's and now my jdm 705x blades. Yup thats pretty much my timeline of golf irons. Never got into big bertha's or taylor made's with the bubble shafts. I was a feel player and needed that forged iron in my hand.

[Holy Moses]

Wilson Reflexes. I hadn't really hit metal woods at that point. Day after Christmas in Chicago. Made a snow tee in the middle of a park near my house. Hit the ball so far (200 yards with my driver) that I about peed my pants. The Wilson's were a great starter set until I got my Golfsmith Penick's.

[kwooten31]

My first set was Titleist pro 100's 2-pw and 1,3,5 woods. I got them from my Grandpa, but for some idiotic reason sold them. Luckily this summer after looking for several years I found a set of model 100's, which came out a year later with the only change being the name, from pro 100 to model 100. I paid $10.00 for a 2-pw, and even though not exact, they have made me happy....

[Rusty88]

my set was from the old man.

Howson DJ 100. Graphite shaft to.

Still have them, although eventually the 6 iron head went into the lake after a tee shot when it came off as soon as impact. 5 iron has tape around the shaft when i followed through on a shot not executing a punch shot that and killing on the ball and following through and its damaged

Still take them out if a friend wants a game and has no clubs

[scomac2002]

[quote name='scomac2002' timestamp='1289573287' post='2786974']
Although I am recent convert to the grand game in a serious way, I have owned a set of clubs for about 25 years. I bought these from a bowling buddy who had upgraded his equipment. I still have these clubs stuck away in a corner of a tool shed -- Spalding Executive woods - 1, 3, 5 and Brunswick Dictator irons - 3-PW in BeCu. [b]They need a bit of restoration work, but they are still in playable condition.[/b]
[/quote]

I wasn't looking for this specifically, but this was one of the first posts I made when joining GolfWRX 5 years ago. Isn't it ironic that the bold type sentence above would be prescient of future events?