Suggestions to Build a 25 year old bag for $250.00

[Guest]

We are having an event at our club where participants have to build a set of clubs for under $250.00 and all of the clubs have to be more than 25 years old. Woods have to be wood, not metal woods. Irons have to be blades, no perimeter weighting. We will all be playing with wound balata balls. Would love some suggestions from the crowd. I am thinking Mizuno TP-19 and an old ping zing putter, but have no idea where to start for Driver and 3 wood.

[BIG STU]

Well it depends on what you like to hit and what may fit your eye. First suggestion with your goal budget in mind is thrift stores and yard sales. If you lived in the Coastal SC area I could set you up with no problem woods irons putter bag and all for a heck of a lot less than that

[NRJyzr]

Eye2 irons and woods, with a Ping putter, would probably be a good fit. You can find the irons everywhere for pretty reasonable prices, and the woods aren't bad, either. Add an 8802/8813, Maxfli Tad Moore, or one of the Anser models, I think you'd be able to stay under $250 without too much trouble.

Or maybe it's that I haven't priced those things lately. LOL

[miamistomp]

Eye 2 irons are not blades

 

Wilson Gooseneck irons

Ping zing woods

Zebra putter

 

 

[NRJyzr]

I missed the blades part of the equation. Bad me, no treat.

Then, I vote for FG-17s, or some other Wilson Staff blade, from any period. I've seen some pretty reasonable deals on FG-17s and 78 Tour Blades on fleabay....

[Shallowface]

I wouldn't consider Wilson Gooseneck irons blades. They are fairly large heads and have that channel across the back.

For a more forgiving blade iron I'd consider a set of Hogan Directors from the early 80s, or perhaps the last edition of the forged Wilson X-31 from 1983 or so.

The idea of playing wound balata balls is shaky in my opinion. At this point, they are going to all be varying degrees of dead and some people may find themselves at a real disadvantage depending on what they are able to acquire. I realize this may not be a really serious event but there will likely be some folks upset with the inequalities among the golf balls. I would suggest choosing one modern, inexpensive low compression ball and have everyone play that.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

FG 17s are a good choice because they are such a delight to hit you might end up putting them in your regular bag. If you like Mizunos, TP-19s are fine, or TP-9s/TP-11s. Are you in Europe? I think the TP-9s were a Europe only release; the MS-7s were released in the USA, but they are slightly different. I think the TP-11s are the same as the MP-11s in the US. I played the original Titleist Tour Model irons for a number of years back, and any edition of the Tour Model could be an option for you. If you are in the USA, I'd say your main options are Macgregor, Wilson, and Hogan, with Powerbilt, Titliest and RAM being other options. I'm afraid I know nothing about pricing in the USA, but I've seen people on this board find some amazing stuff at low, low prices in thrift shops and estate sales over there.

If you buy a set with the SW included, that should be the only wedge you need. Assuming the irons are all forged, get the lofts and lies checked and adjusted to your preferences.

For woods, I would look around for which clubs have a shaft that will suit your swing. So if you normally play pretty stiff shafts in your modern stuff, just don't choose a wood with a soft flex for your wooden wood. That said, I don't think older flex designations translate directly to modern designations. Get a good 5w, because it will function in place of your hybrid.

 

I find the 25 years or older rule together with the insistence on wooden woods/blades/balata thing a little funny. By 1995, the majority of people were playing metal woods and cavity backs were plentiful. By the late Eighties, the EYE2s were really popular among richer golfers in my city (in the UK, and EYE2s were pricier options back then), and I started with a heel-toe weighted cavity iron from Daiwa. My brother played a cast cavity back (Ryder III, a British manufacturer). Not everyone was playing persimmon and blades 25 years ago. And very few used balatas, at least not for normal rounds of golf.

[Kirasdad]

Hogan Redlines 1988

Mizuno MP 14 1994

Probably the most playable blades of the last 25 years, the Redlines maybe 100 bucks, the Mizuno will be more. I agree with NRjyzr that the 80’s laminated Ping woods are a good bet. They aren’t pretty like a 50’s Mac persimmon, but they’re very functional and the fairway woods launch well.

You can get a nice bullseye for less then 20 bucks. Accurate especially from 10 feet in.

The ball... balata is a bad call, there just isn’t any good stock readily available. I’d play it like we do in hickory tournaments, any USGA approved ball. I’ve played in several SoHG “majors” you see everything from Pro V1s to cheap Wilson Zips. It’s the clubs that make things interesting. Let people play whatever ball they want. It will make for a better event, a more even playing field. It will be challenging enough as it is without out of round, old balatas that lost their fizz twenty years ago.

[raggal62]

PowerBilt woods and Wilson blades. Cheap and plentiful. I agree to ditch the balata idea.

[scomac2002]

I would suggest Spalding Executive woods. They're laminated and a bit funky looking like Eye 2's. A little bigger head and they launch well. The fairway woods play quite nicely. A good choice with a modern ball should common sense prevail.

Hogan Directors; for some reason they're one of the more forgiving blade designs and not quite as collectable as some other models.

RAM Tom Watson wedges and a Bullseye putter.

------------------------

It's quite comical that the rules call for 25 years old, yet no cavity back irons or metal woods, both of which were quite common by the mid 90's. Think Callaway Big Berthas and Ping Eye 2's.

[baloo]

You'll have loads of options. I think it's best to hold the clubs in person, give them a waggle, put them in the address position. You'll probably get an idea which ones you like just by doing that.

You'll have to let us know how the event goes.

[golfmj228]

If you’re looking for forgiveness I would totally agree with those who call out Ping Laminated woods, hard to beat from an engineering perspective from a wooden wood! Good call in the MP-14/Hogan Redlines also, I would only add that if you want more launch the Hogan Channelbacks (from 1994) will help with that (I definitely prefer the redlines because of the lower ball flight but thought it worth mentioning).

[golfmj228]

I also forgot to mention the old Spalding TP Mills putters roll the ball pretty well, have a wide variety options, and you can pick them up for a song usually. Good luck!

[deejaid]

Like @No_Catchy_Nickname mentioned, 25 years ago most people were playing cavity backs and steel headed woods. Might as well make it nothing newer than 40 years if you want only blades and wooden woods. But anyway....

If I was participating and had to build a bag from scratch.

Ping Karsten/ Eye woods or Spalding Executive Laminate woods. Both slightly oversized and a set of 1,3,4 woods can be had for around $50-60 with shipping. Irons I’d go with a set of Hogan Medallions, Redlines, or Grinds. Probably get a set for $150 shipped. That leaves $40-$50 for sand wedge and putter. I’d grab an old 1950’s Wilson 3-D Triple Duty Wedge and an old Ping Anser or Pal.

[deejaid]

I bought a set of a Spalding Executive laminates for next to nothing to use as my winter/driving range mat woods. They have a nice shape and are easy to play.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

I'd go with a set of Crenshaw Haig Ultras 2-PW / Cleveland 588 56&60 / A Cleveland TC15 Driver / Cleveland Dunaway 4wd and a Maruman Conductor 8802 style putter. I'd still have a few bucks to spare. Everything is fun to hit and decently playable...

 

[James the Hogan Fan]

@No_Catchy_Nickname @deej@deejaid @scomac2002 @deej 25 years is about perfect in that it allows just about every wooden wood made to be included. I think the point of the year was to say it must be an "original" wood and not a modern reproduction. Make it 40 years and then how do you know if your Hogan Speed Slot was 1979 or 1980 without pulling serial numbers?
Same with the irons, someone defined 1995 as the end of the wood wood era, so they wanted irons from that era as well, and knowing that CB's existed prior, mandated blades.
To the OP:
Go find a Stan Thompson Ginty 5w to serve as your general purpose fairway wood.
If you are scared of blades, I recommend the Hogan Radials. (Including the very good Equalizer and sand wedge) assuming your ruleset allows the radial sole, these are about as forgiving and High-Launch as it gets.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

That's a good way to look at it, certainly in terms of the rule for woods.

[Rambler1277]

Over the last year I've gotten Ram Tour Grinds (1-9), Hogan Personal model woods (1,3,4,5), Joe Powell woods (1,3,5), spalding blades and others from Goodwill, all of which are very playable (but I never play them) and I don't think I paid more than $15 for any of them. Worth a look before you throw down more money for what's going to be a single round most likely. Also, those are all for sale :)

[golfunderpar18]

I second the Cleveland classics. Pick up a Cleveland persimmons driver and 4 wood. Dunaways are not common and difficult to find. I have multiple but thy don’t come up for resale often. Many other Cleveland persimmon models out there though. Some Cleveland 588 blades. I’d also suggest looking at MacGregors....some muirfield irons can be had at a reasonable price for a used set.

 

Putter you have A ton to choose from. Sounds like a fun event.

[weavej1]

Wilson r 90 or R 20 brown shaft sw

 

cobra baffler..

[golfunderpar18]

I have some clubs that may interest you. Message me directly. Thx

[Stebaird]

How about a Wilson Whale driver with the Firestick graphite shaft that Payne Stewart played, could be a good choice.

[topoftheline89]

Go to your local goodwill. Not just a regular goodwill, what you want is a donation outlet with the big bins filled with "donations". They sell them by the pound. Show up at random 3 times in one week and your are almost guarentted to find a mostly complete or complete set of blades and some random persimons and putters to fill the bag. I get 10 clubs for about $11. (1.17 per #).

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

Sounds really cool, a bit like old time golf meets Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson. Where is it, is it an open bash?

[Baitkiller]

Have not seen wedges mentioned. Odd.

Hogan equalizer is what your looking for there.

I have a half set of Sneads, Hogan wedge, ottie crisolm putter and Spalding woods in a canvass bag..$50

[Baitkiller]

The real money is your attire. Plus fours, cashmere sweater vests and icons will get spendy fast!

[tiderider]

i'd like to know where you're gonna get the golf balls ...