Founders Club 200 series Ad with specs

[Mitchell]

Good evening,

Recently decided to go back to irons that have brought me a great deal of enjoyment, Founders Club 200 series blades. Since some site changes, my search ability here is not exactly best in the world..so was looking for an assist in finding a Founders Club ad that had been posted here before with photo and loft/lie specs of the 200 series blades. If unable to locate same, maybe @Christen_The_Sloopor @Oldplayerwould be kind enough to post specs for a fellow aficionado? Thanks, enjoy the game.

Mitch

[Christen_The_Sloop]

13 minutes ago, Mitchell said:

Good evening,

Recently decided to go back to irons that have brought me a great deal of enjoyment, Founders Club 200 series blades. Since some site changes, my search ability here is not exactly best in the world..so was looking for an assist in finding a Founders Club ad that had been posted here before with photo and loft/lie specs of the 200 series blades. If unable to locate same, maybe @Christen_The_Sloopor @Oldplayerwould be kind enough to post specs for a fellow aficionado? Thanks, enjoy the game.

Mitch

 

[Mitchell]

Thanks my friend!

[Woodridge]

I bought the Founders Club Fresh Metal driver for $9.99 out of a clearance barrel at golf store. It gave me a huge leap forward in performance from the driver I was playing at the time. Beautiful irons as well.

[Ghostwedge]

I remember paying retail for it and didn't care, it was the best looking and feeling driver at the time. Cool head cover too.

[hammergolf]

Man Founders made some great stuff! I had a set of Tour CB irons and a Judge Driver I could hit into a thimble…. Wish I still had the irons.

[Mitchell]

5 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

Man Founders made some great stuff! I had a set of Tour CB irons and a Judge Driver I could hit into a thimble…. Wish I still had the irons.

Still have a set of the tour cb with UST tour weight stiff shafts, +1/2 over length with red/black NDMC grips👍🏻

[hammergolf]

16 minutes ago, Mitchell said:

Still have a set of the tour cb with UST tour weight stiff shafts, +1/2 over length with red/black NDMC grips👍🏻

I wish I would have never got rid of those. I also the Defense wedges, designed by none other than Bob Vokey, and used a Tour Tuned FC V putter. Still the softest milled steel putter I ever used. (Very close runner up was the Maxfli TM 11)

[Mitchell]

1 hour ago, hammergolf said:

I wish I would have never got rid of those. I also the Defense wedges, designed by none other than Bob Vokey, and used a Tour Tuned FC V putter. Still the softest milled steel putter I ever used. (Very close runner up was the Maxfli TM 11)

Wow- we have similar tastes in clubs, had a tour tuned putter (forget which model, had a little round flowneck) back in the Uncle Rico days that should have never moved- still have Maxfli TM-2 and TM-4 putters somewhere in my storage- both with the old Nippon putter shaft and Royal pebble grain grip

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, Mitchell said:

Wow- we have similar tastes in clubs, had a tour tuned putter (forget which model, had a little round flowneck) back in the Uncle Rico days that should have never moved- still have Maxfli TM-2 and TM-4 putters somewhere in my storage- both with the old Nippon putter shaft and Royal pebble grain grip

You know what the good stuff is…. I “cleaned house” about 10 years ago and got rid of some old jewels. Kick myself every day for not keeping everything.

[Mitchell]

32 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

You know what the good stuff is…. I “cleaned house” about 10 years ago and got rid of some old jewels. Kick myself every day for not keeping everything.

Actually did similarly in 2013, just happened to stumble upon the Founders Tour CB set from estate of a former PGA tour player.

[Swingingk]

1 hour ago, hammergolf said:

You know what the good stuff is…. I “cleaned house” about 10 years ago and got rid of some old jewels. Kick myself every day for not keeping everything.

The best cure for the "never shoulda sold them" blues is to treat yourself to another set (or two), preferably the same ones you remember so fondly.  Watch out though - it's addicting.  If you're not careful you'll end up with the "Wish she still lived here" blues.  😅

[Christen_The_Sloop]

9 hours ago, Swingingk said:

The best cure for the "never shoulda sold them" blues is to treat yourself to another set (or two), preferably the same ones you remember so fondly.  Watch out though - it's addicting.  If you're not careful you'll end up with the "Wish she still lived here" blues.  😅

I try to have back ups of everything (rare) that I really like. I can safely sell a third set of irons. That means I have one set of 200 series irons (the JP satin) going on the block. Just throwing some grips on the chrome 200s tonight. Found a set of Tourvelvets with a founders logo, of all things. I guess they still make budget clubs in Japan... Lucky me. Picks to follow.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

Liking the new set up. Might have to make some changes at the top and bottom of the bag. Thinking to put a 54' instead of the 52 and 56. And, the 3-iron is a little dicey, but I'm going to keep hitting it through the winter and see how it goes...

 

 

Course is the mountaintop beauty near my house - Kameoka Country Club. This is the approach to the par 5 17th a sharp dog leg left with a very elevated tee shot and customary OB left and right the length of the entire hole.

 

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Lead tape game pretty strong there, @Christen_The_Sloop👍

[Swingingk]

4 hours ago, Christen_The_Sloop said:

Liking the new set up. Might have to make some changes at the top and bottom of the bag. Thinking to put a 54' instead of the 52 and 56. And, the 3-iron is a little dicey, but I'm going to keep hitting it through the winter and see how it goes...

 

 

Course is the mountaintop beauty near my house - Kameoka Country Club. This is the approach to the par 5 17th a sharp dog leg left with a very elevated tee shot and customary OB left and right the length of the entire hole.

 

 

Now that's what I call a super solid bag setup.  Love it!  Those 200 Series look like about as perfect a blade as I could imagine.  I'm going to get some... someday.

I'd be interested to hear how your wedge idea works out.  With a 49 Pw you almost don't even need a gap but of course that totally depends on how you play your wedge game.  I do a 48 Pw, a 52, and a 56 with the 52 for mostly chipping around the green (and the odd casual 100 yarder) and the sw pretty much exclusively for the bunker, opening it more for lobs.  I love watching and hearing about people's short games.  I find it fascinating how everyone develops their own unique way to get up and down from 100 yards.

[BIG STU]

On 12/5/2021 at 10:15 PM, Woodridge said:

I bought the Founders Club Fresh Metal driver for $9.99 out of a clearance barrel at golf store. It gave me a huge leap forward in performance from the driver I was playing at the time. Beautiful irons as well.

My first metal driver was a Founders small headed Judge with a S-400 steel shaft. I bought it brand new never hit out of a bargain barrell for around $10 or so. This was around 02 or so. I played Persimmon in comps and all until then. I was the last man standing on the SE Mini Tours with persimmon. Man could I hit that little thing. Ended up cracking the thing right along the sole rails after about a year. Found out from a Founders staffer a couple of years later that those were prone to cracking with a stiff steel shaft.

[Christen_The_Sloop]

11 hours ago, BIG STU said:

My first metal driver was a Founders small headed Judge with a S-400 steel shaft. I bought it brand new never hit out of a bargain barrell for around $10 or so. This was around 02 or so. I played Persimmon in comps and all until then. I was the last man standing on the SE Mini Tours with persimmon. Man could I hit that little thing. Ended up cracking the thing right along the sole rails after about a year. Found out from a Founders staffer a couple of years later that those were prone to cracking with a stiff steel shaft.

One of the set of founders I bought came with a 14 degree judge fw with an old R graphite shaft. It also had a fourteen 2+ iron with a NS950 S. I haven't bothered to hit the judge. It has a closed face that I think I'd have trouble landing in a farmer's field. The fourteen 2+ iron was used by Els in one of his British Opens, I think. It's a fun club to hit.

 

About the only Founders club I ever saw in my youth was a Judge Driver a fellow a couple years older than I had back in high school. I don't think he ever tamed it. I think, about that time I was rocking a Titleist PT 10.5 and a black Hogan Apex Persimmon 3w. The first time I shot par at my home course I used that Hogan and 3 other clubs - I walked the 10 odd kms to the course that day because there was no one to drive me to the course.

 

I think that day lead me to believe that a good player could get around with just about anything. If that's the case, why would you ever carry anything but these?

Edited December 27, 2021 by Christen_The_Sloop

[BIG STU]

Oh yes those are great looking irons---- Here is my opinion of control problems with early metal woods and graphite shafts. For high SS and strong players dispertion on those shafts were not very good. In the same type swing there was a lot of unpredictable movement in the shafts. Also for me the ball came off the face hot especially for guys like me coming off of pressed fiber inserts in the persimmon. I know the eary Cobra and Bertha drivers even the small headed ones I could hook off the planet with graphite. I think for me the reason I could hit that Judge was because it had a S-400 steel shaft and so I had constant position. Another reason it was probably 3 years old at the time never hit was because graphite was the thing and generally people were scared of the stiff steel shafts. Now the Penna I was gaming at the time had a Aldila Gold HM-55 graphite which was pretty firm for the times. Now that Penna had Tour Creed because a friend of mine had played it on the Tour and he had given it to me because as he warned me if my hands got too fast through the ball I would hook it off the planet too. Which I did on some occasions as he had done. When I got in the Golf business with my friend Big John he was very informed and he told me he would build me a metal driver I could hit. He had contacts all over the place. There was a company that was short lived called Golf Gear and they had a driver called a Tsunami. They had a Tour presence for about 3 years. He built me a big headed one with a Tour Stiff Tsunami shaft straight off a Tour Van. I could hit it and not hook it but I did have to get used to the ball coming off the face hotter than the persimmon. He also built me the best 3 wood I ever hit a Cally Steelhead Tour Head with a UST Pro Force Gold 65 and it was tipped 1/4 inch carried that thing for 13 years. I still have both the Tsunami and the Cally and my back shudders now at even the thought of trying to hit either one of them. 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

50 minutes ago, BIG STU said:

Oh yes those are great looking irons---- Here is my opinion of control problems with early metal woods and graphite shafts. For high SS and strong players dispertion on those shafts were not very good. In the same type swing there was a lot of unpredictable movement in the shafts. Also for me the ball came off the face hot especially for guys like me coming off of pressed fiber inserts in the persimmon. I know the eary Cobra and Bertha drivers even the small headed ones I could hook off the planet with graphite. I think for me the reason I could hit that Judge was because it had a S-400 steel shaft and so I had constant position. Another reason it was probably 3 years old at the time never hit was because graphite was the thing and generally people were scared of the stiff steel shafts. Now the Penna I was gaming at the time had a Aldila Gold HM-55 graphite which was pretty firm for the times. Now that Penna had Tour Creed because a friend of mine had played it on the Tour and he had given it to me because as he warned me if my hands got too fast through the ball I would hook it off the planet too. Which I did on some occasions as he had done. When I got in the Golf business with my friend Big John he was very informed and he told me he would build me a metal driver I could hit. He had contacts all over the place. There was a company that was short lived called Golf Gear and they had a driver called a Tsunami. They had a Tour presence for about 3 years. He built me a big headed one with a Tour Stiff Tsunami shaft straight off a Tour Van. I could hit it and not hook it but I did have to get used to the ball coming off the face hotter than the persimmon. He also built me the best 3 wood I ever hit a Cally Steelhead Tour Head with a UST Pro Force Gold 65 and it was tipped 1/4 inch carried that thing for 13 years. I still have both the Tsunami and the Cally and my back shudders now at even the thought of trying to hit either one of them. 

 

I think another problem graphite shafts back in the day when people were making the shift from steel is that they were lighter than steel, which allowed the club makers to put longer shafts in the clubs to increase clubhead speed. This is something I remember the pro at the club I was a Junior telling me.

 

Now that may be great, but longer shaft + sudden drop in shaft weight rarely leads to more fairways hit, be it carbon or steel.

 

I even found this when I tried a light but stiff shaft in a modern 3w. No control whatsoever. I put a heavier shaft in my  V-steel 7w and lost a little distance but gained a lot of control.

[BIG STU]

2 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

I think another problem graphite shafts back in the day when people were making the shift from steel is that they were lighter than steel, which allowed the club makers to put longer shafts in the clubs to increase clubhead speed. This is something I remember the pro at the club I was a Junior telling me.

 

Now that may be great, but longer shaft + sudden drop in shaft weight rarely leads to more fairways hit, be it carbon or steel.

 

I even found this when I tried a light but stiff shaft in a modern 3w. No control whatsoever. I put a heavier shaft in my  V-steel 7w and lost a little distance but gained a lot of control.

When I bought mine new when ever that was It had the stock Stiff TM in it. I broke that shaft off at the head and put the same UST Pro Force regular that is in it now. Never had any control issues with either shaft

[@_the_crook]

4 hours ago, BIG STU said:

UST Pro Force Gold 55

that shaft is in my 975D.

still worth taking to the course every now and then.

not the longest club compared to some other gear but very dependable.

 

[hammergolf]

Was able to find a set of mint Founder’s Tour CB irons and two of the Vokey Defense wedges. Hopefully will be here Tuesday. They have Fenwick World Class graphite shafts in them. Anybody remember if that was a stock option and what the specs were? 

Edited December 31, 2021 by hammergolf

[hammergolf]

On 12/9/2021 at 8:19 PM, Swingingk said:

The best cure for the "never shoulda sold them" blues is to treat yourself to another set (or two), preferably the same ones you remember so fondly.  Watch out though - it's addicting.  If you're not careful you'll end up with the "Wish she still lived here" blues.  😅

Was able to find a mint set 1-PW and a 55*, 59* Defense wedges (original Vokey designs…. 😉 Should be here Tuesday. 

[hammergolf]

On 12/4/2021 at 6:51 PM, Christen_The_Sloop said:

 

You wouldn’t happen to have the sale sheet for the Tour CB II irons would you? Just found a mint set with the Defense wedges (Vokey designed)

[Christen_The_Sloop]

On 1/1/2022 at 7:02 AM, hammergolf said:

You wouldn’t happen to have the sale sheet for the Tour CB II irons would you? Just found a mint set with the Defense wedges (Vokey designed)

 

Sorry, haven't seen anything on the TCB or the Defense Wedges. Wish I had some of my old golf digests.

 

I just found a NOS Caddy bag on Yahoo Auction. The 200s have found there home.

 

Through a little bit of serendipity I found fresh founders club logoed tour velvets last year too.

[Katherine]

On 12/6/2021 at 3:15 AM, Woodridge said:

I bought the Founders Club Fresh Metal driver for $9.99 out of a clearance barrel at golf store. It gave me a huge leap forward in performance from the driver I was playing at the time. Beautiful irons as well.

I have a set of founders 200 series , but they are linked to Miura , even have Japanese shafts,  im told because of the metal not been stainless steel they are originally the first made and copied for the American Market.