1963-1964 Spalding Top Flite Time Capsule

[cold_war_era_golfer]

I've taken risks with poor pictures and descriptions from sellers.  But every once in a while I find a gem.  I knew at the very least this was a complete set of 1963-64 Spalding Top Flite Synchro Dyned Professionals.  I thought they might have been rechromed as they looked rather clean. However, what I got was a time capsule back to 1963.  Irons 2-10 have the original grips, clean shafts, original paint fills, and shaft labels that look like they were affixed yesterday.  Woods are 1,2,3,4 Spalding Persimmon Model 79.  Excellent condition and driver still has the swing weight sticker attached to the original grip.

I collect old gear for various reasons and one being connecting with the past.  One of my favorite types of “finds” are complete sets that I can only believe have been together for 50+ years.   I’m assuming this is one of those sets.

Whoever bought these Spalding blades and persimmons decided to deviate when selecting a putter.  An early John Rutter Bullseye LB M 6 S in just as clean of condition as the other clubs.  Rounds out the bag.  But it totally fits in with the era of the rest of the set as does the bag.  A leather/canvas MacGregor branded carry bag.  Again in similar condition as the clubs.  The leather dividers still have that stiff new leather feel.  Inside the one zippered pouch? 1 ball and a handful of tees that are just what you would expect to find.  

[weakputt]

Beautiful set. Simply awesome.

You just need this bag and this putter.

[Jiggered]

Have to say, in your relatively short time collecting you've made some outstanding acquisitions.

All power to your elbow!

[Stephen8802]

What a great looking set. Spading made some great clubs.

[Swingingk]

Excellent acquisition!  I just love full bag scores like this.  Very nice.

[Scully13]

That is one of the great finds. I have been a Spalding collector for 20 years and have yet to find the holy grail.

 

In my opinion one of the truly classic sets that should be valued at much higher than market value.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Fantastic find, @cold_war_era_golfer. The irons look lightly played, but the woods look brand new!

 

 

[russad]

Blown away, what a great pickup!

[Hockeysam66]

Hi, new forum member here and first post. I have just acquired a similar set of Top Flite irons (2-9 and SW) with the spades on the face. The only difference with the photos posted in this thread by @cold_war_era_golfer is that the words “Top-Flite” on the backs of the irons are in black fill paint rather than red.  I was wondering if anyone may know if this difference signifies anything. Based on the condition of the clubs, I think it would be original paint, but of course they could have been repainted at some point I guess. Will try to post some pictures of the irons.  The set also includes a Spalding Staff Pro Model 1 iron and a Robt. T. Jones Jr. PW. Thanks for any feedback you may have.

[cold_war_era_golfer]

@Hockeysam66

According to my spreadsheet I have 35 sets of Spalding Top Flite Irons ranging from 1954-1970.

17 of those sets are the 1963-64 "Spade Face Models."

I know those clubs probably better than anyone around here and a few things stick out to me from your photos.

 

1. The paintfills could have been redone anytime.

2. The ferrules are more similar to what would be found on the 1959-69 Top Flite irons. 1963 and 1964 had black and gold ferrules and those differed between the two years but only a OCD weirdo like myself could tell the difference.

3. Continuing on with the ferrules those serial numbers don't match anything close to the 15 models of 1963-64 I have listed in my spreadsheet which range from 732279 to 887010.

4. It's hard to tell by just pictures but something looks weird about the faces of your "Spade Face Models."  The toes look longer and more curved and the actual spades look smaller than any of the sets I've come across.

5.  Is that a sandwedge with the a diamond marking on the back?  That appears to have the correct paintfill but the diamond marking was something Spalding used in the early 1950s as a mark for head weight.  I have never seen that on 60s club.

6. The Robert T. Jones PW would have been a storeline model but the fact that it has the similar paintfill as the "Spade Face Models" and similar condition makes me wonder if these were all rechromed at one point.

7. You show one shaft and one grip.  That grip would have been on the 1963 "Spade Face Model."  1964 was more brown than red.  The shaft label is totally period correct for a 1960-1964 Top Flite Professional.   

 

Interesting set of clubs.  Where'd you find them?  Any history on the previous owner?

 

 

[Hockeysam66]

Wow, thanks very much for the detailed response! I am in Southwestern Ontario, Canada and I bought them on Kijiji, which is like the Canadian version of Craigslist or EBay Classifieds. The owner was an older gentleman who has moved into a retirement home. The seller was a family friend who is helping him to downsize his stuff after moving out of his house. The seller said they hadn’t been played for about 30 years but I don’t have any history on them prior to that. I might see if I can contact the seller again and see if he’s able to chat with the owner about any further info on the origins. Seems like plenty of additional conflicting details on these (ferrules, serial numbers, spades, toes, and grips) - more than I bargained for - I appreciate your knowledge of the Top Flites’ history. Makes me even more curious! I will add some more pics and info if I can. This one shows all the grips - they’re the same, except for the 1 iron. Thanks again.

[Hockeysam66]

So I’ve left a message on Kijiji to see if I can get some more info about the background of my clubs, and whether they may have been re-chromed, repainted etc.  Hoping any response might also clear up some of the anomalies that @cold_war_era_golfer described in the detailed post above.  I took a few more pictures that are attached to maybe give a better look at some of the clubs. Grouped as follows: 1. The Spalding wedge with the diamond mark on the back,  2. the RTJ Jr Pitching Wedge (the Spalding S in the circle on the back looks odd to me - not consistent with the other clubs), 3. the 6 iron face and back, 4. The irons’ serial numbers and ferrules (2-9 identical, wedges different), shaft labels, and 5. Some pictures of the Model 121 Driver, 2 1/2, and 3 1/2 woods that were also included.  I note there are diamond marks on the woods’ baseplates too - don’t know if that’s also tied to the head weights - maybe not? Electrical tape covering the whipping on the driver. Thanks again for any insights or comments.

[cold_war_era_golfer]

These are really cool!  Thanks for sharing more pictures.  They certainly are unique.
 

Those spades are definitely smaller than what I’ve seen on both the 1963 and 1964 models.  
 

The spade face wedge you have doesn’t exist in the 1964 catalog.  It should have “Sand Iron” or “Wedge 97”  on the sole.  Maybe this was a custom set? 
 

The woods have a 1965-66 shaft label. 
 

Here’s one of my more used sets.  1964 ferrules except on the 5i which is a replacement from a 1963 set. There’s no black ring on the top of the 1963 ferrules. 
 

Notice the different grip for the 5i as well.   But same shaft labels as on your set.

 

Here’s some more close up shots of Spades from other sets.   

Edited December 1, 2023 by cold_war_era_golfer

[Hockeysam66]

Hey @cold_war_era_golfer, thanks again for your response and the pictures from your set.  I can see that the spades on your irons are definitely bigger than the ones on my set.  Cool detail about the ‘63-‘64 ferrules.  Interesting about the wedge not showing up in the catalogue - both the wedges seem to be oddballs.  It almost seems like they put the set together with whatever they had lying around in the shop!!
‘65-‘66 woods, ‘63 grips, ‘64 iron shafts with old ‘59-‘60 ferrules and heads with non-standard face patterns. Interesting anyway.  I really hope I hear back from the seller if the owner is able to recall any info about them - assuming he was the original owner of course. Thanks again for your responses and the wealth of information provided. Very much appreciated.

[Hockeysam66]

Browsing on eBay and saw this set from a vendor in the UK.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/126161001051?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=_FHktTyFTX6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=flNOwRb_SLW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

Yet another variation, with black paint on the back of the irons for the Spalding S and for the words Top-Flite. Top-Flite script style is consistent with pre 1963 sets I believe?  @cold_war_era_golfer, you’d know better than me.  No spades on the faces, so also pre-1963 I guess?  Older style ferrules as well, but can’t see the serial numbers. Shaft labels say Made in England.  I’m wondering if you’ve seen similar sets in the past, and if anyone  knows whether Spalding also built sets in England for the UK or European market. Perhaps that may explain some of the variations in sets?

[cold_war_era_golfer]

4 minutes ago, Hockeysam66 said:

Browsing on eBay and saw this set from a vendor in the UK.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/126161001051?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=_FHktTyFTX6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=flNOwRb_SLW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

Yet another variation, with black paint on the back of the irons for the Spalding S and for the words Top-Flite. Top-Flite script style is consistent with pre 1963 sets I believe?  @cold_war_era_golfer, you’d know better than me.  No spades on the faces, so also pre-1963 I guess?  Older style ferrules as well, but can’t see the serial numbers. Shaft labels say Made in England.  I’m wondering if you’ve seen similar sets in the past, and if anyone  knows whether Spalding also built sets in England for the UK or European market. Perhaps that may explain some of the variations in sets?

 

Check this post from May '22.  I had a set of those and yes they were made for England.  

The 1961-62 Top Flites had no spade faces.  The muscle backs on the '61-62s look VERY similar in photos to the '63-64s but up close there's a slight difference.

The American '61-62s had a different ferrule and no S markings on the leather grips.  

 

 

[cold_war_era_golfer]

 

This is one of my playable set's of 1961-62s that I picked up at a Play It Again Sports.  

 

[Hockeysam66]

@cold_war_era_golfer, Thanks for the link to the May 2022 post and to the video from @Jiggered’s YouTube channel.  Very interesting stuff, and a lot of questions answered. Clearly I've got a long way to go in building my inventory of classic sets!  I have yet to hear any response from the seller on the history of my own Top-Flite set, but I’m still hoping I’m able to learn more about them.  At any rate, I’ve appreciated the chance to tap into the collective knowledge in this forum. Cheers.

[cold_war_era_golfer]

3 minutes ago, Hockeysam66 said:

@cold_war_era_golfer, Thanks for the link to the May 2022 post and to the video from @Jiggered’s YouTube channel.  Very interesting stuff, and a lot of questions answered. Clearly I've got a long way to go in building my inventory of classic sets!  I have yet to hear any response from the seller on the history of my own Top-Flite set, but I’m still hoping I’m able to learn more about them.  At any rate, I’ve appreciated the chance to tap into the collective knowledge in this forum. Cheers.

I hope you hear back from the original owner.  Let us know if you do!

[tsj55]

Hi, I have a very similar complete set of irons marked Spalding Top Flite Professional Synchro Dyned that also have stickers stating they're medium and original paint and grips, together with three persimmon woods marked as Model 14. Can you provide any estimate of value? I inherited them from an uncle who bought them in the early 1960's. Thanks!

Scott

[bcstones]

6 hours ago, tsj55 said:

Hi, I have a very similar complete set of irons marked Spalding Top Flite Professional Synchro Dyned that also have stickers stating they're medium and original paint and grips, together with three persimmon woods marked as Model 14. Can you provide any estimate of value? I inherited them from an uncle who bought them in the early 1960's. Thanks!

Scott

Pictures will be helpful...however I notice that your status is "Validating - Unconfirmed", so you won't be able to post pics. When able, it helps to show face, back, sole, shaft w/shaft band & grips if original....Till then, enjoy