MacGregor Colokrom Tourney M65 Information

[BuffaloJoe]

I picked up a set of MacGregor Colokrom Tourney M65 irons from a garage sale and I was hoping to get a little more information on them since it is tough to get info on MacGregor's these days. This is a 2-9 iron set with True Temper shafts and they have a copper face.

 

Edited September 21, 2022 by BuffaloJoe
Wrong file type for photos - fixed

[SteveNZ]

These look fantastic. I think the punching framing the scoring lines indicates that they're the 1955 version of this model (possibly 1956), '55 being the year the Colokrom was introduced. I've attached a pic of the info from the 1957 catalogue (via Kaplan) that will tell you all you need to know, hopefully, and should still be applicable to the 1955 model.

 

[Foozle]

6 hours ago, BuffaloJoe said:

I picked up a set of MacGregor Colokrom Tourney M65 irons from a garage sale and I was hoping to get a little more information on them since it is tough to get info on MacGregor's these days. This is a 2-9 iron set with True Temper shafts and they have a copper face.

 

The M65 is the senior flex version. The shaft is noticeably thinner than standard as it meets the ferrule / hosel. Not an issue but something to be aware of if looking to play. The M75 and M85 versions will have wider appeal.

I bought a set advertised as M85 and was curious about the flex. It was only under magnification that the stamp was revealed as M65!

They are lovely irons and safely stored away for future use. I have since acquired a set of M85.

Date wise, I believe the lack of "Rec No" before the M65 makes them 1957 as '55 and '56 had that extra stamping.

[cold_war_era_golfer]

I don’t have my Kaplan catalog next to me.   But I believe at some point the location of the text in the head “colokrom/tourney” flips to “tourney/Colokrom.  That could help in getting the year closer.  
 

Nice clubs!

[Brian1862]

Congrats! What a clean head shape those irons have. The copper face must be striking at address, too.

 

I hope you’ve already put them to good use.

[bcstones]

5 hours ago, cold_war_era_golfer said:

I don’t have my Kaplan catalog next to me.   But I believe at some point the location of the text in the head “colokrom/tourney” flips to “tourney/Colokrom.  That could help in getting the year closer.  
 

Nice clubs!

Just checked Kaplan...Tourney/Colokrom began in '55 & changed to Colokrom/Tourney in '57...in '58 MacGregor had a copper-faced iron set w/diamond back (I have a set of these, 2-9, Pro-Pell 1 shaft...no grip)...then in MacGregor introduced the CF4000 blades.....

[BuffaloJoe]

6 hours ago, Brian1862 said:

Congrats! What a clean head shape those irons have. The copper face must be striking at address, too.

 

I hope you’ve already put them to good use.

They look fantastic at address! I regripped them the day after I got them, and I hit them for the first time at the range last night. They do not go as far as my cavity backs but they have filled a gap in my bag of a full swing flying 110 yards or less. Even my modern sand wedge goes 115 off a short tee, but the 9 iron from this set seems to fly around 95 yards with a full, solid swing. I plan to play these clubs exclusively for a while to get a feel with them but I think I will ultimately end up with a mix of these, modern cavity backs and a hybrid or two. They have such a nice feel that is very hard to describe, and in my opinion they put the style and craftsmanship of modern clubs to shame.

Edited September 22, 2022 by BuffaloJoe

[BuffaloJoe]

12 hours ago, Foozle said:

The M65 is the senior flex version. The shaft is noticeably thinner than standard as it meets the ferrule / hosel. Not an issue but something to be aware of if looking to play. The M75 and M85 versions will have wider appeal.

I bought a set advertised as M85 and was curious about the flex. It was only under magnification that the stamp was revealed as M65!

They are lovely irons and safely stored away for future use. I have since acquired a set of M85.

Date wise, I believe the lack of "Rec No" before the M65 makes them 1957 as '55 and '56 had that extra stamping.

Honestly I am a little disappointed that these are senior flex (I am 31) but honestly, at my skill level, I think if I tried to swing these at 90% I would miss the sweet spot most of the time. I will look for the M85 version of this set. I got this set from a garage sale for $30 so I think I got an amazing deal!

 

Here were the pictures of the clubs before I cleaned them up:

 

 

[SteveNZ]

You should definitely hit them first - shafts in this era were a bit stiffer than their modern equivalents. The M85s are probably closer to x-stiff, the M75s probably more of a firm than a regular, so yours are probably a lttle closer to regular than you might think. Regardless, they're a great-looking set of irons. Nice to have almost all the ferrules intact too.

 

EDIT: I see you have already hit them. I need to learn to read more carefully!

Edited September 22, 2022 by SteveNZ

[BuffaloJoe]

1 hour ago, SteveNZ said:

You should definitely hit them first - shafts in this era were a bit stiffer than their modern equivalents. The M85s are probably closer to x-stiff, the M75s probably more of a firm than a regular, so yours are probably a lttle closer to regular than you might think. Regardless, they're a great-looking set of irons. Nice to have almost all the ferrules intact too.

Thank you for that advice. When I was hitting the irons with a full swing the shots were flying straight. These feel much stiffer than modern graphite senior flex shafts. I plan to take these back to the range this weekend and play a round with these next week and see how they perform. 

[Foozle]

4 hours ago, BuffaloJoe said:

Honestly I am a little disappointed that these are senior flex (I am 31) but honestly, at my skill level, I think if I tried to swing these at 90% I would miss the sweet spot most of the time. I will look for the M85 version of this set. I got this set from a garage sale for $30 so I think I got an amazing deal!

 

Here were the pictures of the clubs before I cleaned them up:

 

 

I am delighted that at 31 you are taking an interest in and playing these vintage irons. I hope my comment on senior flex does not take the shine of or prejudice your view of these clubs. The term does have connotations in modern golf but fishing rods these are not! Like lofts, shaft flex was categorised differently "back in thr day"; these are simply at the softer end of what were typically stiffer shafts at the time. Sounds like you are getting along with them okay which is what matters.

Loss of distance compared to your CB irons will be down to lofts and shaft length - you are not comparing apples to apples. Depending on what you currently play, the lofts and shaft length could be anything up to 3 clubs out so your  colokrom 4 iron may have similar loft snd shaft length to your modern 7 iron. You need to adjust for this.

Feel is very hard to describe - you need to experience it to understand, I am glad you are seeking out having that experience.

Finally, you did get a great deal on the M65's!

Enjoy!

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

2 hours ago, BuffaloJoe said:

Thank you for that advice. When I was hitting the irons with a full swing the shots were flying straight. These feel much stiffer than modern graphite senior flex shafts. I plan to take these back to the range this weekend and play a round with these next week and see how they perform. 

 

Just re-echoing what others have said, but with older clubs it's better to focus on whether the ball is flying straight or not than what the label on the shaft says. So, if you're hitting them straight, then'd say they're playable for you.

 

I've a Mac W55 5-wood; the 55 means it's a softer shaft. While it's not ideal (it does feel a bit too soft for me), I can still hit it well enough and have fun with it.

[Rmcn]

Hi, I’m a little late to the conversation but I dug up some old clubs from my shed and I found out they’re tourney colokrom M65 which you said is the older version. I haven’t tried to hit them yet but I just wanted to say something since there’s a lot of good info on them here!

[BuffaloJoe]

On 3/3/2023 at 9:31 AM, Rmcn said:

Hi, I’m a little late to the conversation but I dug up some old clubs from my shed and I found out they’re tourney colokrom M65 which you said is the older version. I haven’t tried to hit them yet but I just wanted to say something since there’s a lot of good info on them here!

They hit good at the range but it was painful at the course. I am a newer player though so it comes down to user error I’m sure. Currently working on getting a classic set together to alternate between modern and old school. Just found this old putter yesterday which is going in the set.