Old Balls

[Jiggered]

Playing today in a seniors match at an away course, one of the guys who I'd played against a couple of years ago had said back then that he had some old balls I could have if I wanted them, I said "Yes please, that would be great" and forgot all about it.

 

At his course today he came up to me with the balls as promised, as well as four old clubs.

(The clubs were a good condition Cash-In, a couple of Slazenger Bobby Locke laminates and a Slazenger ladies laminate.)

 

The balls are all in good condition with many of them wrapped but two boxed sets stood out.

The first was a box of Lobby balls, see below. I read about these recently in a Golf Monthly magazine from the 1960s that discussed a Which survey that had rated them very poorly and their MD had written a letter to the magazine to complain! They were made in Japan.

 

Here are the balls, I did a drop test onto the kitchen floor with one and it had very little bounce in it, they'd not aged well. 😄

 

 

 

 

But the ones that really caught my eye were these; "Tradition" NQP balls in a sleeve of three.

 

I'd not heard of the make before and wondered if anyone else had, or knew what the NQP stood for?

 

I'll give the actual name away in the following post!

 

(The funny thing is that they're really grubby as though someone has played a few rounds with them and then put them back in the sleeve.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jiggered]

And here's the reveal:

 

N.Q.P. - Not Quite Perfect, you've gotta love it.  😄

 

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

Funny how Cash-ins don't get much love these days. not as much as Bullseyes. Back in the day they were equivalent.

I have one I saved from the tip, actually on site at the tip.

I forget the circumstances about how I came to be at a landfill site but the foreman had an office with a few old clubs in the corner.

That old putter will never know how close it came to a premature grave. Occasionally it putts well enough to repay me.

[Foozle]

3 hours ago, Jiggered said:

Playing today in a seniors match at an away course, one of the guys who I'd played against a couple of years ago had said back then that he had some old balls I could have if I wanted them, I said "Yes please, that would be great" and forgot all about it.

 

At his course today he came up to me with the balls as promised, as well as four old clubs.

(The clubs were a good condition Cash-In, a couple of Slazenger Bobby Locke laminates and a Slazenger ladies laminate.)

 

The balls are all in good condition with many of them wrapped but two boxed sets stood out.

The first was a box of Lobby balls, see below. I read about these recently in a Golf Monthly magazine from the 1960s that discussed a Which survey that had rated them very poorly and their MD had written a letter to the magazine to complain! They were made in Japan.

 

Here are the balls, I did a drop test onto the kitchen floor with one and it had very little bounce in it, they'd not aged well. 😄

 

 

 

 

But the ones that really caught my eye were these; "Tradition" NQP balls in a sleeve of three.

 

I'd not heard of the make before and wondered if anyone else had, or knew what the NQP stood for?

 

I'll give the actual name away in the following post!

 

(The funny thing is that they're really grubby as though someone has played a few rounds with them and then put them back in the sleeve.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Never heard of Lobby or Tradition balls before but NQP stands for "Not Quite Perfect" - I seem to recall that others used the same nomenclature - Uniroyal for some reason comes to mind?! Others simply stamped "Reject" and then there were cross outs with the ball name over stamped with "x"s. 

Common fodder as ammunition in my early years!

I doubt there was ever very much wrong with them - certainly nothing that would affect my standard of golf, then or now!

Great find as always, hope they will feature in an upcoming video?

[Jiggered]

18 hours ago, Foozle said:

Never heard of Lobby or Tradition balls before but NQP stands for "Not Quite Perfect" - I seem to recall that others used the same nomenclature - Uniroyal for some reason comes to mind?! Others simply stamped "Reject" and then there were cross outs with the ball name over stamped with "x"s. 

Common fodder as ammunition in my early years!

I doubt there was ever very much wrong with them - certainly nothing that would affect my standard of golf, then or now!

Great find as always, hope they will feature in an upcoming video?

 

I've been wondering about a video on the haul but I did one on the change in ball size a while back. 

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

I think Lobby were sold by Woolworths in the Uk. Were unkindly referred to as having a 'solid rice centre'. Possibly not very woke, but there you go, things were different 60 years ago.

[elwhippy]

NQP equals avoid like the plague.