Golfcraft Coronado irons

[Hockeysam66]

I just bought this set off eBay - will be delivered this week - Golfcraft Coronado Dick Mayer irons.  Really like the look of them, but struggling to find any info online about this particular line.  Based on prior searches of this site, any mentions of the Coronado irons seem to indicate they are pretty good quality - so I think likely sold through pro shops, rather than Sears, but I don’t know for sure.  Dick Mayer was on the PGA tour from 1948 through 1967, winning 7 times.  His best year was 1957 when he won the US Open, beating  Cary Middlecoff in a playoff, and was 1957 PGA Player of the year. 
 

I can’t find any info referring to Dick Mayer being on the Golfcraft Advisory Staff, and most Golfcraft discussion I have found is about their Continental irons.  But based on Mayer’s PGA playing timeline, and knowing that Acushnet bought Golfcraft in 1968, I think these would likely be early to mid ‘60s vintage?

 

At one time there were plans for a book from the B.C. Golf House Society about Golfcraft and its founder Ted Woolley, but the book has not been finished and published as of yet.

 

So….. I was wondering if anyone here has any knowledge about these Coronado irons - any experience with playing them or any thoughts on the year(s) they were sold? Thanks for any feedback.

 

[bcstones]

What are the shafts? Are the grips OEM?

 

The back reminds me of the Hogan Precision & some of the Late '50s to '60s H&B PowerBilt designs...

Nice set of clubs...Congrats!

[Jiggered]

Nice looking clubs, with some tasty ferrules to boot!

[AZBandit]

I really hope the book gets published. The more I try to learn about vintage clubs the more I realize how little information is out there. There are so many great stories around these companies/makers and none of the information is centralized.

Edited March 11 by AZBandit

[AdamMH]

There's a part of me that think these are not pro line clubs since they would have had the various Continental staff models available during that period. It's unfortunately quite hard to confirm as non-US brands are significantly less documented than others online. I also wish I could read that book!

[rgk5]

Typically any Golfcraft iron with a Pro's name on it was Pro shop, second line.  An example was the Stan Leonard variant, named after a Canuck pro from Vancouver. Golfcraft's top models were the Continental. Continental Staff and the El Dorado.

[mocokid]

Very very nice looking. 

[Hockeysam66]

Thanks for all the replies and the additional info re pro line vs store line models.  They’ll be arriving tomorrow so I’ll post some more photos and details! 

[Hockeysam66]

@bcstones, to your point about reminding you of the Ben Hogan Precision irons - i just think that muscle back design looks fantastic.  I couldn’t help noticing it also shows up in a few other fairly well known irons besides the H&B irons you mention!! 
 

[Hockeysam66]

Ok, the delivery man (my new best friend) just dropped these beauties off. They look great! @Jiggered, check out these ferrules with the faux wood grain pattern! Pretty long necks on the iron heads - 3” from the bottom of the ferrule to the heel.  @bcstonesthe shaft bands are pretty much finished - indecipherable to me, unless one of the gurus on here can tell from the remnants the type of shaft and/or stiffness.  The grips are Tacki-Mac so not original I guess. The numbers on the ferrules are interesting - DM63385. I don’t know if Golfcraft used a consistent numbering system for their irons, but maybe DM is Dick Mayer and 63 is 1963? Attached find pictures of the set and views of the 7 and 3 irons.  Really pleased with this find, and really hoping I can learn more about them.  @teevons, I believe in some other older posts on the site, you mentioned that you had some Coronado irons.  Do these look similar to yours? 
 

[teevons]

Here's a set of Precision Built Coronado

[Hockeysam66]

Wow, quite different! So maybe your Precision Builts were the top line Coronados and mine were more of a second tier line associated with the pro Dick Mayers, like the Stan Leonards that @rgk5 mentioned above.

[teevons]

Yes Precision builts were the pro line, 

[Hockeysam66]

Found this interesting - while searching for more info about Dick Mayer and Golfcraft.  I came across this Golfcraft ad which is likely from 1959 or 1960. The ad is referring to the 1959 Masters, and that 3 of the Top 5 finishers that year were Golfcraft Advisory Staff - the winner Art Wall Jr., as well as Stan Leonard, and Dick Mayer.

 

2nd photo shows those top 5 finishers from the 1959 Masters - prize money was a little different back then!!  Also interesting to see the Canadian Red Ensign flag beside Stan Leonard’s name, rather than the Maple Leaf flag - correct for the time.

 

Anyway, still looking for further info on these irons……

 

[Bigarch]

The Lloyd Mangrum Glass Shafts are a pretty slick set of irons.  So I'm not sure that the players name means they are 2nd tier clubs.  Great find OP