Late 70s-Early 80s Wilson Staff Tour Blades

[Hawkeye77]

Got a set of 1980 Staff Tour Blades as a college graduation present. Left them for Ping Eye 2+ about a dozen years later. Wish I still had both sets.

 

Edit: LOL, I see I posted that already 4 years ago! Doesn't matter, I still miss them.

[NRJyzr]

Fun thread to read all these years later

[jwb10]

had the 77 Staff Tour Blades and bought the FG 17 One Iron from Edwin Watts. Had a tiny head, no offset and I loved it. Now, when I see them on-line I wonder how I even made contact. They sure were purty......

[tannyhoban]

For the record those are 1978 Staffs..

[Will_leelanau]

Have a set of tour blades that are stamped L-178. Anyone idea on what it means. Can't find anything on it. 

[NRJyzr]

11 hours ago, Will_leelanau said:

Have a set of tour blades that are stamped L-178. Anyone idea on what it means. Can't find anything on it. 

 

It seems to be a code used as an ID for a custom grind of some sort.  

 

Unfortunately, the background info at Wilson seems to no longer be available.  There have been quite a few reports over the years of folks contacting Wilson, only to be told they no longer have that information on file.

 

[GavUK]

I had a set of the FG-17s 3-SW when i was 17 back in 1982, liked them so much i also bought the 1 and 2 iron. Even to this day after sets of Hogan Apex and many Taylormade TP

irons the FG-17s are still the best irons i've played.

[boggyman]

2 hours ago, GavUK said:

I had a set of the FG-17s 3-SW when i was 17 back in 1982, liked them so much i also bought the 1 and 2 iron. Even to this day after sets of Hogan Apex and many Taylormade TP

irons the FG-17s are still the best irons i've played.

I’ve yet to find a replacement for my 17s, other than a spare at, after numerous amounts of cash and iron sets!!

Edited May 6, 2021 by boggyman

[MattC555]

My first full set of irons were my father's old FG-17s with leather grips.  Still have them.  This thread is making me want to hit them on the launch monitor to see how they stand up today. 

[boggyman]

21 hours ago, MattC555 said:

My first full set of irons were my father's old FG-17s with leather grips.  Still have them.  This thread is making me want to hit them on the launch monitor to see how they stand up today. 

Loft for loft they’re as good a blade as you can find! Love mine. 

[Texas Golfer]

It might seem odd, but the FG 17 was popular in part because it was considered to be easier to hit compared to the main competitor at the time, the Hogan Apex.  

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

On 5/6/2021 at 9:55 AM, Will_leelanau said:

Have a set of tour blades that are stamped L-178. Anyone idea on what it means. Can't find anything on it. 

 

I'm pretty sure @NRJyzr is right about them being a custom offering (which is pretty cool, in my opinion. Nice find). I have a set stamped "FG-J8", but they're almost identical to the FG-17s. I actually bought a FG-17 2i to compare, and the only difference I could find between that and the 3i in my FG-J8s was the muscle on the FG-17 was about 1mm thinner.

They are cracking irons, by the way.

[jmck]

Nice to see this thread back again.  I still have a set of '76s in my vintage bag.  Posted a picture of them earlier in the thread which the board changeover ate.  Funnily I've been playing this bag as you see it here, unchanged, for years....while the modern bag hardly ever goes a month without tinkering, trying something new, sending something to the bench etc etc etc.

 

 

[Fairway14]

Current muscle back blade irons from Mizuno, Titelist, Callaway etc... are of a head size about 20% larger than the 70's-era blades from Wilson, MacGregor, Hogan etc...

[RolandofGilead]

I just picked up a 2-P set of ‘76 blades with S400 shafts at my local Play It Again Sports for $40. Safe to assume that someone installed those shafts on their own BUT they stuck with the original spec lengths. The head shapes in this set are wonderful, especially the short and mid irons. I love retro lofts and can’t wait to get them out on the course next week. I will most likely go with a combo set using 2,3 Gooseneck irons.

First strike was … very good.

 

I play ‘99 Apex as my gamers and have been wondering about a nice backup vintage set. This set is firmly in the driver’s seat but seeing all of these great muscle designs has me dreaming of refinishing one or more Wilson sets in the coming years. 

Edited October 11, 2022 by RolandofGilead

[DCCarpenter]

I have a set of these Tour Blades with the Dynamic S shafts really like them but the shaft isn’t ideal for me.
 

Just put in a bid for some cheap dynamic gold r200’s with ok looking grips , hopefully I win !  I play Gooseneck irons now but really like the Staff irons. For whatever reason it seems to be a better chipping/bump and run sole for me.

[Wade Patton]

I got my set in the mid eighties from a friend's father who told me they were a re-issue of an earlier blade. He always used headcovers on 'em. They are Staff Tour Blade FF with the line over. 

 

And I still do. plus I didn't play for a good 30 years, so they're yet gorgeous and i just regripped them. No plans to replace them at all. But I do keep buying old Hogan blades trying to find a sweet vintage Hogan set. The Apex PC's were always sexy, so I'm messing with them too. 

 

I've only ever played blades like this and have no desire to change. The Hogan Radials I had as a kid (were stolen ) was the most modern design I've owned. Dad played Pings. I didn't like their feel or feedback.