1949 MacGregor Tourney Tommy Armour 693 Driver

[Bella Woods]

Pictures of a Club I 'm Hitting Really Well Lately

Just a few pictures of an "old persimmon driver" that I have had a lot of fun hitting lately.

[SpinMill75]

Cool.....

What kind of ball are you using with it?

[LYG]

693....true classic!

Love that black color.

I never had a 693 driver...653 4 wood is closest I got.

[Maxwell]

[size="4"][center][font="Comic Sans MS"][size="4"]The club itself looks like it's in great shape and is ready for business!
MasterGrips! I used them for about about 10 years and just recently changed to a softer material Alpha wrap grip.
Really nice club Bella![/size][/center]
Max[/size][/font]

[freddiec]

Thats museum quality. I haven't seen too many black 693's. The only other black 693 I saw was a Penna. Yours is awesome. I also like that old style whipping.

[Bella Woods]

[quote name='SpinMill75' timestamp='1290897433' post='2811770']
Cool.....

What kind of ball are you using with it?
[/quote]

Titleist Pro V1 (I usually use the Pro V1X but its been in the 40s around here lately).

[freddiec]

Bella,
I think your 49' 693 has the NDWS (new dynamic wood shaft). In 1950 the Tourney Shaft was intro'd. The NDWS was a hit with Pros back then, I'm wondering how it plays for you? Have you ever hit the Tourney silver shaft band shaft? Any comparisons?

[Bella Woods]

[quote name='freddiec' timestamp='1290950148' post='2812549']
Bella,
I think your 49' 693 has the NDWS (new dynamic wood shaft). In 1950 the Tourney Shaft was intro'd. The NDWS was a hit with Pros back then, I'm wondering how it plays for you? Have you ever hit the Tourney silver shaft band shaft? Any comparisons?
[/quote]

Freddiec:

Funny you should mention that, I also think it has the NDWS shaft in it (no shaft band on the driver). It
plays great, medium height draws and doesn't feel to stiff at all.

I first hit the club on a course in late September and couldn't believe how well I was hitting it (my playing
partner told me I should throw out my modern driver and put this one in my bag). Eventually I came to the
conclusion that the reason I was hitting it so good had to be the shaft, that and the fact it sets up really
good for me at address. I want to find out what the number is on a frequency analyzer.

I have a set of 1952 M75W's with the Silver Tourney Shaft (skinny silver shaft band with black borders top
and bottom and black lettering) and I have hit them. The shaft seems to be less stiff than the one on the
693 (but not by a lot).

Looking at the two shafts, assuming nobody did any major tipping, it looks like the steps in the Silver
Tourney shaft start one tip length lower than the 693 shaft.

I have one other 1949 693 that has a NDWS shaft in it and it always seemed to stiff for me. In comparing
the two shafts It looks like the one that is hard to hit (to stiff) has been tipped 1/4".

Black 693 D-4 43 1/4" 385 grams total weight
Other 693 D-4 43" 391 grams total wieght

What a difference a 1/4" tipped shaft can make in playability! Now that I think about it, I always had better
results with the Tourney C chrome shaft as opposed to the E chrome (to whippy).

[u]Kind of a long winded response Fred, but it seems like the NDWS shaft has a slightly more boring ball
flight and is a tad stiffer than its later counterpart, the C chrome Tourney Shaft.[/u]

BTW, I understand that it was possible to special order a shaft that was one flex stiffer that the NDWS
or Tourney C chrome (they must have just tipped the same shaft).

[freddiec]

Bella,
Thanks for that feedback. Its so cool that you're able to hit that black 693 so well. Sounds like the shaft is optimal for your swing. Its amazing how a club that old can still perform so well, that just shows how great the old Mac clubs are. I have a M85 I play a lot that has the tourney shaft in it, and its perfect for me. I'd love to hit a few someday with the NDWS, sounds like a good one!

[Ironmaster Oddities]

[quote name='Bella Woods' timestamp='1290896494' post='2811745']
Just a few pictures of an "old persimmon driver" that I have had a lot of fun hitting lately.


[attachment=689707:1949 MacGregor Tommy Armour 693.JPG]

[attachment=689703:1949 MacGregor Tommy Armour 693 (2).JPG]

[attachment=689704:1949 MacGregor Tommy Armour 693 (3).JPG]

[attachment=689705:1949 MacGregor Tommy Armour 693 (4).JPG]

[attachment=689702:1949 MacGregor Tommy Armour 693 (5).JPG]

[attachment=689706:1949 MacGregor Tommy Armour 693 (6).JPG]
[/quote]

[Ironmaster Oddities]

Terrific old Armour. Black 693 armour is unusual and very cool. Judgin from the condition, and it sure looks original from the pics, whoever owned must have been a great player. Or else he couldn't hit it and used the 2 wood instead for tee shots. 'caust that baby isgorgeous.

[hawk59]

I have a set of 693Ts, 1-4, that haven't been refinished, so I won't hit them. Reading this makes me think I need to find another set to play with. Thanks for sharing the pics. Mine are the mahogany finish. Interesting to see the black.

[Wildwing55]

Love the old NDWS shaft. True Temper actually made it for quite a while, at least into the 80s, when I bought a few. I shafted a couple drivers with it and absolutely loved the shaft. It has a .600 butt, which made it a bit more flexible with grip sizing. I would say it played just a tad stiffer than say, the Dynamic Gold S-300 or S-400. Still have the drivers with those shafts. Great stuff.

[rex235]

Just posted on the TA 693 -

It is timeless, but being LH, the best one I could ever find was a TA 653... which also came in Coal Black.
Thanks to a Canadian, who also refinished them, I have one set of 653s, and 2 Drivers-
Both of these 1s are beyond gorgeous.


Photos? [email="[email protected]"]Email me[/email]

[b][i]2017 Update- Have found a LH 693, and you would never guess the name on the crown....[/i][/b]

[Nspiel58]

Is that the original finish? Wow, what an amazing wood. This is driving me crazy. So many beautiful woods out there. Congrats on finding one that you can hit so well.

[Bella Woods]

Nspiel58:

Yes I do believe it is the original finish although someone may
have done minor touch ups on the bottom of the club.

The reason I am pretty sure the finish is original is because the
2, 3 and 4 woods of the set are all Model 653. So whoever originally
bought them had the 693 (deep face) driver and the smaller fairway
woods (653s). MacGregor 653s came in black finish, so I think they
probably special ordered the 693 in black.

Both the 693 and the 653 fairway woods all have the same registration
number(2B4584). It may be an odd set, but its a matched original set.

[Joe9977]

When were the 653's made? Anyone know?

[rex235]

Joe-

 

According to both Kaplan (MacGregor Catalogs) and Farino (American Golf Classics)-

 

1949-1953.

 

Both RH and LH models made.

[northplatteriver]

Just a few pictures of an "old persimmon driver" that I have had a lot of fun hitting lately.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was there only 4 screws put in the faces of these Tommy Armour 693's or would it also be possible for them to have 5 screws in a domino pattern?

[SteveNZ]

Joe-

 

According to both Kaplan (MacGregor Catalogs) and Farino (American Golf Classics)-

 

1949-1953.

 

Both RH and LH models made.

 

rex - does that go for the 693 as well? And is there any way to narrow down a particular year a 693 was made?

[rex235]

NZ-

 

The Kaplan MacGregor Catalog compilations indicate the Tommy Armour 693 and 693T models had Reg Nos. which were recorded by MacGregor, but MacGregor shut it's doors in 2009, and whatever records they had are likely long gone.

 

If you can find the Reg No stamped on the neck, that would certainly help, as Golfwrx appears to have a number of Mac TA 693 afficionados

 

Even though it states "RH Only" in the MacGregor catalog for those years...

 

We know of at least one LH 693.......and of one LH M09 Jumbo LFF...

[SteveNZ]

Thanks rex. The clubs I have (I also have a 4 wood in addition to the 2 wood in the pics) have been refinished and any Reg number that may have been there have been sanded away it seems.

 

Oh well. In this neck of the woods, when it comes to TA 693s, beggars, most definitely, cannot be choosers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bella Woods]

Joe-

 

According to both Kaplan (MacGregor Catalogs) and Farino (American Golf Classics)-

 

1949-1953.

 

Both RH and LH models made.

 

rex - does that go for the 693 as well? And is there any way to narrow down a particular year a 693 was made?

 

 

SteveNZ

 

As far as narrowing down the year a 693 was made, it's not always that easy unless you have provenance (like buying

it from the individual that originally bought it, or family info from them).

 

If the club has a 6 digit registration number it is probably 1949 or 1950. If it has a 7 digit registration number it is

1950 to 1953. Sometimes you can get an idea from the characteristics of the club too. Stain/shaft in particular.

 

If the shaft is of the C,D,E Chrome series it is not a 1949 693, and likely not a 1950 one either........

 

The 1949 or 1950 693's are rare, most are later versions that you come about today.

 

 

Edit:

 

1950 was a year of "overlap" between the old Dynamic True Temper shafts and the new "Chrome Series" shafts.

So 1950 is duplicated above.....

[Mudpack]

Bella:

Please forgive me for a slight threadjack, but your information about 693 serial numbers and likely vintage has me curious about the Tommy Armour 653s I’ve been playing now for the last few years. Inserts on my 1-4 set are red with four screws in diamond pattern, and that and the number of scoring lines match what I see in my Kaplan for 1949-1953. Would the silver-banded True Temper Tourney shafts then further suggest 1949 or 1950 for 653s just as they do for 693s?

Because I bought these clubs to play, I have refinished them as best I could following the procedures outlined by Dave Wood and PersimmonStudio (using additional tips from several other experts who post here—you among them). I tried but failed to save the original white paint in the matching serial numbers, but I made sure to at least preserve the imprints of the numbers. Would a serial number of K6595 tell me anything more, date-wise?

Many thanks.

[SteveNZ]

Joe- According to both Kaplan (MacGregor Catalogs) and Farino (American Golf Classics)- 1949-1953. Both RH and LH models made.

rex - does that go for the 693 as well? And is there any way to narrow down a particular year a 693 was made?

SteveNZ As far as narrowing down the year a 693 was made, it's not always that easy unless you have provenance (like buying it from the individual that originally bought it, or family info from them). If the club has a 6 digit registration number it is probably 1949 or 1950. If it has a 7 digit registration number it is 1950 to 1953. Sometimes you can get an idea from the characteristics of the club too. Stain/shaft in particular. If the shaft is of the C,D,E Chrome series it is not a 1949 693, and likely not a 1950 one either........ The 1949 or 1950 693's are rare, most are later versions that you come about today. Edit: 1950 was a year of "overlap" between the old Dynamic True Temper shafts and the new "Chrome Series" shafts. So 1950 is duplicated above.....

 

Hi Bella - that's some really good info. Unfortunately, the serial numbers have disappeared in a re-finish and it's also be re-shafted, so no clues there. Oh well, I'm just pretty happy to have it (and a 4-wood too) - not many in these parts!