SS1W Sweepback Woods

[astamm8]

I picked these up a while back with a set of SS1 Irons (reverse muscle, not diamond back). I don't really know what to make of them. They came with Tourney "C" shafts, maroon and black two tone grips, a solid red insert, and no velocitized that suggest '55 or so. They're sweepbacks which are more 693-653 like, than SS1. But the shape is quite different from the 693 4 wood I have lying around. Dave Wood seemed to think they were prototypes that were made up by Toney Penna himself and that they were reworked by him/his crew at that time to sort of play around with new ideas and then not redone by anybody else. They were strange with some uneven scoring lines and staining when I got them, but I'm not sure if that came from Mac or happened over the 50 years in between.

 

I had Dave work on them and he made a bunch of changes as well to the face progression, loft, etc., and we changed the shafts (which was a tough decision!) After the black finish, they now have a beautiful dark walnut. They're just fantastic, I really like the shape, but I don't know what else is shaped like them!

 

Dave and I mostly spoke over the phone, but here are some excerpts from emails from Dave. Just thought you guys might enjoy. Comments welcome, and I'd love to know more about them!

 

 

 

 

 

Your SS1's are very interesting. Today we'd call them prototypes. MacGregor called them SMU's (Special make ups). Probably something Mr.Penna was developing at the time. Do the have the Velocitized art work on the soleplate?

Thanks for sending me the images. Pretty sure these Woods and Irons fall into the SMU or prototype genre. Interesting, the irons appear to have been ground from the 985 forging, but with more of a square toe and top-line. The face profile/shape is closer to what the SS1 production model would become. Can't tell from the photo, but are those diamonds or dots that frame the scoring?Obviously the insert and plate on the woods are from an earlier version TA product line like 693-653. Of course the opaque black finish with red fiber 4 screw would have been 653ish... But this set doesn't follow anything like a standard product model description... My guess is that they were built as developmental prototypes.

[rex235]

Astamm-

First of all, I consider all MacGregor Persimmons from this period works of art.

Yours look suspiciously like the MacGregor Tommy Armour sweepback style soleplates of the early 50s.....

These look more familiar to me because this "new wood shape" mirrors what nearly all the LH MacGregor TA models are-

Diamond pattern 4 screws in the insert instead of the 5 or 6 screw domino patterns of the multi colored inserts of the RH MacGregor EOM and the SEOM series.

Only 4 screws are needed for the smaller sweepback style soleplate, instead of the 5 screw butterfly soleplates found in the RH EOMs, M-series, and SEOMs.....