Reccomendations for Persimmon Refinishing

[Old Pro]

Everyone, I would like some reccomendations for someone who can refinish persimmon drivers correctly. I don't want a thick wavy finish, or the stampings to look like a three year old picked them out. I have seen some beautiful work on this site and would love to hear what the fellow collectors have to say. I have several MacGregor drivers I would like to refinish for display purposes. I know several of you are against refinishing, and I understand.

I collected vintage Macgregor persimmons from the 40's -70's, complete sets all original with neck numbers. I had one of the finest collections on the east coast according to Bob Farino. I had mint sets of 693's, M85's,SS1's, 945's, and a complete set(albeit refinished by Bob) of 1954 Macgregor Toney Penna WW Specials. Bob said it was the only complete set he'd ever seen. I had a full room in my house dedicated to my collection. Unfortunately, I ran into the same situation that has been the topic of another thread, no one to share my passion for Macgregor's with. So I sold my entire collection to a guy in San Diego, custom display racks and all. I am out of the collecting game, at least on that scale. Please forgive the long story, but I know how passionate people are on the refinishing question, and I wanted everyone to know I know both sides of the issue very well.

I am a teaching professional in Charlotte, NC who still plays and reccomends Macgregor irons. This is my first post although I have been lurking for a while.

Thanks in advance,

Keith

[rgolf06]

keith ,
i am glad to see you here.i am a passionate persimmon wood guy..i have owned thousands, and sold that many..i used to broker with a guy in hawaii , he sold them to japan, and we all made good money on 693's, ww's, and others..i used to love to talk to bobby farino and newburn combs , and swap with them...i have refinished and repaired for years, but the modern world just doesn't get it...so i mainly only work on this passion in the winter. i refinish using lacquer only nowadays, never make a wood look like its coated up with 40 layers anymore..i used to, but i appreciate the warmth and glow of a thinner finish, and , hey, you can always recoat if you want after a few good vigorous playing rounds.i have always felt refinishing and regluing of inserts , soleplates,shafts,were necessary anyway...if you're just gonna let these great clubs sit around, it is a huge waste in my opinion, go play with em and care for them like you would your car...i have some leftover stains and tools and screws from the golfworks and golfsmith and magco days..also,do a search for woodworkers supply, there is one on i85 between greensboro and mebane , and there may be one near you..you can buy behlen fillers and stains and lacquers to refinish and they look great, so dive in and refinish a few and don't worry about anyone's opinion ,do what you love and do it well..oh, i am in danville,va. not to far from you..a 2 and a half hour drive..i operate a small golf shop selling ping,and mizuno and adams ans cleveland, do a lot of gripping and shafting of the modern clubs, and play with the new stuff too..but 20 rounds a year or so i use persimmon and blades and leftover wound balls , and a 8802 or armour putter ...and love every hole i play .....
ray ray

[Old Pro]

Ray,
I appreciate the encouragement to do it myself, but I have no time. I own a Design Engineering Company as well as a Homeowners Association Management Company. Plus I teach golf four days a week at Regent Park Golf Club in Fort Mill, SC.
I would love to work on clubs all day like I used to, but I think giving it to a quality refinisher is my option these days. When I get a chance I'll tell you some great classic club stories from the glory days of the 80's.
Thanks,
Keith

P.S. Charley Penna, I appreciate the knowledge and information you freely share on this site. To Clay Long, Don White, and all the former MacGregor employees, thanks for making the greatest clubs in the history of golf. If it was good enough for Hogan, Nicklaus, Norman, Faldo and Palmer..... Who am I to argue with that?
Thanks,
Keith

[Bella Woods]

Old Pro:

Welcome to the board and making the transition from the "lurking" ranks
to the posting ranks.

I bought many a fine persimmon wood/sets from Bobby Farino (none since
the mid to late 1990s though, when everything kind of fell apart).

What model MacGregor drivers do you have that you want refinished?

[stevehj]

Keith, if you look through this forum I think you will find many folks complementing the work of John Hayes (aka Persimonpal). There are quite a few pictures of his work sprinkled about this forum, take a look and you can judge for yourself.

Steve

[Old Pro]

Bella,
I have a couple of Tourney Custom Jumbo's, but nothing of any super value like the stuff i used to collect. I particularly like jumbos with keysite inserts. I would like to find anither M09LFF, but I primarily buy irons now to play and not collect. Tourney Custom irons, VIPs, and SS1's are at the top of my list now. I want these to play with, but I obviosly want the best condition I can find. Persimmons for me these days would just be for decoration.
Since you know Bobby, I'll tell you about the first time I went to his shop/museum in Newport News in 1987. After he and and Pat gave me a tour of the shop and museum, he invited me into his office to talk about some vintage grips he got from Macgregor that were perfect NOS replacements for my 945W's. When I went to sit down I had to move about eight or nine Scottsdale Ansers that he had sitting in the chair. I put them on the floor next to a [b]PILE[/b] of Wilson Designed by Arnold Palmers and a [b]Pile[/b] of Macgregor Ironmasters. I couldn't help but be dumbstruck by the amount of cash sitting on the floor next to my chair. I never asked, but I'm pretty sure those were destined for Japan. In the eighties at the peak of the classic club frenzy, you could have put your kids through college on that stash. I miss those days! I just wonder what is sitting in closets in Japan right now!
I hope to post more because I never get tired of talking vintage clubs, especially Macgregor.
Thanks,
Keith

[rex235]

Old Pro-

+1 on the MacGregors, but playing LH, are much more limited in scope.....

These two SWs caught Charley Pennas attention.

[attachment=989319:100_9667.JPG]

What iron sets are you looking for? A friend has some limited run MacGregor RH Toney Penna Tourney Colokroms..

Wish Farino would have done one more proofread of his "American Golf Classics- Golf Collectors Handbook"

[freddiec]

I bought a few clubs as well as my Mac 1997 Centennial set from Bobby F. A very nice guy to deal with and really has an interesting past, being out on tour selling to the big guys. He sold Jerry Pate a Hogan 4 wood, which I think helped him win some big tourneys.

[Old Pro]

Rex,
I would like to find a nice set of Tourney Custom 985's or Tourney Custom with the VIP style muscle. I saw that back in September I missed a very nice set of Tourney Custom Diamondback heads on the BST. I have always wanted a set of SS1's, but actually prefer the Nicklaus 25th Anniversary Tourney Customs instead of the original Tommy Armours. I like satin finishes on the irons. I see so many people wanting the satin "tour" finish on their new irons. I wonder if they know that MacGregor had satin finished blades for decades!
Any Macgregor blade with the flat sole, low or no bounce, and a very square toe appeals to me so I'm a sucker for just about any of the VIP, Muirfield, and Armour styled blades.
Freddiec, Your remark about Bobby selling to the tour guys brings back an interesting memory from a time when Bobby had a Macgregor 693 with a Hogan Apex 4 shaft in it that belonged to Nick Faldo. I really wanted it because the head was exceptionally nice. I guess Faldo liked his M85s better than the 693. Some of those classic club guys selling by the side of the road outside PGA tournaments were real characters. Rocky Winstead comes to mind.
Rex, About 10 years ago Bobby told me he had a set of LH MacGregor 985 irons in brand new unhit condition from the factory. The interesting thing was they had no grooves! I wasn't left handed so I wasn't interested, but I wonder what became of those.... Maybe Charley Penna might know what the reason was for no grooves.
Keith

[rgolf06]

ha...good ole rocky and the school bus.....he still comes to see me pretty regularly and always buys an item or two from me.....he is SUCH a character.....THATS what is missing from golf today !!

ray

[Old Pro]

Ray,
I have to admit that I'm stunned and pleased to hear that Rocky is still with us. I sold him a set of 945W fairway woods outside of Hermitage Country Club outside of Richmond Virginia in the eighties. They were really nice and his eyes almost popped out when he looked at them. Then he tried to beat me up on the price. Good ole Rocky. He sold them the next day to a Senior Tour player and made a decent amount on them. The Senior Tour player used them in the tournament that week (The Crestar). Incidentally, Arnold Palmer won the tournament for his last professional win.
Keith

[freddiec]

Keith,
I've had a lot of old MacGregors refinished over the last few years and I think for the best result , depending on who you talk to it comes down to dipping vs. spraying. I recently had some done by Dave Wood, who prefers to spray. The finish comes out Piano like, but not that glossy look as if it was dipped 10 times.

He has documented his process step by step and might be worth looking at. http://www.davewoodarts.com/WoodRestoreProcess.html

He also shows nice examples.

[Old Pro]

Freddiec,
Yes, I have had several people refer me to Dave. I was impressed with the attention to detail his presentation showed. Refinishing and saving the neck numbers is impressive.
Keith

[rex235]

Keith-

+1 with Freddie on everything Dave Wood.....[i]everything.
[/i]
Have a friend who picked up a set of MacGregor "Muscleback" Tourney Customs. 1-SW.

Will send photos to confirm they're what you seek.

While it doesn't surprise me Bobby Farino would have a set of LH MacGregor Tourney Custom 985 irons with no grooves.

It does surprise me how MacGregor treated their LH equipment with such secrecy...like it was never made.

For example, how many of these MacGregor TA SS 985s..LH or RH.... have "Neutralizer" stamped on the hosel?

[attachment=990567:100_9808.JPG]

[rgolf06]

GOOD OLE ROCKY AND ARNIE..............[quote name='Old Pro' timestamp='1327082679' post='4125147']
Ray,
I have to admit that I'm stunned and pleased to hear that Rocky is still with us. I sold him a set of 945W fairway woods outside of Hermitage Country Club outside of Richmond Virginia in the eighties. They were really nice and his eyes almost popped out when he looked at them. Then he tried to beat me up on the price. Good ole Rocky. He sold them the next day to a Senior Tour player and made a decent amount on them. The Senior Tour player used them in the tournament that week (The Crestar). Incidentally, Arnold Palmer won the tournament for his last professional win.
Keith
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