Who forged Ram Tour Grinds?

[UlfBane]

I'm fairly sure that the "S" wedge IS the gap wedge, being about 52 degrees. This is true for the forged FX blades, FX2 Cavity backs and FX Off-Set cavity backs. Look at the "s" wedge closely and you will see that it is a muscleback blade, NOT a traditional sand wedge. As for IRONFINDER, it's a gret resource, but I have a degree in web development and can tell you that they are using Templates that are NOT CUSTOMIZED, meaning they ALL have a slot for a GAP WEDGE even when none was offered.

 

Having said all that, I do not pretend to know everything about these clubs and welcome anyone of my peers out there who can provide further evidence on what was or was not offered, actual lofts etc. I have been collecting these with the intent of buying a loft and lie machine to measure and publish the lofts on these irons. There is precious little information on the net about this. For example, I pulled the 52 degree loft on the "s" wedge from one posting on Wothpoint, and comparing it with my other wedges. I would love to accumulate more accurate hard data based on measuring more than 1 sample where possible (just got a second set of Laser FX 1-pw delivered today).

 

As for the previous post I concentrated on the Nickels in my collection (wedges and putters). I focus on Troon Grind because I preffer the groove in the sole. Wedges without grooves certainly exist. I do not know if thw 610 was offered in Nickel without the insert, but would love to see one if it did. Here are some pics of a Copy of the 610 with insert. (I do not know much about this putter, who made it, when it was offered etc.).

 

I also have a couple non nickel putters.

 

I love to learn, I would LOVE to look at any clubs, brochures, data sheets (Maltby etc.) that can help us all learn more about these clubs.

 

[NRJyzr]

I own a Wizard 610 with no insert.  Don't don't have pics, but if you'd really like to see it, I can try.  I'd started (and not finished) the process of pulling the shaft, the ferrule is a melted mess so I've never bothered to take a pic of it.  😉

 

[UlfBane]

If it's nickel, we'd like to see it when you get a chance.

[UlfBane]

51 minutes ago, NRJyzr said:

I own a Wizard 610 with no insert.  Don't don't have pics, but if you'd really like to see it, I can try.  I'd started (and not finished) the process of pulling the shaft, the ferrule is a melted mess so I've never bothered to take a pic of it.  😉

 

Actually, upon further review there appears to be NO TRACE on the internet of a insertless 610. If you got one please post pics regardless of whether it is Nickel, Carbon or Stainless steel.

 

On a side note (showing there is so much more to RAM offerings during this period), the laser FX set I just got helped me discover something. When I looked at the 1 & 2 iron they seemed slimmer than the ones I already have. Upon comparison, not only are they slimmer, they also have a more rounded toe.

 

Thinner on left, thicker on right

 

 

Round toe on left, more pointed toe on right.

The Fatter sole, pointed toe Laser FX appears to be the older, and much rarer of the 2.

The thinner sole, more rounded toe Laser FX was iniitially sold in conjunction with the FX2 which inherited the more pointed toe.

 

 

Shortly thereafter, the Laser FX became the FX OFF-SET, same round toe and thinner sole of Laser ver.2

 

 

 

The one difference is that the Laser FX had V Grooves while the FX2 and FX OFF-SET had Square grooves.

 

 

 

 

[NRJyzr]

1 hour ago, UlfBane said:

Actually, upon further review there appears to be NO TRACE on the internet of a insertless 610. If you got one please post pics regardless of whether it is Nickel, Carbon or Stainless steel.

 

On a side note (showing there is so much more to RAM offerings during this period), the laser FX set I just got helped me discover something. When I looked at the 1 & 2 iron they seemed slimmer than the ones I already have. Upon comparison, not only are they slimmer, they also have a more rounded toe.

 

Thinner on left, thicker on right

 

 

Round toe on left, more pointed toe on right.

The Fatter sole, pointed toe Laser FX appears to be the older, and much rarer of the 2.

The thinner sole, more rounded toe Laser FX was iniitially sold in conjunction with the FX2 which inherited the more pointed toe.

 

 

Shortly thereafter, the Laser FX became the FX OFF-SET, same round toe and thinner sole of Laser ver.2

 

 

 

The one difference is that the Laser FX had V Grooves while the FX2 and FX OFF-SET had Square grooves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Something else to consider, Ram had a rather active custom shop.  Over the years, I've seen some shape and/or grind differences in the same models of Golden Rams.

 

Ram Wizard nickel putter pics, with apologies for the lead tape residue on the sole:

 

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by NRJyzr

[UlfBane]

AWESOME!! That's a rare beauty.

 

I thought about custom grinds on the laser FX, But the beefier one is rarer, If that was how they came out of the forge then all the common ones would be custom ground and that doesn't make sense.

 

I have seen, however lots of rare RAM clubs from this period (your putter included), and that is what I would love to see more of.

 

Thanks for sharing with us.

[NRJyzr]

The non-insert nickel Wizards are out there, but they're not common.  I've seen only three on ebay over the last dozen years or more.  One large strike against them is that Ram had lost ground against the Taylormades/Callaways/etc in the time of their nickel products.  There may not be as many out there as other popular clubs.

 

When Tom Watson nearly won at Turnberry, there were still plenty of Ram Tour Grind sets for sale.  The number has dropped considerably since then.  Add in the relative scarcity and its easy to see why there's almost no sign of something like a nickel Wizard putter.

 

Which is sad.  I've always thought it has great feel.

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by NRJyzr

[UlfBane]

3 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

The non-insert nickel Wizards are out there, but they're not common.  I've seen only three on ebay over the last dozen years or more.  One large strike against them is that Ram had lost ground against the Taylormades/Callaways/etc in the time of their nickel products.  There may not be as many out there as other popular clubs.

 

When Tom Watson nearly won at Turnberry, there were still plenty of Ram Tour Grind sets for sale.  The number has dropped considerably since then.  Add in the relative scarcity and its easy to see why there's almost no sign of something like a nickel Wizard putter.

 

Which is sad.  I've always thought it has great feel.

 

In the mid-90's, RAM's forged FX line was one of the most diverse in the industry. So what happened to Ram in 1997?

"Although the trend in golf club manufacturing companies has been to go big, Ram has stayed small. Most companies pay out millions of dollars a year in endorsement fees to tour players, but Ram's stable of big-name stars begins and ends with one: Tom Watson.

Although most companies drool over immense titanium club heads, Ram's latest irons are made of nickel.

Most companies would sell their soul to join the industry's "Big Four"--Callaway, Taylor Made, Ping and Cobra--but Ram is content to operate on a smaller scale with its 150 employees.

"To compete with what's happening in the industry would be sheer folly," said Jerry Fortis, Ram's senior vice president for marketing. "Ram has survived its first 50 years by making high-quality products that make the game easier and more enjoyable. To make whiz-bang, high-techie products would be inconsistent with our image."

Or, as Hansberger says, "You have to have a philosophy and stick with it."

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1997-07-23-9707230023-story.html

What they could not forsee is that, partly due to environmental regulation and partly due to the success of PING, CALLAWAY and TAYLORMADE (all competing with popular CAST offerings) the forging houses in America were shutting down.

"...as an American with some sense of sadness have to tell you that since the late 90s, the USA forging companies have either gone out of business or no longer play a significant role in the forging of clubheads.  Cornell Forge of Chicago and Hoffman of Memphis, the two forging factories that ruled the golf industry for most of the 20th century are sadly gone.  I can’t tell you if Wilson’s forging factory in Tennessee is still in business, but as of 1998 when I last worked with them on a project related to my work helping Golfsmith purchase the Snake Eyes name, their business was pretty much gone."

https://wishongolf.com/2011/09/12/forged-irons-from-japan-vs-us-or-china-the-facts/

 

When ram introduced their nickel irons it was pretty much a last gasp attempt to produce a "cast" club that could be adjusted like a forged club. It would have worked too except they fell victim to one of a number of Corporate takeovers in late 1997.

 

"More people spent more money on golf equipment than ever before in 1997, which led to one logical result: There were fewer equipment companies at the end of the year than at the beginning.

The number of brand names didn’t dwindle, but the number of corporate entities pulling the strings did.

TearDrop Golf Company on Tuesday finalized its takeover of RAM Golf, adding the 50-year-old equipment company to Tommy Armour Golf, which TearDrop acquired last month.

Both the Armour and RAM brand name will continue to exist, but the RAM operation will be consolidated into the Armour production facilities near Chicago.

 

Virtually at the same time as TearDrop was buying Armour in November, Spalding Sports Worldwide picked off the Ben Hogan Co.

This end-of-the-year flurry was part of a consolidation in the industry that started two years ago when what was then American Brands _ parent company of Titleist, Pinnacle and Foot-Joy _ took over Cobra Golf.

Earlier this year, U.S. Industries, Armour’s parent company, sold Odyssey Golf to Callaway Golf, giving the folks who made their name with the Big Bertha line of drivers a highly recognized brand of putters.

Also earlier this year, apparel maker Adidas purchased Taylor Made Golf."

 

https://apnews.com/article/8362f5b2e21f456ee3ccc171291819a0

 

Mabey the Hansberger brothers didn't want faze out forged clubs, mabey they had no choice but to sell, either way, this golden era of overabundant choice of some of the best, forged equipment ever produced at RAM came to an end in 1997. (the lofts on these clubs appear to be among the first of what I call "Modern standard". The  same lofts on the TAYLORMADE P7TW TIGER irons. The same lofts that continued to be used by Wilson and others up until 2020's Staff model). I want to preserve as much of this history as I can before it's too late to gather it.

 

 

[elwhippy]

Those Wizard putters are gorgeous. As for the nickel wedges....let there be spin....and chunks of cover in your grooves. 

[NRJyzr]

6 hours ago, UlfBane said:

this golden era of overabundant choice of some of the best, forged equipment ever produced at RAM came to an end in 1997.

 

There was one last forged iron put out by Ram, the TG-898 blades.  I believe the 898 refers to August, 1998, which is about the time the clubs were released, but I have no idea if that is actually true. 

 

Not surprisingly, I have a set, LOL.

 

They are very similar to the Golden Rams, IMHO anyway, the clubheads being slightly larger.  Their lofts were 18-21-24 for the 2i to 4i, and 4* from there to a 48* PW.

 

Need to reshaft them in order to use them.  Can't play Super Peening Blue X any longer.  😉

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by NRJyzr

[UlfBane]

2 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

 

There was one last forged iron put out by Ram, the TG-898 blades.  I believe the 898 refers to August, 1998, which is about the time the clubs were released, but I have no idea if that is actually true. 

 

Not surprisingly, I have a set, LOL.

 

They are very similar to the Golden Rams, IMHO anyway, the clubheads being slightly larger.  Their lofts were 18-21-24 for the 2i to 4i, and 4* from there to a 48* PW.

 

Need to reshaft them in order to use them.  Can't play Super Peening Blue X any longer.  😉

 

That is very helpful info. The aug 98 release would be about right, squeezing one last forged beauty out the door before the sale became finalized. God I love it! : )

[NRJyzr]

Something mentioned in the Maltby ID Guide...

 

In 1994, the PGA terminated a contract with Ram, that had given them the rights to sell PGA endorsed clothing overseas.  

 

I would guess the loss of that sort of revenue stream played a part in their ultimate sale to the TearDrop group.

 

[AcePHA]

Thanks for all the responses and its great to see the Ram love!

 

My Ram Tour Grind collection currently is 3-PW+SW FX Nickel Muscleback, 2+3-PW FX Forged Muscleback, and 3-PW(47) TG-898.

 

The reason why I asked about the wedges is my searching I have come across a Pro-Set Lob Wedge and found TG-898 wedges going all the way to a 64* Special Lob. While trying to find FX wedges I only really find some that appear to be regular steel with little marking other than FX.

 

Would love to get my hands on a Muscleback FX Nickel 2 one day.

Edited December 19, 2021 by AcePHA

[NRJyzr]

7 minutes ago, AcePHA said:

Thanks for all the responses and its great to see the Ram love!

 

My Ram Tour Grind collection currently is 3-PW+SW FX Nickel, 2+3-PW FX Forged, and 3-PW(47) TG-898.

 

The reason why I asked about the wedges is my searching I have come across a Pro-Set Lob Wedge and found TG-898 wedges going all the way to a 64* Special Lob. While trying to find FX wedges I only really find some that appear to be regular steel with little marking other than FX.

 

I'm not sure if the FX wedges are cast 431, nickel, 8620, etc.  I've never owned any, only handled them and briefly hit one over 20 years ago.  They were a standard 90s product for Ram.

 

Unsure how much difference there might be between the FX and the RS (aka Ram Staff) clubs.  Admittedly, I'm even unsure of the product timelines of each. 

 

A lot of uncertainty there.  LOL

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by NRJyzr

[UlfBane]

1 hour ago, NRJyzr said:

 

I'm not sure if the FX wedges are cast 431, nickel, 8620, etc.  I've never owned any, only handled them and briefly hit one over 20 years ago.  They were a standard 90s product for Ram.

 

Unsure how much difference there might be between the FX and the RS (aka Ram Staff) clubs.  Admittedly, I'm even unsure of the product timelines of each. 

 

A lot of uncertainty there.  LOL

 

 

2 hours ago, AcePHA said:

Thanks for all the responses and its great to see the Ram love!

 

My Ram Tour Grind collection currently is 3-PW+SW FX Nickel Muscleback, 2+3-PW FX Forged Muscleback, and 3-PW(47) TG-898.

 

The reason why I asked about the wedges is my searching I have come across a Pro-Set Lob Wedge and found TG-898 wedges going all the way to a 64* Special Lob. While trying to find FX wedges I only really find some that appear to be regular steel with little marking other than FX.

 

Would love to get my hands on a Muscleback FX Nickel 2 one day.

 The FX Pro-Set wedges are forged carbon steel and are mentioned in the RAM brochures of the time as part of that set.

 

 

The FX "S" wedge comes in both Carbon and Nickel for the blade sets. The nickel is shown in a recent post above, I had a chance to buy the Forged carbon version but thought I already had it.The Tom Watson Wedges come in Forged...

 

 

and Stainless.

 

 

Some can be difficult to determine. This one is chromed, but the face cries out stainless to me.

 

 

General rule of thumb, the more writing on the back (bounce, hand ground, scoring system etc.), the greater the chance it is forged.

The Watson Commemorative wedges (and other Watson wedges with the same signature as the commemorative release, (both types pictured in previous, above post) appear to be Nickel only.

[NRJyzr]

This is the Ram FX wedge I spoke of.  Different than the Proset or Tom Watson Scoring System wedges.  These pics from an ebay auction I found, not a club I own.  Appears to be stainless, if i were to guess.  And that was my impression, some 20 years ago when I hit them briefly at 2nd Swing.

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by NRJyzr

[NRJyzr]

Separate post about the Tom Watson Scoring System wedges...

 

Most of them appear to be forged.  But, I've seen some that appear they could be stainless steel; I have a 55* such club that shows none of the usual forged dings, in spite of my having it for 20 years.  And, having bought it used at 2nd Swing.

 

There's quite a bit of variation out there, when it comes to assorted Ram products of the late 80s through the 90s.  🙂 

[Nard_S]

Troon grinds are forged. They came out not too long after the original Fx pro set which were also forged. I bought both brand new at the time. 

 

have some Watson Signatures, all forged.

[NRJyzr]

3 hours ago, AcePHA said:

Thanks for all the responses and its great to see the Ram love!

 

My Ram Tour Grind collection currently is 3-PW+SW FX Nickel Muscleback, 2+3-PW FX Forged Muscleback, and 3-PW(47) TG-898.

 

The reason why I asked about the wedges is my searching I have come across a Pro-Set Lob Wedge and found TG-898 wedges going all the way to a 64* Special Lob. While trying to find FX wedges I only really find some that appear to be regular steel with little marking other than FX.

 

Would love to get my hands on a Muscleback FX Nickel 2 one day.

 

I would love an FX Nickel blade 2 iron, also.  They're close to hen's teeth in their scarcity.  

 

The TG-898 wedges are the set that were released at the same time as the TG-898 blades, late 1998, carried as a new product though TearDrop's bankruptcy.  They appear to have been modeled after the set SW that came with the Frequency Matched Golden Rams.  I'll add a couple pics at the bottom.

 

I own a couple TG898 56* wedges, they've gotten a fair bit of use in my bag.  A quality wedge.  Fair bit of bounce to them.  Don't remember the bounce on the other clubheads, I'm sorry to say.  Grooves are likely not conforming, though no one has had them tested.  I'm not inclined to worry about such a thing, but I know some do. 

 

I've given thought to fleshing out that collection, but haven't bothered to.  

 

The promised pics for comparison

 

 

 

[UlfBane]

The one that acePHA is showing is cast, not forged, look at the ding near the RAM script. It clearly shows that the metal inside the club is the same as the surface. Take a look at one of my dinged, stainless wedges.

 

 

Compare that with worn Forged wedges

 

 

Further, note how the worn stainless wedges are neither chromed nor rusty. Nickel wegdes will be similar to the stainless, difference is Nickel wedges say nickel on them. 

 

P.S. The criginal, Chromed Troon wedges are forged, subsequent unchromed Troon grind wedges are not. The advert i posted above proves that some Tom Watson wedges are stainless (the ad says so, that's why i posted it.)

 

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by UlfBane

[elwhippy]

The Troon Grind was fantastic off wet sand and hardpan. Could nip the ball tight with a full shot or scrape it in low with plenty of check. 

[AcePHA]

@UlfBanethat FX Napa style putter is a major want! First one I've seen!

 

When did the Ram logo change to the red circle over the R on Ram? Did they do that after they mergers, because that is when it seems things start change for the brand. During the change though it seems like some old was mixed with some new. 

 

Just came across this guy in my searching, forged on the hosel...

 

Shares qualities of the 898 and 802 in the 'Tour Series' stamp, yet labeled that and not Tour Grind.

 

That being said...TG-898s have an old no circle Ram logo while the TG-802s do have the red circle logo.

 

 

This thread seems to be THE place for the Ram history.

 

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by AcePHA

[UlfBane]

47 minutes ago, AcePHA said:

@UlfBanethat FX Napa style putter is a major want! First one I've seen!

 

When did the Ram logo change to the red circle over the R on Ram? Did they do that after they mergers, because that is when it seems things start change for the brand. During the change though it seems like some old was mixed with some new. 

 

This thread seems to be THE place for the Ram history.

 

 

If you look at the last ad I uploaded. The RAM set is from this period. (1996-1998) The ad has the new Ram Logo, but the clubs do not.

 

The stainless steel Watson wedges advertised in the lower right corner came with a video. I looked it up to confirm an aproximate date for the ad.

 

This confirms we are in the right area timewise. The logo appears on the ad, not on the clubs, so I assume that the logo on the clubs came about after the aquisition.

 

As for the wedges, I want to know more about them as well.  NRJYZR? Care to chime in on the wedges?

Edited December 20, 2021 by UlfBane
Typos

[@_the_crook]

2 hours ago, AcePHA said:

@UlfBane

 

When did the Ram logo change to the red circle over the R on Ram? Did they do that after they mergers, because that is when it seems things start change for the brand.

 

 

I've got a NOS set of RAM Oversize irons with that same Circle logo.

still in the original plastic.

wonder if anyone can pinpoint the time frame of manufacture and if there is any special value to them.

 

 

[UlfBane]

16 minutes ago, @_the_crook said:

I've got a NOS set of RAM Oversize irons with that same Circle logo.

still in the original plastic.

wonder if anyone can pinpoint the time frame of manufacture and if there is any special value to them.

 

 

Love to see apic of those.

[bma725]

From what I recall the circle R logo was around for at least a few years before the buyout, but Ram had different logos depending upon the model line.  

 

The premium, or better player's clubs got the traditional Ram logo.  The game improvement clubs (or the lines they only sold in sporting goods stores) got the circle R.  On occasion there were even models that had the same name but different logos depending on the line, i.e. the FX2.  The forged cavity we all know got the normal logo, the cast FX2 "Flow Weighted" got the circle R.  That was all a few years before the merger. 

 

Ram didn't really make a premium club from the TG-898 until 4-5 years later when they introduced the TG-802 Forged Cavity.  That was the first of the premium line clubs to have that logo, and I think all of the lines after that had it as well...though they haven't made premium clubs in that time.

 

[Nard_S]

45 minutes ago, bma725 said:

From what I recall the circle R logo was around for at least a few years before the buyout, but Ram had different logos depending upon the model line.  

 

The premium, or better player's clubs got the traditional Ram logo.  The game improvement clubs (or the lines they only sold in sporting goods stores) got the circle R.  On occasion there were even models that had the same name but different logos depending on the line, i.e. the FX2.  The forged cavity we all know got the normal logo, the cast FX2 "Flow Weighted" got the circle R.  That was all a few years before the merger. 

This is solid. I recall this too. RAM muddled up the branding of "Fx" and then went entry level, big box too. I lost track & interest not long after rollout of "Fx2".  My fanboy phase of that time was Fx pro set & pro grind. Troon grinds were fantastic.

[UlfBane]

7 hours ago, @_the_crook said:

I've got a NOS set of RAM Oversize irons with that same Circle logo.

still in the original plastic.

wonder if anyone can pinpoint the time frame of manufacture and if there is any special value to them.

 

 

As I mentioned previously, while the R in circle appears on the ad, the clubs pictured in the ad seems quite clearly to be the 1996-1998 oversize (the video is copyright 1995). I have never seen one with the R in circle logo on the clubhead (and i've looked at lots and lots of them). The club that appears to have replaced them after 1998 (and after the merger) is this one.

 

Again, STILL no logo on the club (which appears to be the same casting with a different insert in the cavity). Ram continued to offer FX, FX2, FX3 and Oversize models like the one shown below after the merger.

 

 

These were primarily sold in big box stores and sounded the death knell for RAM among the faithful.

 

It is not unusual for a company seeking a buyout to undergo a re-branding to attract potential buyers. If that was the case, it makes sense to create the logo and use it on advertising. It DOES NOT make sense to spend huge sums on re-tooling master molds, etc. That COULD explain why we see the new logo on the ads and perhaps club  packaging at this time, but not on the clubs themselves until after the merger.

 

Still love to see a pic of what you have tho. Could put a monkey wrench in things, but that's how we learn.

[BIG STU]

On 12/18/2021 at 7:54 PM, NRJyzr said:

 

 

Something else to consider, Ram had a rather active custom shop.  Over the years, I've seen some shape and/or grind differences in the same models of Golden Rams.

 

Ram Wizard nickel putter pics, with apologies for the lead tape residue on the sole:

 

 

I may have mentioned this before ( too lazy to look back) One year back when the Kemper Open was in Charlotte at Quail Hollow I looked in Tom Watson's bag. Now I was sorta familiar with Ram since my old man at the time was on Ram Staff ( right before he retired). Those irons in Watson's bag were the tinest blades I ever saw and a lot smaller than my friends Tour Grinds. My friend was right there with me and he said the same thing. I do know stock Tour Grinds were smaller length wise from hosel to the toe than any of the Macs I was playing at the time. Which looking back to then I am not entirely sure of whether I was Playing the 66 Citation irons or FC 4000s at that time. For some reason and this is not saying anything bad about Ram I just never did hit them good. I messed around with the demo set some with S-300s and messed with the Demo Set of XS-1000 CBs with S-300s never got along with them

 

BTW ---- WD 40 works wonders for lead tape residue

Edit---- The reason the old man went with Ram was to help out the new sales rep in the area. That guy had worked under him for 2 years and my old man thought the world of him. My old man did tell him up front he would try to help him but he was fixing to retire. That sales rep when Ram got out of the Pro Line started his own successful Golf company selling clone heads and shafts etc. In fact he is credited in some circles with getting the clone industry up and running. He actually did so good on the clone Karsten 1 irons Ping sued him. When the 745 TAs were the rage he cloned some of them under the 747 label. His sons still run the business

Edited December 20, 2021 by BIG STU

[NRJyzr]

11 hours ago, AcePHA said:

@UlfBanethat FX Napa style putter is a major want! First one I've seen!

 

When did the Ram logo change to the red circle over the R on Ram? Did they do that after they mergers, because that is when it seems things start change for the brand. During the change though it seems like some old was mixed with some new. 

 

Just came across this guy in my searching, forged on the hosel...

 

Shares qualities of the 898 and 802 in the 'Tour Series' stamp, yet labeled that and not Tour Grind.

 

That being said...TG-898s have an old no circle Ram logo while the TG-802s do have the red circle logo.

 

 

This thread seems to be THE place for the Ram history.

 

 

 

11 hours ago, UlfBane said:

If you look at the last ad I uploaded. The RAM set is from this period. (1996-1998) The ad has the new Ram Logo, but the clubs do not.

 

The stainless steel Watson wedges advertised in the lower right corner came with a video. I looked it up to confirm an aproximate date for the ad.

 

This confirms we are in the right area timewise. The logo appears on the ad, not on the clubs, so I assume that the logo on the clubs came about after the aquisition.

 

As for the wedges, I want to know more about them as well.  NRJYZR? Care to chime in on the wedges?

 

 

I'm fairly sure the TG-802 and FX3 mentioned in this thread are from the post Teardrop bankruptcy version of Ram.  Meaning, they were already being positioned as the big box sporting goods store brand for whoever acquired the name from Teardrop Group.  The Ram we all knew was already gone when these appeared.

 

Edit:  just found something online speaking of TearDrop Golf's assets being acquired out of bankruptcy in 2001.  On golfclubspec.com, they show the TG-802 and FX3 as a 2003 release.  Perhaps the new company was trying a different tactic at first with the name?  What I think more likely...  they may be products in process when TearDrop went under, and were released by the new owners of the brand, instead of just throwing them away.

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by NRJyzr