In 1893, Spalding bought the Lamb Knitting Machine Company in Chicopee, Mass which made, obviously, knitting machines and, less obviously, eggbeaters, bicycle wheels, and rifles. Love it or hate it the Nike Slingshot irons made the list. Spalding spent the last half of the 20th-century battling with Titleist for golf ball supremacy. Spalding introduced the Vardon Flyer, a golf ball that was popularized by Harry Vardon. Remember when pros like Norman and Stadler and others with that bright red Spaulding Tour Bag. I also have a set of Browning TR600s. I remember a set called Canon I think, possibly a Spalding brand. At the 2003 PGA Show, Hogan introduced the Apex 50 blade commemorating its 50th anniversary, the game improvement CFT irons, and the Carnoustie and Riviera wedges. The Titleist were a bit longer lasting but I (a poor college student) could afford the Spaulding balls. ], The woods were the strangest looking things. (What Exactly Happened?). The Executives were the bomb back in the day. Heres one for the booksTommy Armour EQL one length irons. I have a set of both the 440s and the 500s, and there is no difference in face depth. Today, Spalding golf clubs still exist, but theyre nowhere near as popular as they once were. However as a caddy the Spaulding staff bag was a real trunk!! Today, collectors prize the narrow-faced Cran Cleek. It was the mold makers attempt to make at a hollow head, wooden shape club. Regardless, both are great sets. Mr. Adams had just formed Taylor Made Golf in late 1978 and this was their first showing in the market. The remaining golf company was re-named Top-Flite. Titleist and PING were established competitors, while TaylorMade and Callaway were flexing their muscles. He re-gripped them and beats the Taylormade hand-me-downs of his friends. I believe Robert Molitor was the fellow who developed the Top Flite. Seu lugar para proteger o seu capital. I still think I deserve to be recognized as the leader in this category and will be appealing your decision. MyGolfSpy is jumping into the DeLorean and taking a 1.21 jiggawatt-fueled look at the long life and quick death of Spalding Golf. At the time of the sale, it was considered the lowest cost and most efficient operation in the industry. Various . 2023 Genesis Invitational - Monday #3. Spalding stopped making clubs in 2002. I love it but was told it is no a legal putter. as well as honest reporting on the latest issues affecting the game remove head from shaft? Throughout America, the affordable Spalding clubs flew off the shelves and reaped huge catalog sales. He struggled quite a bit with the change.. In 1910 Spalding started making fairway clubs made of aluminum, and heavier lead face putters. Taylor Made Golf was my Distributor for the U.S. and Canadian market. And Jim Furyk won the 2003 U.S. Open with the new Strata Ace, which featured playing card suits (a la Penfold) instead of numbers. The result is the easiest-to-hit long irons ever. Hmmmare you wondering why all irons arent made out of titanium then? Or maybe it was just wacky that a German car company decided to start selling $1500 golf clubs that sucked. Copyright 2023. The 1999 Hogan Apex, forged by Endo Manufacturing in Japan, remains a sought-after collectible, and a very playable blade, to this day. } He could not believe the smoothness of the Driver. Was a fan of the TopFlite XL. Pat Simmons of Tiger Shark fame (and others) is the most underrated club designer of all time! Itd take a week to prepare for.. and had a driving range there for many years. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, (your email address will not be published), CONTEST Adams Pro Black Giveaway! Callaway had long wanted Top-Flites ball factory and patents but didnt want to assume any debt. So, while Spalding is nowhere near as prevalent as it once was in the world of golf, you can still pick up a set of Molitor clubs for a very reasonable price online. Wilson never really recovered after Pepsi bought it in 1970. spalding executive golf clubs please read DESCRIPTION BEFORE BUYING . MacGregor Doctor X. I had the Bears. The Top-Flite, Strata, and Hogan brands stayed alive for a while, but Callaway eventually mothballed them all. In the mid to late 80s, my father had Spalding make him a set of custom irons. Just found and bought a set of Lil David Slingers. Get the best deals on Spalding Executive Irons when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. His stuff was marvelous and all original. Each has a special place in my personal golf journey and is still some of the best equipment Ive ever used. By During the time of the KKR takeover I was employed as the Managing Director in Australia/ NZ They also specialized in unique clubs like the Cran Creek. WITB Albums. The 1953 Top-Flite Synchro-Dyned irons were particularly innovative, featuring a matched shaft flex and head weight for each iron in the set. I played a set of Mags for years until I got to where I could not swing fast enough to bend the stiff shafts. my 5w distance matches my friends new drivers in distance off tee,,they are amazed. I have been playing golf over 40 years and have owned many brands of clubs. Might need to get a full set of Tiger Shark irons to match the wedge!! . But, you raised an interesting question: If Top-Flite Elite Professional irons with the Bird on Ball logoare rated by the MyGolfSpy Forums resident vintage club expert Big Stu as the third greatest pure forged blade of all time. Then what irons are #1 and #2 best ever forged blades? We stand behind our clubs and want you to be satisfied with them. Callaway wound up suing Spalding for using its imagery on Spalding packaging. Well these irons which were designed out in LA by Stan Thompson were made to capitalize on that same concept. He also worked at Zevo when the LoB Irons were developed. I think all the readers as well as the golfspies would love to learn as much about these past designs as possible. KKR wanted Spalding to make money the KKR way. when were spalding executive golf clubs madeoregon dpsst training calendar. Couldnt decide between the Slotlines emax and the 845s. Throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s, Spalding and Titleist were running neck and neck in golf ball production. Starting in the early 1900s, Spalding started making golf balls before manufacturing clubs. They had a premium Molitor ball at the then scandalous price of $2. During that time, Spalding ownership changed hands a half dozen times, and saw the same fate as MacGregor Irons. You might be wondering how the hell did a Ping iron make the listbut look againthis one definitely deserves to be on the list for Wackiest Irons. Im not talking a couple of degrees, but for one shot you could make it a 5 iron and the next (with a quick adjustment) itd be a PW. Jerry Barber Golden Touch shank-proof irons (BeCu, ideally), Powerbilt TPS with the Goalpost Alignment System, And I agree with a previous posters suggestion of the Spalding Cannon ADVANCE. Too bad. Spalding sponsored Vardons 1900 tour of America, culminating in Vardon winning the U.S. Open in Chicago. I don't mind the executives though, don't really know much about them either. No, while you might be able to find Spalding golf clubs at thrift stores and via used online marketplaces, Spalding no longer manufactures golf clubs. Great collection I remember many of them in the past 30 years often thought of buying some of them, but luckily, I didnt, Ive purchased dozens of iron sets in the last few years (Big Bertha,FTI, Taylor Made, Cobra, Nike V series) NOne of these work as well as my Ping Zings, Hey, what about Shakespeare and fiberglass. I think you are talking about the Spaulding Executive XE irons,ahead of their time,I played a set for a couple of years then sold them, looking back I wish I hadnt. Great nostalgia with the article. The Endo-forged Hogan Apex Plus cavity back irons came soon after, along with a solid-core Hogan Apex ball. By the following year, Spalding began making clubs in the U.S. I love them so much I have four sets, just a case a club breaks. Still have the clubs in my basement. Weird thing was I could hit the XL-4 long irons better and the Executives better from 7-PW. Paste as plain text instead, { I tried to restore them by getting some original Browning grips (brown rubber with the Browning deer logo in gold) and exchanged several e-mails with Browning in Belgium would not sell me any. Callaway had been making balls but never turned a profit. FS - Fiberbuilt Flight Deck / GripMaster Roo pulls, New Vokey SM8 52 & 56 wedge set / New Titleist Caps (for bigger heads) / New Cobra RadSpeed 10.5* Driver, Peacoat, with premium, upgraded shaft, TSR3 ub-6x, cobra radspeed, TEE pro 721 driver and 3w, Ventus Black TR Folds of Honor 6x w/ TM Adapter, Ventus Red TR 6x w/ TM Adapter, Adidas Tour 360 22 Size 13, MyStealth2 Driver Headcover. I would appreciate any help you could offer! Read on to learn more about the history of Spalding clubs and what you can expect from various models. The VAS are ugly, but they work. I still have the irons to this day! Well they made execs for over 20 yearswhich ones do you have? The top of the club head is horisontal and is easy to set up perpendical to the target. Current owner FILA Korea Ltd took Acushnet public, and the company has thrived ever since. Duclos, a former flight engineer worked on the Skylab and S-IVB (third stage of the Saturn V rocket, responsible for getting the Apollo module from the Earth to the moon). Hope you all enjoyed a look back at some of the craziest irons ever made. Are these considered weird? Actually, we used to produce more golf balls than Titleist. These gentlemen used them to win large amounts of money on the course from unsuspecting victims. Started Yesterday at 04:29 AM, By Learn how your comment data is processed. It wasnt the shank that bothered me, it was waiting for it to happen that was the problem. Basically, the new irons are all the same cavity backed design tweaked for the metal content and painted pretty for your golf bag. Anybody know anything? Unfortunately, the remaining companys sales still couldnt support the debt. Turns out it was just 20 years ago. Known for launching the ball from a nice crisp fairway lie but it jumped the shark when it came to hitting it from any kind of fluff. He actually manufactured a set of irons whose heads were literally upside down take an iron, turn in upside down, your top edge now hits the turf, the sole having a hosel. OK. Ive got some irons sets you have up (Fila, Cleveland, Slotline, and the Tiger Shark). I had some Staff FG-17 and my friends dad had the Executives. It wasnt long until Spaldings Executive golf clubs were launched, which were prevalent at all levels of the game. * Note: These irons were designed by Dave (cant remember last name) which was considered a very good designer by others in the business at the time and one that some felt did not get as much credit as he deserved. It was made by Salt Lake City Specialties. Different, yes, but they are the only ones where you can really aim at the target! I would like to repay you with mine. Tom Farrell. Please put any questions or comments here. Model Summary Color chart indicates best . No sir, they are in my bag and are still being used after all these years. The BIG BOYS missed on this one. I still have them and as a matter of fact I still use a copper Zing2 sand wedge 54. Spalding sold off its majority ownership in Evenflo in August of 1998. I gave the set to my nephew, and he loves them. when I got my samurais,they were expensive,,but you can get them ocassionally on ebay,,picked up a 6iron for 15$. These irons which I dont know who actually designed were called the Ray Cook Titanic irons and were made back when Scotty Cameron was a putter designer for the company. Jones immediately put his Georgia Tech engineering degree to good use. With long-term debt in the neighborhood of $600 million, KKR found itself in a negative equity situation. At the same time, the Spalding Top-Flite Syncrho-Dyned irons (released in 1953) were well received, thanks to their flex shaft and copper undercoating. In the mid-80s, Spalding introduced the solid core Tour Edition, and in 1996 it came out with Strata, a true game-changer for Spalding and the first multi-layer solid core ball used on Tour. TaylorMade then entered the bidding but, after 30 rounds, Callaway wound up buying Top-Flite free and clear for $175 million. Really a zany=looking set of irons. Used them for about 10-15 years before I switch to 845s. NOW AVAILABLE: GolfWRX G/Fore Hats and Holderness & Bourne Polos! MyGolfSpy, Inc. All Rights Reserved. I cant remember who made them, but I remember reading about an iron that was adjustable so its loft could be wildly altered. They owed more to its creditors than Spalding was worth. Just saw a full set of them again today. (Everything To Know). However, the name of their popular brand Top Flite was sold to Callaway, and is used for discount clubs and balls. "url": "https://swingyard.com/wp-content/uploads/Spalding-Irons-by-Year.jpg" They also said this, Because titanium is 40% lighter than steel, yet incredibly strong, the Ray Cook design team was able to create club heads substantially larger than standard oversize irons and add significantly more mass in the heel and toe. Perception-wise that made Spalding a second-tier, big-box company compared to Titleist. and they placed it in the show. Weve done a mini-history on the Hogan Company, with input from a couple of longtime Hogan employees. After each sale, however, TaylorMades leadership team remained intact. These irons actually performed quite well and had many copy cats of it down the road to prove itincluding another iron that made the list at #12 Slotline Lowpro iron and the Titleist Super Slim irons. ), Finn Scooter Golf Reviews (Are These the Real Deal? *chuckles* Maybe its a good thing I took a 30 year golf hiatus. Every time I take it out of my bag for some new modern wedge, I go back to it a few weeks later. Im a scratch golfer, and to date have found nothing that is better. 1983 #15 - Stan Thompson Ginty Irons You might remember the popular Stan Thompson woods with the unique sole design. BarbaJo, you da man! All of the irons were labeled as a 7 iron, with the real number of the club micro stamped on the faces upper toe. In fact, one of Spaldings most popular models was the Bobby Jones collection, selling two million sets between 1932 and 1973. Oversized high center of gravity heads and huge amounts of offset are what killed long irons IMO. What a lovely trip down memory lane, nostalgia is a wonderful thing. Remember all the other clubs, good to read. GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, February 13. lol..!! Im not sure how rare they are, but youd think there would be a trace of them somewhere. Somehow they squeezed 492 dimples on them Those balls were rocketships. Leather Golf Grips Review: Should I Use Them? I traded in some Titleist Acushnet blades for themI had only paid $99.00 for the set of Acushnets (used)they gave me $139.00 in trade value, and wanted another $100 for the UniquesThey were some of the easiest to hit irons I have ever ownedout of the 40 50 different sets I have had. A request, could you do Sonartec at some point? 2 iron sw. Let me know if anyone is interested. I played a lot of Spaulding equipment as a kid in all kinds of sports. The company was founded in 1973 and today produces high-quality golf clubs using the . The stickers are silver, but the Slinger logo is a black heavy type face and says pat. During their time together, Vardon and Spalding agreed the best way to grow the game in the U.S. and grow the market for Spalding golf products was to build more golf courses. With new sexy companies like Titleist, Callaway, and TaylorMade, and golfers like Tiger and Phil, the new aged golfer wasnt interested in playing their grandpas golf clubs. Sales declined into the 2000s, and Spalding made their last club in 2002. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Cliffy2020 Shank no more, draw, fade, straight, you name it, my Filas do it. he is a cleveland iron man now, but he still owns the spalding executives. Never met a set of strange clubs I didnt want to try. #14 - Spalding Executive Irons These were actually a pretty good iron for the time and I think Trevino had something to do with this designbut not sure. The products soon disappeared from shelves. Clare. Upload or insert images from URL. Case in point: The article makes the statement that The (Cleveland) VAS irons have finally been dethroned from their previous top spot as Worst Iron Ever Made! I dont think Cory Pavin would have won PGA tour events and endorsed them if this had been true. Corey Pavin won the 1996 US Open Shinnecock with a purple set. I have a set of Ben Hogan AHS Hybrids and the SW is even a hybrid! I surely do remember those Dot balls that my brother and I would find on OFCC in south suburbs of Chicago because we couldnt afford them but you really had to pay attention to look at those balls before you grounded your club or you would put a significant cut in them. But $1 billion is a lot of cabbage, and KKR borrowed heavily to make the deal. I collect odd golf items. Spalding, along with Wright and Ditson, was importing golf clubs from Scotland. Dont be ashamed thoughsome of these designs have actually been pioneering for the industry. In 1895, Spalding started manufacturing golf balls. In 1895, Spalding started manufacturing golf balls. Original? We will miss Jim and his innovation ! The company was already selling golf balls when, in 1905, it became the first in America to offer its own brand of golf clubs. Its on the list! With KKR, it was a 180-degree turnaround. Scott was a highly respected individual in the golf industry during this period and he had the respect of both his staff and golf professionals The Ginty was the first modern Utility club. Im from SD, so I had a set. We have been making them since 1992ship them all over the worldto soldiers, traveling execs, private pilots, cyclists, retirees that want to walk but cant lug a full set, and many other categories. But, the #1 weird club goes to the Slingeryour #1 choice. a beginner could really benifit from the Nike slingshot, they are easy to hit. I have a Simmons Great White Shark putter with a 7 blade. My first clubs were Spalding top flites. Sold them to a guy 30 years younger who also loved them. My wife says I never met a strange-looking golf club I did not want to own and play with. Bought a set for $25 as to help out a young lady with cancer. Reach and the Wright and Ditson sporting goods companies. What a mess that design was! I have one of those! Your email address will not be published. Albert Spalding was a superstar. They are for sale. That year Spaldings sales topped $537 million, with over $400 million coming from the golf division. No matter what brand of club you pull from your bag, you owe some thanks to one company Spalding. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. By 1910, the company was selling aluminum fairway clubs and its Gold Medal series (1910 to 1919) featured aluminum bronze. Im sure Scott White would love to contribute. single, replacement or add-on golf irons and wedges for Spalding Executive MV2 bird over ball Irons. If so, are they any good? "height": "342", Irons made during that time are distinguished by an anvil cleek mark. I learned the game on a set of used Spalding Execs-still have them today.
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