Brian O'malley Obituary, Articles W

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. And Spaldings ace in the hole Strata was old news by the time the Pro V1 and Nike Tour Accuracy hit the scene. Make Request. "@type": "Organization", lol! Spalding Executive clubs were established in the 1960s, with the Top Flite Executive Synchro-Dyned golf clubs being the first in a super popular series. If it works for you use it. There are so many different sets of irons available nowadays, Im happy with my Execs. It was made by Salt Lake City Specialties. Any Spalding clubs that are still in circulation can be regarded as vintage, thats for sure! Sold them to a guy 30 years younger who also loved them. Titleist has been the Ball King for so long, its hard to remember a time when it wasnt. The new club are really pretty, but no better than the original slotlines which I used to have. CA License # A-588676-HAZ / DIR Contractor Registration #1000009744 Almost , http://www.intheholegolf.com/store/f2is.html. What can you find out about Wilson x 70 irons. During the time of the KKR takeover I was employed as the Managing Director in Australia/ NZ Way ahead of their time in the perimeter weighted genre. Hope you find this one interesting!!!! (Sponsored by: GolfCircuit.com), CONTEST! At the turn of the 20th Century, golf had stirred mild interest in the United States, and A.G. Spalding & Brothers sporting goods saw an opportunity. Not sure if the Black Knight, Gary Players endorsement sucked allot of buyers into buying.LOL. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Still bagging their wedges. When I eventually found a set of Magnums with regular shafts, I bought them but had been addicted to the graphite. Read on to learn more about the history of Spalding clubs and what you can expect from various models. They are a blade from the early 80`s. Lots of wackiness. Irons made during that time are distinguished by an anvil cleek mark. }, 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. There are still folks around from when Mr. Hogan ran the company and I am sure you can get some keen insights not only of the company but of Mr. Hogan himself. (Everything To Know). The Ginty was the first modern Utility club. In 1962, Pyramid merged with Dunhill International and the AP Parts Corporation. Norman credited the extra spin of the Tour Edition for winning the 1986 British Open. Spalding Golf Clubs: Do Still Make Them & How Much? We want your input before testing begins. Buyers can still find Spalding clubs on some secondary sites. Met a friend in Costa Mesa at Mile Square Golf Club back in the early 1970s and he was with Duke Duclos., a friend from their McDonald-Douglas days. ), shoplifted about four dozen balls each from a failing department store in New York City. 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. Starting in the early 1900s, Spalding started making golf balls before manufacturing clubs. Thanks for you4 diligence and reporting. They had a premium Molitor ball at the then scandalous price of $2. I owned a set of Nocklaus N1 irons (the pro versions of the bear irons?). He changed from forged blades and balata balls to cavity back, investment cast irons and sold core balls, White tells MyGolfSpy. The company experimented throughout the 1920s and 1930s with lathe-turned hickory shafts that featured circular ridges spaced at standard intervals down the entire shaft. With KKR, it was a 180-degree turnaround. I completed the set off of eBay for around $100. lots of memories here. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Model Summary Color chart indicates best . I play them still and love them. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Paste as plain text instead, Pat Simmons of Tiger Shark fame (and others) is the most underrated club designer of all time! Don't let scams get away with fraud. "author": "Ned Howard", TaylorMade then entered the bidding but, after 30 rounds, Callaway wound up buying Top-Flite free and clear for $175 million. But, the #1 weird club goes to the Slingeryour #1 choice. The company was founded in 1973 and today produces high-quality golf clubs using the . Forward-face progression creates a hitting surface 20 percent larger than standard and 5 percent larger than over-sized irons. WITB Albums. Make sense as I do have a Johnny Miller PW which looks just like an X 70. "width": "645", More than 50 percent of that total came from golf ball sales. The 300XXL Driver was so lightawesome clubhead speed ! I agree, though it does deserve a deep dive. In the 1960s, Spalding introduced the Spalding Executive line of clubs and balls and the Top-Flite Elite Professional irons with the Bird on Ball logo. Perception-wise that made Spalding a second-tier, big-box company compared to Titleist. He also had some copycat Browning irons in the trunk, but I refused I couldnt even look at them with a straight face. Why are Spalding golf balls called Top Flite? Former Proctor & Gamble chief Edwin Artzt came on as chairman, with former Kraft, Inc executive vice president James Craigie becoming CEO. I have a set of Lynx Parallax irons that were my fathers. The stickers are silver, but the Slinger logo is a black heavy type face and says pat. Your email address will not be published. They dropped the Tour Edition moniker and focused on the expansion of their touring staff on the PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA tours. I know that this is a very late reply but I actually knew the designer of these irons and spent time speaking with him. What is it for weight transfer? Zevo was a great brand and I played a Zevo Zv2 hybrid for almost 6 years because it was so easy to hit and had incredible feel. I remembered them from this article. . Might need to get a full set of Tiger Shark irons to match the wedge!! Finally, my number came up along with everyone else in the product management and marketing teams.. I got an incomplete set at the Salvation Army for $15. The 500s have less offset than the 440s. I would love to have you include my Whole-In-One Adjustable Telescopic Golf Club in your mixdefinitely fits the criteria of unusual clubs. They are similar to the Nike slingshots as they have a powerbow looking thing on the back of them. I was the person responsible for introducing urethane prepolymers to Dr Shen Shen Wu, Titleist R&D chemist. Throughout America, the affordable Spalding clubs flew off the shelves and reaped huge catalog sales. Spalding manufactured golf clubs for some of the leading players in the game, including the legendary American player Bobby Jones. It was an excellent article and some of the follow-on comments from industry stalwarts like Jack Wullkotte, David Hueber, Tom Wishon, etc. Spalding hired Tom Bendelow as his designer, and Bendelow went on to develop many courses still in use today. I don't mind the executives though, don't really know much about them either. Spalding also started the Spalding Athletic Library; a series of sports and exercise books published from 1892 through 1941. I had a set of Tiger Sharks(the short irons hit the ball miles).The follow up Great Whites Bought a set for $25 as to help out a young lady with cancer. In 1900, Spalding released the Vardon Flyer, the golf ball used by Harry Vardon. Though he is a footnote in the PGA history he was briefly on tour in the 50s. The Cobra set left handed golf club set is made of premium products. i was pretty impressed with the club. Bought the Slotlines new. 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. "url": "https://swingyard.com/wp-content/uploads/Spalding-Irons-by-Year.jpg" And in 1930, it hit the jackpot. Started Yesterday at 04:29 AM, By Today its hard to fine a wooden golf club in a bag!!!! In 1906 Bendelow designed the expansion of Atlantas East Lake Club, the eventual home club of one Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. Well spare you the decade-by-decade rundown of Spalding innovations (and there are many). I accidentally broke it in the late 1970s the shaft was installed over a milled section of the hosel! but fairly forgiving. If so send them to contact(at)mygolfspy.com. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. His stuff was marvelous and all original. If you have a vintage set of Bobby Jones Spalding irons that are in great shape, you might be able to sell them at a slightly higher price, but theyre not worth a great deal of money in the current market. Long irons with shallow faces, little offset and perhaps slightly softer shafts can be quite playable. Laugh if you must, but the design works. "name": "Swing Yard", So, if youre buying or selling Spalding clubs that are in reasonably good shape, you can set your expectations around $100 to begin with. There are worse things. That debt burden, however, finally proved fatal. Driver to 15 wood. The player would then conveniently cover the top of his bag with a towel so that no one would see the length of the irons. I will let the then Chariman of FILA Golf tell you a little bit about these 1994 released set of ironsand take you back in time like you were there for the original launch: Never before have so many game improvement features been built into one club. Thanks, http://www.clubsofdistinction.com/cod3/ucir5177.htm. Players would switch balls during a round as conditions warranted. 2023 Genesis Invitational - Monday #2. 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. All that creativity has led to the great clubs we have today. "keywords": ["spalding irons by year","when did spalding stop making golf clubs","does spalding still make golf clubs","spalding golf clubs history","spalding executive golf clubs history"], Executives were my first set as wellI thought they were a great starter set. You cannot do that with any other club. Geek Golf I have no ideabut I sure loved my Tommy Armour silver Scotts. This putter is a remake of the model Bobby Jones used in the 1930s and features a head made from nickel plating over copper plating over forged carbon steel. They looked like a full set of hybrids but only lasted a short period of time. Terrific article as usual Mr. Barra. About half of our sales are with personal names or corporate logos in the back and given as gifts. when were spalding executive golf clubs made. Recently I bought another set (I keep an eye on E-Bay for them) so I could have extras & other club sets for friends that come into town. 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. * Note: These irons were designed in Belgium by the Belgium-Browning company. Cleveland VAS was really great Iron. The VAS irons have finally been dethroned from their previous top spot as Worst Iron Ever Made! Although from a phone-in interview Mr. VAS told us, I feel robbed. Mismanagement and a growing golf market led Spalding to cease manufacturing golf products, selling off popular brands like Top Flite to Callaway in the early 2000s. I just searched eBay right now and saw a set for $139. With this in mind, this article looks at why Spalding golf clubs are no longer popular and how much some of their most popular sets are worth. Great article takes me back to nostalgia. Wide sole. In an effort to keep golf a game of skill, the USGA implemented the 14 club rule that we see today. The Ginty, fueron palos adelantados a su poca, las maderas Ginty parecen las antecesoras de las big bertha de callaway, el material del que estaban hechas no poda aguantar las inercias, pero el diseo ya era adelantado a su tiempo. I would appreciate any help you could offer! Still have the XL-4s in the garage. For more than 25 years, he has contributed to a wide array of publications including "American Heritage," "American History," "Yankee," "VFW," "Golf," and "Golf News." Wilson never really recovered after Pepsi bought it in 1970. 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. * Note: These irons were designed by Duke Duclos. Turns out it was just 20 years ago. He would hold up the club so they could see the 7 on the bottom and with a big grin say I hit a 7 iron. I have two sets of Browning 440 Gold clubs (including the driver, 3 and 5 woods), and a set of Browning 500s. i think special t golf was the only people dumb enuff to handle these. But the funky look kept me from ever thinking about buying a whole set. You can check it out at http://www.adjustablegolfclub.com. In fact, one of Spaldings most popular models was the Bobby Jones collection, selling two million sets between 1932 and 1973. I really enjoy reading your articles, John. I have a old slotline cigar putter I still use,,no loift at all,looks like a big tootsie roll,but puts great,,friends still get amazed at how it puts,,. My woods are Taylormade Burners 1 & 3, and I have two Mizuno hybrids. Spaldings contributions to modern golf are considerable. Yes it has some smoother lines compared to some of the other clubs on the listbut you put that PowerBow as Nike says on any of those other irons and it is a dead ringer for this list of crazies. "publisher": { Haha my dad had a set of these and I ended up bagging the 3 and 4 irons as I hated the hybrids that came with my new set. The Executive clubs are among the finest pure forged blades ever produced and have certainly stood the test of time. They are also said to be legendary Canadian player Moe Normans favorite clubs of all time. An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. 1-949-642-6484 . I had released it into the foreign market through a network of distributors mid in 1978, where it was well received. It was if I walked into the store from a time machine. What about Giant Irons, I remember seeing those on an infomercial a few times. Now, like Henry Ford's assembly-line Model T's, Spalding craftsmen used a mechanical hammer to craft club-heads, drill sockets in them to attach the shaft and then polish the heads, all of which allowed Spalding to mass produce matching club sets. 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. As a former pro athlete, Spalding saw the value of using professionals to help promote both the game and his products. my Dad is still pulling new 90s & 2000s Top Flights from the closet to play lol. I actually like the looks of those babies! Pat Simmons first wanted to say thanks and also that, You may not know the Pat Simmons name, but if youre a golfer, you know of several of my inventions. Please put any questions or comments here. Had a set of McGregor Irons called Doctor Rx, they felt good hit in the middle, they reminded me of a Pringle potato chip. But, in the rough the club went right underneath the ball. By reducing our debt and consolidating our operations, we enhance our abilities to drive growth behind our prestigious group of golf brands, CEO Jim Craigie said at the time. and they wonder why they went out of business. And I remember drooling over those Tour Edition Custom blades in the pro shop. Two years prior, they sold Spalding and Evenflo to Wall Street investment firm KKR for an estimated and unbelievable 1 billion dollars. Went to graphite (Vulcan Backfire hollow irons). We had hybrids back in the 80s. Decent? Top Flite is now synonymous with bargain or cheap instead of being the club of choice for the greatest golfers on tour. Taylor Made Golf was my Distributor for the U.S. and Canadian market. Spalding stopped producing golf clubs in 2022, focusing on other sports in the years since. Alternatively, you can look on a discount site like Rock Bottom Golf. 1 Iron (18) Spalding EXECUTIVE XE. I actually have these clubs. I see that a few from my list made it. Not the first or the last business to be destroyed by KKR. Among Jones innovations: the first matched set of steel-shafted irons, the first set of irons with the sweet spot in the center of each club (denoted by a circle of dots on the clubface), and an iron set where the scoring irons were one length, the mid irons were one length, and the long irons were one length. Executives were my first real set of golf clubs. Only until tomorrow until my hybrids come in and boom they're gone. Was: C $107.89. I finally gave it to a friend of mine who is a beginner and he says it is the only club he can hit reliably. (Cavity back blades???) Bird on ball was a very popular club. money, time and performance. Finally, I think a distinction needs to be made between the wackiest looking and worst irons made. Basically, the new irons are all the same cavity backed design tweaked for the metal content and painted pretty for your golf bag. They got so popular at the time that it scared club makers badly (Every set was pretty much custom built then), and Golfing associations banned the club from play. Learn how your comment data is processed. 5 Testers Needed! "datePublished": "2022-05-12", Your previous content has been restored. How about the Spalding Exec SE. Ugly. Spalding introduced the Vardon Flyer, a golf ball that was popularized by Harry Vardon. * Note: These irons were designed by Karsten Solheimsure most of you knew that though. I actually have a set of 440s I bring them out every year or two when I am hitting the ball poorly. What are the Most Forgiving Forged Irons? These were actually a pretty good iron for the time and I think Trevino had something to do with this designbut not sure. "logo": { The Black Dots were longest (for me) but that cover would smile back at you with the slightest mishit. My Nike Slingshots is the best set I have ever used. Although the Inertial irons werent so lucky. Spalding club-makers paid as much scrutiny to shafts as heads. While theyre old-school, Spalding clubs are made to high standards and are built to last, making them a great option if youre looking for a cheap and cheerful set of clubs.