Great collection! Image: Central Press/Hulton Archive via Getty Images. Read on to learn more about the history of Spalding clubs and what you can expect from various models. Not to belittle them because KKR is incredibly successful, but they didnt know the golf business the way we did, says White. when were spalding executive golf clubs made MENU. Never get tired of reading these types of articles. Titleist has been the Ball King for so long, its hard to remember a time when it wasnt. $86.40 shipping. Upload or insert images from URL. The Pyramid Rubber Company, a maker of baby bottles, strollers, and other infant products, bought a controlling interest. 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 Starting in 1900, Spalding opened clubmaking factories in London and in Fife, Scotland, producing forged iron heads for Spalding clubs sold both in the UK and U.S. What a mess that design was! 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. Albert Spalding died in 1915, but his company continued to flourish. My only wacky set now are some Macgregor MT Splitsoles in very gd cond which were bought at a Thrift store. Get10% offat Global Golf with Code:SwingYard. Your email address will not be published. They are awesome clubs, very well-weighted, with a great center of gravity for high loft shots. "sameAs": [ BarbaJo, you da man! I look forward to your future deeper dive into the history of the Hogan company. (ENTER TO WIN) Super cool contest we have for you fellow GolfSpies today! Duke gave me an original solid brass/bronze Greenirons Slotline putter (heel shafted with slot in top line and white dot on lower rear section).. All are memory refreshing .. have been in golf clubhead design , manufacturing 25 years , familiar with the designs ! Golf bags bulged with 20 to 25 clubs, and the USGA, fearing too many specialty clubs had watered down the skill required in golf, took action. Starting in the early 1900s, Spalding started making golf balls before manufacturing clubs. Like many of his other unconventional looking but super functional designs for the time this one flew off the shelves. And although Top Flite is still in business today, its a brand that most golfers associate with cheap equipment of inferior quality. Sold millions of those over the years. Brings back great memories! The success of Spalding golf clubs had compelled the USGA to act, but this success was not destined to last forever. They also specialized in unique clubs like the Cran Creek. Great list of wild clubs. Id like to include the Wilson Reflex irons and PGF Slammer series. President Sign In. Men's Right Handed. How about Hogan Magnums and Magnum Plus irons big cavity backs from the 1970s. Are these considered weird? 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. Can you come up with any info on these? My Nike Slingshots is the best set I have ever used. Wilson never really recovered after Pepsi bought it in 1970. Windtree Golf is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. And I remember drooling over those Tour Edition Custom blades in the pro shop. I love it but was told it is no a legal putter. Cleveland was giving them away for free if you send in some coupon from golf digest. TaylorMade, now owned by adidas, was rising, and Callaway was a major force. My wife says I never met a strange-looking golf club I did not want to own and play with. Again THANK YOU FOR THE GOLF LESSON!!!!! 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. Just got Calloway X20s last week. Spalding, however, never dominated the pro game as Wilson and MacGregor did. One with the sticker decal and one without. It was made by Salt Lake City Specialties. Executives were my first real set of golf clubs. I asked him about it and he said he had shown it to Spaulding, Wilson and MacGregor and their response was It will never sell!!!! Especially in America. I saw the Cisneros brothers maybe once in my time there, he says. In 1993 Payne Stewart signed a multi-million-dollar deal to go full Top-Flite, a move that sidetracked Stewarts career. The remaining golf company was re-named Top-Flite. what is spanish colonial music? Today we are going to be spotlighting the crazy, the absurd, and some of the wackiest irons the golf world has ever seen. 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. His company quickly expanded into making equipment for every sport imaginable. 1 Iron Spalding Executive x EZ Oversize. Odyssey to Callaway In July 1997, Callaway Golf purchased putter maker Odyssey for $130 million, or nearly four times the company's annual sales of $35 million at the time. as well as honest reporting on the latest issues affecting the game I also have a set of Browning TR600s. In 1900, Spalding released the Vardon Flyer, the golf ball used by Harry Vardon. Those Slinger Irons were the brain child of Jim Flood. The BIG BOYS missed on this one. The old Spaulding Executive set I had back in the early 1980s. Any Spalding clubs that are still in circulation can be regarded as vintage, thats for sure! Forward-face progression creates a hitting surface 20 percent larger than standard and 5 percent larger than over-sized irons. Well today is going to be a little bit different. You can actually play Spalding golf balls again! PING was still PING, and Tiger was becoming Tiger. KKR had been trying to dump Spalding as early as 2000, but no one would take on the debt burden. Yes, it did. 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. Went back 10 years and got the 845s used. "https://twitter.com/_swingyard_", 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. Yes, it sold a ton of golf balls, but as one former employee told us, the brand was decidedly blue-collar and not focused on the golf professional. In 1938, the USGA passed an edict limiting players to 14 clubs. Protactic Golf in Chicago. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); MyGolfSpy is gearing up to conduct the second edition of our groundbreaking ball test. I had read your original 2018 article about why Hogan still mattered. OVERSIZED Spalding Golf Clubs Lady set Woods Driver 3 5 w New Black Widow Grips $30.00 $15.00 shipping or Best Offer Spalding Executive MV2 2-9 Iron, PW set Bird Over Ball $69.99 $31.53 shipping or Best Offer Spalding Executive XE Irons Set 7-PW Medium Steel Shafts Left Handed LH $95.00 Free shipping or Best Offer These were said to be Moe Normans favorite clubs and are rated by the MyGolfSpy Forums resident vintage club expert Big Stu as the third greatest pure forged blade of all time. On top line: OVERSIZE. I still think I deserve to be recognized as the leader in this category and will be appealing your decision. ), Finn Scooter Golf Reviews (Are These the Real Deal? Your link has been automatically embedded. But as you can see could cause some serious digging issues. BombTech Golf Reviews (These Golf Clubs Any Good? The greatest golfer at the time plays Spalding? What about Giant Irons, I remember seeing those on an infomercial a few times. That was a great history lesson!!!!! Not sure if the Black Knight, Gary Players endorsement sucked allot of buyers into buying.LOL. What about Goldwin?? Win a bunch of BogeyPro swag! The Executives were the bomb back in the day. Both were smart, competent leaders but had little golf experience. I take them out every couple of years and play a round with them just for fun. What was wacky about the Bears? I remembered them from this article. By Itd take a week to prepare for.. 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. The Early Years of Spalding Golf Starting in 1900, Spalding opened club-making factories in London and in Fife, Scotland, producing forged iron heads for Spalding clubs sold both in the UK and U.S. the only problem I have had{although the have to be at least 30+ years old},is graphite cracks. He changed from forged blades and balata balls to cavity back, investment cast irons and sold core balls, White tells MyGolfSpy. Why are Spalding golf balls called Top Flite? they were a good iron, that looked good at address, and were easy to hit. I use them in Central Texas when the fairways are hard and the greens harder (late summer and all winter). The company also announced an alliance with Bob Bettinardi to create a line of high-end Hogan putters. One of my favorite balls back in the late 80s was the Top-Flite Plus. There was a time that Spalding golf clubs were among the best in the business. Hope you find this one interesting!!!! Two years prior, they sold Spalding and Evenflo to Wall Street investment firm KKR for an estimated and unbelievable 1 billion dollars. GolfCartReport.com, Golf Undershirts (20 To Try On The Market Today), Do I Need Longer Golf Clubs? "name": "Swing Yard", Seu lugar para proteger o seu capital. 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. !but they had a very proprietary, strange-sized grip. Too bad. Perhaps you are thinking of the Browning 440 Plus which had more of a standard face depth. Irons made during that time are distinguished by an anvil cleek mark. Dreadful golf balls! He traded a set of classic Burke PunchIrons to get the Lynx. Golfers have always known that deep-grooved irons produce better control and spin. We will miss Jim and his innovation ! They are for sale. Dont be ashamed thoughsome of these designs have actually been pioneering for the industry. MyGolfSpy, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Very well researched and well done, as someone who is not super well versed in some of golfs history, it was a great, informative read! Its factory could only make about six million dozen a year, and it was paying patent royalties. Fila Golf has developed this new iron using a patented design feature. 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. The 1968 arrival of the Executive MV2 Bird Over Ball clubs are among some of Spaldings most easily recognizable clubs. I am on my 2nd set.I used to lovem and had friends that bought as they loved the ball flight and were also a great set of chippers. Bird on ball was a very popular club. So, if youre buying or selling Spalding clubs that are in reasonably good shape, you can set your expectations around $100 to begin with. MacGregors ownership carousel started in 1978 when it was sold to lumber conglomerate Wickes. Although they did have issues with the shafts actually wrinkling due to the configuration of the shape of the toe on this ironcrazy little factoid. Not quite Bryson-like, but innovative for the day. Golfers may also like: PGX Offset Golf Driver Review: is it any Good? "@type": "Organization", lots of memories here. I dont know how people could justify any of the others. To maintain the limit of 14 clubs in the bag, I change off now and then. lol! "image": { My golf team partner talked me into getting new technology Ping G-20s a couple years ago, & I can not hit them nearly as well. This stuff is really interesting.. White says KKR management was hyper-focused on Callaway and TaylorMade, which may explain one of Spaldings biggest gaffes ever. vicunas. Great research John with some very interesting history facts about the company and its equipment. Insurmountable debt, uncertain management, and stiff competition forced Spalding to stop production. However as a caddy the Spaulding staff bag was a real trunk!! Heres a set of Slotline irons currently for sale on EBay, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330561978331&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT, some years ago-I bought a trial 7 iron thru golg digest-some years later a friend of mine bought a used set at a second hand storeany way I think it was made by simmons or slotline?? Is it worth getting a new set of clubs, or should I focus on getting spikes and a gloves, ( I currently golf in thing sandles) 0. By then the Cisneros brothers had taken the money and ran. 2023 Genesis Invitational - Monday #2. Still have the XL-4s in the garage. About half of our sales are with personal names or corporate logos in the back and given as gifts. I have a set of Lynx Parallax irons that were my fathers. I recently tried an old Jack Nicklaus 7 iron made by MacGregor many years ago. Brilliant idea? Established in Caracas in 1929 as a small material transport business, the Cisneros Group had its fingers in everything from soft drinks, ice cream, and beauty products to banking and a burgeoning telecommunications business. It was the mold makers attempt to make at a hollow head, wooden shape club. Players would switch balls during a round as conditions warranted. I bought them new. 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. We stand behind our clubs and want you to be satisfied with them. "url": "https://swingyard.com/wp-content/uploads/Logo-1.svg" Callaway wound up suing Spalding for using its imagery on Spalding packaging. Geek Golf I am surprised no one ever mass marketed them. The shaft collapses to 18 inches so it is great for travelsure beats the cost of checking a golf bag these days. I saw a set go for well over $300 (I think it went closer to $500, but I just would not swear to it). Heres one for the booksTommy Armour EQL one length irons. MyGolfSpy is jumping into the DeLorean and taking a 1.21 jiggawatt-fueled look at the long life and quick death of Spalding Golf. I still have the irons to this day! Spalding was the big name in women's golf clubs by 1950. Turns out it was just 20 years ago. If you are a beginner and are looking for a . I had a VAS 5 iron. 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. If so, are they any good? He also worked at Zevo when the LoB Irons were developed. Shank no more, draw, fade, straight, you name it, my Filas do it. Those are the reasons they work. A request, could you do Sonartec at some point? Latitude Irons also give the golfer an added patented design feature of dual skids on the sole. Spalding lost $27 million in 2000 and another $20 million in 2001. The ball was introduced in 1900. Finally, I think a distinction needs to be made between the wackiest looking and worst irons made. I love these old clubs. So, if youre looking for a decent set of golf clubs without breaking the bank, theres no reason not to invest in a used set of Spalding clubs if you see a set that you like online. Man crush on Nicklaus led to this purchase. 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. Matched them to Wilson Pro Staff low compressions and I was a happy camper. There is nothing crazy about the Slinger! The "New York Times" frequently syndicates his work. When my father would shot a 215 yard iron into the hole, his fellow golfers wold ask him what club he used. I would love to have you include my Whole-In-One Adjustable Telescopic Golf Club in your mixdefinitely fits the criteria of unusual clubs. pend. beneath. I can't imagine them being worth a shit. 1 Iron Spalding Executive MV2 bird over ball . In 1998 Spalding released the Top-Flite System C and System T golf balls which, Spalding claimed, were designed to perform best with two top-selling drivers of that year, the Callaway Big Bertha and the TaylorMade Ti Bubble 2. The Zing2s were the first set I bought when I started playing golf. Thanks for doing the digging! Who Makes Dunlop Golf Clubs? You can check it out at http://www.adjustablegolfclub.com. Autore dell'articolo: Articolo pubblicato: 16/06/2022 Categoria dell'articolo: fixed gantry vs moving gantry cnc Commenti dell'articolo: andy's dopey transposition cipher andy's dopey transposition cipher CA License # A-588676-HAZ / DIR Contractor Registration #1000009744 By the early 1920s, Spalding began using a mechanical hammer to drop-forge heads in an assembly line, making the process faster, more consistent, and considerably less expensive. Smooth tempo swingers Ventus Velo isn't working for me other brands/models suggestions? But they seem to work though. Spalding also produced the first U.S.-made golf shoes, the first clubs to use numbers instead of names, and the first completely matching set of woods and irons (the Kro-Flite). Get the best deals on Spalding Executive Irons when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. They are also perfect in a steep slope due to the curved bottom of the club head. The Top-Flite acquisition made it a player. Way ahead of their time in the perimeter weighted genre. Had a set of McGregor Irons called Doctor Rx, they felt good hit in the middle, they reminded me of a Pringle potato chip. The Endo-forged Hogan Apex Plus cavity back irons came soon after, along with a solid-core Hogan Apex ball. Starting in the early 1900s, Spalding started making golf balls before manufacturing clubs. I want to say they were called Ironwoods but I cant find them on the internet maybe they were just in one of my wild dreams!! The 500s have less offset than the 440s. New entries such as Nike and Adams were turning heads as well. I completed the set off of eBay for around $100. 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). In that year, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) took shape, and many of the fledgling tour's stars already had endorsement deals with Spalding. In 2012, Callaway sold Top-Flite to DICKS and Hogan to Perry Ellis. Did KKR overpay? Basically, the new irons are all the same cavity backed design tweaked for the metal content and painted pretty for your golf bag. That year Albert and his brothers opened the A.G. Spalding & Brothers sporting goods company and started making baseballs. (Sponsored by: GolfCircuit.com), CONTEST! It was if I walked into the store from a time machine. 2023 Genesis Invitational - Monday #1. As a designer, the design is perfect and although they look funny, they were a great club, ask Cory Pavin. Author: Ned Howard Retired PGA Teaching Professionalif(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[468,60],'swingyard_com-box-3','ezslot_6',194,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-swingyard_com-box-3-0'); Spalding has one of the most storied histories in sports, and a major impact on golf. Ever hear of Belmont (internal, removable sole weighting)? Thats great. MyGolfSpy is usually a place you guys come to see the latest and greatest equipment the golf industry has to offer. Lots of wackiness. Its pretty clear KKR didnt do its due diligence. I have a full set of Exec XE irons. 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. *We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Its an interesting question to ask about a company that was a factor for over 125 years. LOL. Never met a set of strange clubs I didnt want to try. Extra weight added to the toe keeps the center of gravity where needed and also keeps the club head square at impact, resulting in straighter shots.. I owned a set of Nocklaus N1 irons (the pro versions of the bear irons?). "https://www.pinterest.com/Swingyard/blog/" Great looking blade and the low COG really lets one hit it high. Spalding also started the Spalding Athletic Library; a series of sports and exercise books published from 1892 through 1941. It wasnt the shank that bothered me, it was waiting for it to happen that was the problem. This is the story of Spaldings Final Countdown. Model Summary Color chart indicates best . It became the most consistent and durable golf ball ever made. This new construction was a major technological advancement in golf balls. Well then so did everyone else. It was an excellent article and some of the follow-on comments from industry stalwarts like Jack Wullkotte, David Hueber, Tom Wishon, etc. Is my equipment holding me back? 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 know this is coming way after the article was published but I have a set of irons that are branded Fairway and the model I believe is Spider. They are also said to be legendary Canadian player Moe Normans favorite clubs of all time. By 1910, the company was selling aluminum fairway clubs and its Gold Medal series (1910 to 1919) featured aluminum bronze. All Irons for men were 37. Different, yes, but they are the only ones where you can really aim at the target! If so send us some picsdont worry we will keep it 100% anonymous . Well done. A set of wedges were introduced several years ago claiming to be New and the best thing since sliced bread, but they looked strangely similar to the Golden Touch irons. By 2002, players such as Hal Sutton, Bernhard Langer, and Luke Donald were playing the Hogan Apex ball. The plan was to position Hogan as the premium forged line sold through pro shops. Thanks for the history lesson and walk down memory lane. Whats more, Spalding Molitor clubs currently retail at $280 for an entire set, which is a price point that is pretty hard to beat. General Albums. I had a set of Tiger Sharks(the short irons hit the ball miles).The follow up Great Whites Every iron ever made is ugly as hell when you hit it off the hosel. I have one of those! Thanks for you4 diligence and reporting. He was a pro at having fun when he played golf! Say what you will but I own a set of Ray Cook Titanic irons. KKRs $25 billion takeover of RJR Nabisco was chronicled in the book (and tv movie) Barbarians at the Gate. I have a med flex shaft, 1 inch extension on each Exec club, and Golf Pride Velvet jumbo grips. John is an aging, yet avid golfer, writer, 9-point-something handicapper living back home in New England after a 22-year exile in Minnesota. Clear editor. With long-term debt in the neighborhood of $600 million, KKR found itself in a negative equity situation. As previously mentioned, you can buy Spalding Molitor clubs at Rock Bottom, and theyre a great option for beginner players. I love them but Im mystified with the hex screw in the bottom of every shaft! However, the name of their popular brand Top Flite was sold to Callaway, and is used for discount clubs and balls. Although lots of factors influence how much golf clubs are worth, you can typically pick up a set of Spalding golf clubs for less than $100. Eventually banned because it was too straight. I played them for years, they were solid, and they looked really good at address for their time period. Great stuff. C $75.53. "width": "645", These irons were designed in Belgium by the Belgium-Browning company. But unfortunately for the VASs they were dethroned from their long held position. Goldwin was a San Diego company, years ahead of its time. You cannot do that with any other club. single, replacement or add-on golf irons and wedges for Spalding Executive x EZ Oversize Irons. Scott Stallings - WITB - 2023 Genesis Invitational. Its on the list! The company's unique "baseball mark" A.G. Spalding had helped put baseball on the map--was stamped on the clubs and below it "Made in Great Britain" appeared. SPALDING EXECUTIVE 3-PW Iron Set Golf Clubs R/H Jet Step Stiff Flex Steel.
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