The design gave the clubs an exotic bamboo look; the underlying message being that these clubs offered players bamboo's legendary flexibility and whip-like strength. Remember all the other clubs, good to read. When Did Spalding Stop Making Golf Clubs? (Solution) The pro-shop who had them could not find a buyer. 2 Iron Spalding . We had small layoffs on an ongoing basis, and people kept looking over their shoulder. After each sale, however, TaylorMades leadership team remained intact. It was made by Salt Lake City Specialties. 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. You had to turn those over to see the ugly, but the cone in the bottom was down right wacky! My dad has played a set if vicunas for about 40 years! When we got out there, his Black Dot was split all the way to the liquid core I played D1 golf in college and we got three Red Dots for every match. it was at my range's rental bin. Its a great story that needs to be told. 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. Another really well done article. 6. Jim also marketed the first Graphite Shafts sold under the Aldila name. Thank you for your research efforts. 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. Spalding released multiple iterations of its Executive clubs throughout the sixties and seventies, and they became popular with professional golfers and recreational players alike. What you like is what you like. It is the Super Stick. Ive got a crazy iron set that is one telescoping iron with a blade that changes position to vary the loft. By 1970, the ownership group morphed into the Questor Corporation, and Pyramid Rubber was rechristened Evenflo. Who Makes Dunlop Golf Clubs? If it works for you use it. Europe was a bit ahead of the United States when it came to golf, and the sport had only just started to explode in the United States. 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. 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! In the late 70s I also had a set of Unique irons which were great apart from the plastic covers covering the cavity back constantly falling out. Spalding hired Tom Bendelow as his designer, and Bendelow went on to develop many courses still in use today. Both are really great. 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.. Executives were my first set as wellI thought they were a great starter set. All that creativity has led to the great clubs we have today. I use them in Central Texas when the fairways are hard and the greens harder (late summer and all winter). They are also said to be legendary Canadian player Moe Normans favorite clubs of all time. 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. From 1932 until 1973 two years after Jones death Spalding sold over 15 different models and two million sets of Bobby Jones clubs. Spalding stopped making clubs in 2002. Original? Nice article John! Anyone hear of them? Maybe it is a good idea or maybe it is not. I actually like the looks of those babies! What a mess that design was! 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. Return Policy > WORLDWIDE SHIPPING. Theres even premium urethane cover options (Pro V1 and X styles) for ~$15 a dozen. maybe EVER. My first clubs were Spalding top flites. I became a +2 handicap using those irons, and a lot of people scoffed at them early ontill they saw me hit them. I cant remember who made them, but I remember reading about an iron that was adjustable so its loft could be wildly altered. PING was still PING, and Tiger was becoming Tiger. So for those of you who own a set and are fellow collectors of the ridiculoustoday is your day to shine. 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. Spaldings contributions to modern golf are considerable. I was the Sales Manager of Stan Thompson golf company for several years and worked very close with Stan. Copyright 2023. About half of our sales are with personal names or corporate logos in the back and given as gifts. pend. beneath. The remaining golf company was re-named Top-Flite. Brings back great memories! Spalding introduced the Vardon Flyer, a golf ball that was popularized by Harry Vardon. So I sent it in and got the iron. The RB880 s by Northwestern are also knockoffs of the Browning 440 s. But since the early 2000s, Spalding has practically disappeared from the golf landscape. In 1993 Payne Stewart signed a multi-million-dollar deal to go full Top-Flite, a move that sidetracked Stewarts career. Balata covers. 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. Looking through eBay listings, you can find a range of vintage Spalding golf clubs in various conditions to suit different budgets. I owned a set of Nocklaus N1 irons (the pro versions of the bear irons?). These skids are tapered from the leading edge toward the rear of the club head, raising the sole above the ground without raising the leading edge off the ground. 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. what is spanish colonial music? "https://twitter.com/_swingyard_", Some of the most popular Spalding Club models were: At one time, Greg Norman used the Spalding Tour Edition irons, now a collectors item, on Tour. 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. So we thought if it was as crazy looking as the original it had to be on the list but a little further down. While the idea of owning a golf company sounds great, the list of companies that tried and failed is long. Still, the Uniques are the best irons I have ever hit! Tommy Armour TI 100 need to be on the list, they were twice the size of any other iron produced ever. 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. *chuckles* Maybe its a good thing I took a 30 year golf hiatus. Its on the list! What are the Most Forgiving Forged Irons? It overpaid for Spalding and borrowed heavily to do it. Executives were my first real set of golf clubs. One of the most famous Spalding clubs was the Cran Cleek (club with a narrow face and little loft) for poor fairway lies and even putts. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. I owned two sets of Unique ironsstarting in 1976. i knew a guy who was a 4 handicap, and he used the spalding executives. Knowledgable folk say its all in the mind. I have two sets of Browning 440 Gold clubs (including the driver, 3 and 5 woods), and a set of Browning 500s. A very interesting stroll down golf history. Scott Stallings - WITB - 2023 Genesis Invitational. Sold them to a guy 30 years younger who also loved them. Image: Central Press/Hulton Archive via Getty Images. OK. Ive got some irons sets you have up (Fila, Cleveland, Slotline, and the Tiger Shark). In the meantime, this should hold you over, https://mygolfspy.com/why-does-the-ben-hogan-equipment-company-still-matter/. In 2012, Callaway sold Top-Flite to DICKS and Hogan to Perry Ellis. Spalding was the leading manufacturer of golf clubs in America throughout the mid-twentieth century, highlighting just how popular the brand was. He loves telling stories, writing about golf and golf travel, and enjoys classic golf equipment. I love them but Im mystified with the hex screw in the bottom of every shaft! I love them so much I have four sets, just a case a club breaks. Money put a few of these clubs on touralthough that does not mean they were worth a penny. Turns out it was just 20 years ago. Did you forget about Zevo Golf? Can you come up with any info on these? I got an incomplete set at the Salvation Army for $15. I gave the set to my nephew, and he loves them. They also specialized in unique clubs like the Cran Creek. Too bad. I had a set of Tiger Sharks(the short irons hit the ball miles).The follow up Great Whites vicunas. The likes of Callaway, TaylorMade, and PING all enjoyed good commercial success in the late nineties, and Spalding couldnt match the same feats achieved by the biggest brands. Im surprised that nobody has mentioned the Wilson Fat Shaft irons for ugliness. The real prize for Callaway was the Chicopee ball plant. Thanks for doing the digging! His company quickly expanded into making equipment for every sport imaginable. They preceded hybrid irons by 20 years or so. He traded a set of classic Burke PunchIrons to get the Lynx. Cleveland was giving them away for free if you send in some coupon from golf digest. Sponsored by: GolfCircuit.com, Maxfli Tour, Tour X and Tour S Golf Balls, Penfold Ace Golf Balls: Whats Old Is New Again, Topgolf Callaway 2022 Financials: $4 Billion? Starting in the early 1900s, Spalding started making golf balls before manufacturing clubs. ), shoplifted about four dozen balls each from a failing department store in New York City. when were spalding executive golf clubs made MyGolfSpy is jumping into the DeLorean and taking a 1.21 jiggawatt-fueled look at the long life and quick death of Spalding Golf. 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. }. I have a 3-15 wood set that are fun to play with. Could not beleive how well I hit this clubs. * Note: These irons were designed by Karsten Solheimsure most of you knew that though. A request, could you do Sonartec at some point? By Their original design was a smaller headed Tony Penna model Innovator, they became the n1 and then the Bears came out when oversize irons hit the market. The Start Of Spalding Golf Clubs In 1905, a sporting goods company saw that golf was starting to become quite popular in the United States. Callaway had been making balls but never turned a profit. Brilliant idea? i used to work in a golf shop in ohio and we had the worst set i ever saw. "@context": "http://schema.org/", And add on Sweet Spot Golf Drivers and the Mac/Burrows Driver. Can anyone tell me about Spalding executives : r/golf - reddit Spalding led the way with such deep-grooved designs as the "waterfall" and waffle-face irons. Great insight! I have been playing golf over 40 years and have owned many brands of clubs. Great nostalgia with the article. 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. It was fun to have and I actually hit the thing really really well. Made from 1989-1994 and originally sold for $680. Whats troubling to us is the extent to which a reputable company that has its own trademarks and has invested a lot of money and time feels it needs to become a predator on somebody elses goodwill to sell its products, said Callaway chief Don Dye at the time. Theyre awesome. You might remember the popular Stan Thompson woods with the unique sole design. Im not sure how rare they are, but youd think there would be a trace of them somewhere. ENTER NOW! The Sounder irons could be on the list-and are the best irons I ever had (have). The company stayed the course, and the result is a thriving, profitable company. 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. Within three years, it would be gone for good. The new club are really pretty, but no better than the original slotlines which I used to have. Or maybe it was just wacky that a German car company decided to start selling $1500 golf clubs that sucked. 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. You cannot do that with any other club. Anybody know anything about them? lots of memories here. I cannot find any information on this club, maybe they were a golfsmith thing from early 2000s?? * 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. Read on to learn more about the history of Spalding clubs and what you can expect from various models. Im 65 and still playing to seven with them. The Browning 440s took my game from the 150s (Wilson clubs) to the low 70s. I am a self-admitted admirer of Mr. Hogan having owned more than 2 dozen sets of various Hogan iron sets over the years and a former member of the only club to have a Hogan-designed course (actually 27 holes). In the mid to late 80s, my father had Spalding make him a set of custom irons. i was pretty impressed with the club. why did patrice o'neal leave the office; why do i keep smelling hairspray; giant ride control one auto mode; current fishing report: lake havasu "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"], Oh I didnt forget about thosethey almost made the list. It wasnt very sophisticated back then, and they wanted to add layers of sophistication that they had in their other businesses. Smooth tempo swingers Ventus Velo isn't working for me other brands/models suggestions? Laugh if you must, but the design works. The company also announced an alliance with Bob Bettinardi to create a line of high-end Hogan putters. Here's what happened with 10 equipment company acquistions - The Loop On top line: OVERSIZE. Instead, well hit the highlights. Many of which might have even found there way into a few of your bagseven if you dont want to admit it. That was a great history lesson!!!!! The BIG BOYS missed on this one. Corey Pavin says, If I wont paid to play them ugly ass sticks they would have never been heard of ;). Nabbed them just for the pure ugliness. & Bubba Dickerson won the 2001 US Amatuer with a set of Nicklaus Bears! i just hit a 8 iron in that series last night. They are a blade from the early 80`s. Did KKR overpay? Just remember, Its always the indian and not the arrow. What a great list! 1 Iron Spalding Executive MV2 bird over ball .