The shelves are full of the latest and greatest technology (hybrids, woods the size of a frying pan, dozens of shaft offerings), in 20+ years people will be laughing at those funky sticks as well. As a former pro athlete, Spalding saw the value of using professionals to help promote both the game and his products. Spalding Executive Left Handed Golf Clubs There are several different types of left-handed golf club sets, so which one is the best for you? Ive owned. To maintain the limit of 14 clubs in the bag, I change off now and then. ), Takomo Golf Clubs Review: (As Good as Expected? . I use them in Central Texas when the fairways are hard and the greens harder (late summer and all winter). Can you come up with any info on these? Oh I didnt forget about thosethey almost made the list. TaylorMade, by comparison, has been sold twice in the past four years. 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. No matter what brand of club you pull from your bag, you owe some thanks to one company Spalding. By this time, Spalding was making everything from barbells, dumbells, punching bags, and rowing machines to fencing blades, whistles, shot puts, javelins, and golf clubs. The Sounder irons could be on the list-and are the best irons I ever had (have). I see that a few from my list made it. The primary reason why Spalding halted the production of golf clubs was that they couldnt keep up with the competition. Learn how your comment data is processed. the only problem I have had{although the have to be at least 30+ years old},is graphite cracks. Fascinating how these once great brands essentially disappeared altogether. It was a low loft club used for poor lies and putting. Colin Montgomerie joined the staff, and Spalding had big plans. as well as honest reporting on the latest issues affecting the game This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Love it or hate it the Nike Slingshot irons made the list. Irons made during that time are distinguished by an anvil cleek mark. (What Exactly Happened?). 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. He loves telling stories, writing about golf and golf travel, and enjoys classic golf equipment. By the following year, Spalding began making clubs in the U.S. or Best Offer. Wright was the driving force behind Bostons Franklin Park golf course, the first municipal course in the U.S. Bostons other muni is named after Wright, who donated the land for the Donald Ross design. Smooth tempo swingers Ventus Velo isn't working for me other brands/models suggestions? We knew something was up, recalls White. More on the tr600!!!! 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. Thanks, http://www.clubsofdistinction.com/cod3/ucir5177.htm. Don Wood has the patent for the Plop Slotz Irons. They all looked like mini woods. I actually travel with it and use it at the driving range, so I dont have to rent clubs. "url": "https://swingyard.com/wp-content/uploads/Spalding-Irons-by-Year.jpg" The Spalding brand, however, is still alive under the Russell Athletic umbrella, making basketballs and apparel. I recently tried an old Jack Nicklaus 7 iron made by MacGregor many years ago. If it works for you use it. I have a full set of Exec XE irons. 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. And although Top Flite is still in business today, its a brand that most golfers associate with cheap equipment of inferior quality. Great research John with some very interesting history facts about the company and its equipment. made it even more interesting and valuable. Purespin (diamond face)? Someone suggested to me they were a prototype club for Johnny Miller, but were never marketed. What about the Porsche irons? We are here to help educate and empower golfers. * Note: These irons were designed in Belgium by the Belgium-Browning company. You cannot paste images directly. I am surprised no one ever mass marketed them. Play to a 4 6 cap. Golfers have always known that deep-grooved irons produce better control and spin. The solid core Strata now had competition from the Titleist ProV1. They introduced the Browning 500 Series to counter that effect.But, they waited too long and by that timethe party was over! and I firmly believe the demise of Spalding was because a number of CEOs with little or no knowledge of the golf industry were appointed "headline": "Spalding Irons by Year", HellI know I dont and I have been involved in some type of internet golf business since[], THE WINNER OF THE CONTEST: Farve The Looper (CONGRATS!) It had a good locking mechanism, and was made for poorer people who could not afford a whole set. I played them for years, they were solid, and they looked really good at address for their time period. The Spalding Top-Flite first came out in 1970. WITB Albums. "https://www.pinterest.com/Swingyard/blog/" The Kro-Flite in 1930 was golfs first liquid center golf ball, while the Spalding DOT was a mid-century icon. Sign In. Could not beleive how well I hit this clubs. Get10% offat Global Golf with Code:SwingYard. Mr. Adams had just formed Taylor Made Golf in late 1978 and this was their first showing in the market. Id like to include the Wilson Reflex irons and PGF Slammer series. All of the irons were labeled as a 7 iron, with the real number of the club micro stamped on the faces upper toe. How about Hogan Magnums and Magnum Plus irons big cavity backs from the 1970s. My friends and I (and Im embarrassed to say this now! And I remember drooling over those Tour Edition Custom blades in the pro shop. It was just crazy how many golf balls we would sell through Wal-Mart in 18-ball pack, adds White Wed get orders on the fax machine for 50,000 18-ball packs, and theyd want them in two weeks.. Thanks for the memories, John Barba. These were actually a pretty good iron for the time and I think Trevino had something to do with this designbut not sure. pend. beneath. Ugly. 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. Make sense as I do have a Johnny Miller PW which looks just like an X 70. How about the Spalding Exec SE. You can post now and register later. In one sense, Spalding suffered the same fate irrelevance as did fellow legacy golf brands Wilson Staff and MacGregor. Balata covers. Its on the list! I have a 3-15 wood set that are fun to play with. 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. 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. 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. Those were first made around the end of the 19th century during the hickory era. TaylorMade, now owned by adidas, was rising, and Callaway was a major force. 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. In 2001 Spalding launched a $17 million ad campaign for Hogan and Strata. I gave the set to my nephew, and he loves them. Im a scratch golfer, and to date have found nothing that is better. Spalding stopped producing golf clubs in 2022, focusing on other sports in the years since. Copyright 2023. 2023 Genesis Invitational - Monday #2. Thanks for the article. Love to see them. I have been playing golf over 40 years and have owned many brands of clubs. But, in the rough the club went right underneath the ball. marrano patio homes lancaster, ny 9, Juin, 2022. horse property for sale pocatello, idaho; 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. He re-gripped them and beats the Taylormade hand-me-downs of his friends. Dreadful golf balls! i knew a guy who was a 4 handicap, and he used the spalding executives. About half of our sales are with personal names or corporate logos in the back and given as gifts. I demand a re-count!, He went on to say, and as owner of MyGolfSpy you should feel ashamed since you were given a set as a gift 15 years ago and I remember you putting me in play for a few rounds, how could you do this to me?, Slotline had a hit on their hands with their Slotline Inertial puttersthey sold over 2 Million of those flatsticks. #PowerToThePlayer. Estimated resale value today:. Shallow faces (not as shallow as the 440 of course) and less offset than many of the long irons they replace. Pretty or not (thats the clubs), I have played Fila Latitude irons since they came out. jazzbone, September 4, 2006 in Equipment. It was a low loft club used for poor lies and putting. From the 1950s to the 1990s Spalding was in the bag for many major victories, and was played on municipal courses across the country. Almost , http://www.intheholegolf.com/store/f2is.html. With Spalding's mass-market success breeding scores of imitators, players could pick and choose from countless club lines. Thanks. In fact, one of Spaldings most popular models was the Bobby Jones collection, selling two million sets between 1932 and 1973. GolfWRX_Spotted posted a topic in Tour and Pre-Release Equipment, February 13. So what did his famous Ginty patent actually mean? 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. Seemed like big headed design with half the head chopped off to produce a bigger face!!! This new construction was a major technological advancement in golf balls. Spalding had a long history, terrific heritage, and healthy topline sales of over $500 million. I will admit to having a hankering for those slick lookin Zevo Lobs tho. He has provided some keen insights from his time with Mr. Hogan in other articles and podcasts. We stand behind our clubs and want you to be satisfied with them. "https://twitter.com/_swingyard_", There are worse things. Laugh if you must, but the design works. 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. } "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjT3UiJflw60ZD31-6yC4mA", Like many of his other unconventional looking but super functional designs for the time this one flew off the shelves. Clare. Spalding lost $27 million in 2000 and another $20 million in 2001. And Spaldings ace in the hole Strata was old news by the time the Pro V1 and Nike Tour Accuracy hit the scene. Peter lived in Ridgefield,Ct. Since you mentioned it in the article, how about doing the history of Ben Hogan golf from its inception in 1953 to itd ultimate demise under Callaway and then its resurrection in 2015. Back in the day (early-60s), I caddied at a CC in so. I still think there were others that deserved some consideration. any info on this garbage?lol. Goldwin was a San Diego company, years ahead of its time. President Would you make an iron set out of stone? Is that so? But Zevo Golf is one of those on this list that was a pioneering. it was at my range's rental bin. he is a cleveland iron man now, but he still owns the spalding executives. Spalding Golf Clubs: Do Still Make Them & How Much? they were a good iron, that looked good at address, and were easy to hit. Spalding introduced the Vardon Flyer, a golf ball that was popularized by Harry Vardon. Welcome back to the latest installment of Historys Mysteries. 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. If so send us some picsdont worry we will keep it 100% anonymous . Any Spalding clubs that are still in circulation can be regarded as vintage, thats for sure! Couldnt decide between the Slotlines emax and the 845s. Jones famously retired from golf after winning the 1930 version of the Grand Slam. The set I found is 2-9, but the 5 iron is gone. Spalding took off with sales and production with Bobby Jones joining the team. Somehow they squeezed 492 dimples on them Those balls were rocketships. Way ahead of their time in the perimeter weighted genre. Why is that I have the Tiger Shark 7 iron and the Spalding Exec XE 5 iron in my golf collection??? The chrome 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. Spalding Top-Flite In 1995 Spalding Sporting Goods reorganized its golf club division by forming the Top-Flight golf company as its premium club brand.