No copy for them. Happily, I can say that I have seen these over the years, but none of them ever made it into my golf bag. 1 Iron Spalding Executive x EZ Oversize. Thanks. 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. The Pyramid Rubber Company, a maker of baby bottles, strollers, and other infant products, bought a controlling interest. . Spalding decided it would be good business to provide golf course design services free of charge to anyone with the money and inclination to build one. There are a couple different models of this iron. And if you did not have the exact lie to match your swing could cause issues with the toe or heel diving down at impact. The Roaring 20s gave us Babe Ruth, Knute Rockne, Jack Dempsey, and Red Grange. Ive got a set of graphite Samurai ironwoods years ahead of their time lying around in the basement, I think. 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. Men's Right Handed. In 1876 Spalding was the manager and ace pitcher of the Chicago White Stockings. The success of Spalding golf clubs had compelled the USGA to act, but this success was not destined to last forever. Ive seen several of those uglies up close over the years so this was fun to view. Just found and bought a set of Lil David Slingers. 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. when were spalding executive golf clubs made What you like is what you like. The Ginty was the first modern Utility club. Inside cavity: blue/back button; EXECUTIVE x EZ. The Top-Flite acquisition made it a player. Thanks for doing the digging! 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). Thanks! [email protected] Sold millions of those over the years. "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"], Display as a link instead, Spalding also started the Spalding Athletic Library; a series of sports and exercise books published from 1892 through 1941. I had a VAS 5 iron. These irons were designed in Belgium by the Belgium-Browning company. This one in particular was interesting to me because I grew up in a Spalding family of sorts. Great looking blade and the low COG really lets one hit it high. 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. Finally, I think a distinction needs to be made between the wackiest looking and worst irons made. Overall, Spalding clubs arent worth a great deal of money today, but theyre a good option if youre hoping to pick up an affordable set of clubs to get started with. When I eventually found a set of Magnums with regular shafts, I bought them but had been addicted to the graphite. We stand behind our clubs and want you to be satisfied with them. Jeff Sheets had been Director of R&D for Top-Flite since 1995, and his first club for Hogan became a legend. White says KKR management was hyper-focused on Callaway and TaylorMade, which may explain one of Spaldings biggest gaffes ever. Well then so did everyone else. No matter what brand of club you pull from your bag, you owe some thanks to one company Spalding. History of Spalding Golf Clubs | Golflink.com What a great list! The real prize for Callaway was the Chicopee ball plant. Still, if youre looking for more information about Spalding golf clubs, youve come to the right place. MGS can never have too much content regarding the man, his company, or his impact on golf. Different, yes, but they are the only ones where you can really aim at the target! That year Spaldings sales topped $537 million, with over $400 million coming from the golf division. If you are a beginner and are looking for a . Its pretty clear KKR didnt do its due diligence. marrano patio homes lancaster, ny 9, Juin, 2022. horse property for sale pocatello, idaho; 5 Testers Needed! Spalding was the big name in women's golf clubs by 1950. TaylorMade, now owned by adidas, was rising, and Callaway was a major force. * Note: These irons were designed by Duke Duclos. 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. Just got Calloway X20s last week. Spalding released multiple iterations of its Executive clubs throughout the sixties and seventies, and they became popular with professional golfers and recreational players alike. That was a great history lesson!!!!! Heres one for the booksTommy Armour EQL one length irons. The RB880 s by Northwestern are also knockoffs of the Browning 440 s. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. The pro-shop who had them could not find a buyer. The Strata, however, proved to be a gold mine for Spalding. 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! I play them still and love them. 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. It was in A Disordly Compendium of Golf I cant find my copy (actually havent seen it in a few months) but I know it was in there. I also have a set of Browning TR600s. As previously mentioned, you can buy Spalding Molitor clubs at Rock Bottom, and theyre a great option for beginner players. Its high point came in 1998 when Mark OMeara won the Masters and the Open Championship for Spalding. It was an interesting period to work for Spalding but sad to watch the demise of the brand it should never of happened ! Great list of wild clubs. Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond LS Driver Review, Best Womens Golf Clubs for Intermediate Players, Ned Howard Retired PGA Teaching Professional. single, replacement or add-on golf irons and wedges for Spalding Executive MV2 bird over ball Irons. Who Makes Dunlop Golf Clubs? 2 Iron Spalding . Really solid clubs. TaylorMade, by comparison, has been sold twice in the past four years. 2023 Genesis Invitational - Monday #1. I still think there were others that deserved some consideration. 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.. have a putter,,that comes in a case,,like a pool stick,,on thecourse when its time to put,,i take it out,each piece screws together to form the putter,,,,,,,putts really good,,,. In 1910 Spalding started making fairway clubs made of aluminum, and heavier lead face putters. Spalding Executive MV2 bird over ball Irons - Ironfinder KKR was established in 1976 by partners Jerome Kohlberg, Henry Kravis, and George Roberts. General Albums. Men's Right Handed. The nineties saw the release of the Top Flite Tour Ti irons, which were among the last clubs that the long-standing brand would manufacture. I would appreciate any help you could offer! I collect odd golf items. Spalding Irons By Year - Swing Yard but worth a kings ransom, Great post thanks mgs but i agree with dj ,The doctor rx has to be on the list. Basically, the new irons are all the same cavity backed design tweaked for the metal content and painted pretty for your golf bag. I might suggest you also include input from Tom Stites who worked for Hogan in the 1980s before heading up Nikes golf (mis)adventure. 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. Cleveland VAS was really great Iron. Why are Spalding golf balls called Top Flite? Wanted them when I was in college but couldnt afford them then. I accidentally broke it in the late 1970s the shaft was installed over a milled section of the hosel! His stuff was marvelous and all original. Money put a few of these clubs on touralthough that does not mean they were worth a penny. It adjusts to every loft in a full bag, plus half lofts. It wasnt long until Spaldings Executive golf clubs were launched, which were prevalent at all levels of the game. Even tho I play with graphic shafts I really like the way those play. "https://www.pinterest.com/Swingyard/blog/" All of the irons were labeled as a 7 iron, with the real number of the club micro stamped on the faces upper toe. Yes, it did. "logo": { There was a time that Spalding golf clubs were among the best in the business. Im 65 and still playing to seven with them. Jones famously retired from golf after winning the 1930 version of the Grand Slam. It was the mold makers attempt to make at a hollow head, wooden shape club. Bought a used set of 3-SW with a sticker decal some 35 years ago and added a 2-iron with stamped lettering later on a trip to Chicago. A request, could you do Sonartec at some point? Non-Tapered Golf Grips: 8 Facts to Know Before You Buy! I shoot mid-80s like OP. 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. when were spalding executive golf clubs made. But, the #1 weird club goes to the Slingeryour #1 choice. When were Spalding executive clubs made? - Trentonsocial.com During the time of the KKR takeover I was employed as the Managing Director in Australia/ NZ The latter is notable as the Wright of Wright and Ditson is one George Wright, a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Boston Red Stockings and a major mover and shaker of turn-of-the-century golf. Starting in the early 1900s, Spalding started making golf balls before manufacturing clubs. Throughout the 90s and into the early 2000s, Spalding and Titleist were running neck and neck in golf ball production. I have a med flex shaft, 1 inch extension on each Exec club, and Golf Pride Velvet jumbo grips. Still, the Uniques are the best irons I have ever hit! Started Yesterday at 04:29 AM, By All are memory refreshing .. have been in golf clubhead design , manufacturing 25 years , familiar with the designs ! I have a set of clubs with Belmont Power on them. Youve forgotten the worst offender. 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. Within three years, it would be gone for good. You cannot paste images directly. My Uncle had the Executives and my Dad had the XL-4s. SPALDING EXECUTIVE 3-PW Iron Set Golf Clubs R/H Jet Step Stiff Flex Steel. It overpaid for Spalding and borrowed heavily to do it. "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjT3UiJflw60ZD31-6yC4mA", Play to a 4 6 cap. Throughout America, the affordable Spalding clubs flew off the shelves and reaped huge catalog sales. i knew a guy who was a 4 handicap, and he used the spalding executives. Getting sold doesnt have to be the end of the world, but it can be if the buyer doesnt do their homework and pays too much. 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. Spalding started adding Tour staff during the 90s, with Greg Norman, Lee Trevino, Graig Stadler, and Nick Price all playing Stratas. * Note: These irons were designed in Belgium by the Belgium-Browning company. Goldwin was a San Diego company, years ahead of its time. Looking through eBay listings, you can find a range of vintage Spalding golf clubs in various conditions to suit different budgets. This technology is a shank-proof hosel. This is the story of Spaldings Final Countdown. Not sure if the Black Knight, Gary Players endorsement sucked allot of buyers into buying.LOL. They dropped the Tour Edition moniker and focused on the expansion of their touring staff on the PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA tours. As a golfer of a certain age, these history articles are fascinating! I STILL play with my Spalding Executive set 2 SW. Spalding Executive Golf Clubs for sale | eBay He also had a head for business and knew a good opportunity when he saw one. The Spalding brand, however, is still alive under the Russell Athletic umbrella, making basketballs and apparel. Though he is a footnote in the PGA history he was briefly on tour in the 50s. I would hand stamp #7 on all irons. Way ahead of their time in the perimeter weighted genre. higher loft is really your best bet for getting out of these difficult fairway lies, Top 10 Best Cheap Drivers (Updated 2021 Buying Guide), 5 Advantages of A Strong Golf Grip (Everything To Know), What Is An Overrun Golf Ball? Protactic Golf in Chicago. However my 6 iron had twice as much offset as any other iron in the set. Fascinating how these once great brands essentially disappeared altogether. And although Top Flite is still in business today, its a brand that most golfers associate with cheap equipment of inferior quality. Spalding sold off its majority ownership in Evenflo in August of 1998. It wasnt very sophisticated back then, and they wanted to add layers of sophistication that they had in their other businesses. Today, Spalding golf clubs still exist, but theyre nowhere near as popular as they once were. Bought a set for $25 as to help out a young lady with cancer. Today, Spalding Executive clubs arent worth a great deal of money. Spalding club-makers paid as much scrutiny to shafts as heads. My first clubs were Spalding top flites. Is that so? I believe Robert Molitor was the fellow who developed the Top Flite. I would like to repay you with mine. MacGregor Doctor X. I had the Bears. It is my Go To clubmy favorite. Colgate-Palmolive bought RAM and Penfold in the mid-70s to sell more toothpaste but gave up after only five years. One of my buddies gave me a Tiger Shark wedge the one with 3 different alignment lines, concave dimples on the face instead of grooves, and a funky dual bounce sole configuration. You find them on eBay Gary? As the 21st Century dawned, it had impressive sales and deep-pocket owners, but in reality, it was staring down the barrel of a gun. Spalding, seemingly, was on top of the world. Also, consider TaylorMade sold last spring for $1.6 billion, while KKR paid nearly $1 billion for Spalding in 1996. spalding golf clubs any good. They play as well as any other set He also worked at Zevo when the LoB Irons were developed. It was a low loft club used for poor lies and putting. Dreadful golf balls! Im from SD, so I had a set. Love to see them. 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 NOW AVAILABLE: GolfWRX G/Fore Hats and Holderness & Bourne Polos! I cannot find any information on this club, maybe they were a golfsmith thing from early 2000s?? Spalding EXECUTIVE Iron Set - PGA Corey Pavin won the 1996 US Open Shinnecock with a purple set. What a mess that design was! As a designer, the design is perfect and although they look funny, they were a great club, ask Cory Pavin. Kind of reminds one of the Hogan radial but not near as wide on the soul. Those were real whacky.. bent shafts and roughly milled heads. What you supposed to do, cut your head off!!! Terrific article as usual Mr. Barra. 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. Like its sporting goods brother-in-arms MacGregor, Spalding ownership changed hands in 1958. Still playing my cook titanics with the 1 iron. "https://www.linkedin.com/in/swingyard/", The company stayed the course, and the result is a thriving, profitable company. Pretty sure that was the first major won for a solid core ball. Decent? I don't mind the executives though, don't really know much about them either. 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 the 1920s, Spalding started making irons and innovated an assembly line style forging process that was much cheaper, faster, and more precise than the ole hammer and anvil. Well they made execs for over 20 yearswhich ones do you have? Do You have any idea? He was a pro at having fun when he played golf! But under Section 363 of Chapter 11, a seller can sell assets without having to negotiate with its creditors. Yet again, the same fate as MacGregor had. Great nostalgia with the article. The Black Dots were longest (for me) but that cover would smile back at you with the slightest mishit. money, time and performance. I got balls, well ProV1's anyway. ***GIVEAWAY*** Cleveland CBX ZipCore Wedge! The Endo-forged Hogan Apex Plus cavity back irons came soon after, along with a solid-core Hogan Apex ball. Colin Montgomerie joined the staff, and Spalding had big plans. There are worse things. I got an incomplete set at the Salvation Army for $15. By 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? Long irons with shallow faces, little offset and perhaps slightly softer shafts can be quite playable. 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. When Did Spalding Stop Making Golf Clubs. Steve Almo With KKR, it was a 180-degree turnaround. "author": "Ned Howard", Oversized high center of gravity heads and huge amounts of offset are what killed long irons IMO. Still use them. I played a lot of Spaulding equipment as a kid in all kinds of sports. They are also perfect in a steep slope due to the curved bottom of the club head. Acushnet has been sold twice since the 1970s, and each time the buyer took the same approach: be profitable, and well leave you alone. The 1999 Hogan Apex, forged by Endo Manufacturing in Japan, remains a sought-after collectible, and a very playable blade, to this day. It means the Son of a Scottish brood that keeps getting into trouble only to easily find his way out of trouble! For more info on Stan Thompson click here. Shortly thereafter, Spalding signed him as spokesperson, vice president and director of research. It was made by Salt Lake City Specialties. as well as honest reporting on the latest issues affecting the game These were great clubs. I'm 25 years old and I've been playing with my grandfathers Spalding executives for 10 years now, and I shoot about a 80-85. The Top Flite name lives on, however, thanks to the purchase of its namesake via Callaway in the early 2000s. Well today is going to be a little bit different. Get10% offat Global Golf with Code:SwingYard. One day, I was caddying for him and he crushed a drive, but about 100 yards out, it just fell out of the sky. Almost , http://www.intheholegolf.com/store/f2is.html. "datePublished": "2022-05-12", $89.99. They had fantastic fairway woods that I still take out for a spin every once in a while. Anyone ever hear of anything like that? Circa 1985-ish if memory serves. 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. Lots of wackiness. I actually have these clubs. Spalding Ladies Golf Club History | Golflink.com It is more of a you gotta be kidding me), an Integra 650 cc driver (you have to dig a ditch before you swing), etc. Not to belittle them because KKR is incredibly successful, but they didnt know the golf business the way we did, says White. Win a bunch of BogeyPro swag! They are similar to the Nike slingshots as they have a powerbow looking thing on the back of them. What about the old Bullet Driver that was hollow in the center (like an inverted U shape)? Spalding EXECUTIVE XE Irons Individual, Single, Replacement Golf Irons