Vintage Golf

[Mandofred]

When I was still the US (6 years ago), I saw quite a few people wearing golf sandals......hot and dry during the summer. Probably something that would be considered gauche here.

 

[Crow]

Played these George Nicoll beauties from circa 1955 today, only 16 holes but hit some nice shots.

And to prove I have no pride (or shame going on the quality of some of the shots), here's a video of the clubs in action for four holes from last Sunday.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Just watched your latest video and started reading this thread from the start today as I am new to the forum this year. I did read parts of the WHS thread for information last year as a non-member and that's how I got interested in the forum as a whole.
I recognised the course straight away, as I have played it several times. I am interested in becoming a vintage clubs player as an additional part of my life-long hobby. I will still be intending to play serious competitive golf in parallel. I know you have been asked several times what qualifies as "vintage" and that the answer is not clearly defined. But could you pass some comment on a set of irons I have; Powerbilt oversize, I think possibly late 80s or 90s. I have the full set eleven of these, 1 to SW.
I intend to get some blades and wooden woods this year. My golfing memory starts from late sixties so I remember people playing with 1950s clubs back then. I will be looking for some Ping Zing or Eye 2 woods as these were the bees-knees back in the 80s and I'm sure I won't have any difficulty with them. The irons could be any of many I remember from the 50s, 60s or 70s. I won't rush in, but bide my time until something really good appears. I have a 1970s putter - Petron Impala that I bought second hand (fiver) in the 1970s - excellent condition.
What I would really like to do is come and have a look at all your stuff sometime this year, if you are amenable, to give me some ideas. I'll bring a few of my old ones for you to see.
Right, I'll get back to page 15 and continue reading. Very interesting stuff, thanks.

 

[Crow]

Just watched your latest video and started reading this thread from the start today as I am new to the forum this year. I did read parts of the WHS thread for information last year as a non-member and that's how I got interested in the forum as a whole.
I recognised the course straight away, as I have played it several times. I am interested in becoming a vintage clubs player as an additional part of my life-long hobby. I will still be intending to play serious competitive golf in parallel. I know you have been asked several times what qualifies as "vintage" and that the answer is not clearly defined. But could you pass some comment on a set of irons I have; Powerbilt oversize, I think possibly late 80s or 90s. I have the full set eleven of these, 1 to SW.
I intend to get some blades and wooden woods this year. My golfing memory starts from late sixties so I remember people playing with 1950s clubs back then. I will be looking for some Ping Zing or Eye 2 woods as these were the bees-knees back in the 80s and I'm sure I won't have any difficulty with them. The irons could be any of many I remember from the 50s, 60s or 70s. I won't rush in, but bide my time until something really good appears. I have a 1970s putter - Petron Impala that I bought second hand (fiver) in the 1970s - excellent condition.
What I would really like to do is come and have a look at all your stuff sometime this year, if you are amenable, to give me some ideas. I'll bring a few of my old ones for you to see.
Right, I'll get back to page 15 and continue reading. Very interesting stuff, thanks.View attachment 36087

Always good to hear from other vintage golf enthusiasts!
Answering your queries in order:

Your Bower-Bilt irons - Power=Bilt were originally a Hillerich & Bradsby brand but the name was acquired recently by Hilco Streambank.
In the early days they were well respected but, like most American manufacturers, they got a little lost chasing the sales dollar, but perhaps not as badly as MacGregor or Wilson.
The Levelume and Scotch Blade are among their finest classic irons.
Power-Bilt don't show up very often in the UK as I don't think they had a proper sales outlet here.
I think your clubs are mid to late 1990s and are so just outside of what most people would consider as "vintage", they're also a cavity back and the few informal "Vintage/Classic" competitions that are held usually stipulate blades. Having said that though, a 1 to SW set is always a thing of pleasure so I'd say you should definitely use them!

Ping laminated woods are among the easiest wooden woods to hit, the heads are generally larger than other clubs of their time.

Petron are an interesting company, they were founded by Peter Shanks and Ron Goodchild in 1973. Peter was previously UK Sales Director for Wilson Sporting Goods during the late 60s and early 70s, he grew the business to be the 2nd biggest UK producer by the 1980s. He employed 25 PGA Pros and 100 other staff and specialised in made to measure golf clubs at a very early stage in that market.

As you can see from the purchases I've made, vintage clubs can be obtained for silly money, I'd be happy to answer any queries you might have on potential acquisitions.

Once things are back to a more normal footing I'm sure I could show you some of my clubs.
In the meantime, if you fancy a trial, we could meet up and I could bring another vintage set with me for you to use?

 

[Voyager EMH]

I'm going to take the Powerbilts out on Monday then. And to get in the spirit, Ill have a Cobra F Speed driver with a 16 degree baffler hybrid of same make and year(ish) and a Ben Sayers Opel Line putter circa late 1980s. Usually play with Ping G10 and i10 stuff. I've been looking at the Ping woods - there are some on ebay right now. Also seen some Johnny Miller blades that look fantastic. Some really good blades for about £150, but I would love the satisfaction of getting something I'm comfortable with for about £40. The Johnny Millers might be a good compromise - faces and grips look OK.

 

[Crow]

I'm going to take the Powerbilts out on Monday then. And to get in the spirit, Ill have a Cobra F Speed driver with a 16 degree baffler hybrid of same make and year(ish) and a Ben Sayers Opel Line putter circa late 1980s. Usually play with Ping G10 and i10 stuff. I've been looking at the Ping woods - there are some on ebay right now. Also seen some Johnny Miller blades that look fantastic. Some really good blades for about £150, but I would love the satisfaction of getting something I'm comfortable with for about £40. The Johnny Millers might be a good compromise - faces and grips look OK.View attachment 36093

I'd say that they're a little over-priced, although prices for vintage clubs have risen a bit over the last year.
The Johnny Miller Mk II came out in 1976.

I've just had a quick look on ebay and these look a great deal, woods included and it mentions a putter too but I can't see it in the pictures, the JN2000 model came out in 1973.
If there is a putter and it's the JN200 then it's a flanged blade style, picture below.
Collection only but I'm assuming that you're less than 50 miles from Solihull?
Can't see the grips but re-gripping is easy enough.
I think if you offered £40 you'd probably get them.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Full-Set...037612?hash=item596d40922c:g:5j4AAOSwRABgJYZy

Edit: Just spotted the putter, it looks like a plain brass headed blade, maybe a Golden Goose or similar.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Thanks for the advice. The JN 2000 have similarities to my dad's ambassadors from 1970, (only the 2-wood has survived) so I would have no problem playing with them. They look very good condition in terms of the faces and hosels. A few days left so I'm seriously interested. What can you tell me about,
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/mens-gol...459799?hash=item2b03bf4297:g:zA8AAOSwTQxgMm2Q
I like the 1,3,4 wood combination and a 2-iron. Only 10 hours left so might be worth a bid at £30.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Just seen a one-only 4-iron. If you ever see a full set of these early ambassadors, please let me know.

 

[Crow]

Walter Hagen clubs are good, a tried and trusted blade style that were made by Wilson in later years. The woods will be decent too.

I'll keep my eye out for that Ambassador style.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Just noticed the Walter Hagens are £19.99 postage from Aberdeenshire. Do you think they are a good buy at £50 or £55 total, nonetheless?

 

[Crow]

Prices for vintage clubs do seem to have risen a bit lately but there are still bargains to be had.

The woods have lost some varnish and look a but tatty so will need a re-varnish at least to keep water out.
The grips are probably the original rubber ones and after quite a bit of play and then 30 years of storage they're almost certain to need re-gripping!
I buy cheap grips from ebay at around £1 or £2 a grip so they can be done for little cost.

Adding that up means that your £55 set will need a bit of tlc on the woods and all clubs re-gripping, but even having said that they're still a great bargain because classic club prices are so stupid.
There will be cheaper options out there for sure so unless you particularly want a set of Hagens I'd wait until something else comes up.

 

[Crow]

Here's a cheap set of irons.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/golf-clubs/284252472199?hash=item422ec48387:g:czYAAOSw67hgcarT

3 to 10 plus sand wedge (the 10 is the same as the PW).
Dunlop Maxfli by Roberto de Vicenzo, I had a set of these myself and they're nice irons, date from 1973.
They've had some use but for the money you can't go wrong.


Here's a picture from before I traded mine so you can see what they're like.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Thank you so much for the advice. It is so tempting to jump in. I said at the start I would bide my time - so thanks again for reminding me. The R.de.V Maxflis sure look like a bargain - can't think why the seller has put those interlopers in - just makes things look worse and tatty. Meanwhile, spotted some Arnold Palmer Uniroyals at £7 for the set.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arnold-P...925427?hash=item46c4b547b3:g:6EkAAOSwZo5gay5~
I'm sure I'll eventually plump for something. Choice of wooden woods is overwhelming.

 

[Crow]

The seller is probably a non-golfer and going with more is better!

I've got a set of those Uniroyal clubs, and the woods to match, they're nice clubs.

Uniroyal were the tyre company who also dipped their toe into golf clubs and balls, with the Arnold Palmer name to give them some credibility.
They're primarily an American brand but they also set up to produce clubs in Scotland.

That model dates from 1971.

The big plus for the set you've spotted is that the grips look decent!

 

[Crow]

Played with a more modern set for the latest video, and scored quite a bit better, here's the link.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

You have a youtube account and doing blogs

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Just seen a one-only 4-iron. If you ever see a full set of these early ambassadors, please let me know.
View attachment 36117

Sold a few of those in my time.
At the time they were the Slazenger cheepo option and truly terrible clubs.
One stage up from Goudie's.
Nichol Pinseekers......now you are talking, nearly as good as Letters Fred Daly's. Really long thin hosels.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Sold a few of those in my time.
At the time they were the Slazenger cheepo option and truly terrible clubs.
One stage up from Goudie's.
Nichol Pinseekers......now you are talking, nearly as good as Letters Fred Daly's. Really long thin hosels.

Got down to 5 handicap as a teenager with those Abassadors so would like a set for nostalgia value and to see if I can still play the same with them. Cheepo, yes most certainly, that's why even a reasonable condition set would, I hope, be a snip.

 

[Crow]

Got down to 5 handicap as a teenager with those Abassadors so would like a set for nostalgia value and to see if I can still play the same with them. Cheepo, yes most certainly, that's why even a reasonable condition set would, I hope, be a snip.

The lack of information on UK classic clubs is such that, unless you have a long memory or maybe worked in the industry, there's nothing to tell you what was top-line and what was budget so prices are the same.
In any event some of my favourite sets are distinctly budget line.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Saw these on ebay and it really took me back to the 1970s when Lynx hit the scene. I remember a lot of good amateurs buying some and saying they were great. When Lynx went cavity backed they never seemed to have the same stylishness. I'm not attracted by this asking price, but would like your opinion of their place in the vintage scene today.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lynx-Usa-irons-3-sw/154412354895?hash=item23f3b18d4f:g:AnEAAOSworVgZxHt