Vintage Golf

[Crow]

Played MacGregor MTR Tourney persimmons and irons plus a Wilson 8803 putter this evening in the 9 hole medal roll up.
Scored 40 gross 34 nett, 1 under par and came fourth.

Hitting them pretty well bar the tee shot on the third when I hit the ground about a foot behind the ball which went 50 yards max into deep rough, managed to scramble a bogey though.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Loving the pics of the old clubs and the reports. I played a fair bit last year with my 1984 Wilson Staffs Fluid Feels - but here's a snap of one of my very first clubs (they weren't a set of course). My old Tom Morris 7i (though no idea quite how old). Worth b***er all - but I am very attached to it.

 

[Crow]

Loving the pics of the old clubs and the reports. I played a fair bit last year with my 1984 Wilson Staffs Fluid Feels - but here's a snap of one of my very first clubs (they weren't a set of course). My old Tom Morris 7i (though no idea quite how old). Worth b***er all - but I am very attached to it.

Nice club.
It looks like a coated steel shaft so I'd guess from the 1930s.
The head is a Tom Stewart forging, a quality maker and one of the most appreciated for hickory play. If it were a hickory shaft it would be worth around £30+ but coated steel is not so collected currently.

They made thousands if not millions of club heads from the turn of the century through to 1931 when they were acquired by Forgan, who were in turn were acquired by Spalding Scotland, who became Swilken when Spalding withdrew from the UK, hence you can see the same pipe cleekmark (with white paint infill) on the heads of my Swilken "Eric Brown" irons in post 109, link below:

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/showthread.php?93646-Vintage-Golf&p=1786584&viewfull=1#post1786584

Centre below is my Tom Stewart hickory 2 iron.

 

[ScienceBoy]

scratch that, an ambitious moment...

Read up a little... oh well.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Nice club.
It looks like a coated steel shaft so I'd guess from the 1930s.
The head is a Tom Stewart forging, a quality maker and one of the most appreciated for hickory play. If it were a hickory shaft it would be worth around £30+ but coated steel is not so collected currently.

They made thousands if not millions of club heads from the turn of the century through to 1931 when they were acquired by Forgan, who were in turn were acquired by Spalding Scotland, who became Swilken when Spalding withdrew from the UK, hence you can see the same pipe cleekmark (with white paint infill) on the heads of my Swilken "Eric Brown" irons in post 109, link below:

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/showthread.php?93646-Vintage-Golf&p=1786584&viewfull=1#post1786584

Centre below is my Tom Stewart hickory 2 iron.

View attachment 24942

good stuff. How do you know it's a Tom Stewart forging (the trade marking I guess?). My daughters boyfriend (the pro) was interested in it. He noted that the face was actually ever so slightly concave (80+ yrs wear - or manufacture?) and loved that the face was punched and not grooved - with the lines of the punches not being dead straight and parallel across the face. He's going to take it into the swing studio to hit it and to see the launch angle - he thinks it looks quite 'weak' - and how much backspin - he reckons very little of the latter. He also noted that the shaft length was very short - the length of a modern wedge - and was thinking that that might have simply have been that longer shafts would have made the clubs very difficult to control. And I must dig out my original 9i - it truly is a great spade of a beast.

 

[Crow]

good stuff. How do you know it's a Tom Stewart forging (the trade marking I guess?). My daughters boyfriend (the pro) was interested in it. He noted that the face was actually ever so slightly concave (80+ yrs wear - or manufacture?) and loved that the face was punched and not grooved - with the lines of the punches not being dead straight and parallel across the face. He's going to take it into the swing studio to hit it and to see the launch angle - he thinks it looks quite 'weak' - and how much backspin - he reckons very little of the latter. He also noted that the shaft length was very short - the length of a modern wedge - and was thinking that that might have simply have been that longer shafts would have made the clubs very difficult to control. And I must dig out my original 9i - it truly is a great spade of a beast.

The pipe cleekmark belonged to Tom Stewart and under that it reads T.S. St Andrews.

Shafts were generally shorter back then (as were people) and lofts not as strong as today, an 8 iron was the equivalent of a PW.

Grooves weren't always parallel either, one of the reasons old clubs aren't legal for today's competitions.

The Pro should see reasonable spin in a studio but on the course from a grassy lie then not so good.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Crow, What do you use to remove rust from the heads of hickory shafted clubs?
How easy is it to regrip them? and apart from seeing any obvious damage, is the only way to check them out is to take them on the course?

 

[Crow]

Crow, What do you use to remove rust from the heads of hickory shafted clubs?
How easy is it to regrip them? and apart from seeing any obvious damage, is the only way to check them out is to take them on the course?

If they're plain steel with heavy rust then I scraped the thicker stuff off and then used a brass wire wheel attachment for my electric drill to clean them to the degree I like. Some people like to take them right back to bright steel but I can't see the point if you're going to play them.
If they're "rustless" with rust spots on them then rubbing with aluminium foil is a good trick.

Regripping isn't too difficult as long as you have all the necessary stuff and there are lots of how-to videos on YouTube, this is the one I followed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=62&v=IWXPfIpOYcY

If there are no obvious cracks or damage then putting them into play is the best way to test them, if they've lasted 100 years they're usually still pretty good for play.

My only recommendations would be to use a low compression ball, Callaway SuperSoft or similar. And whatever you do, don't hit off a mat at a range, if you catch the mat heavy the stress on the shaft will definitely find any weakness! (And most range balls are rocks)

I've had a head come off a wood and one shaft break in around 25 to 35 rounds.

 

[patricks148]

The pipe cleekmark belonged to Tom Stewart and under that it reads T.S. St Andrews.

Shafts were generally shorter back then (as were people) and lofts not as strong as today, an 8 iron was the equivalent of a PW.

Grooves weren't always parallel either, one of the reasons old clubs aren't legal for today's competitions.

The Pro should see reasonable spin in a studio but on the course from a grassy lie then not so good.

View attachment 24945

I played a few hickory games now and with a few very good players and never see the slightest bit of spin on the ball landing on a green.

i didn't know you could get the rust off TBH, the could i have that say rustless are only slightly rusty, but some of the others, i think you could carry on polishing until there was nothing left and i doubt you would find a shiny bit

 

[Deleted member 16999]

If they're plain steel with heavy rust then I scraped the thicker stuff off and then used a brass wire wheel attachment for my electric drill to clean them to the degree I like. Some people like to take them right back to bright steel but I can't see the point if you're going to play them.
If they're "rustless" with rust spots on them then rubbing with aluminium foil is a good trick.

Regripping isn't too difficult as long as you have all the necessary stuff and there are lots of how-to videos on YouTube, this is the one I followed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=62&v=IWXPfIpOYcY

If there are no obvious cracks or damage then putting them into play is the best way to test them, if they've lasted 100 years they're usually still pretty good for play.

My only recommendations would be to use a low compression ball, Callaway SuperSoft or similar. And whatever you do, don't hit off a mat at a range, if you catch the mat heavy the stress on the shaft will definitely find any weakness! (And most range balls are rocks)

I've had a head come off a wood and one shaft break in around 25 to 35 rounds.

Cheers, got a few different ones, some with the club stamp on from our “old” proffessionals and some with no attachment, got a friend willing to chemical dip and sand blast, but think that would be better for the “non-playing - memento” ones.
The others I’m going to take out on the course

 

[Crow]

Cheers, got a few different ones, some with the club stamp on from our “old” proffessionals and some with no attachment, got a friend willing to chemical dip and sand blast, but think that would be better for the “non-playing - memento” ones.
The others I’m going to take out on the course

I'd be careful with a chemical dip, you'll at least want to remove the head from the shaft first or it might attack the hickory.
You could end up with a club that doesn't look that old at all, which is why I prefer a bit of rust on mine.

Let us know how you get on out on the course, what clubs do you have?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Are golf clubs ever particularly interested in vintage golf clubs that have their name inscribed?

I have one that originates from Milngavie Golf club (Glasgow). I'd contact them and ask if they want it - but suspect that if they do take it they might not do anything with it. It's steel shafted and not hickory so any value is going to be historic for the golf club - though prob less so than it is sentimental for me as it is one of my very first clubs (like my 7i posted on earlier) and I would rather keep if that were the case.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

Are golf clubs ever particularly interested in vintage golf clubs that have their name inscribed?

I have one that originates from Milngavie Golf club (Glasgow). I'd contact them and ask if they want it - but suspect that if they do take it they might not do anything with it. It's steel shafted and not hickory so any value is going to be historic for the golf club - though prob less so than it is sentimental for me as it is one of my very first clubs (like my 7i posted on earlier) and I would rather keep if that were the case.

Depends on the name in some cases.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kay_(golfer)

This is one of mine and currently Seaton Carew GC have none of his work despite him being their 40 years.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Depends on the name in some cases.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kay_(golfer)

This is one of mine and currently Seaton Carew GC have none of his work despite him being their 40 years.

View attachment 24948

OK - I'll have a look and see if it has an individual named...

 

[patricks148]

I have a driver, Niblick and Mashie with Nairn stamped on and a couple of other clubs inc a putter from Moray. The pro at Moray was very interested in those, as was one of the members hanging around the first tee when we played there a few weeks ago.

Nairn has loads of memorabilia in the museum including loads of clubs.

 

[Crow]

Slazenger Hogan Plus 1 irons, 3 to E plus a Slazenger Hogan PC5 2 iron, £15 delivered from ebay.

 

[Crow]

Just got a set of Robert Forgan coated shaft clubs from ebay, maybe late 1930s or late 1940s?

I'm not sure why they are but it's a pity that this era of clubs is so disregarded, I guess it's because they're not hickory and they aren't quite from the golden age of the late 1950s through to the 1980s.

They're in pretty good condition; driver, brassie, spoon and 4 wood, 3 to 8 irons and what look to be an added 2 iron and Exploder plus a Victory putter, which feels very nice.

The woods and 3 to 8 irons all have the same coated Apollo medium shafts while the 2 iron and Exploder have chrome Apollo medium shafts. The putter has a True Temper Rocket shaft in walnut grained colour.

All have original leather grips.

 

[Crow]

On Wednesday I played in the Seniors Open at Northamptonshire County, singles Stableford.

Playing Titleist persimmon 1 wood, Walter Hagen laminated 3 & 4 woods, JB Halley "Tournament" irons and a Leyland "Ralph Moffitt" putter.

Lovely course and I played steady golf and scored 16 out 16 back for 32 total, fairly satisfied with that, the winner had 38 and I was 15th out of 60 in Div 2 so didn't embarrass the vintage clubs.

Reached a par 5 in two for the first time since going vintage, driver 4 wood onto back fringe on the 18th, unfortunately the hole was at the front and I could only make par.

 

[Crow]

Played at Thetford GC today with three other vintage nuts, all playing vintage clubs and original 1.62" Dunlop 65s, fresh out the wrapper!
One of the guys was an ex tour pro (might still be playing the odd event) and he struck the ball beautifully for a level par round.

We played from the white tees and the course was dry and running, I was very pleased with my 86 gross 73 nett (which was bang on the SSS) even if I did have the odd thin one that took advantage of the dry course.

I played a persimmon Titleist 1W and Slazenger Bobby Locke 3 1/2 wood, a laminated Uniroyal Arnold Palmer 4 wood, Slazenger Johnny Miller JM63 irons and the crazy Jack Berry putter.

 

[patricks148]

Finally found the right combination with the Hickory's

Spoon
Cleek
X5 or spade mashie
Niblick
Putter

Had a great round at Tain with them at the weekend, only 2 over gross. Tried a new putter one of the guys is selling

Also looking for an everyday vintage bag, my canvas original isn't that practical as it only has a pocket big enough for 20 woodbines and it doesn't seem right taking 5 clubs out in a modern stand bag.