Whatever happened to?

[white_feather]

Whatever happend to all the old golf brands?

The likes of RAM, Lynx, Dunlop and Slazenger.

I do realise they do still make equipment but more on the budget end of the market.

When you watch footage of golf from the 70s and 80s all the best players had there equipment so what changed, fashion?

 

[Alex1975]

The Lynx Boom Boom 2 Diver is currently retailing for something like £349. They tell us they use particular gases in its making and this and that. They claim it is the most technically advanced driver ever made and the review I read told me the driver is super LONG!!

I think RAM were always budget were they not?

 

[cookelad]

MacGregor too, probably (without doing any research) won more Majors than any other brand certainly a high percentage - nowadays you wouldn't touch them!

 

[TheClaw]

MacGregor too, probably (without doing any research) won more Majors than any other brand certainly a high percentage - nowadays you wouldn't touch them!

I think Wilson claim to have 'won' more majors. I'm sure I read that somewhere.

 

[Foxholer]

Dunlop also owned the Slazenger name.

There's already a thread on Dunlop but basically it sold off non-core chunks in a downturn and the 'brands' were viewed as than the 'products'.

Lynx was always a periphary company and has recently been resurrected.

Ram (and Tommy Armour and Zebra) is owned by a Canadian group.

All the above seem to now be focused on the 'budget' market

 

[Jdb2005]

Purchased a pair of Dunlop golf/trainer shoes, recently , very comfy

 

[Slab]

I have a Nike bag and a Slazenger bag....I use the Slazenger one, its a much better piece of kit...& who's going to want to nick it

 

[pendodave]

...leon trotsky?

 

[TheDashingBlade]

MacGregor too... owned by Golfsmith in the US. MacGregor were another who used maker of beautiful forged irons and persimmon clubs.

I think a lot of these firms were geared around craftsmanship and struggled with the advent and demand for cavity, investment cast irons and the metal wood whereas other firms such as Ping and later Callaway were well placed to benefit from the demand in game improvement gear. Mizuno also developed an excellent range to serve all ends of the market, developing some very nice beginner/GI clubs whilst maintaining their heritage (I'm sure a lot of folk of a certain age would have had a set of Astrons...)

Now you have folk owning these brands, churning out goods of variable quality which have nothing to do with the brand's heritage which is a shame. Saying that, those new Dunlop NZ9 irons look well engineered and fitted with a great shaft.

 

[Fader]

The new DunlopNZ9 range looks pretty good and seems to get good reviews, as well as having decent material being used in the make up of them..

Lynx recently re-launched but aren't on sale in the bigger retailers as yet but not sure they will be even with the price tag on "that" driver.

 

[Curls]

...old fashioned love

No?

Just me?

Great tune

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZsl12d8Tjc

 

[HomerJSimpson]

John Letters were another top brand that disappeared and good to see them making a return and not just at the bottom end. Like a lot of things in all walks of life, brands come and go

 

[Tab373]

Marumun clubs Ian woosnam used to use them. And what about hippo and fazer clubs real budget club they were from memory

 

[MashieNiblick]

Not to mention Spalding and Hogan.

A shame. A bit like the old British car brands, Triumph, Rover, MG, etc

Bigger or newer companies just came in with more efficient manufacturing, more appealing products and better marketing I guess.

Just put a set of forged MacGregors from around 2003 in the bag. Beautiful clubs.

 

[Ethan]

In the 80s Ram, McGregor, Dunlop and Slazenger were all top brands. The companies made lower priced stuff too. Tom Watson used Gelden Ram Tour Grinds for years. Great sticks.
M
McGregor made some great persimmon woods. They never had the same success with metal woods. I had a few of their woods in the Nicklaus Muirfield model. I also had a set of Slazenger Seve blades at one stage before getting my first set if Mizuno Pro Originals.

Couldn't hit any of them now, probably. Especially not with the old balatas. The Pro V1 and other modern balls are so much better than the old balls it is almost unfair.

 

[Liverbirdie]

I had a set called Tanaka.

Must have just been me then.

 

[Foxholer]

Just put a set of forged MacGregors from around 2003 in the bag. Beautiful clubs.

I had a set of 1025M that were really good too. Shafts were too much for me, so had to go.

Really regret selling the wedges though! Probably the best set of wedges I've had - and I knew it too. Why do we do that!:lol:

The PCB Tours - from 1998 - are also great clubs. Forged by Miura, the design was resurrected as the CB301 quite a few (some 5-7) years later. There's a set relisted on Ebay (not mine) that didn't make the £90 starting price!

 

[MashieNiblick]

The PCB Tours - from 1998 - are also great clubs. Forged by Miura, the design was resurrected as the CB301 quite a few (some 5-7) years later. There's a set relisted on Ebay (not mine) that didn't make the £90 starting price!

Just had a look at them; lovely. Shape reminds me of the JNP Forged irons I had in the 80s/90s. Satin finish, diamond markings with gold infill on the face and soft as butter. Bought a 2 iron to match which I never used. Still have it. Decided to keep it when I sold the set because it's just so nice. The Muirfield 20th muscle backs form that time were really awesome.

Have to confess to being a bit of a MacGregor fanboy. They were the clubs I longed for as a kid. Breaks my heart to see the name now just associated with mass produced budget starter sets.

Will the "Greatest Name in Golf" rise again? Had hopes when Greg Norman was briefly involved a few years back but I guess there were problems with the business as he moved out pretty swiftly.

One of their last proper clubs, the MT Pros, can be picked up for a fraction of what they are worth. New set on e-bay currently for £229.

Re Macgregor versus Wilson winning Majors, I think Paddy's wins took Wilson past MacGregor.

I think if you listed all Major wins by brand some of the current market leaders might not come out looking too good compared to some of the old forgotton brands. Wouldn't be surprised if Ram had more Majors thanks to Watson and Price than TM and Ping combined.

 

[need_my_wedge]

Seve played Slazenger, which is why my first clubs were a half set of Slazenger. Got custom fitted for set oF STIX (Ping copycats), they weren't anywhere near as good as the Slazenger clubs, so went back to Slazenger - I've still got the set of Slazenger XTC irons in the garage that I bought circa 1990. They cost me about £400+ at the time and are the first graphite clubs I bought.

 

[Ethan]

One other 'WHT?' golf item is the short lived craze for ultralight clubs in the early-mid 80s. A number of the big brands brought out irons with swingweights in the low C range (rather than D which was more usual). There was one Open where DA Weibring, who played a set of these, pitched up for a practice round carrying a bag with the word 'featherlite' on it. After a couple of holes of people sniggering at him, his caddy asked someone who explained it was the same name as a popular brand of condom. It also turned out that players couldn't control the club very well, and the shafts broke easily, so all in all, gone but not missed.