Zevo was a great brand and I played a Zevo Zv2 hybrid for almost 6 years because it was so easy to hit and had incredible feel. (ENTER TO WIN) Super cool contest we have for you fellow GolfSpies today! I had never seen the Fila irons before now. i just hit a 8 iron in that series last night. 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. The remaining golf company was re-named Top-Flite. Two years prior, they sold Spalding and Evenflo to Wall Street investment firm KKR for an estimated and unbelievable 1 billion dollars. About; Blog; Service; Contacts The set I found is 2-9, but the 5 iron is gone. Spalding sponsored Vardons 1900 tour of America, culminating in Vardon winning the U.S. Open in Chicago. I remembered them from this article. The Top Flite name lives on, however, thanks to the purchase of its namesake via Callaway in the early 2000s. At the time of the sale, it was considered the lowest cost and most efficient operation in the industry. Balata covers. We will miss Jim and his innovation ! is fantastic, but the club is as stiff as an old water pipe and is accordingly harsh. I got an incomplete set at the Salvation Army for $15. Unfortunately, the remaining companys sales still couldnt support the debt. Perhaps they were a little ahead of their time (3-PW). My Dad's execs from the 70's were blades that had aluminum shafts. Its impossible to overstate Albert Spaldings vision and ambition. 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. The Browning 440 was a marvelous clubas you say off the fairway!!! Albert Spalding was a superstar. "author": "Ned Howard", If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. I have a set of Lynx Parallax irons that were my fathers. These skids are tapered from the leading edge toward the rear of the club head, raising the sole above the ground without raising the leading edge off the ground. Play to a 4 6 cap. However, the name of their popular brand Top Flite was sold to Callaway, and is used for discount clubs and balls. made it even more interesting and valuable. The woods were the strangest looking things. GolfWRX_Official Who knows what might have happened if someone else had gained control, Im 75 and recall that my Dad was a Spalding Dot guy. In 1880, Spaldings League Ball became the official baseball of the National League (and later of the American League), a position it held until 1976. I love it but was told it is no a legal putter. I just picked up 6 thru 9 of the Browning 440 Plus irons at the Goodwillcant wait to try them out. I would love to have you include my Whole-In-One Adjustable Telescopic Golf Club in your mixdefinitely fits the criteria of unusual clubs. We stand behind our clubs and want you to be satisfied with them. OVERSIZED Spalding Golf Clubs Lady set Woods Driver 3 5 w New Black Widow Grips $30.00 $15.00 shipping or Best Offer Spalding Executive MV2 2-9 Iron, PW set Bird Over Ball $69.99 $31.53 shipping or Best Offer Spalding Executive XE Irons Set 7-PW Medium Steel Shafts Left Handed LH $95.00 Free shipping or Best Offer Scott Stallings - WITB - 2023 Genesis Invitational. Get10% offat Global Golf with Code:SwingYard. I gave those up quickly only because they were really odd looking. He struggled quite a bit with the change.. "logo": { } You might be wondering how the hell did a Ping iron make the listbut look againthis one definitely deserves to be on the list for Wackiest Irons. The Titleist were a bit longer lasting but I (a poor college student) could afford the Spaulding balls. * Note: These irons were designed by Dave (cant remember last name) which was considered a very good designer by others in the business at the time and one that some felt did not get as much credit as he deserved. Great insight! In 1977 while having molds made for my new line of Irons at a mold makers in Oxnard California, I spotted a very interesting club in a bag at the rear of the shop. Great article takes me back to nostalgia. No matter what brand of club you pull from your bag, you owe some thanks to one company Spalding. I have a set of Ben Hogan AHS Hybrids and the SW is even a hybrid! No, while you might be able to find Spalding golf clubs at thrift stores and via used online marketplaces, Spalding no longer manufactures golf clubs. 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. "dateModified": "2022-05-12", 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. Finally, my number came up along with everyone else in the product management and marketing teams.. Played dots a bit but later played a lot of Top Flites because I was a teenager, and the balls did not cut (this was back in the days of balata balls that cut if you looked at them hard). Used to play traditional blades with the odd shank. Dreadful golf balls! I tried to hit it oncenot a good idea! Is that so? Fantastic article John! Started Yesterday at 04:29 AM, By They introduced the Browning 500 Series to counter that effect.But, they waited too long and by that timethe party was over! Both are really great. The market was changing rapidly, as well. The company was founded in 1973 and today produces high-quality golf clubs using the . So what did his famous Ginty patent actually mean? Someone suggested to me they were a prototype club for Johnny Miller, but were never marketed. I might suggest you also include input from Tom Stites who worked for Hogan in the 1980s before heading up Nikes golf (mis)adventure. 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. It overpaid for Spalding and borrowed heavily to do it. By 1970, the ownership group morphed into the Questor Corporation, and Pyramid Rubber was rechristened Evenflo. Get the best deals on Spalding Executive Irons when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. That debt burden, however, finally proved fatal. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.You can also visit my Am. Peter F. Stevens is an award-winning author and journalist whose 10 books include "The Voyage of the Catalpa." ), Phat Golf Scooters Reviews (Good or Waste of Cash? 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. The company was already selling golf balls when, in 1905, it became the first in America to offer its own brand of golf clubs. Just found and bought a set of Lil David Slingers. The biggest of them all, however, may well have been the aforementioned Bobby Jones. We used to say three-quarters of the golf balls manufactured in the world came out of the state of Massachusetts, says Ben Hogan CEO Scott White, who started his career as a golf ball product manager for Spalding in the early 90s. Iomic Golf Grips: 8 Key Facts Before You Buy. 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. I saw a set go for well over $300 (I think it went closer to $500, but I just would not swear to it). Upload or insert images from URL. And Spalding predated Mizuno by at least 60 years with a copper undercoating for its forged blades in the mid-50s. Havent been able to give them up since my Dad died in 99, Does anyone remember a set of irons made in the 80s (I think) that were actually a bunch of small woods, even the PW was made from wood. Not sure if the Black Knight, Gary Players endorsement sucked allot of buyers into buying.LOL. As a former pro athlete, Spalding saw the value of using professionals to help promote both the game and his products. Spalding is a big name in American sports, having manufactured equipment for basketball, American football, and golf over the years. In 1895, Spalding started making golf balls. So, if youre buying or selling Spalding clubs that are in reasonably good shape, you can set your expectations around $100 to begin with. Whats fun is to find one of those old sets, regrip them and beat your friends with them! He could not believe the smoothness of the Driver. 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 I just found a set of Slingers at the thrift store for $10. 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. Cleveland VAS was really great Iron. Almost , http://www.intheholegolf.com/store/f2is.html. Jim also marketed the first Graphite Shafts sold under the Aldila name. Happily, I can say that I have seen these over the years, but none of them ever made it into my golf bag. The Black Dots were longest (for me) but that cover would smile back at you with the slightest mishit. I have been playing golf over 40 years and have owned many brands of clubs. Spalding introduced many variations of hickory-shafted clubs to bring distance and control to the professional and duffer alike. Spalding lost $27 million in 2000 and another $20 million in 2001. As a designer, the design is perfect and although they look funny, they were a great club, ask Cory Pavin. A very interesting stroll down golf history. I have a set of Browning 440s and a set of Browning 500s I was in the midst of restoring them but Browning would not sell me original grips! This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, (your email address will not be published), CONTEST Adams Pro Black Giveaway! Hope you find this one interesting!!!! MyGolfSpy is jumping into the DeLorean and taking a 1.21 jiggawatt-fueled look at the long life and quick death of Spalding Golf. Tommy Armours ownership circus eventually turned it into the Sports Authority (and now DICKS) house brand. We want you to get the most out of your Albert Spalding died in 1915, but his company continued to flourish. "@context": "http://schema.org/", They had a premium Molitor ball at the then scandalous price of $2. It adjusts to every loft in a full bag, plus half lofts. Today its hard to fine a wooden golf club in a bag!!!! 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!) Odyssey to Callaway In July 1997, Callaway Golf purchased putter maker Odyssey for $130 million, or nearly four times the company's annual sales of $35 million at the time. The success of Spalding golf clubs had compelled the USGA to act, but this success was not destined to last forever. This one in particular was interesting to me because I grew up in a Spalding family of sorts. Man, some of my favorites on this list. Free shipping on many items | Browse your favorite brands | affordable prices. I was the Sales Manager of Stan Thompson golf company for several years and worked very close with Stan. Europe was a bit ahead of the United States when it came to golf, and the sport had only just started to explode in the United States. I used to have a set of Ajay Pro Classics that were my dads. But since the early 2000s, Spalding has practically disappeared from the golf landscape. Decent? It was if I walked into the store from a time machine. pend. beneath. Their president at the time said this about the newly released irons, Titanic irons are the first long irons even God and you can hit. Now that is a bold statement that should of had you guys flocking to purchase these beauties. I take them out every couple of years and play a round with them just for fun. General Albums. With new sexy companies like Titleist, Callaway, and TaylorMade, and golfers like Tiger and Phil, the new aged golfer wasnt interested in playing their grandpas golf clubs. Sales declined into the 2000s, and Spalding made their last club in 2002. Had 3-PW plus 1, 3, & 5 woods. Spalding spent the last half of the 20th-century battling with Titleist for golf ball supremacy. Spalding club-makers paid as much scrutiny to shafts as heads. White says KKR management was hyper-focused on Callaway and TaylorMade, which may explain one of Spaldings biggest gaffes ever. I had a set of Tiger Sharks(the short irons hit the ball miles).The follow up Great Whites I dont think I paid more than $300 for all four sets combined- Im a Salvation Army searcher. The strangest set I play with at the moment is a matching set of 3 through 15 fairway woods made by Protactic Golf in Chicago (part of the remains of Northwestern Golf, I think). * Note: These irons were designed by Duke Duclos. The early Top-Flites were juast the opposite; you couldnt cut one of them with an axe. 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. How about Hogan Magnums and Magnum Plus irons big cavity backs from the 1970s. So I sent it in and got the iron. Spalding started adding Tour staff during the 90s, with Greg Norman, Lee Trevino, Graig Stadler, and Nick Price all playing Stratas. Perception-wise that made Spalding a second-tier, big-box company compared to Titleist. I still have them and as a matter of fact I still use a copper Zing2 sand wedge 54.