What would you pick? Have a favorite brand? MacGregor, Wilson, Ben Hogan, Walter Hagen, Spalding? Let us know in the comments below.
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10 Comments
Excellent choices
Miura released their timeless blades in 1957 and this began a working relationship with MacGregor and Mr Nicklaus which lasted decades, worth mentioning imho
Great video. Really enjoyed seeing these amazing clubs and some history around them. Well done
Nice list.
ahh, Ben Hogan 1st run of clubs didn't meet his standards so he destroyed them, it was only that one time….not batches and batches. The next set were the Precision (lookig at that chart of Hogan irons – there is a '55 Precision & a '57 Precision, (had Hogan's signature) the Saber's you're talking about was the next in line '58-'59 Saber & had the "Star/Sun burst" & purported to be an improvement of the Precisions.
I would love to have a set of the Saber's – that would be my #2…
As for #1 – "57/'58 Hillerich & Bradsby Grand Slam Mars 70 (general line, but my first set ever) set of woods & irons.
#3 would be "54 MacGregor Chieftain woods.
#4 as I think the most underrated Company is H&B/PowerBilt – so the '52 Bomber deep faced driver sounds interesting.
#5 MacGregor Ben Hogan Bantam woods
#6 perhaps some John Letters clubs from the '50 (UK made)
#7 Wilson Mickey Babe Didrickerson irons '52
#8 MacGregor Toney Penna '54 WWT (white glaze) driver
#9 H&B '50 Grand Slam Olin Dutra woods & irons
#10 MacGregor '54 Chieftain irons
Some of these desires are in the general/retail line, but I'm an old coot duffer & can rarely tell the difference. This more of a list of desires, than ranking…..
so a '60s would also be fun…..and maybe consider a pyratone/painted shaft era, basically '40s but began in '30s & pretty much ended in the '50s
Once again the Ben Hogan Personal irons came out in 1982, not 1984
Your enthusiasm for the clubs sold them to me, although my own top 10 would be different. 😉
My understanding of the first Ben Hogan irons is that the Precision came first, without Ben Hogan's signature, in 1955, the 1956-57 model included Ben Hogan's signature and what is referred to as the Saber followed in 1958-59. The differences in design are subtle but cosmetically the word "PRECISION" is dropped in favour of a BH in a star logo and the red and blue lines are slightly longer.
Great list. All great clubs. My favorite 50s era irons that I own are Spalding Syncro-Dyned Robert T Jones models with green label (stiff) Rocket shafts. True butter knife blades. If you don’t hit them perfectly, you know it.
❤ your videos
Others have already corrected you on the Hogan history, Precision irons came first with the Saber or Starburst irons of '58/'59 being a mild refinement of the design – reduced toe height being the most obvious change. There is great mystery around the fate of the discarded first batch. The issue was the hosel drilling – my suspicion being either too wide a tolerance for neat shaft fit or poor alignment affecting loft / lie angle. Some say these heads lay about Ft Worth for years, some say they were molten down and reforged. There are rumours of sale to Japan! Guess we will never know! The fate of the woods is known – they were cut through the neck – many by Mr Hogan himself! The cost of that loss estimated at $100k is what lost Mr Hogan his initial business partners / investors and left him in sole ownership albeit briefly.
In respect of your list, no Spalding? Spalding of that era were top line – '53 Synchro Dyned spring immediately to mind and would make my list.
Mr. Vintage- This is a fun list, and I hope you continue on with the following decades too. Bob