Sign In. Thanks for you4 diligence and reporting. I actually have these clubs. Not quite Bryson-like, but innovative for the day. But $1 billion is a lot of cabbage, and KKR borrowed heavily to make the deal. They are a blade from the early 80`s. Another great history piece. my Dad is still pulling new 90s & 2000s Top Flights from the closet to play lol. By this time, Spalding was making everything from barbells, dumbells, punching bags, and rowing machines to fencing blades, whistles, shot puts, javelins, and golf clubs. Weve done a mini-history on the Hogan Company, with input from a couple of longtime Hogan employees. 1 Iron Spalding Executive x EZ Oversize. made it even more interesting and valuable. I had never seen the Fila irons before now. One of the most famous Spalding clubs was the Cran Cleek (club with a narrow face and little loft) for poor fairway lies and even putts. Take the Spalding Executive line. Can you come up with any info on these? !but they had a very proprietary, strange-sized grip. During the time of the KKR takeover I was employed as the Managing Director in Australia/ NZ Clare. Spalding sponsored Vardons 1900 tour of America, culminating in Vardon winning the U.S. Open in Chicago. Instead, well hit the highlights. 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational - Discussion and Links to Photos, 2023 The Honda Classic - Discussion and Links to photos, 2023 Genesis Invitational - Discussion and Links to photos, 2023 Waste Management Phoenix Open - Discussion and Links to Photos, 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am - Discussion and Links to all photos. Thanks. Swing Yard is a participant in the Amazon.com Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca, amazon.co.uk and any other websites that may be affiliated with Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. The plan was to position Hogan as the premium forged line sold through pro shops. The company experimented throughout the 1920s and 1930s with lathe-turned hickory shafts that featured circular ridges spaced at standard intervals down the entire shaft. The 300XXL Driver was so lightawesome clubhead speed ! The products soon disappeared from shelves. Executives were my first set as wellI thought they were a great starter set. I was the person responsible for introducing urethane prepolymers to Dr Shen Shen Wu, Titleist R&D chemist. 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 Terrific article as usual Mr. Barra. When we got out there, his Black Dot was split all the way to the liquid core I played D1 golf in college and we got three Red Dots for every match. No sir, they are in my bag and are still being used after all these years. Get the best deals on Spalding Executive Irons when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. It wasnt the shank that bothered me, it was waiting for it to happen that was the problem. Men's Right Handed. Well they made execs for over 20 yearswhich ones do you have? Oddity? Thats great. He also had some copycat Browning irons in the trunk, but I refused I couldnt even look at them with a straight face. Ugly. The reason why Spalding clubs arent particularly valuable is that they have been widely available for so many years. We have a new #1 For Craziest Iron Ever Made! For years the #1 spot for craziest iron ever made was held by the infamous Cleveland VAS irons (now #2). Spalding released multiple iterations of its Executive clubs throughout the sixties and seventies, and they became popular with professional golfers and recreational players alike. The Browning 440s took my game from the 150s (Wilson clubs) to the low 70s. I have a Simmons Great White Shark putter with a 7 blade. There are still folks around from when Mr. Hogan ran the company and I am sure you can get some keen insights not only of the company but of Mr. Hogan himself. These were great clubs. White says the KKR leadership team was much more hands-on than the Cisneros brothers had ever been, which is understandable if you just shelled out a billion simoleons for a sporting goods company. Weird thing was I could hit the XL-4 long irons better and the Executives better from 7-PW. He would hold up the club so they could see the 7 on the bottom and with a big grin say I hit a 7 iron. Pretty or not (thats the clubs), I have played Fila Latitude irons since they came out. and had a driving range there for many years. Reach and the Wright and Ditson sporting goods companies. Nabbed them just for the pure ugliness. The pro-shop who had them could not find a buyer. I actually like the looks of those babies! Today its hard to fine a wooden golf club in a bag!!!! The player would then conveniently cover the top of his bag with a towel so that no one would see the length of the irons. The company was founded in 1973 and today produces high-quality golf clubs using the . The company stayed the course, and the result is a thriving, profitable company. Although the Inertial irons werent so lucky. We had hybrids back in the 80s. Way ahead of their time in the perimeter weighted genre. I gave the set to my nephew, and he loves them. MacGregor Doctor X. I had the Bears. #14 - Spalding Executive Irons These were actually a pretty good iron for the time and I think Trevino had something to do with this designbut not sure. I gave those up quickly only because they were really odd looking. Cleveland was giving them away for free if you send in some coupon from golf digest. Spalding introduced the Vardon Flyer, a golf ball that was popularized by Harry Vardon. Mismanagement and a growing golf market led Spalding to cease manufacturing golf products, selling off popular brands like Top Flite to Callaway in the early 2000s. In the early days, golf clubs were hand-forged using a hammer and anvil. In 1938, the USGA passed an edict limiting players to 14 clubs. I still have the samurai irons,2-pw and woods,driver,3w,5w,7w,,and still use them. Jones immediately put his Georgia Tech engineering degree to good use. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. With this in mind, this article looks at why Spalding golf clubs are no longer popular and how much some of their most popular sets are worth. The company was already selling golf balls when, in 1905, it became the first in America to offer its own brand of golf clubs. As the 21st Century dawned, it had impressive sales and deep-pocket owners, but in reality, it was staring down the barrel of a gun. I just searched eBay right now and saw a set for $139. I think all the readers as well as the golfspies would love to learn as much about these past designs as possible. "https://www.linkedin.com/in/swingyard/", Spalding sold off its majority ownership in Evenflo in August of 1998. The Executives were the bomb back in the day. Spalding decided it would be good business to provide golf course design services free of charge to anyone with the money and inclination to build one. You had to turn those over to see the ugly, but the cone in the bottom was down right wacky! Recently I bought another set (I keep an eye on E-Bay for them) so I could have extras & other club sets for friends that come into town. Or maybe it was just wacky that a German car company decided to start selling $1500 golf clubs that sucked. The Top-Flite, Strata, and Hogan brands stayed alive for a while, but Callaway eventually mothballed them all. Its factory could only make about six million dozen a year, and it was paying patent royalties. Would the F2 wedges still be legal if the crank were a few inches further up but still keeping the same angle please. There was a time that Spalding golf clubs were among the best in the business. Estimated resale value today:. They also specialized in unique clubs like the Cran Creek. Really solid clubs. Thanks, John. Ugly or unconventional, I felt a more confident with them and Stan Thompson fairway woods. Haha my dad had a set of these and I ended up bagging the 3 and 4 irons as I hated the hybrids that came with my new set. "width": "645", Brings back great memories! My first clubs were Spalding top flites. That debt burden, however, finally proved fatal. Its an interesting question to ask about a company that was a factor for over 125 years. This new construction was a major technological advancement in golf balls. What a mess that design was! CA License # A-588676-HAZ / DIR Contractor Registration #1000009744 Theres even premium urethane cover options (Pro V1 and X styles) for ~$15 a dozen. Never get tired of reading these types of articles. I had a few customers back in the 1970s who ordered custom irons and would request the same number on the sole of their heads. Spalding lost $27 million in 2000 and another $20 million in 2001. In one sense, Spalding suffered the same fate irrelevance as did fellow legacy golf brands Wilson Staff and MacGregor. In 2001 Spalding launched a $17 million ad campaign for Hogan and Strata. 2 Iron (21) Spalding EXECUTIVE XE . Would you make an iron set out of stone? what is spanish colonial music? I used to have a set of Ajay Pro Classics that were my dads. John is an aging, yet avid golfer, writer, 9-point-something handicapper living back home in New England after a 22-year exile in Minnesota. FS - Fiberbuilt Flight Deck / GripMaster Roo pulls, New Vokey SM8 52 & 56 wedge set / New Titleist Caps (for bigger heads) / New Cobra RadSpeed 10.5* Driver, Peacoat, with premium, upgraded shaft, TSR3 ub-6x, cobra radspeed, TEE pro 721 driver and 3w, Ventus Black TR Folds of Honor 6x w/ TM Adapter, Ventus Red TR 6x w/ TM Adapter, Adidas Tour 360 22 Size 13, MyStealth2 Driver Headcover. Too bad. I still think I deserve to be recognized as the leader in this category and will be appealing your decision. Since you mentioned it in the article, how about doing the history of Ben Hogan golf from its inception in 1953 to itd ultimate demise under Callaway and then its resurrection in 2015. If so, are they any good? BarbaJo, you da man! They are also perfect in a steep slope due to the curved bottom of the club head. My Dad had the XL-4s (I still have them), one Uncle had the Executives and another had the Cannons. (8 Ways To Know) . Windtree Golf is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Mismanagement and a growing golf market led Spalding to cease manufacturing golf products, selling off popular brands like Top Flite to Callaway in the early 2000s. We stand behind our clubs and want you to be satisfied with them. Perhaps you are thinking of the Browning 440 Plus which had more of a standard face depth. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, (your email address will not be published), Acushnet 2022 Financials: $2.27 Billion and Counting, Penfold Ace Golf Balls: Whats Old Is New Again, Four Testers Wanted Inesis Spikeless Shoe. Spalding developed the first liquid center golf ball, the Kros-Flite. Only until tomorrow until my hybrids come in and boom they're gone. Irons made during that time are distinguished by an anvil cleek mark. I don't mind the executives though, don't really know much about them either. Spalding stopped making clubs in 2002. Im 65 and still playing to seven with them. It was a popular cavity back iron and Spalding decided to sell it through general sporting goods stores, eschewing the golf pro. In 1895, Spalding started manufacturing golf balls. But under Section 363 of Chapter 11, a seller can sell assets without having to negotiate with its creditors. #PowerToThePlayer. No. The likes of Callaway, TaylorMade, and PING all enjoyed good commercial success in the late nineties, and Spalding couldnt match the same feats achieved by the biggest brands. Jones famously retired from golf after winning the 1930 version of the Grand Slam. The remaining golf company was re-named Top-Flite. Does Spalding make golf balls? Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Bought the Slotlines new. Ever hear of Belmont (internal, removable sole weighting)? In April, KKR sold the Spalding name and all of Spaldings non-golf businesses to Russell Athletic for just $65 million. I have a set of both the 440s and the 500s, and there is no difference in face depth. I agree, though it does deserve a deep dive. Welcome back to the latest installment of Historys Mysteries. Learn how your comment data is processed. Used to play traditional blades with the odd shank. Model: Tour Pro Offset Golf bags bulged with 20 to 25 clubs, and the USGA, fearing too many specialty clubs had watered down the skill required in golf, took action. The Kro-Flite in 1930 was golfs first liquid center golf ball, while the Spalding DOT was a mid-century icon. 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. Both are really great. Just remember, Its always the indian and not the arrow. (Cavity back blades???) Sold millions of those over the years. * Note: These irons were designed by Duke Duclos.
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