The Iron Collection That Is Getting Out of Hand

First off, I wanted to announce that I will be attending the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando , having received a press pass. I plan on being there for the Demo Day (Wednesday Jan 26th) and Thursday and Friday. I may also be there for the weekend, but that will depend on my schedule and how many exhibitors I’ve visited. I will have pictures and ask exhibitors questions and post the experience on the blog. I plan on visiting all of the major OEM’s, but here is just a few of the other exhibitors I plan on visiting:

Edel Golf (putters)
Scratch Golf
Trackman
FlightScope
Femco Steel Technologies (KBS Shafts)
True Temper
AimPoint Technologies
Iomic Grips

If you would like me to visit other exhibitors and ask them questions or would like to meet up with me at the show, either reply here or e-mail me at Richie3Jack@yahoo.com

In the spirit of the PGA Merchandise show, I decided to show off my current collection of irons which with eBay, it has gotten way out of hand. I remember Doc Rivers in a Nike commercial once saying ‘some people collect cars, I collect basketball shoes.’ Well, some people collect cars, I collect golf clubs.


MIZUNO MP-62 (2008)

4-PW. +1/4” length, 2* upright. 1* strong. Rifle FCM 5.5 steel shafts. Lamkin Crossline Cord Grips.



I’m not a fan of Cavity Backs anymore, although these are about as good of a player’s Cavity Back as it gets. There is some noticeable offset here, but nothing too crazy. They feel amazingly good. The PW’s head is a little too big for my tastes, but it’s still a solid club. The problem now with my swing changes is that I hit hooks and hit it too low with them because the lie angle is too upright and the lofts are too strong.


MACGREGOR TOURNEY CUSTOM 985 (1978)

3-PW. -1/4” length, 6* flat, 2* weak loft. MacGregor Velocitized steel shafts (stiff), Lamkin Crossline Standard Black



I got these as my first set of irons when I started the ABS golf swing program. I was looking for the MacGregor Tommy Armour 985’s and thought these would suffice. When they are flushed, they feel quite nice, but the mis-hits are brutal and I can lose up to 2 clubs of distance with them even when they are flushed. Shoot in the low 70’s with these irons and you’ve really grinded it out.

HOGAN IPT (1963)

2-Equalizer, -1/4” length, 6* flat, 2* weak loft. True Temper Hogan Shaft (stiff), Lamkin 3Gen Grip



I decided I was looking for a different type of blade, so I eventually wound up with the Hogan IPT’s. The last set of Hogan’s I owned were the Apex BH Grinds from 1990 and before that I played with the Apex Redlines for awhile. I forgot the feel of a Hogan iron. The mis-hits are far more forgiving and they feel great when struck flush. I didn’t know that Hogan irons were made from 1020 carbon steel, but I could certainly feel a difference, even over the Mizuno MP-62’s (made from 1025 carbon steel). These irons have a 0* bounce angle which was prevalent in a lot of irons from that time. When I lived in Georgia I could get away with it a little more, but in Florida the bermuda grass seems a lot thicker and it feels easier to stick one into the ground. I like the 3Gen grips by Lamkin, although it


HOGAN APEX PC (1983)

2-Equalizer, standard length, 6* flat, 2* weak loft. TT DG S300 shafts, Lamkin Crossline Standard Black



I didn’t start playing golf until 1986 (the year Jack won the Masters and that piqued my interest into the game). I grew up around friends who played a lot of Hogan irons, particularly the Redlines and I wound up owning a set of Redlines for myself. Strangely enough, I never recalled the Apex PC’s although around the time I got into golf Ping had changed the golf club industry dramatically and my pro shop was also very big into MacGregor equipment as well.

I got these off of Craigslist for $55 and outside of the 7-iron, all are in very good condition. These are really the quintessential type of blade iron I look for…a club when you strike it flush it performs extremely well. It’s less forgiving than a cavity back, but mis-hits are not all that bad. Again, you can’t beat it when you hit it flush. I may get these re-finished down the road with a satin finish put on them. The 2-iron has an old Apex 4 shaft which is extremely stiff and hard to hit. But when I hit it flush it goes a mile.


HOGAN PERCUSSION CENTER 2.5” HOSEL (1967)

2 and 4-Equalizer. -1/4” length, 2* flat, 2* weak loft. True Temper Hogan shafts (stiff), Lamkin Perma Wrap



I always liked the looks of these and these clubs were recommended by Sevam1. I actually purchased them because they came with Hogan woods and I was looking to fool around with some persimmon. But when I got them I found out that the woods were laminated and not persimmon. But I still had the irons and I liked the looks of them. And then when I hit them, I noticed a big difference in them. The first time I played with them I hit 16 greens and shot 69 at Olde Atlanta Club. These are probably the irons I plan on getting re-made first by the Iron Factory. The only thing holding me back is the 0* bounce angle and I cannot find a 3-iron. I’d like to push some new shafts in them and see how they perform. I bought a 5-iron head for $10 so I could experiment with different shafts.


HOGAN BOUNCE SOLE 1+ (1970)

3-9 iron, standard length, 6* flat, 2* weak loft, Hogan Apex 3 shafts (regular), Golf Pride grip



These were the Hogan irons I originally wanted. They seem to have a little bit of a bounce angle on them and they are a fine club. Possibly worth getting re-done, although they need new shafts first as the Apex 3 shafts are extremely soft and whippy.


HOGAN PERCUSSION CENTER 3.0” HOSEL (1966)

3-9 iron, -1/4” length, 6* flat, 2* weak loft. True Temper Hogan shafts (stiff), Lamkin Crossline



I purchased these because I was looking for a 3-iron and Equalizer of the 2.5” Hosel irons. I saw this set and while I was looking for an individual club, I figured a backup set couldn’t hurt. I asked the seller to measure the hosel and he said that it was 2.5” length. I’m guessing he only measured the Equalizer as that is a 2.5” hosel. The rest of the set is the 3.0” hosel. The difference? The grind is really different. Different sole, toe design, etc. Still got an Equalizer and the rest of the set isn’t bad, it’s just not as good as the 2.5” hosel. Plus, most of the irons don’t have ferrules.


POWERBILT H&B GRAND SLAM

3-9 iron. -1/4” length, 6* flat, standard loft. Powerbilt steel shaft (stiff).



I used to have a friend who played these clubs for almost 10 years and still raved about them. They have a triangle type of look to the head, but they do feel quite nice. I have no idea what type of steel they used. My guess is that it was probably 1025, but they may have used 1020 as well. The shafts are not bad either, but since everything measured in about a ¼” shorter than today’s standard of 37.75” for a 5-iron, I’d want a lengther shaft in these bad boys. Another set that didn’t include a PW. I don’t ever recall PW’s being sold separately, but apparently that was typically the case.


TITLEIST 690MB

3-PW, +1/4” length, standard lie, standard loft. TT DG S300 shaft. Lamkin Crossline Grip



Since I started working on my swing again I wanted to get a standard specs set of clubs. I wound up getting these at Golfsmith used, although they look barely used, for $90. I hit these clubs a long way although a lot of that has to do with improvements I’ve made in my swing. They probably need to be about 2* flat as they are a little too upright for my swing and I hit some hooks with them. I didn’t see that the 9-iron has a dent in the shaft and that needs to be replaced.


MIZUNO PRO TN-87

3-PW, +1/4” length, standard lie, standard loft, Project X 5.5 shaft, Golf Pride Compound Grip



I was thinking of purchasing the Mizuno MP-29 irons. I remember when the MP-29’s started to become popular because Nick Faldo used them (Tiger also used them in college). But they were a bit too pricey and Mizuno offered a more affordable and more forgiving MP-14 irons which I owned for a little while although I like the MP-29’s better. I had never heard of the TN-87’s until I heard the rave about them on the internet. These were supposedly modeled by Tommy Nakajima after the Hogan Personal irons and were the precursor to the MP-29’s. I really like the design of these clubs. I’m not particularly nutty about Project X shafts though.


SRIXON PRO 100

3-9, standard length, lie and loft. TT DG S300 shaft. Nowon ION Grip



This didn’t come with the PW. I didn’t ask why but from what I heard the Srixon PW’s are too big, so I’m assuming that’s why the seller didn’t have the PW. These have a nice look to them as well. The Nowon grips are from Japan and they are made from a pretty soft rubber, but the design has a ton of traction to it. I looked at them at Tourspecgolf.com and they are $20 a grip. However, I think they would be excellent in the rain or the heat. The only issue is that the previous golfer’s left thumb wore down the grip a bit.






3JACK