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Why Invest in Vintage Irons?

Posted by: user88724 | Mon 26th May 2014 12:16 | Last Reply

There is little doubt that many serious players are now actively seeking out vintage irons from the 60s, 70s, and 80s which is becoming to be regarded as 'the golden age of golf irons manufacture.' But why?

Few would disagree that if a knowledgeable golfer cast a comparative eye over say vintage irons such as Hogan, McGregor, Wilson or Ram alongside most modern irons he / she would immediately gather that the irons of yesteryear were largely made for players whilst today's irons are mainly made for improvers.

A closer examination would reveal more craftsmanship and grinding in the clubs of old, generally smaller faces, and sharper leading edges.

Pick up the clubs and the vintage clubs would normally have a higher swing weight. Strike a few balls and one would quickly establish that modern clubs have a much lower centre of gravity (even blades) and thereby promote a much higher ball flight.

Having said all that it would arguably not be honest to deny that today's top drawer irons match up with those of yesteryear, but only a small minority of golfers could afford such clubs. What about 'feel?'

I personally believe that such is dangerous territory to enter as feel is very much influenced by golf ball construction, and vintage golf balls bear no more than a superficial resemblance to modern balls. I mourn the passing of the old wound balata golf balls which normally had a compression of 90-100 compared with today's softer balls which possibly average 80.

So, whilst most of today's short hitters hit further with modern balls conversely long hitters have to buy high compression balls to match or exceeed the performance of vintage balls.

But I digress and return to simply comparing irons and now turn to the downsides of buying quality vintage irons:

Ignoring possible wear and tear maybe the first thing to consider is that it is arguably unsafe to use irons which are thirty years old without first replacing likely corroded shafts. The corrosion will normally not be visible and usually is primarily 'below ground level.' In other words located inside the head.

If the shaft breaks it requires special tools to extract it, and drilling out is not a sensible option. But let's imagine that all clubs are intact and one simply wishes to swop the shafts and grips.

Normally not a difficult job, even with shafts which have been pinned to the hosel, save only that if the original plastic ferrules have been stamped with a manufacturer's code it is nice to preserve them for re-use.

Although in theory one should be able to warm them and slide them up the shafts in practice it is immensely difficult if the ferrules were glued. In which case expect some, if not all, to be lost and have to be replaced with universal ferrules.

But before re-shafting / re-gripping the knowledgeable player may think:

'Since these irons were made heads lofts have been significantly reduced. I will need to play one iron longer with my vintage irons! So, I'll have their hosels bent to reduce their lofts to a modern loft pattern.'

This potentially presents several challenges:

Whilst one can bend iron heads (however manufactured) there is always a risk of breakage through absolutely no fault of the club builder save perhaps in agreeing to undertake the work. Vintage heads may have to be adjusted by as much as three or four degrees and that carries increased risk.

Next, and I'll try not to get too technical, vintage irons tend to have longer hosels and with for example some Hogan irons this is angled in such a way as to facilitate ball workability. Bend the hosel in order to reduce head loft and such immediately misaligns that geometry.

Finally, the soles of vintage irons are usually flatter than with modern irons. With modern irons one can usually adjust loft by one or two degrees without problem. However, adjust a vintage iron's loft by two degrees - because its bounce angle similarly reduces by two degrees - because of its flatter sole it may induce too much digging into the turf when striking the ball.

Yes, one can counter-adjust the head by re-grinding the sole but how many of us would be happy to have our vintage treasures so mutilated?

So there are pros and cons. to acquiring vintage works of art without even considering the possibly needed expense of various types of head polishing and restoration.

So, my general advice is that if you do acquire vintage irons - particularly if they have flat soles - leave them as they are. But by all means change their shafts and grips. It is question of knowing where to draw the line. Please don't fall into the trap of trying to twist and bend a set of vintage irons to match today's top counterparts. Otherwise your beautiful acquisition could look pretty damn silly with a broken missing five iron.

P.S. I've finally sourced a set of 1984 - 1987 Ben Hogan Apex PC irons with only the 1 iron missing. I hope to find one later. Alas had to order from the U.S.A. so ..........deep breath. Their designer advises that the 1988 Apex model is overall the best B.H. iron, but when have I ever followed advice? I wish that the B.H. poster showing all models was still available. (mygolfspy.com) And the original photograph has been lost.


Last edit : Mon 26th May 2014 22:14

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