70 replies to this topic

[dukeman]

I'm getting educated on Wood Brothers.

I've seen some drivers with "Texan" on the soleplate. Others have "Texas Golf Co."

Are those different models or just an evolution of the brand?

[freddiec]

Dukeman,
There are occasionally a few copy cats out there. I have not seen a Wood Bros club that ever said "Texan" on the sole plate. The Wood Bros "Texan" said "Texas Golf Co." on the sole plate. The sole plate was the shape of the State of Texas. Most of them also were engraved in Cursive "Wood Bros" in the wood on the bottom of the club and had the Oil Rig above the sole plate. See pic, this is an early 1990's model Texan that Dave Wood custom made for Masters Champion Jackie Burke. Jackie decided after the club was built he'd rather have one that sat more closed at address with more loft and one that had more flex in the shaft.

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Edited by freddiec, 13 November 2010 - 08:39 AM.

[dukeman]

Thanks for the update.  I have seen a picture of a forgery on Golfwrx. The soleplate said Texas Golf Co, but the font was all wrong.

[tradeandgolf]

With my limited knowledge, I would say Freddie is 100% correct...
My "old club guy" agrees with this info...
Small world really---Freddie has great info from Dave Wood...and my guy has bought a warehouse full of stuff from Don W...
bent
bob

[Texsport]

I'm pretty sure that all the Wood Bros Texan drivers say TEXAS GOLF CO on the sole plate. Most, at least the early models, exhibit a slight curving of the
TEXAS GOLF CO because of a slipping clamp....as Dave Wood has told me.

I have several examples which Dave Wood refinished for me and explained that my collection contains some of the oldest/original clubs he made.

The script Wood Bros to the side of the sole plate varies, and may be in a slightly different location, on clubs made at different times. The earliest clubs are seldom seen but, because Dave says he didn't have a stamp for Wood Bros....so he engraved Wood Bros. He says that the earliest engravings are his actual signature, but are rare. The engraved originals are smaller, have a different writting style...a loop at the top of the B is the most easily seen, and in a different location toward the shaft. Most clubs have a larger, stamped Wood Bros script.Also, the script Wood Bros is missing from many clubs made for Tour pros. The club he made for Seve Ballesteros has no Wood Bros script.

Dave says he was the first put the loft of the club on the sole plate. The lofts are on drivers and fairway woods......except those made for some Tour pros....no loft on Tour clubs generally.

The winged WB crown stamp was something Dave modified from the old MacGregor emblem. It is stamped on all clubs, except Tour  issued models, which frequently have no WB on the crown.

Most of the inserts are White/Black/White fiber with black rams horn sole slip.

I have 2 clubs made for Tour players:

Ballesteros.....Green/White/Green with green ramshorn slip.

Tour sample.....Black fiber with Aluminum bullseye firing pin(Like MacGregor Eye-O-Matic 60)/ Black ramshorn slip.(This club is also finished Black instead of the traditional stain)

The fairway woods are much rarer than the drivers, and have FAIRWAY INSTRUMENT and the loft on the brass sweptback sole plate, plus Wood Bros script beside it. The earliest fairway instruments have a larger FAIRWAY INSTRUMENT stamp and a smaller, engraved signature Wood Bros. The brass sole plates are different thicknesses in each club, as Dave used them to swingweight each club.

The insert of the early model is solid White fiber.
later model is White/black/White fiber.

Neither FW has rams horn. Both have the brass soleplate which extends to the bottom of the insert.

If anyone wishes, I can post some pics. Her's a pic of Dave inspecting his oil soaking tanks, and enraging clubs..years ago. I remember when we used to go up there with Dave and select our own heads.



Texsport

Edited by Texsport, 07 November 2010 - 02:20 PM.

[Texsport]

Seve WB custom driver after he won the Masters.




NOTES:
No crown stamp.
No Wood Bros sole stamp
No loft stamp.

This driver has a titanium shaft in it---orginal order from Seve.

Texsport

Edited by Texsport, 07 November 2010 - 12:34 PM.

[Texsport]

Wood Bros Tour Issued Custom Experimental driver--Eye-O-Matic 60 Firing Pin Insert



NOTES:
No crown stamp
No loft
Custom insert---only made 4 or 5 times for Tour......in 1 batch.Seve also had one of these, as he was the inspiration. He liked the Eye-O-Matic 60 insert.

Texsport

[Texsport]

Early Wood Bros FAIRWAY INSTUMENT---14* Custom.





NOTES:
Individually weighted and shaped brass sole plate.
Large FAIRWAY INSTRUMENT stamp.
Small "signature" Wood Bros engraved sole.
White fiber insert
Face depth custom for each order
6 scoring line = a little deeper face.
No rams horn sole slip.

Texsport

Edited by Texsport, 07 November 2010 - 02:22 PM.

[Texsport]

Later FAIRWAY INSTRUMENT---Custom 15*.




NOTES:
Smaller FAIRWAY INSTRUMENT stamp
Stamped, larger Wood Bros script.
White/Black/White fiber insert.
5 scoring lines  = slightly shallow face.
Custom weighted and shaped brass sole plate.
No rams horn sole slip.

Texsport

Edited by Texsport, 07 November 2010 - 02:23 PM.

[Texsport]

Spanish Texan as per Seve request.


NOTES:

This is not my club but I have this pic in my collection. Notice no loft on sole plate as with other Tour Issued clubs.

This black finish is the same as on my Eye-O-Matic firing pin model made originally for Seve.

Dave also made a USA model Texan with a US map on the sole.

Texsport

Edited by Texsport, 07 November 2010 - 01:08 PM.

[Texsport]

Did anyone notice the absolutely perfect grain in all these heads?

It's a trade mark characteristic of every Dave Wood fantastic creation.

Texsport

Edited by Texsport, 07 November 2010 - 01:11 PM.

[Texsport]

While I'm at it....Wood Bros hand forged Championship Balance blades.

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Edited by Texsport, 07 November 2010 - 02:29 PM.

[Texsport]

Wood Bros BENCH MARK 60s putters.





There were 4-5 models of these. I think I've got 'em all somewhere in one of my racks.

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Edited by Texsport, 07 November 2010 - 02:35 PM.

[freddiec]

Texsport,
Thanks for posting the pics of those Original beauties. Wow! Is all I can say, you own some un real clubs. I love it!!  The Seve B model with the Green/white/Green insert is stunning ( I like how the sole plate has minimal markings, thats very original) as are those old fairway instruments. I think Dave showed me a pic of that one time, it could be the coolest Texan I've seen.  Your right, Dave's Wood Bros clubs were made with the best material and best choice blocks, with excellent grain pattern, yours are a great example of that. I also have one of his original fairway instruments as well with the brass sole plate. It could use a refinish, but its in very good shape, (blonde like yours, but 15*), white/black/white. Dave mentioned that he probably only made around 50 of the original model.

Here is a picture of the custom made "WB85" Dave made for Ben Crenshaw in 1987, which I own. It was made to his specs and was a copy of his Mac M85W, Ben chose the block. It originally had a Hogan 5 shaft in it. In 1991 when Ben returned the driver per Dave's request. The shaft was replaced with a DG S300 and used as a photo sample for the WB custom catalog and was displayed with other Crenshaw memorabilia at the WB offices for many years. Dave said in play this driver would launch a bit higher than a normal 9* due to its modestly increased face progression as per Ben's personal preference.

And needless to say Dave Wood is one heck of a nice guy.

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Edited by freddiec, 12 November 2010 - 10:47 PM.

[LYG]

Great pictures!

I have one...really dreamed for many years of owning one then finally got one.

Thanks, great stuff!

Lawson

[Texsport]

freddiec, on 07 November 2010 - 03:15 PM, said:

Texsport,
Thanks for posting the pics of those Original beauties. Wow! Is all I can say, you own some un real clubs. I love it!!  The Seve B model with the Green/white/Green insert is stunning ( I like how the sole plate has minimal markings, thats very original) as are those old fairway instruments. I think Dave showed me a pic of that one time, it could be the coolest Texan I've seen.  Your right, Dave's Wood Bros clubs were made with the best material and best choice blocks, with excellent grain pattern, yours are a great example of that. I also have one of his original fairway instruments as well with the brass sole plate. It could use a refinish, but its in very good shape, (blonde like yours, but 15*), white/black/white. Dave mentioned that he probably only made around 50 of the original model.

Here is a picture of the custom made "WB85" Dave made for Ben Crenshaw in 1987, which I own.  It has awesome dense U grain. One of the best grain patterns I've seen ever, very similar to what Jack had in his 945W.

And needless to say Dave Wood is one heck of a nice guy.

freddiec

I saw Crenshaw's driver at Dave's shop many years ago. Really a beautiful work of art.

At different times he had Bob Tway's and Andy Bean's clubs which I was priveledged enough to witness them.

The grain in Dave's blocks were always fabulous. I picked a couple of blocks for drivers with carbon spots.. very dense grain...which I'll post pics of some time.

Thanks for posting your pics, as well as all the info I just found from your old posts.

Dave lives about 5 blocks from my office in Houston and we have lunch every now and then, which always turns into 4 hour golf club and golf story discussions.

Has he ever told you about the time Jackie Burke had Steve Elkington deliver one of Ben Hogan's drivers to Dave for a quick repair?

As Dave described it...."now that's pressure!"

Texsport

Edited by Texsport, 16 November 2010 - 10:56 PM.

[dan360]

Wow....some gorgeous clubs here.  I had never seen the older fairway woods, or the experimental Texan.

Seve's blonde club is amazing....

Edited by dan360, 08 November 2010 - 12:14 AM.

[freddiec]

Texsport,
Dave did tell me that club repair story. We've spoken a few times on the phone and its usually atleast a 2 hour conversation. He recountered many stories, one in particular that always stands out is when he showed up at Jackie Burke's club one morning with a club he had just built and was very excited to show Mr. Burke. Jack took one look at it and gave it back to Dave and said "ok, Mr. Perfect, I want to see you tee this up and make your perfect swing and hit a perfect shot". His point to Dave was the average golfer needs a club that doesnt' sit perfect, but would need one with more face progression and slighly closed. I'm paraphrashing of course, but you get the point I'm sure. I'm sure you have heard the story as well.

Also, one day when working in his shop he had a butterfly sole plate upside down on the table, his wife walked by and said, geez, that looks like the State of Texas. Thats how the Texas sole plate idea came about.

I'd love to see more from your collection including the ones with Carbon, Dave used a lot of Dark wood and blocks that contain lots of Carbon.


One of my favorites is this one that has a lot of Carbon. You might have seen this before, its was one Dave made for Mr. Burke. It sits beautifully and of course has nice tight grain. Dave mentioned it a twin to the one Langer used when he won the Masters.

Edited by freddiec, 07 November 2010 - 08:29 PM.

[Texsport]

Yes, Dave really remembers and loves to tell stories of incidents which taught him about club making.

BTW---he intends to do a little club verification in the future I beleieve. He has given me authentication certificates for some of his clubs in the past. I've encouraged him to use his knowledge of clubs as a business.

He hasn't much time for it though, with his art going great guns now.

http://www.davewoodarts.com/

Texsport

[84425]

Thanks for pointing out dave's website. I knew he was working on his site, but by the looks of it it is now finaly here. He's also going to provide info on the wood bros days. Can't wait to see that.

[freddiec]

Here is another Wood Bros Texan that was used on Tour in the late 80s. It was made by Dave to show tour players the new head shape and Wood Bros potential. At the LA Open in 1988 Langer hit this one so well on the Range that he took it for a couple of years. He had his caddy in the range field while he hit this driver against a few others and he liked this one the best and kept it. Its the only Wood Bros driver that bares Dave Wood's name (so Dave thinks). Andy Bean also used this for a short time. The grain is something I've only seen in old 50s Macs. It has a S500 shaft and a green victory grip. When Bernhard used the driver he had lead tape on the back over Dave's signature. Dave later made a custom Texan for Langer which he used to win the 93 Masters.

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Edited by freddiec, 24 November 2010 - 06:40 PM.

[Maxwell]

THAT, was a very interesting thread!
Never seen oil soaking persimmon club heads before and had often wondered how it was done - now I know!
Max

[freddiec]

Here is Jeff Sluman's Texan. The insert is heel biased a bit because Jeff hit his shots closer to the heel and like to hit a cut. This club is a replica of the one he used to with the PGA Championship. There is no shaft band, but I'm pretty sure its either DG S4 or S5 shaft.

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[Texsport]

freddiec

Thanks for sharing again.

These collections are very important to maintain, as Dave Wood has not retained a personal collection of his great work. He has only a few one-of-a-kind clubs still in his posession. One I've seen is a club with the U S presidential seal made for the Secretary of State I believe.

Besides being a great artist,he is a very generous person with his knowledge, time, and clubs.

I'll add a couple more pics soon.

Texsport

[84425]

Texsport, is the Seve driver the one DW sold on ebay last year? If so you got it for a bargain :-)
If i remember correctly it also had the insert slightly more towards the heel and Seve later had his clubguy sand a little off the sole and install the sandvik ti shaft.

The firing pin black driver is very nice. I have a soft spot for black heads and honeycoloured heads like the seve wb and fred's crenshaw driver.

Please post more! I'll post pics of my own two wb's when i get home.

[chip75]

Thanks guys for the wonderful pictures these clubs seem to have real souls to them and I'm sure they're cherished by their owners.

[freddiec]

Here is another that I purchased from Babe Zaharias Estate that I really like. The head shape, face profile is identical to another one that I have (Jackie Burke) and they both sit perfectly square with little to no face progression. Both had a lot of carbon deposits and very tight U grain. I especially like the stain and finish on this Texan. I've played this a few times and its a super solid block. I showed some pics to Dave and he loved this head and said by the looks of it, he most likely selected the turning and custom built this driver. Also a pic of it side by side with the Mr. Burke driver (on the right).

I think I'm done :-)

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[Texsport]

84425, on 11 November 2010 - 12:57 PM, said:

Texsport, is the Seve driver the one DW sold on ebay last year? If so you got it for a bargain :-)
If i remember correctly it also had the insert slightly more towards the heel and Seve later had his clubguy sand a little off the sole and install the sandvik ti shaft.

The firing pin black driver is very nice. I have a soft spot for black heads and honeycoloured heads like the seve wb and fred's crenshaw driver.

Please post more! I'll post pics of my own two wb's when i get home.

84425,

That's the club and I did get it for a song---because nobody bid against me.

I actually had bid $1,000 on the club because I really wanted it. I had purchased some wedges from Dave just a while before that and was watching daily for more clubs to come up.

Texsport

[84425]

Here are my two WB's.

First is a very early Texan. Here's what Dave Wood had to say about it:

"It is one of my very first prototypes of the Texan. This club took me a month to make in the autumn of 84'.  I hand sculpted the persimmon flitch into its shape using rough files and a belt sander. I made all the components by hand, including the sole plate, which was cut from 3/32" T6 aluminum on a pantograph. The markings were hand engraved on this same pantograph- not stamped.

Bob Tway bought one of its offspring (next generation) in the spring of 85' that had a W/B/W insert (like MacG M85). He used it to become the 1985 PGA Tour "Rookie of the Year". Then played it in 86' and won four events including the PGA Championship. He was named 1986 PGA Tour "Player of the Year". You have the "Mother" of Tway's club!"





Second one is an Australian:





And a pic of the original Australian Dave made for Steve Elkington.

[Texsport]

Thanks for the spectacular addition to the post.

You've also answered the earlier questions about Wood Bros drivers with Texan in stead of the winged WB on the crown.

Texsport