7 replies to this topic

[vintage golfer]

I'm always complaining that my thrift store excursions locate clubs that appear to have been dragged behind a pickup; however, I did score today, a set of Spalding Elite MV2s which are near identical to the Top Flites I played way back when. $10.00 for the 2 thru PW

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[Shallowface]

vintage golfer, on 04 January 2013 - 07:08 PM, said:

I'm always complaining that my thrift store excursions locate clubs that appear to have been dragged behind a pickup; however, I did score today, a set of Spalding Elite MV2s which are near identical to the Top Flites I played way back when. $10.00 for the 2 thru PW

Nice find!

I remember the advertising for those clubs.  It went something like, "the guys who play Spalding Elites aren't looking around for another set of clubs."  One of the best players I ever got paired with as a kid back in the 70s played those.  He was quite a bit older than me, and he really knew what he was doing.  A pleasure to watch.

These Elites are forged stainless, but they are chrome plated over the stainless.  Spalding did a lot of that in the late 60s and 70s.  The Top Flite Legacy of the mid 70s, a favorite of mine, was a stainless club (cast) that was plated.  The Elite Plus of the late 70s was a chrome plated stainless casting (made my first hole in one with an "11 Iron" 54 degree wedge from that model). H&B did some of it as well (heads were stamped "Stainless + DeLux"). Not sure why they felt like they had to chrome plate stainless steel. Maybe to achieve a certain kind of finish?

Edited by Shallowface, 05 January 2013 - 03:08 PM.

[Bella Woods]

Spalding made a lot of very nice woods and irons over a very long period of time. Some of their 1950s woods
were top notch clubs and very popular. To bad management decisions diluted their image and products in the end.

With regard to H&B Chrome plating stainless steel heads, I think it really kind of started for PowerBilt in the
early 1960s with the Levelume process (although this was done to carbon steel heads). The Stainless DeLux process
Shallowface refers to was the same type of process applied to stainless steel iron heads, starting in the late 1960s.

Both refer to applying a high nickel content chrome to the head - for the same purpose I think - to resist
nicking, scratching, corrosion & pitting of the iron head. Of course it also gives the company something new and
improved to pitch to the buying public.

I'm sure Spalding was doing it for the same reason.

[gone_golfing]

Great deal on the Elite MV2s- Beautiful set of irons.

I remember seeing a picture of George Knudsons Spalding MV2s- which he played in the late sixties early seventies.

[Nspiel58]

I've got the same set, 3-PW.  It's great you have a 2.  Nice find.

[Ironmaster Oddities]

I have a ton of good spalding clubs from the Niles, mich hoard I bought in October. Most look too good to dump. But they are an unknown quantity to me. Any suggestions ? Lots of Top Flites synchro dyne and tournament model irons and nice persimmon woods. Wright and Ditsons as well  (owned by spalding)
Any spalding fans with a truck can come and take all you want for a buck apiece. I am about 15 miles from Notre Dame..(.that's where there used to be a #1ranked football team.)
Sorry if I horned in on your string. But I thought this would be a great place to offer them.
Just PM me.
Uncle bob

[teevons]

Ironmaster Oddities, on 09 January 2013 - 11:00 PM, said:

I have a ton of good spalding clubs from the Niles, mich hoard I bought in October. Most look too good to dump. But they are an unknown quantity to me. Any suggestions ? Lots of Top Flites synchro dyne and tournament model irons and nice persimmon woods. Wright and Ditsons as well  (owned by spalding)
Any spalding fans with a truck can come and take all you want for a buck apiece. I am about 15 miles from Notre Dame..(.that's where there used to be a #1ranked football team.)
Sorry if I horned in on your string. But I thought this would be a great place to offer them.
Just PM me.
Uncle bob

You might want to contact John(Lagpressure) Erickson at AdvancedBall striking, I sent him a bunch of Spaldings woods and he is a fan of older Spaldings, he uses those clubs for himself and his students.

[Nspiel58]

Here are some photos of my MV2s (3 & 6).  I had these packed away and decided to have a look at them again because of the OP.  I hadn't realized how sharp they looked, literally.  These irons really remind me of a knife, with the narrow top-line, no offset and general design - a golf weapon.  So simple, beautiful and deadly.

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