staff tour blade comparo photos

[daveperk]

Here is a pic of the FG17 vs the E740, the JOhnny Miller grind of the Staff blade, and also a size comparo between the Staff Tour Blade 3 iron and my Adams 4 iron.

I thought my Adams irons were fairly small. That Staff blade looks like tableware. And the 740 is in fact a tiny bit longer, larger than the Tour Blade FG17.

I can't believe I used to play with those 17's. Thought they were normal. I tried hitting them today, and the sweet spot seems to be the size of a pinhead. IT genuinely hurts to miss that spot. :-(

But the E740's, I actually hit them very well. They have Nippon shafts in them, not sure which version, but it says S on there. Even so, the shafts are a tiny bit soft for me. I might have to upgrade THESE babies with some TT Black Golds and get them weight and length matched to my Adams.

It would be fun to play well with a set of 1970's irons. :-))

[pingman360]

pretty cool stuff there dave... ive always really liked the look of the FG-17's... my dad still has a set i think...

[daveperk]

Pingboy, you can't play sloppy with these things... NO margin for error.. :-) That said, the E740 is considerably easier to hit than the FG17... probably the shaft... the other shafts are TT Dynamic R flex..

I can't decide which set to 'rehab' first.. :-)

A nice set of TT Black GOlds at my length, heads all weight matched and bent to spec, tuned and ready to rock.. I think I can actually play with the e740s.. btw I am plenty old enough to BE your dad.. :-)

[bjdrivers]

Sweet pics Tex, a friend of mine had some '80s Yamaha forged Hal Sutton grind blades that were sweet. Wish I had pics of them.

[bubbha70]

Dave,

Very nice!

Wilson Staff Tour Blade resurgence!

[Kiwi Player]

I have some 25 year old Maxfli Blades that I dug out about Christmas time to play a casual round of nine holes with my work colleagues. I would like to say that I loved the feel and feedback of those lovely forged blades but the truth is it was no fun at all. The heads on those things were freakin tiny and the shafts were at least an inch or maybe two shorter than today's standard i.e. the 7 iron was about the same length as a modern 9 iron.

I hit them like cr@p and those babies went straight back in the basement.

Having said that I wasn't swinging my own sticks very well at that time. Maybe they deserve a second chance ...???

BTW Nice pics Dave!

[daveperk]

I have some 25 year old Maxfli Blades that I dug out about Christmas time to play a casual round of nine holes with my work colleagues. I would like to say that I loved the feel and feedback of those lovely forged blades but the truth is it was no fun at all. The heads on those things were freakin tiny and the shafts were at least an inch or maybe two shorter than today's standard i.e. the 7 iron was about the same length as a modern 9 iron.

I hit them like cr@p and those babies went straight back in the basement.

Having said that I wasn't swinging my own sticks very well at that time. Maybe they deserve a second chance ...???

BTW Nice pics Dave!

Yep, short shafts, weak shafts, tiny sweet spots.

I can reshaft and tune to spec, but the sweet spot will still be pinhole-sized.

But ya know, I think I"ll do it. at least to one of my two sets.

I honestly believe I can play well with these old junkers if they just get a dose of modern tech. :-))

[Not a hacker]

Great pics Dave. Very sweet looking clubs. Wlson has fallen a long way from the late 70's early 80's when they were probably one the top 3 forged blades on the market. Their main competitors back then were Macgregor and Ram, which have sadly gone the same way as Wilson.

[poe4soul]

Dave,
Here's a site I ran across this evening. Might be a fun to have your set updated by these guys or someone like them.

California Golf Technologies

[daveperk]

Dave,
Here's a site I ran across this evening. Might be a fun to have your set updated by these guys or someone like them.

California Golf Technologies

Now THAT is cool... thanks Poe!

[bubbha70]

I've gone over the deep end.

I recently purchased on Ebay:
Tour Blade ['78 - '80] (2-PW)
FG-17 ['81 - '83] (3-PW)
FG-51 ['91 - '93] (3-PW)
Tour Blade ['84 - '86] (2-PW)

I think I'm pretty stocked up on forged blades til the end of my life. I think I'll regrip, polish up, and wall mount these sets in my man cave. I'm probably gonna reshaft one or two of these sets.

I'll post pics when they're cleaned up.

[Kiwi Player]

I've gone over the deep end.

I recently purchased on Ebay:
Tour Blade ['78 - '80] (2-PW)
FG-17 ['81 - '83] (3-PW)
FG-51 ['91 - '93] (3-PW)
Tour Blade ['84 - '86] (2-PW)

I think I'm pretty stocked up on forged blades til the end of my life. I think I'll regrip, polish up, and wall mount these sets in my man cave. I'm probably gonna reshaft one or two of these sets.

I'll post pics when they're cleaned up.

What possessed you to buy 4 sets at once?

[daveperk]

What possessed you to buy 4 sets at once?

I bought two, and got outbid on a third set, which is probably the 2-W 1978 that he bought!

[Kiwi Player]

I bought two, and got outbid on a third set, which is probably the 2-W 1978 that he bought!

Ha ha ha ... oh I see. So what possessed you?

P.S. how's that 3 wood going? I love my Launcher and didn't think I needed a new 3 wood but I demoed the Hibore XLS recently and it was a beast! It certainly got me thinking.

You've also replaced the 19* Wilson with another 19* Hibore. Better than the Wilson? I play the Halo and assume the Hibore is similar.

[bubbha70]

daveperk:
The '78 i purchased at a local golf shop for $20.

kiwi:
I didn't buy them all at once. It's been something that's been going on over a couple of months.

My motives:
They were cheap, mininal wear on the face, and they hit well. I don't mind collecting clubs, but they need to be playable. All of them are very playable.

[daveperk]

daveperk:
The '78 i purchased at a local golf shop for $20.

kiwi:
I didn't buy them all at once. It's been something that's been going on over a couple of months.

My motives:
They were cheap, mininal wear on the face, and they hit well. I don't mind collecting clubs, but they need to be playable. All of them are very playable.

Well who was the baasturd who stole my Staffs then? :-)

I guess two sets are enough. Both are in great shape, although the E740 has been rechromed and the grooves are sort of rounded by that.. might have to get out the Dremel tool and cut them sharp again.. :-)

The original Tour BLades are in good shape but have lousy shafts. Short shafts, R, TT Dynamic. I'm going to put TT Black Golds in them, same length and swingweight as my Adams so I can play the Staffs without much change.

I think that would be a blast, playing well with 35 year old clubs. Call me crazy.

[Kiwi Player]

daveperk:
The '78 i purchased at a local golf shop for $20.

kiwi:
I didn't buy them all at once. It's been something that's been going on over a couple of months.

My motives:
They were cheap, mininal wear on the face, and they hit well. I don't mind collecting clubs, but they need to be playable. All of them are very playable.

Oh man. For $20 what have you got to lose!

Enjoy!

[bubbha70]

Daveperk:
No worries, you'll get your hand on a '78 Tour Blade. There's always a couple that pop up during the week. The challenge is finding one in decent condition. You've picked up a couple of really nice sets already.

Kiwi:
Yeah can't go wrong at $20.
The FG-17 (3-PW) I got for $36 (with $20 shipping, total = $56).
The FG-51 (3-PW) I got for $58 (with $20 shipping, total = $78).
The Tour Blade (Line Over)(2-PW) I got for $56 (with $18 shipping, total = $74).

I paid a little more for the other sets but, they're all in good condition and playable.

I have one more set in mind, but I won't say which one, just incase someone has the same idea. I'll reveal it once I've secured the auction.

[hogan192]

my staffs are 1992 model FG 51's and i just love them. A bad swing with anything is still just a bad swing. With these tiny faces you will find yourself concentrating more .. Play them cause when they go they are so rewarding..

[daveperk]

HAH!

I just scored a very nice, low wear set of FG51s on Ebay... got 'em for $50. Probably gotta put some shafts in them, but I also bought a set of 8 Harrison pro stepless shafts... could be perfect for the job!

Now I have FG17s, the 1976 model custom grind E740 tour blades (ready to play with Nippon stiffs and midsize Crosslines, just the way I like 'em) and the FG51s as well.

Time to start building the perfect set of irons... I can try Harrisons in one and Black Golds in the other... I can build them long, the way I like 'em... I can start from scratch with swingweights and frequency matching and spining and all the good stuff...

My goal, if I don't run out of fun money, is to create a set of nostalgic Wilsons that are actually playable, similar to my Adams Idea Pros in feel and weight and performance but still classical in look...

My FG17s are a tiny bit scruffy, but the 51s I just bought are very nice...

Sadly, the Nippon 1180 stiff feels just a bit whippy for me... other than that the 740s would be in the bag now...

Let the great experiment begin!

[bubbha70]

I just scored Wilson Staff Fluid Flow ['87 - '88] 2-PW.

[Not a hacker]

I'm unfortunately not in the market to purchase old classic blades, and they rarely come up for sale here, but if I lived over there I would seriously consider these little babies.

What do you guys think of them?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Powerbilt-Scotch...QQcmdZViewItem

[FreakOfNature]

I'm unfortunately not in the market to purchase old classic blades, and they rarely come up for sale here, but if I lived over there I would seriously consider these little babies.

What do you guys think of them?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Powerbilt-Scotch...QQcmdZViewItem

Shiny.

Never hit 'em, but they look heavy. Lots of mass up higher, very classic methinks.



FON

[Not a hacker]

Shiny.

Never hit 'em, but they look heavy. Lots of mass up higher, very classic methinks.



FON

I'd imagine only for the better player. I've been a powerbilt fan for ages but didn't realise how fine their old forged blades were. They are one of the most underrated clubs on the market.

[FreakOfNature]

I'd imagine only for the better player. I've been a powerbilt fan for ages but didn't realise how fine their old forged blades were. They are one of the most underrated clubs on the market.

Hard to really tell from the photos, but they don't look to have much offset, if any at all. I think I'd like those... ;)


Gentlemen, activate your credit cards...

J/K

I'm VERY happy with my current irons.

Also not a club ho...



FON

[Norm3333]

I'm unfortunately not in the market to purchase old classic blades, and they rarely come up for sale here, but if I lived over there I would seriously consider these little babies.

What do you guys think of them?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Powerbilt-Scotch...QQcmdZViewItem

I think their beautiful. There used to be a website that sold vintage forged irons. Can't remember the name of it, something like "house of forged". All the old irons were refurbished. I guess you could hit em, but I think they were really meant for display.

I would love to take a set to my golf course and actually be able to not embarrass myself. The look on my friends face would be priceless.

[daveperk]

I think their beautiful. There used to be a website that sold vintage forged irons. Can't remember the name of it, something like "house of forged". All the old irons were refurbished. I guess you could hit em, but I think they were really meant for display.

I would love to take a set to my golf course and actually be able to not embarrass myself. The look on my friends face would be priceless.

Good grief those Powerbilts are gorgeous.

I remember them very very well. Short and deep, different from my FG17 staffs.

Which, by the way, I have successfully reshafted with DG S300s and am ready to take to the range today... report coming!

This will be my first effort at hitting a set of FG17s since I got rid of my high school clubs in about 1988. I had a huge rock ding right in the center of the leading edge of the PW, and the 4 iron was bent extremely flat because of my teen anger, having slammed it down toe-first after a bad shot one day... but I played them for many years.

My FG51 tour blades are getting lengthened and regripped, will be ready at the shop today.

and da beat goes on.... :-)