MacGregor - Short History - Favourite Clubs

MacGregor were one of the greatest names in golf club design and manufacture, what happened to them?
This video is Part 1 of a two part video and takes a short look at the history of MacGregor Golf followed by a look at some personal club favourites of mine. The video ends with a review of a set of MacGregor Tourney MTR woods and irons from 1968.
In Part 2 I'll take some of the clubs to a golf course and play 9 holes with them. then
In the video I mentioned a website that summarises very well the golden era for MacGregor woods, a link is shown here: evalu18.com/ma...
#classicgolf #vintagegolf #golf #macgregor

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

Which is your favourite MacGregor club?

[@brianhoover2294]

@@ClassicGolfClubs MacGregor M85, PT1W from 1960 with the aluminum firing pin insert, and 693 are my favorite MacGregor drivers.

[@TheVintageGolfer]

@@brianhoover2294 You got to it first! I love the M85 driver, 1952! I also think the 1967 VIP aluminum insert drivers are amazing. The MacGregor Ironmaster putters are wonderful. Great video!

[@BradMeehan]

Great video! My favorites are the copper faced Colokrom (M-85?) or the V-Foil muscle backs.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

@@TheVintageGolfer Thanks! I've never tried an Ironmaster, something I need to remedy.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

@@BradMeehan The Colokroms have a unique look to them, I've got the 83 remake but they're not quite the same as having the originals.

[@ryanu3708]

When I was a junior and high school golfer in the mid to late 70’s MacGregor persimmon drivers and fairway woods were THE clubs to flex at matches and tournaments and they were all absolutely beautiful. I wish I had kept some of them.

[@daviddeking2676]

My first set of clubs were MacGregor Tommy Armour Tourney Classic irons (3-9, PW) and Tommy Armour Tourney persimmon woods (1, 3, 4). My Dad purchased them for my 12th birthday from the pro at the local golf course for $50. I loved those clubs and always felt that learning with muscle back irons taught me to be a better ball striker since any mishit went poorly. Thanks for bringing back some great memories from the past,

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

So true about learning the game with blades, you have to learn to hit the ball out the middle.

[@mikesalt8248]

Whilst stationed near St. Andrews in the 70's (RAF) I had a those very woods in my bag Aluminium inserts 1, 3 , 5 with Pro Pel shafts ( Macgregors own ) Boy I hit those things futher than any thing else and I put it down to the insert. That was probably the birthplace of Metal Woods back then !

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

You've given me another incentive to get mine restored and back in play!

[@johnnyreb3542]

I carried that exact driver well into the 90’s. That aluminum insert was hot, very hot..

[@graemetaylor4149]

Great video as always! Viewer discretion should be advised for some of those persimmons. I know the collection referred to and the M85 with the carbon spots on the crown is the very definition of beauty!

[@MrLukealbanese]

Superb Nick. I love MacGregor MTR2s!!

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

Thanks!

[@christopherfranklin972]

Nice video Nick,looking forward to the playing bit!

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

That's fine but don't expect to see any quality golf.....

[@christopherfranklin972]

@@ClassicGolfClubs Nick,it's always quality golf!

[@craig3775]

Excellent review I still use my Muirfield 20th full set, never found a reason to change them

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

Great clubs!

[@UseR459-z8x]

I have set of Muirfields bought in 1986 at the MacGregor outlet in Brunswick Ga while driving back to NY from Fla, 2-iron thru SW, later picked up a 1-iron. Love those irons and still pull them out to play a few times a year. The whole set cost me $250 back then.

[@coupelikeacaravan]

I'm from Dayton Ohio, and they used to have their headquarters here featuring an 18 hole golf course to test equipment. It's been purchased by an electric company and they no longer let people enjoy their expansive campus to walk. You can still walk along the bike path and see countless deer prancing around the beautiful shadow of a once great local course.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

That's a shame.

[@broederbond60]

I played Muirfeids for 30 years and still own several pristine sets.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

They're the favourite of many classic golfers.

[@TheCampsies]

I worked for the Craigton Golf Company in mid 1960's and we made MacGregor clubs under license, our company was owned by Mr John Letters. I loved our persimmon woods and made myself a beautiful driver with the MacGregor multistep shaft and a Fairway leather grip.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

That's excellent information, thanks! I've often wondered who made MacGregor's clubs in Scotland. I've recorded two iron models; the SSL which was chrome plated stainless steel and I think was first. Then the Great Scot. The SSL has the look of the MacGregor Tommy Armour VFQ irons. I made a video about Craigton, link follows, but couldn't find much information for them, if there's anything you could add I'd be very grateful! kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoepgq2JidRpe80si=esthkqb0ZCTThqnz

[@TheCampsies]

@@ClassicGolfClubs Long time ago, but I'll try. Original John Letters sold Hillington factory Glasgow to Dunlop. They bought the prestigious name. Son John and brother Tommy opened new factory in Craigton industrial est Glasgow. Not allowed to use J Letters name. Made Royal Gold, Craigton Classic, Peter Townsend, Neil Coles, Gary Player, Bobby Cole, Arnold Palmer, MacGregor and Barbara Romack and assorted putters. Mainly exported made about 100 sets per week. John worked hard to get contracts and new customers. I recall aluminium shafts were in fashion for a couple of years but didn't quite take off. Tommy Letters was the iron expert, he set my lie angle, just like he did for the top stars. He used a big oak stump with metal pins and tweaked the irons just perfectly. Most woods were laminated maple but MacGregor was persimmon. My fav irons were the Classic model. I walked through a cemetery to work and in dark winter as a young guy it was misty and spooky. I loved my job because I was a golf nut but eventually left for a career in computing because money was tight and it was hard to get a mortgage without job security.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

@@TheCampsies Thanks, that's great. I knew that John Letters was involved but not Tommy, I'd read that he was the iron expert. I also read that there was a bit of a legal case over the use of the Letters name, the earliest clubs say J. Letters (Craigton) Ltd but as you say they were stopped from using the Letters name. The Classic model was just like the Letters Master Model so must have been a decent club. I have a set of the Royal Gold model and a single Craig Royal 5 iron with aluminium shaft. I believe that aluminum shafts didn't catch on as they tended to shear off at the hosel. There was definitely more money in computing than golf! Thanks again!

[@andynaz5631]

I found like new Tourney MTR1 irons 2-PW for $.99 each. at a thrift store. They are like brand new.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

Wow, what a great find, you did well there!

[@jamescameron314]

An ex international, I always used MacGregor irons and STILL use my MT "Colokrom" irons which are simply wonderful, with virtually no offset and good "bounce" in the sole of all the set. They will see me off---I change shafts as I lose swing speed and now use "A" (senior flex) shafts, but still steel.

[@jamescameron314]

I also still have several "Keyhole" woods but do not use them as I have Ping titanium headed woods.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

I'm not good enough to notice the difference in shafts. Which country did you represent?

[@Macca3395]

In the 70’s , I was the proud owner of a MacGregor ‘George Bayer ‘ Driver …, wish I still had it !

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

They're hard to find these days, and you need to have a powerful swing to get the best out of them, I'm sure I couldn't swing it properly!

[@Tom-ok2rh]

I too being up there in age also remember playing all the fine MacGregor woods and irons back in the 70s when I first started playing. It really was hard to believe that the most sought after woods were from the 50s and 60s. I still have several drivers and a couple of fairway woods that I look at periodically to admire and wonder how in the world we hit such a tiny club🤔🤔

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

It was the golden era for golf IMHO.

[@Tom-ok2rh]

@ Sure was.. can only imagine what the game would be like today had they not allowed metal woods take over the game the same way that baseball sticks with wooden bats. Who knows, persimmon or titanium there are still some beautiful clubs out there but it’s a shame that millions of golfers will never know the enjoyment of hitting a beautiful drive “right in the screws”.

[@steveperry1344]

i played some of my best golf with the golden bear radius sole irons and they were department store clubs. i gave them away finally to local boy but i picked up a set recently on ebay but i don't play them yet. i've had and have much more expensive club but still have the same 13 handicap since 1990.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

It's true, for all that the marketing teams tell us, fancy clubs don't make that much of a difference to our scores. 🙂

[@markgrinwald458]

I had a set of mt's when I played off a 2 handicap. The irons were great if you hit them in the meat, but hit them 3mm off and they felt crap. Woods were great

[@steveperry1344]

the first set i ever bought in the 1970's were macgtegor irons with aluminum shafts. in the 1980's i had golden bear irons with a radius sole and also a set in the early 2000. i still have a complete set of v-foil irons form 2003 in my closet and never been hit in mint condition. i also had several mac putters, irom master and others.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

There's no doubt about the fact that they made great clubs!

[@edwinlambley2801]

Some years ago I bought a couple of Ex demo MacGregor Tourney PMB irons from the club pro bin. Unfortunately they were never that popular in the U.K. To be completely honest they were the very best irons I have ever hit by a country mile.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

A very attractive looking iron and I've heard that they played very well too. They occasionally appear here in the UK but always highly priced.

[@brianhoover2294]

I have several 1950s and early-1960s model MacGregor drivers and fairway woods. They no doubt are top notch. But if you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend getting yourself a Toney Penna driver. It is great. I also have a set of 1920s-era MacGregor “Go-Sum” woods for my hickory set.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

The only Toney Penna wood I have is a MOD JS, the Jupiter Slugger. Unfortunately it's been restored and the restorer sanded quite a bit of the face away so the screws look very small. I must also admit that it's a bit too much of a beast for me as I don't have the strength to get the heavy head to perform as it should.

[@brianhoover2294]

@ The Mod 1 is a great driver model.

[@A-FrameWedge]

When I played college golf about 40 years ago, my teammate had a MacGregor 693 driver. He let me hit it once, it felt so solid and seemed bigger than my Tony Penna driver, I was so jealous. I watched in horror, when we playing for a few dollars at a course near our College, after a bad drive he slammed the face of the 693 into a tee marker, destroying it forever. He was a spoiled rich kid.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

Sadly some people just don't appreciate what they have.

[@mikegrebe536]

I hit an early 40s Tommy Armour jumbo faced driver during the 70s and 80s. Hardest piece of wood I ever ran across.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

That must have been an experience!

[@FairwayDodgers]

never realised persimmon was actually a type of wood, always thought it was just a club name that stuck. every days a school day

[@MrLukealbanese]

There is in fact a fruit of the Persimmon tree as well I believe

[@michaelbritton9778]

I have a set of Macgregor Reverse Draft irons pw to 3. And also a Macgregor 3 wood with Jack Nicklaus golden bear on the top and a golden bear inlay on the face.

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

I have a 1 and 3 wood with the same inserts! I'd not heard of the Reverse Draft model before but a quick search reveals them to be MacGregors top of the line cast clubs released around 1990, the Reverse Draft name refers to a casting process.

[@michaelbritton9778]

@ yes I heard that the RD referred to the casting process. Quite a nice set of clubs I play well with them. I thought they were like old club but I did think they were older. Thanks for the information. ATB.

[@BlairPhillips-y2h]

Wood Brothers water based wood filler driver. (15:35).