Golf Clubs Sets Helped Achieve Consistent Play
In the early days of golf, drivers and irons were made differently and there was no such thing as matched golf club sets prior to 1919. Drivers typically had wood shafts with irons made of wood or steel, but each club was designed slightly differently as each golfer’s swing was different and they would hit the ball with different styles. Having an iron equally as weighted as an iron was not considered important in the early days.
In 1919, the A.G. Spalding company, now a part of Top Flight, a subsidiary of Calloway Golf, introduced the first matched golf club sets, setting the stage for the belief that a matched set of clubs was necessary for a golfer to play consistently. Each club in the golf club sets was designed with the same materials and appearance that there could be a consistency in the weight of the head, the head speed at impact as well as in how the club sliced through the air.
Four years prior, Spalding used the Spalding Dot to indicate the hardness of the ball, today referred to as compression, indicating how hard the ball had to be struck before it was compressed, prior to take off from the tee. The newer golf club sets were expected to make the consistent hit to be in line with the Dot balls. Typically, stronger golfers will use a 100 compression ball, or will use on in hot weather. When the weather is colder, a 90 compressions ball is recommended. Lighter hitter might choose a 70 compression ball, which can still achieve distance off the tee as one with higher compression.
With Today’s Golfer, Everything Matches
Today’s golfer usually uses not only matching golf club sets, but also a bag bearing the name of the club manufacturer. Their golf shoes probably carry the same logo and the golfer who really wants to appear as they know what they are doing will have a matching hat, glove and polo shirt all with the same logo as the golf club sets they use.
In 1953 professional golfing legend Ben Hogan designed his own branded irons, developed to work as golf club sets and joined later with Spalding, which later joined with Top Flight. Since the take over of Top Flight by Callaway, the Hogan brand of golf club sets is still available under his famous brand name.
However, had it not been for Spalding way back in 1919, it may have been a longer walk through golf history before golf club sets became a reality and consistent scores realized.
