Looking for info on some old MacGregor stuff

[maf19]

Can anyone provide any info or feedback on any of the following?

MacGregor Great Scot wedges; when were they produced, what the codes mean i.e. MD7, MP8, etc. lofts, face materials...really any info.  Lofts?  Appears none of them had lofts indicated on them.

What time frame MacGregor was using a logo that was a club (like the suit from a deck of cards) with the letter "M" in the middle of it.  I came across a very wide soled and long faced "All Purpose Wedge" with that logo.  No loft markings or anything, but an interesting looking club.

Any info on MacGregor Jack Nicklause 50 putter?  Was it brass, bronze, or some other material?  Was there a sound slot, or would that have been something someone added later?

Thanks for any info.

[mainuh]

Just looked through my Golfworks "Golf Club Guide Identification and Price Guide" which goes back to 1950 and could not find any info.

Check them out on Facebook - you might get some info there
http://www.facebook.com/macgregorgolf?ref=search&sid=599502533.1725412769..1

Good luck,

rob

[KBob]

I used to work for MacGregor and got a lot of these questions when I worked there.

Since about 1938, MacGregor Golf produced both Pro-Line and retail golf equipment.  In some cases in the early part of the 20th Century, the company used to produce retail clubs that were more expensive than the pro-line ones.  For instance, the Chieftain woods used to have mother of pearl inlays, ivorine faces and so on.  They used to retail in their day for about $60/stick versus pro-line at about $6 in some cases.  I believe your Great Scot Wedge is probably a retail model; I looked it up in pro catalogs going back to the 1930's and found nothing on it. 

The "playing card club" designation with the M is called a clubmaker's mark.  The way old Scottish clubmakers used to identify their work in the old days was to hand-stamp their clubs with an identifying mark.  MacGregor's senior management liked the concept of old Scottish clubmaking and used to the "club" mark to enhance the idea that MacGregor's roots were Scottish.  The truth is on of the founders of the Dayton (OH) based Dayton Shoe Last Company named Edward Canby got interested in golf on a trip to Scotland.  Shoe lasts were made on copying lathes in which a master model could be cut from a master model.  Canby got the idea that club heads could be massed produced using these copying lathes.  In 1897, the company made its first club and tried to fashion the company by adapting things from old Scottish clubmaking lineage.  It's hard to say for sure when the first time it appeared, but I have traced the mark back to 1935, but it probably goes back farther.  MacGregor's original competitors in the early 1900's were David Forgan and George Nichols, both Scottish clubmakers.

[Richard Nixon]

KBob brings the heat when he drops in on us.

[KBob]

Too much?

[maf19]

Excellent info, thanks!

If pictures would be of any assistance let me know and I'll post some

[Richard Nixon]

Too much?

Not at all. Your contributions are excellent. Keep 'em coming.

[KBob]

Pardon my slowness, but there used to be a great book called MacGregor Golf, History-Catalogs.  It was edited by a gentleman named Jim Kaplan.  In the back, Mr. Kaplan does the most comprehensive job I have ever seen in detailing the model naming/numbering system used by MacGregor.  If you can find an old copy of that book, I believe it will answer most if not all your questions. 

This is no endorsement of web vendors (read: you are on your own), but I found a couple of places that appear to have the book.   

http://oldvintagebooks.com/_pages/macgregor_golf_book.htm

http://www.goantiques.com/detail,macgregor-golf-history,1116549.html