I like golf. I like being outdoors and getting some sun and having a good time despite hacking my way around a course. It is frustrating but strangely therapeutic at the same time. I also never played a lot of golf by any means. I would go with my dad occasionally or go have some fun at a driving range and laugh as I hit a ball that behaved like a boomerang with a strong desire to go to the right. Good times…
My wife however grew up golfing. She and her dad golfed often at their local club, a little par 3 in their neighborhood. She grew up playing on leagues and eventually went on to playing for her high school team. She actually plays golf like it is meant to be played and is a joy to watch. Thanks goodness she is so our kids don’t think that boomerang balls are a normal thing.
She has always played with modern clubs. I even bought her a new set of irons on one of our anniversaries along with a new bag and driver because you have to accessorize and look good on the course.
She watched me go through the process of restoring my first set of clubs and seemed interested, so I thought, why not make her some clubs too.
The hunt began like normal, checking local antique stores and online listings to see what was available. I stumbled across a listing on eBay that was for a set of clubs that included several lightweight heads (typically marked with a “L” or “W” stamp by the manufacturer). She typically plays a set of senior clubs which tend to have the right flex and swing weight for her, and I figured the lighter heads would work well for her too.
The set included several irons and a brassie, so I purchased it and got down to business.
*The clubs from the eBay listing
*The clubs in my shop before I got started on them
The set arrived and had some cool clubs in it. The brassie, mashie, and mid-iron where all Atco branded “L” lightweight clubs and it was the first time I stumbled into a “matching” set. In addition there were a couple of Spalding Kro-Flite irons (#2 and #3) along with a Kryodon 45° Spade Mashie (the club actually had a loft stamped into it).
It was just missing a niblick and a putter, which I had extras of from the first set of clubs that I repaired. I got to work removing the heads from the old shafts (which were all keepers!) and got to cleaning them up. I went with a full vinegar soak on these ones, and it took longer than using Evapo-Rust but provided a great finish to the heads while still removing the rust.
*Part way through the vinegar soak
*The mashie and mid-iron with rust removed
At the same time, I was working through her brassie. It was the last of the matching Atco clubs and it also needed some love. First the head needed to come off and get re-glued with a modern epoxy. To get it off the club head got double bagged and put into hot water to soften the glue.
Once the glue was lose I was able to free the head from the shaft. I cleaned out the hosel hole and then expoied the head and shaft back together. The stamps on the head were also originally painted gold but most of that had flaked off over the years. I used a needle to finish removing the final bits of paint and then re-painted the stamps with new oil-based gold paint.
It is really awesome to see all the detail still there after all these years. As the paint cured I focused on the bottom of the club head where a few small cracks had shown up over the years. I cleaned these out and glued them back together with some thin CA glue. I also had to re-grove the head as it had worn flat in several spots.
Once those steps were done, I stared applying the layers of finish back to the club head and shaft.
With the rust off of the iron heads the rest came together pretty quickly. The shafts that were still good were all lightly sanded to remove the old finish. I then re-stained them with a natural color stain and applied the first layer of new finish to them. Once that layer was cured, I added the under listing and tacked the new grips on the clubs.
Now this is where the clubs will get a little bit fun. Instead of the normal black or earth tone grip I used pink and blue (her favorite colors) suede leather grips. And not a mild pink or blue either but a bright you-can-see-it-across-the-course pink and blue. On top of that I used the opposite color of waxed linen thread to whip the clubs, and they turned out a little like this:
Yes. I know. These colors are not traditional or anything like what would have been on the clubs originally. But the materials are right. They are suede leather and that is 0.8mm waxed linen thread. I have to believe that if these colors existed back then that there absolutely would have been players all over the course with style and character rocking their own specific designs. When you look at golfers who focused so much on personal style, like Walter Hagen, it would have to be true right?
Anyway, these clubs are styled for her and the turned out beautiful. The last step was the whips and like the grips they needed a bit of flair. Alternating pink and blue to match the pattern on the grip end of the club.
The driver got special treatment with a solid band of alternating colors and a few white bands to really make it pop.
Once the whips were on, I finished out the clubs with their final coats of finish. Now they are ready for play!
