Arnold Palmer was a legendary figure who earned the nickname The King. Palmer is known as The King of golf equipment tinkering.
You can see the proof in the story of Arnold Palmer’s Wilson Staff Model Dyna-Powered irons. They are currently selling at $275,000 at The Lodge at Pebble Beach.
This particular set of irons (from 2-9 iron) was used by Palmer to win 14 events between 1960-1961.
The lead weight plugs he used to add to the toe section of his irons are revealed when you take a closer look at them. A golf club’s toe section can be weighted to reduce the hook. However, heavy heel weighting can reduce the slice.
Joe Black, a former PGA Tour player and rules official, President of PGA America and founder & Director of Western Golf Properties, purchased the historic irons for the “Golf Links to the Past” shop at Pebble Beach. He also served many other roles throughout his career in the golf industry.
GolfWRX (@golfwrx), shared this post
Black: How did he get the irons? His book “A Few Good Golf Stories,” published in 2011, tells the whole story.
Black wrote in the book: We played at the Dallas Open at Oak Cliff, where I was a member. Arnold Palmer is a man who has never stopped playing with his clubs. His golf clubs were his best friend. He would go back and rewind his grips after practice rounds, then he’d be in the bag room beating them with a hammer. He entered Oak Cliff’s bag room to play with his clubs. After seeing my clubs, he began to examine them. He couldn’t stop looking at them. He came up to me and said: “I have to have your driver em>
Arnold was at Wilson’s time and I was playing Wilson clubs. Joe Wolf, Wilson’s tour representative had provided a driver for me. He stated, “I’ve got it .”
I said that Arnold can’t have the driver.
He said then, “I have to have that driver.”
Again, I said no. I said no again. He then said, “Let’s use it this week .”
He drove well with it the following week. It was to be returned in my bag at tournament’s end.
Gary Player, Arnold and I were heading to Chicago to film a TV match between Gary Player and Arnold.
Arnold replied, “Why don’t you fly up to Wilson on Monday?” We can play some golf, and then go to Wilson em>.
I said no. He told me that I had been away from home for the summer and that I would stay at home. I would be in Chicago on Thursday. He replied, “OK .”
I called him on Thursday, when I arrived, and he said that he would take me to see my driver.
You said, “What do you mean that I have to see my driver?”
He stated, “Well, he brought it with him and I took it to Wilson, and it’s great now!”
I went to his bedroom and saw that he had used a wood rasp to rasp the toe off of my driver. He hooked all of his clubs, and he did the same to mine. He had just destroyed my driver. He was hot.
The next day, he drove the car horribly and went out. He tried to return it to me. I told him no, that he had destroyed my driver and that I owed him. I told him what I wanted and he asked me what I wanted. He made the famous Tommy Armour putter by welding a flange to the back of a Tommy Armour stick. He owned two. He said he wouldn’t if he lost the putter.
From there we went to Seattle and I always asked him about his putter every time I saw him. We then went to Portland for his final tournament. I kept asking him “Arnie, where’s my putter em?”
I stood near the scoreboard at the end of the tournament and he approached me and said, “Come here!”
As I walked into the lot, he took out his irons from his bag and gave them to me.
He used those irons to win 14 tournaments including the Masters and the British Open. These tournaments allowed Arnold to establish the all-time money record.
Palmer’s 1960-61 irons, which were owned by the Golf Links to the Past, are a treasure trove of golf history. GolfWRX was able to get photos in-hand of the 7-iron thanks to the Golf Links to the Past owners.
View the complete photo gallery of Palmer’s irons in our GolfWRX Forums
