My uncle recently passed away, and my wonderful aunt gifted me his entire collection of golf equipment. Over his 70+ year love affair with the game, he accumulated hundreds of items—everything from clubs to old Masters magazines. Among the treasures, some standout pieces are these vintage clubs and a signed Big Bertha golf bag.
When I asked my aunt about the bag and clubs, all she remembered was that he won the bag at an auction after a golf tournament near Atlanta in the early-to-mid '90s. I’m not too familiar with vintage clubs or signed memorabilia, so I’d love some insight from you all on these items. Also, if anyone recognizes any noteworthy names on the bag, please let me know!
Clubs in the Collection:
1, 3, 5 Woods: McGregor 90th Anniversary Persimmon Wood Set (look brand new, like they’ve never been hit).
Driver: Brassie with a hickory shaft.
4 & 5 Irons: McGregor Dayton O. Mashies with hickory shafts.
Mid Iron: The M. O’Neill Co. Special with a hickory shaft.
Wedges:
Water Wedge.
A possible early version of a Sandy, both with hickory shafts stamped “Made in Scotland, Replica.”
Putters:
McEwan long-nose putter in perfect condition.
Ladies Wilsonian Hand-Forged putter with a hickory shaft.
Modern Addition: HOG 56-degree wedge with the thickest shaft I’ve ever seen.
Bag Details:
Leather Callaway Big Bertha Cart Bag featuring several autographs. Names I’ve identified so far:
Scott Hoch
Kirk Triplett
Dicky Pride
Tommy Armour III
Michael Bradley
Stephen Jones
Bart Bryant
Stephen Keppler
(Possibly) John Daly?
I’d greatly appreciate any help identifying the clubs’ historical or collector significance and confirming the value or importance of the signed bag. Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise. [I have used gpt to refine post make it error free]
Madden said: @Hollis
Haha that’s hilarious. So does your hog have the guts to swing these clubs, or are they just for show? Come on, give it a try
I’m probably not going to use the McGregor woods or the long nose putter since they look untouched, but I should definitely toss the puddle wedge in the bag.
Nice collection! Some of these are originals, others are replicas like you mentioned (the rake iron, water iron with the hole, and the McEwan long nose putter). The rest of the hickories would make a nice set, and the MacGregors and the bag are pretty cool too. Is this the start of a new hobby for you?
@Avi
Thanks for your thoughts! How do you know the long nose is a replica? I can’t really tell it apart from an original, besides the condition.
I might end up being a collector without meaning to! I have another 10-12 sets and some singles from the 70’s-90’s that I haven’t checked out yet. We’ll see how many my wife and our storage can handle!
@Hollis
The key is that the Heritage Golf Company made many replicas a few decades ago and called them McEwan, so seeing McEwan raises a flag. There are original McEwan clubs, but it puts you on alert. Then there’s the condition – a clear and crisp stain usually means it’s either new or recently polished. The real clue is the horn insert on the sole. New horn is see-through, and the heel end is cut pretty square. Old horn is opaque and cut with a sharper angle near the heel. Often, the pegs holding it in place are less uniform on original clubs too.
A thought from me… I really think all these were signed at the same event or maybe for a charity auction, which means we can put all the confirmed signatures in one spot.
A photo I found seems to suggest the extra branding is part of the Lincoln Mercury Kapalua Invitational that ran from 1991 to 1997.
Since the ages of the signers vary a lot, I believe this could be from the 1997 tournament, since Stewart Cink made his debut that year and won a PGA tournament, which makes sense for him to be invited to a late season unofficial tournament.
Scott Hoch and Steve Jones also won on the PGA tour that year, so this makes my theory seem a bit more believable.
@Sam
I just thought that the Atlanta tournament was also where the golfers signed it, but it makes sense that if it was an auction item, it could’ve been signed earlier at a different tournament. I like this theory! Looks like DL III won at Kapalua that year so I’ll search for his signature.