If Tad Moore isn’t a familiar name to you, he should be. Tad’s literally one of the pioneers of modern golf club design and manufacturing. His clubs have been found in the bags of some of the best players of all time, including the ’91 Masters champion when he won the green jacket. While I’m well aware of the Tad Moore legend, Tad’s catalog of notable golf clubs over the years is quite extensive and full of killer designs. Following a “catch up” with my good friend, golf mentor, and historic golf gear encyclopedia, Chip Usher, I was made aware of an absolute beauty of a Tad Moore iron. That iron was the forged cavity back Tad Moore FS91. (PS. Chip is one of the, if not thee, top Miura sellers in the US, so if you’re in the market, hit him up!)

Long story short, I set off to track down some FS91 irons almost immediately. I was able to unearth an incomplete set of heads pretty quickly which was good enough for me. Or so I thought. My plan was to install a few shafts and just have fun occasionally knocking them around. Of course, once I saw them in person, the hunt was on to build a complete set and take them a little more serious.

The History of the Tad Moore FS91 Irons

First, to really know the FS91, you need to know some of Tad Moore’s history. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Tad designed clubs for Dunlop/Maxfli/Slazenger. He introduced innovative design and manufacturing processes that played a major role in defining the future of modern golf equipment. One of Tad’s greatest successes was creating a more modern forged cavity back iron where better players got the feel, look, and performance they wanted from a blade, but in a more forgiving package. This design in the early 90s arguably set the bar for forged cavity backs from that point forward.

Well in June of 2003, Tad’s agreement with Dunlop had come to an end. Of course, Tad still had designs and ideas kicking around in his head. Inspired from previous work on the Dunlop/Maxfli Australian Blades and various forged cavity back models, the FS91 forged cavity back iron was born. Ultimately, the FS91 was designed for a distribution agreement in Canada as well as for the Tad Moore brand in the US around the year 2003. This particular iron would only be available for a couple of years as part of a limited production run. Just enough time for a few real, timeless, forged gem to be tucked away into collections, basements, and garages. Thankfully to be rediscovered by me almost two decades later…

My FS91 Set

Like I said, I had never heard of the Tad Moore FS91 irons prior to talking to Chip. Don’t get me wrong, I was plenty aware of Tad’s storied history of designing and making clubs, but this particular model escaped me. Anyway, the four heads I first acquired sat in a box on a shelf collecting dust while my search continued. For the better part of a year, I’d regularly post “Want to Buy” ads looking for anything FS91 I could find. I scoured eBay. I messaged Tad asking, “are you surrrre there aren’t a few extra heads hiding somewhere?” (Tad’s the best. Trust me, if he could help, he 100% would.) Alas, I came up empty.

Then one fateful day, I received a message on GolfWRX literally WEEKS after I posted a WTB. A member said “hey, I actually have the FS91 in some of the numbers you’re looking for.” The seller was generous enough to let me buy just the 5 and 7 iron heads I needed at a great price. Turns out he was sympathetic to the cause as he too had been on the long pursuit of trying to piece together a complete set. Sadly, he too fell short of a 6 iron.

With almost a full set of heads, I decided I’d just build the clubs for now. These heads just look so pure. All they needed was a smooth, crisp shaft to match. So I went and had a quick look through “the graveyard” to see what I had in stock. I came across a set of True Temper Elevate Tours and decided they were the ones. A quick stop on the swingweight scale, a shaft install, some grips, and we were off! Of course…still a 6 iron short of my full set.

Final Thoughts – Tad Moore FS91 Irons

I’m not saying that the Tad Moore FS91 irons are impossible to find, but I promise you won’t find many out there. Being they were only produced for a limited amount of time and are under a “boutique name”, chances are they were mostly scooped up by people who knew exactly what they were buying. Though the FS91 is an almost 20 year-old golf club, it’s easily one of the most beautiful forged cavity back irons I’ve seen. If you’re familiar with Tad’s work, however, this comes as no surprise to you. And if you aren’t familiar with Tad’s work/history, get Googling. He’s one of the great legends of modern golf equipment. By the way, Tad also just happens to be one of the world leaders in making classic vintage-style persimmon woods and hickories…

One last interesting piece of Tad Moore trivia I never knew until writing this post. Prior to being involved in golf professionally, Tad designed and manufactured parts used on the Lunar Rover. The Lunar Rover that actually landed on the moon. How ’bout that?!

Oh, and if you have a Tad Moore FS91 6 iron, let me know immediately.

If you’re interested in another Tad Moore barn find of mine with a fascinating backstory, click here.

After the Blog…

Following the completion of this blog, I re-fell in love with these irons. I know my set of FS91s has to be totally complete should I ever find that 6 iron head. So I did what any real golf gear addict would do…I tracked down a 3 iron as well. Only one more head to go.

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