Different Thrifting Strokes for Different Thrifting Folks

One of the pillars of being a thrift golf club hunter is embracing that you never know what you’ll run into on a given day. Some people stick to certain styles of clubs. Others stick to different eras of the game or some specific point in history. Many hunters are just looking for what they believe will be the best opportunity to flip for the biggest profit. I, personally, look for interesting and weird clubs that will be fun to hit or have an interesting story. So when I stumble upon something like the PGA Emblem irons, I get intrigued and hope the whole set is there.

In the case of this particular set of irons, only 3 through 9 was in the rack at Goodwill, but they were a good looking old blade that seemed worth the $14 investment. AND if I liked them enough, I’d seek out a pitching wedge for the collection. Of course, the thrifting continues, the archive grows larger, and there’s only so much space. So before the Emblems go out the door, I want to tell their story.

PGA Golf Clubs History

To know the PGA golf club brand, you have to go back to 1910 Newark, Ohio. A guy named William Burke, who had previously managed MacGregor’s golf club making, was in the business of making hickory shafts for buggy whips, but with the rise of the automobile, he looked to make a pivot. That pivot led to the creation of the Burke Golf Shaft Company and Burke sold hickory golf shafts to club makers both in the US and the UK. This came at an interesting time when the UK was running into a scarcity of good lumber to produce strong hickory golf shafts. As a result, Burke’s hickory shafts became highly desirable overseas.

The next step was entering into the club head making business as well, and Burke golf clubs stayed around until the 1960s. The brand would eventually move a handful of times, including to Morton Grove, IL (just outside of Chicago) before shutting down. This is where it gets interesting. The legendary Tommy Armour was looking for a new “home” following the end of his agreement with MacGregor. He would join up with a golf club company out of Chicago called “PGA” (how that naming worked out, I don’t have all the details). PGA had a lot of Burke roots and much of their manufacturing took place in the old Burke Golf factory in Newark, Ohio after Abbot Labs purchased it in 1970. In 1974, the right to use the PGA name was lost and the company became Tommy Armour Golf.

The PGA Emblem Irons

The reason these PGA Emblem irons caught my eye is simple. They’re a good looking, compact muscle back blade. Being I found them at a thrift store, it’s not like I could test them out to know if they play as well as they look. But they’re old, and definitely have a “don’t make ’em like they used to” look. So they were worth at least giving a shot.

What I’ve learned since having the PGA Emblems in my collection is that they were made from 1967 to 1976 and are a forged carbon head. There were some changes throughout those nine years, but I’m told it was fairly minimal. I won’t claim to know much detail around their evolution. Apparently, early versions had Mercury shafts. The Emblems pictured here were from later batches as they have True Temper shafts.

As far as playability, the Emblems are about everything you should expect from a vintage blade. There is absolutely zero forgiveness with a sweet spot the size of a pea. That sweet spot is definitely heel-biased between the muscle pad and the long hosel. While the leading edge is fairly sharp and the soles are flat, the turf interaction is smoother than expected. In my opinion, these are a little easier to launch than irons of this era. The weight is definitely lower in the head so the center of gravity helps get the ball up. This doesn’t mean the ball balloons, but it isn’t as hard to get the ball in the air. My stock shot was still a pretty piercing flight that was easy to work both ways. Just make sure you have some fresh grips installed!

Final Thoughts – PGA Emblem Irons

You just never know what you’re going to find on the thrifting trail! While I certainly know a lot about golf and golf equipment, there’s just so much I can’t even imagine. Stumbling upon that stuff and learning its story is my favorite part of the adventure. If I get to actually hit some balls with the gear, even better. I feel like that’s exactly how it went for me with the PGA Emblem irons. I didn’t know a damn thing about them, but they looked cool, the price was right, and I got a little education out of it. Then when I took them out to the course, I got to step back in time to a different era. And, yes, these PGA Emblem irons certainly delivered on their “don’t make ’em like they used to” appearance!

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