Vintage Woods
I’ve decided that a man can’t have enough hobbies or collections of things. For that reason I have decided that I will focus the rest of my energies for this decade to become the midwest’s largest collector of vintage golf clubs. Specifically, vintage woods that are actually made of wood. This all came to a head last night in the a southern suburb of our fair city, when I walked out of a place called The 2nd Swing, the proud owner of an old Arnold Palmer 3 wood. The folks at the store considered the club junk and sold it to me for $1.99.

I own a set of vintage clubs already. They are a bit short for me and not perfect but the aesthetic is what’s important. The woods are all real woods and they have a sweet airplane logo on them followed by the letters PGA set in a Trade Gothic Bold Extended type. The airplane helps you aim the club properly. The gold bag is real leather and bright red to boot.

The desire to amass a collection of vintage woods meets two of my key criteria when deciding to become the Midwest’s largest collector of anything. One, the old school design aesthetic and craftsmanship are all top notch and, two, nobody wants ’em and you can get ’em for cheap. I’m so turned off by these new oversized clubs that are as big as a VW bug and look as if they were constructed with recycled aluminum cans. These clubs are popular for the single reason that they have way more forgiveness than older woods. So like many other items in the current American retail market they allow for less discipline and focus when considering your approach. The old woods demand a more concentrated swing and closer attention to be paid to club selection. It’s very similar to the reason that MLB doesn’t allow aluminum bats. So, if you see a nice mahogany fairway wood sitting around your parents basement. Send it to me: c/o The Golden Bear Vintage Golf Woods Association.