Ping's two-tone balls have made the transition from unloved novelty to sought-after collectors' item

Jeremy Ellwood delves deep into the memory bank to serve up a selection of classic golf equipment from the past. Remember all these?

Sometimes innovation hits the mark, and sometimes less so. Much of this classic golf equipment from the past was launched to great acclaim back in the day, but not all went on to achieve greatness or immortality

Ping two-tone golf balls

These lively little numbers were scorned by better players back in the 1980s, but are now a much sought-after collectors’ item, especially if you have the right colour combo. Time to rummage in the practice ball bag and log on to ebay?

Adams Tight Lies fairway woods

These ‘upside down’ clubs quite literally turned the fairway wood world on its head back in the mid-1990s.

TaylorMade Nubbins putter

The top manufacturers have served up pretty much every material known to mankind by now in their putter face inserts, but TaylorMade remains the only brand to have offered us an insert seemingly crafted from discarded table-tennis bat rubbers.

 

The ping pong-esque face insert of TaylorMade's Nubbins putter

The ping pong-esque face insert of TaylorMade's Nubbins putter

Fat Lady Swings putter

This basic-looking mallet was much favoured by Nick Price during his PGA Tour hey-day. Hugely popular for a short period of time

Nick Price holed 'that' putt at Turnberry in 1994 with a Fat Lady Swings

Nick Price holed 'that' putt at Turnberry in 1994 with a Fat Lady Swings

TopFlite Z-Balata

The discerning choice of balata cheapskates and would-be tour pros everywhere during the 1990s. Sadly they were balata by name but not by nature.

Wilson Invex driver

This ahead-of-its-time, odd-shaped driver was used by John Daly to win the 1995 Open at St Andrews, but pretty much no-one else.

John Daly letting rip with his Wilson Invex driver at St Andrews in 1995

John Daly letting rip with his Wilson Invex driver at St Andrews in 1995

Cleveland VAS irons

Pretty much the ugliest premium-brand irons ever crafted, but a Major winner nonetheless in the hands of Corey Pavin at the 1995 US Open. Much-loved by shankers everywhere as the hosel was set back in the head.

No beauty contest winner - Cleveland's futuristic VAS irons

No beauty contest winner - Cleveland's futuristic VAS irons

Penfold Commando/Tornado balls

The 1980s ball of choice for anyone happy to make a significant distance versus cost trade-off. Highly playable around the greens and very popular with serious pitch and putt campaigners as a result.

MacGregor Response ZT 615 putter

This ridiculously long-bladed putter enjoyed huge sales success after Jack Nicklaus rolled back the years to win the 1986 Masters with one.

Jack holds his MacGregor Response aloft after birdieing 17 at Augusta in 1986

Jack holds his Response ZT aloft after birdieing 17 at Augusta in 1986

Ping Eye irons

We couldn’t miss out the godfather of perimeter-weighted cavity-backs. The Eye and then Eye 2 irons were in Ping’s range for well over a decade between them and spawned more copycat cheapie clubs than any other design before or since.

Ping Eye & Eye 2 - the kings of perimeter-weights cavity-backs

Ping Eye & Eye 2 - the kings of perimeter-weighted cavity-backs
Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response