Kaplan Catalogs- Differences between the Macgregor Catalogs

Thanks for the update, I may have to hunt down the first edition now.

Strangely why the second edition would neglect a small portion from the first edition, you think this may be the publisher's fault ?

I've been looking for the H$B Powerbilt reference catalog for awhile now and just purchased a copy which is enroute to arrive next week.

I've mentioned this in another thread , the Wilson history and catalog has a great offering on the auction Bay , in case anyone wish to pick up a copy before it's all gone.

I wonder if they just did it to save space. When I was looking for info on my Byron Nelson 259 irons I looked in the 2nd edition and they are only listed in the 1955 catalog section. The first edition shows the exact same ad copy and has them first listed in the 1953 catalog but also the 54 and 55 catalog section. Maybe to not have so many pages in the second edition they decided to omit when it would be duplicated multiple years, although it makes it difficult to date models accurately.

Kaplan ( editor ) might very well decided to eliminate the duplicated pages as you believed. It's logical to place it that way.

BTW, has anyone confirmed if Kaplan is well and living or otherwise ? The seller of the Wilson book claimed that he got the Wilson book through Kaplan's estate sales. I'm tempted to get a second copy of it, just because of the asking price was low.

The MacGregor books ( both editions) are getting less visible on the auction block and getting pricey. Not sure if there is a renewed interest in the persimmon golf clubs or not.

I have no idea if he is still with us, but it’s been 40 years since the first published books. He might have gone off to that great fairway in the sky by now.

Or GFB, he needs the funding now and selling off the copies he had stored all these years.

Could be.

I recall about a year ago I sent a PM to someone on WRX regarding a set of clubs they had mentioned in a thread from a few years earlier. I noticed he wasnt active on the forum for a year before I pm’d him but thought I’d give it a shot. Anyway, I asked a contact I know who knew him if he was still with us and unfortunately we wasn’t.

It sort of lead to this website. I realized a lot of the guys that appreciate and work on these old clubs are passing on and it’s up to the next generation to keep the craft going.

I'm sorry to hear the news ( new to me ). Kind of suspected it for awhile , not being confirmed until just now .

Some of these guys held a tall torch, and I sincerely hope some of the younger guys would carry the knowledge on.

Maybe that's why Dave Wood and Mike Rees made tutorial text and videos of how to restore the vintage golf clubs in order to preserve the craft. A smart young person could pick it up from there to improve on the skills.

It's a two part of , knowing and doing . Nothing will be good without hands on practicing.

There was a shop locally, some decades ago, the Old Duffer ( shop's name and the owner's nickname ) he would make the apprentice work on the old persimmon woods by the barrel full to get the skill down pat.

Back then was the time when everyone switching over from the persimmon heads to the metal heads, and the old persimmon golf clubs were mostly discarded. He bought loads and loads of the persimmon woods because he like them. I remembered walking into his shop and saw these large barrels full of persimmon woods...... had I known back then I'd go through them and cherry pick a few out of the bunch.

People whom are long gone could not see the renewal of the interests in the vintage golf clubs. If only I were 40 years younger, I'd pick up the learning trail and on that journey myself.

My father was correct, not everything newer is always better at the end.

No, my example was not meant to assert that Mr. Kaplan was gone, just that he could be, as many of the guys that really were part of that era of classic club collecting are leaving the hobby. Mr. Kaplan may still be with us, I’m not sure.

Yes, Dave Woods website and Mike Rees’ videos have been a great help in my own refinishing training. I’m lucky that I know Mike and live near him so I can pick his brain a bit. It goes both ways too. I showed Mike some vintage spec nitrocellulose lacquer paint that I believe was used on clubs in the 1950’s. Ive been using vintage style nitrocellulose lacquer paint without plasticizers for years in my guitar building and shared my thoughts with Mike about how I believe clubs were originally finished from the factory in the 1950’s. If you look at the wear of of vintage guitars and persimmon woods of the same era the relicing of the paint is very similar.

I was too quick to make the assumption. I would think it could make the internet news if that was the case.

Your back ground in refinishing the guitars definitely put you ahead of the curve from many of us. I just like to tinker with the golf equipment ( aside from reading the spreadsheet and copy the numbers given by the subscription to the service ). These internet videos are something, if one is willing to put in the time and has the common sense , could perform most of the task from the tutorials.

So you like the traditional varnishing on the wood surface ?

I agree with you, the traditional lacquer finishing will age differently than the modern alternatives. Although some will argue the modern finishing will last longer. It's quite different from the point of view of a craftsman and an industrialist ( digitalist ).

I'm with you, prefer the old finishing better with the texture and the appearance , although I'm not against using a more durable finishing for my own playing clubs. Besides the the Hogan Apex, I use mostly a set of Cleveland Classic Byron Nelson from the early 80's, simply because the shafts fit my game ( from that period of time ) better than the vintage shafts.

I tried the vintage golf clubs ( with ProPel shafts ), Although they are original, it was too light for my game ( thus felt stiffer ). The TTDG S400 in the Clevelands was okay with my old game.... never had a chance to try the X100 / X200 back then and it's too late for me to seriously thinking that i can still play like I used to.

In regards to the nitrocellulose lacquer paint you use to finish the vintage persimmon heads, have you put them in play for extended period and if they need to be refinished every playing season like they do ?

Of course you might not have as much precipitation down where you're at in the Winter than further North. & months out of the year would have wet ground from either rainfall or heavy dew..... not to mention the irrigation in the few warm months we have in the Summer.

The beautiful thing about working with nitrocellulose lacquer is that each coat melts into the next. It really allows you to build up multiple coats without it looking like a plastic coating over the wood. The negatives is it is brittle, it will really start “checking” due to temperature fluctuations, and the fumes are nasty.

I think the spray poly Dave Wood recommends is the best solution for refinishing clubs. It does take longer having to do multiple coats compared to the ease of dipping in polyurethane.

A third method I’ve used is wipe on Poly. It works very well and doesn’t have the thick dipped poly look.

One of my theories of nitrocellulose use in both the guitar and golf world of the 1950’s is the similarity between Gibson guitars Oxblood color and the eggplant color of Macgregor woods from the same era. I believe they are the same shade of nitrocellulose lacquer. It was used on everything back then from guitars, furniture, cars, and in my opinion, golf clubs.

I remember the smell of the fume from the lacquer paint when I was younger, watching my father worked on the furniture and his golf clubs. One of my brother liked the smell of the fume ( not sure he likes the smell or the dizziness of the after effect ).

I agree, the spray on polyurethane is the method I use to avoid messing up the whipping. Easy enough.

I will try your suggestion of wiping on the polyurethane next time, sounds like something worth a try.

What do you use for the wipe ? I'm thinking it might leave shadow of streaks ..... something soft and smooth ?

The nitrocellulose has almost a sweet smell doesn’t it? I can see how your brother liked it. Almost the way I liked the smell of gasoline, or at least when I smell it I am sometimes transported back to my grandfathers farm. The smells of oils and gasoline in that old barn are still fresh in my memory.

As for the wipe on poly, I just use my kids old clothes. They grow so fast and wear out stuff so quick I have an endless supply of soft, lint free rags. 😁

You and my brother can be close friends. He,too, liked the smell of gasoline when he was young. Premium leaded , of course.

We always thought that was strange. Luckily, he changed the fondness and back to normal after he started grade school.

I remembered the smell when I woke up in the middle of the night hearing my mother telling my father to not bring his golf clubs into the bedroom to work on. Must have been 4-5 inthe morning, still dark outside.

Say, can anyone explain why the Macgregor Golf History and Catalogs become popular in recent months ?

Although popular among those interested in the classic Macgregor golf, this publication had not been the best seller. All of a sudden, the copies were gone from auction blocks and used book sites. Replaced by high asking price showing up in places like Amazon.

Insight ? Or inside news ?

You know, perhaps the interests in persimmon golf clubs had peaked in recent years. There is not a good offer on the Kaplan's catalogs anywhere. A few copies for sale on the Amazon for mega bucks.

What are these people thinking ? I hope the owners are those whom could use the catalogs for reference for collecting persimmon golf clubs and not hoarding it like gold for speculation.

These catalogs will only come in use by the golfers interested in the persimmon golf products, a very narrow market at the present time. And of course the catalogs are out of print. I wish there is a renewed interest in the persimmon golf clubs, not because people think they can make a profitable return on these catalogs.

Just wait for the publisher to print a 3rd edition , then all the speculation will go to ashes.

How can a book/catalog in a narrow interest segment which was sold for dollars not too long ago suddenly asking over triple digits ?

If the publisher combines the first two edition into the 3rd edition, I'd pay up to $30 for it instead of having two books.

My kids just reminded me that I could "borrow" a DIGITAL copy of this book from the Public Library online for 14 days.

So many are trying to get stuff from the thrift store, auctions ... then resale for profits.

Not many could make a successful living doing that, but it sure looks easy enough for anyone to try.

I always get stuff that I'll put to use and trying my best to conserve everything that passing through my hands instead of automatically into the garbage bin. I have the horrible feeling that time is running out ever since I review this documentary of plastic waste on land and in the oceans, not to mention the nano sized plastic particles which is everywhere including in our food supply.

Talk about conserving, this might be out of the topic but, how does one conserve a rubber golf grip, which is getting hard but no split nor crack. I had tried the petrolin product but only worked in short term.

A copy of water damaged MacGregor Golf History , Catalogs just listed online for $60..... OMG.

I wonder if anyone taking this seriously or the listing will cancel like many others when it failed to sell for a long time.

So many newbies in the resale market......... who knows, maybe I'm missing something that they knew.

One other thought, have you contact the publisher and pointed out the mistake they made between the 1st and the 2nd editions ?

And while you're in contact with the publisher, ask if they have any interest in the 3rd edition ?

I have the first edition of the Kaplan MacGregor book. I am on the hunt for the second edition.