The story resonated with readers, and several wrote in to tell us about MacGregor golf clubs they once owned or were passed down to them over the years.
One of those stories came from Kevin Dick of Middletown, whose father, Robert Dick, worked at MacGregor, customizing clubs for customers, including several top professionals.
• PHOTOS: Vintage MacGregor golf club collection rooted in Dayton history
The engineer
Robert worked at MacGregor’s Cincinnati plant from 1950 through the mid-1970s. In those days, engineers like Robert were needed for grinding irons, shaping woods, adding weights or wrapping grips.
On his father’s skills, Kevin said he would work on “the camber (the curvature on the sole of a golf club) on them, he would grind it just right for them, some people wanted a sharp leading edge, some guys wanted a little curve on it, he did all that stuff.”
Kevin later took possession of some of his father’s clubs that he had brought home over the years. Kevin said that some of the clubs were probably ones that were being rejected or “that a pro didn’t like for some reason.”
Included in the collection were some Byron Nelson hickory shaft clubs, which included a 10-iron, which today would be comparable to a pitching wedge.
There is also a mixed metal Bob Toski putter in the collection. Toski was a professional golfer who later became well-known as a top golf instructor and coach to professional players.
When asked why he held on to the vintage clubs, Kevin said they reminded him of first learning how to play golf with his father.
“Because they were my dad’s” Kevin said. “There is a lot of history there.”
Connection to Jack Nicklaus
Kevin said that his father liked to tell the story about the day MacGregor signed Jack Nicklaus to his first contract with the company.
Nicklaus and a group from MacGregor met at Potters Park Golf Course in Hamilton, where Nicklaus was trying out a set of MacGregor clubs. Robert was there to take notes from Nicklaus about what he liked and disliked about each club and the adjustments that Nicklaus wanted made to them.
Kevin said his father told him that on the 18th hole, Nicklaus sent his tee shot out of bounds. He then teed up a second ball and hit it to within four feet of the hole. He made the put for par and ended the round with a score of 58.
Nicklaus signed the contract in parking lot after the round and went on to win several tournaments playing with MacGregor clubs.
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