Thought I’d post a photo I found @ golfwrx.com. It is of Jose Maria’s bag in 1994. I find it interesting. Here he is…in the early '90s…and he is playing irons that are from mid-70’s.
I cannot come to grips with all the technology today. There was TONS of technology back in early-mid 90’s. Yet…The “True Pro’s” stayed true to the game.
At times…I really feel they need to change the name of the game we see on TV today. IMO…it isn’t GOLF.
Happy,
I will hazard a guess and say 100% correctly – that is Langer’s bag and not Jose’s like they say it is
Jose used Maruman around that time and used a Ping Zing and that bag is definitely Wilson…as are the clubs…and the putter is more anser style not a zing style—Langer used Wilson for an eternity and definitely had a Wood Bros in his bag when he won the Masters in 93
In fact it is a Cameron Classic 1 putter- can see the inscription on the sole
Great pic however-- someone screwed up on the players name and their posting on that site however
That is a great photo! I’d have to agree that it’s Langer’s though… Initially when I looked at the photo and thinking it was Jose’s, I expected to see the Mizuno TP9’s that he used for ever, but he did switch to Maruman as Twomasters said… I’d also add that Langer used that Ping 1iron forever too- which always kind of surprised me actually…
Thanks for the clarification.
I honestly blacked out the Jose Maria win in '94…I was too furious watching Lehman pull out 1-iron on the 18th Hole when he needed birdie.
An interesting aside in regard to Jose and the '94 Masters- he was actually the first Masters winner to use a metal headed driver! Sad but true. He was using a prototype Bubble Shaft- you probably remember those. I’m not clear as to whether it was a Taylor Made head or not, though I imagine it was… the club itself was quite dark coloured, in the head and shaft… If the photo up there is Langers bag around 93/94, then we’re also getting a good look at the last wooden headed driver to win the Masters- pretty cool/sad… again, great photo… I’m intrigued by the little nicks in the leading edge protective plate- I can’t picture Langer digging too much dirt with his driver swing! Thanks for sharing…
Twomasters.
In your opinion…
Would guys like Couples & Love & Leonard embrace the persimmon driver again ??
Or…are they glad it went away and technology has made the game “easier” to play.
Those mix and match bags were pretty much the way things were, because the bottom line is… when you pick up a club, does it look right to you? Feel right? Then how does it perform? and can you do with it what you want?
Trying to homogenize the game is what the companies want, so they can sell product. If they can get you to think you are hitting the same set as your favorite pro, then mission accomplished. Of course the pros clubs are going to be customized, but not as noticeably as all that lead tape and obvious odd grinds and such. They don’t want a pro using a club from the 60’s or anything like that… because they cant’ sell that.
It’s just custom club fitting to the players horrible swing to make sure they don’t improve by locking them into clubs that are way too upright, and too light… so they keep hitting the ball poorly, but with lots of distance.
As far as the modern game… I think it’s fine for those that like a much less interesting version of the game, but I am a huge proponent of multiple versions of the game, even different rule books… so everyone can be happy. A persimmon tour, a hickory tour, a titanium “tricycle” tour. It happens all over the place in other sports… so golf needs to catch up on that one.
The easy solution to the silly grooves thing with the absurd court ruling would be to read the court ruling that says the USGA and PGA Tour must allow these clubs… so then just start a new organization, change the routing numbers of the bank accounts that finance it and point it to the new organization. Then just let those other ones die slowly over time.
It happens all the time in the real world of business… How many companies declare bankruptcy, so they get protection from what ever was ailing them… shareholders loose all their money, and the same honchos arise with a new name… basically selling the same old product, but this time without anyone chasing them down, because it’s called something new.
Happens all the time… the old “we’re restructuring” BS.
Where have I heard that before?
More important than organizational restructuring is throwing the heirarchy at the USGA & PGA Tour out on their ear. Joe Dey and Deane Beman never would have let this happen in the frist place because the integrity of the game was more important to them than money.
Well if the manufacturers made quality clubs they would have a hard time convincing their pro staff to ditch them and advertise the latest release. Best make garbage to have their players always hungry for something better.
I wonder if pro’s really always look for the best equipment. Don’t forget that most of them too have mouths to feed at home, so it may be more interesting to them to sign a deal with a manufacturer that provides them with clubs/bag/balls/etc. + a garantueed income each year, rather than be totally dependant on the your results each week (especially when you take into account that most of todays equipment is equally bad compared to that of a random competitor). With a nice contract you don’t have to worry when you miss three or four cuts in a row, or worse: when you get injured.
Not sure if that is how most people on tour think, but I’d be surprised if none of them think that way.
Human nature really
Taylor Made used to pay US $3000 … A WEEK!!.. to someone on the PGA just to use their driver…A WEEK…even if you didn’t have a contract with them and we are talking late 90’s… play 25 events and there’s $75,000 right there just for ONE club !! You could easily spread yourself around with an iron deal…a bag deal… a hat deal…get some free clothes…putter companies were paying cash too…and then do a ball, shoe, glove deal and even if you stunk to high heaven for the entire year you came out well ahead.
I can tell you right now there were a LOT of TaylorMades in play at that stage whether they worked for that player or not…Yes i was one of them for a few weeks 
until I realized money made on the course by good play was more important than the off course money-- but you can’t really not look at collecting those little bonuses as a guaranteed income- like I said it’s human nature to get some easy money like that even if it did you no good
I remember using a companies putter one week and the next week they gave me a check for $5000 !!! 
for one week, because I was the leading player in that weeks event using their putter and I think I came around 27th in the event yet still got that amount for using a putter? ridiculous…Good news on that is that I used it because I liked the look of it not because of the attraction of the cash…I didn’t even know about the little bonus pool they had going but gladly accepted the 5 g
Even over the past few years Callaway have paid ridiculous amounts- 200 grand - to just about anyone that had a card…anyone… even rookies who are unproven at the big stage…you can really talk yourself into believing the equipment is good when they plonk 200 g’s in your bank account even when you miss 8 cuts in a row
When they are paying out these huge amounts they really need to sell a lot of equipment and they will use any marketing trick to do it
TM, thanks for the first hand info.
I always thought that would be how it worked but - to be honest - had no idea how big these sums were. With that kind of money it is almost impossible not to give in. It’s not like you are placing yourself in a disadvantaged position towards the rest of the field, as ‘everyone’ plays the same material.
And to think that most recreational golfers trust the pro’s blindly. The number of times I hear or read about people saying that only the brands played on tour are good brands/good clubs. Or that just because player X replaced his 2009 driver by a newer 2010 driver, the 2010 driver must be better “or else he would still play the 2009 driver”…
Oh btw… seeing as this topic is about Bernhard Langer’s bag and clubs from the early 90ies, I thought I’d place a link to a thread on GolfWRX about another of Langer’s WB drivers: HERE. (hope you don’t mind Fred)
Let me get one thing out first: someone should register as a Trade Mark TRGA as THE REAL GOLF ASSOCIATION. I suspect its time is coming.
I would also suggest for Lag to start a separate section for this topic because a debate has started in mainstream golf about equipment and “cheating” and we need to shout louder.
And apparently there is no court ruling its only a settlement and Ping might even be willing to back off its stack.
http://www.flagstick.com/editorsdesk/?p=442
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1958612,00.html
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1958280,00.html
Lag
And how about Haight-Ashburry for a launch of THE REAL GOLF ASSOCIATION
So well stated by Westwood in that article! I’m baffled by this “not illegal by the letter-of-the-law” defense that these professionals put out there. Why don’t they simply say “I don’t hit it straight enough to use the new wedges and still make a living on tour, so I decided to use this wedge that provides me with a legal but unfair advantage and allows me to still hit it crooked”. Fair and legal aren’t the same, but in my mind that’s what we’re talking about here. Too many of these players and their defenders have lost touch with the things that differentiate golf with the rest of sport.
Tiger stated that everyone has had a year to get “adjusted”. More of these guys should interpret “adjusted” as learning how to hit it straighter.
robbo
I remember back in like 95 or 96 Payne Stewart signed a fat contract to play some awful cast irons with parallel shafts and big cavity backs. I forget which ones but the point is that it almost ruined him. He’d been playing blades his whole life and making a radical change to garbage clubs sent him spiraling into the worst slump of his career. Granted he was a club nut (like me and a lot of us here) and a total feel player but chasing a quick buck almost ruined his game forever. There’s plenty of money out there even in a bad economy where you don’t have to play the tour with LEGO’s. Sign a contract with a financial firm and an insurance company and a clothing company instead and keep these sicophants and posers the hell out of the bag. Or if you have to sign a club contract put it in writing that you can have Titleist or someone make up a set of good heads and then stamp them with the other OEM’s name like DLIII did with Tommy Armour.
…speaking of Davis Love III.
I’ve been playing Titleist 680 irons since 2003. IMHO…the best iron I’ve ever laid hands on.
Quesiton…
Do any of you have experience with this club. And how does it compare with the NEW line of Titleist irons ???
I’m 40. Former college golfer. Can shoot 75 easily from 6500 yards. Struggle to break 80 from 7000. My game…in a nutshell.
But talk to me about the 680’s. I’m amazed more pro’s don’t play the iron.
Happy
Happy: 7000 yards?
You may need a 680cc driver If you can’t find one I’ll let you borrow my 460 
BTW: what does that little green smiley face mean?
It means I’m a happy Irishman 