Tommy Armour 845 irons: Any stories?

[2thhacker]

I bought a set in 1992 before my junior year of high school.  Great clubs.  Way too much offset, but back then I didn't notice for some reason.  I played them until last year when I bought some MP52's.  Those stayed in my bag about 6 months.  Sold them and bought MX300's, which are currently on e-bay.  Just bought a set of Ping S58's which I hope will have some staying power.  They have a similar appearance at address without the offset.  My 845s will stay with me forever though.  I played them for 18 years and they served me well.  Considering they are plentiful on e-bay in the $50 range I still think they're a good option.  It is considered a classic along the likes of Ping Eye 2's and Titleist 962's.

[beems]

I've had these in my bag for 5 years or so.  I am  A 10 hdcp.  I would give them a mixed review.  They are forgiving but they are also short.  I have lost a club length since the first day I put them in my bag.  I have also experienced a recurring injury almost every year after I started using these clubs. I think it is called golfers elbow.  I never had this prior to the TA 845 HB irons.  I think it's caused by vibrations from the shaft.  Of course, I am also 52 years old so it's possible age may have something to do with the injury.  Probably a good set for beginners, I wouldn't recommend for anyone who swings at or above 95mph.  The prices are ridiculously cheap so it's perfect for your teem ager who is learning the game.

[TourSpoon]

In 1992 my friend played on the Tommy Armour Tour and set me up with 1-SW with an embroidered staff bag for $250. I played those 845s for 16 years. I sold the 1 iron and sand wedges and put a Cleveland 588 56 and 60 in the bag. I still have the clubs and the lofts never moved. The Staff Bag still looks great but is way to retro and big to bring out unless it is a special occasion.

[Large chris]

Great looking clubs, shame that a good company like that gets squeezed out by the big 5. Was looking at these when I got my first new set (Wilson Ultras - also great) about 1991 Can't remember why I didn't get them, they might have been slightly more expensive than the Wilsons, anyone recall 1991 retail prices? Lol.

[TourSpoon]

When I played the 845 Silver Scot, they soon became the rage. DL3 and Freddy were on staff and supposedly the designer moved on to Titleist to launch a similar model called the DCIs.

[NuclearMike]

After the 845s and the DCI irons John Hoeflich moved on to Nickent where he designed some great clubs, including Nickent's award winning 3DX, 4DX, and 5DX hybrids and irons before Nickent unfortunately folded.  He designed the first completely adjustable driver as well, the Nickent Evolver, which came out at a really high price just as the economy started going to crap.  Great gear, though.  I don't know what he's doing now.

[Archie Bunker]

Great irons - made for the golfers who wanted the forgiveness of a Ping Eye-2 with a more traditional look. I found a set at the town dump transfer station one day (can't beat that deal!), re-gripped them and played with them for a while. As good as anything else from the 80's, and still good today. I liked the fact that the loft degrees were stamped right onto the club. Don't have them anymore, but the trade-in value was pretty good!

[Elp7]

At one point in the 1990s I had a single digit handicap.  I returned to golf two years ago after my son left for college.  I have played with various clubs, including very unforgiving blades.  I played the best golf with the 845s.  I have been struggling with my newer Ping S-58s (more blade like) and played golf at an excellent and expensive golf course several weeks ago.   My playing partner that day was an excellent golfer, long and accurate off the T, who had been a club pro when he was younger. He played from the tips and shot 2 over for the round using the same 845s I had in the 1990s.  I pulled out my old set and have played them a couple of times now - they are great and there seems to be only a little difference between these and other more current model clubs.  They have more offset than what I am used to - are heavier - seem to have have a little more vibration - and I hit them higher.  But, they also appear to go a little further for me (even though my newer clubs have less loft (e.g., 48 PW for the 845s versus 46 or 47 degrees)).

These are very good clubs that sell for low prices because they are older.  But, they are quite forgiving and perfect for high to mid handicap golfers.  And, as my playing partner demonstrated, good for some great golfers also.  They also seem to "fit my eye".  Like other game improvement clubs, however, they may not prove as nimble in "working the ball".

Of course, there is the fashion element. Sitting in your bag, they are not the "latest and greatest."  But, they are better than great looking clubs that you cannot hit.  From a utility perpsective only, given their current low prices, it should be hard to justify paying for the marginal difference for newer clubs.

[dak4n6]

The Silver Scotts were in my bag for most of the 90s, and they were there during my transition from casual beer drinking hacker to 8 hc league player. I remember though, that as I got better I found the large amounts of offset less agreable, so I changed to my first set of forged blades (Mac VIPs).

[Dave2512]

Currently using some older 845's, the dull grey no ferrule model. Been in the bag about 3 weeks after making a change from PING G2's. I like the small head and thin sole. Paid $50 for 3-PW, still had the original grips and appeared to have been sitting for a long time. The grips were dry and brittle. I sharpened the grooves, put some shaft extensions in and put new Dri-Tacs on them and I so far I am impressed. I also have a set of the newer, Chinese made chrome 845's that I also like. I don't hit them as far as the G2's but I struggled with consistency with the G2's and I hated the sound. No matter how pure the strike it always sounded like I was hitting rocks. That and despite being fitted for white dot the 2* up didn't agree with me. I check craigslist frequently to see if I can grab another set or two on the cheap to stash. I'd really like to check out the combo 845 CM Silverback but tough to find.

Anyway I had 845's several months before I put them into action. Actually went looking for new irons prior to refurbing the 845's but I couldn't find anything I liked as well. Everything from the look to the weight feels good to me. I paired them up with some CG15 wedges and the Cobra AMP 3w and 4h and I feel confident with this setup despite losing a bit of distance, roughly half a club so not much. Strange thing is I really only notice the missing distance in the longer clubs.

[Golfingdad]

Seems like everybody I played with back in the 90s had 845s ... except for me.

My dad had a set of 855s (If I remember correctly, the main difference was that they were shiny grey instead of matte and had bigger clubheads) that I believe are still gathering dust in his garage.

[Dave2512]

They were the "it" club along with the Eye2. I had the Eye2 so I didn't give the 845 much thought. Then everyone went nuts when the TM Burner's hit the scene.

[BuckeyeNut]

I played them for 12 years!   They've been retired for more than a few years now, but I still use them as my "travel set" .......

[ralphs007]

To All

I've been playing 845's for the last ten years. I bought a set ( ten irons ) new on ebay for 180.00. I see no reason to replace these clubs. I think they play great and look really good to me. I do have a question though. Does the loft angle on cast clubs change over time. I've played a lot of golf with these clubs, and I've hit tons of practice ball with them.,

Thanks

Ralph

[LBlack14]

I had these refinished.

[Ernest Jones]

Originally Posted by LBlack14

I had these refinished.

WOW, they look gorgeous. What did the refinish cost?

[Hacker James]

a little off topic, but I have read somewhere that one cannot refinish chromed irons. I have no idea how true that is, but I would not mind doing it to my old Hogan's.  Those depicted surely look very nice, I like the "satin" look to the finish which also has practical application in that there is  not as much glare.

[WUTiger]

Originally Posted by Hacker James

a little off topic, but I have read somewhere that one cannot refinish chromed irons. I have no idea how true that is, but I would not mind doing it to my old Hogan's. ...

I looked in refurbishing section of the GoldWorks catalog, and this may be the discussion you saw: GW will not regroove chromed irons without stripping off the original chrome first. If you get the head regrooved and rechromed, the clubsmith will paintfill the engravings areas like new.

GolfWorks offers several options in Services & Repairs.

For details, see : http://www.golfworks.com/default.asp?gclid=CJnO3Pa-rbkCFdAWMgodmHMAgA