Brand / Grind

Moe told me that these were his favorite clubs.  They are Topflite “Bird-over-ball”.  You can see Moe’s workmanship on the leading edge where he ground the bottom of the club into a straight line.  He liked thin and straight leading edges. According to Tom Aird, it added needed bounce to the club.   He even squared off the toes of the clubs.  You can also see the amount of lead tape he applied to increase the weight.

From Tom Aird:

“I have had the clubs pictured above since Moe gave them to me in the 80’s. They were his favorite clubs and he stopped using them because he hit so many balls the faces became concave and the metal compressed making the depth and width of the grooves non conforming.

It might also have been around the time LYNX Canada signed him to play their clubs. Most of your description is correct… However… the reason he ground off the leading edge was to blunt them. Most “players clubs” or “blades” as they were referred to back then had a very sharp leading edge.

One day on the range I asked Moe why he Had ground them off. His response… while still hitting ball…Why ? Why ? Why do you think…. still hitting balls…Look !! Look!! I can’t hit it fat the club just glides… just glides. Most of the modern era clubs have a rounded or blunt leading edge. The model was Spalding Executive “Top~Flite”.”

Grip

Notice the wrapped grip, larger than a normal grip but still a bit tapered.  You can see that the wrap extended well down the shaft, longer than a normal grip.

Of course you can see the worn spot on the face of each club only to imagine how many balls were hit with these clubs.

Length

These particular clubs varied in length.  But it was said that Moe often experimented with single length clubs.  If you look at this picture below, you can see Moe’s hitting sequence where he is choking down on the club (making it shorter).

Weight

The swing weight of a golf club specifies how heavy the club feels to a player swinging it. Swing weight relates not only to the club’s weight, but also to the distribution of the weight. A club with more of its mass concentrated in the club head has a higher swing weight and requires more energy for the golfer to swing it at a specific speed.

In the 1920s, club manufacturers invented swing weight as a measure of the dynamic feel of the golf club. The value relates to the moment of inertia of the club at a fulcrum point, near the grip end of the club. Moment of inertia is the resistance of an object to rotation, just as mass is its resistance to linear motion.

Swing weights use a letter-and-number combination that represents the range and the specific reading. There are six ranges (A through F) and each has 10 values (numbered 0 through 9). A0 is the lightest, and F9 is the heaviest. Most men’s clubs fall in the range of C9 to D8, with D2 being the standard. Ladies’ clubs are usually between C4 and D0. One point on the scale is equivalent to a weight difference of .07 oz. at the club head, about the weight of a penny. Few players would even notice such a small change.

Stronger players should use higher swing weights, and weaker ones require clubs with lower values. The correct swing weight is one that is light enough for the player to achieve enough club head speed for proper distance and ball flight, but heavy enough to transfer sufficient energy to the ball and keep the club on track in the downswing.

Adding or subtracting weight to the club anywhere except at the fulcrum point changes a club’s swing weight. Attaching lead tape or removing material from the club head, using a different weight shaft, or changing the grip size all have an effect on swing weight. The length of the club also has an impact. Changing the shaft length by half an inch or choking down on the club half an inch changes the value by 3 points.

There is something to be said for single length clubs but keep in mind that Moe added significant weight to the head.  If you choke down on the club, you must add weight.  In effect this will increase the swing weight but from choking down, you substantially lighten the club.  When weighted for swing- weight, these clubs would weight E-5 or E-6.  Take in account the grip weight, the weight of the head and the fact that Moe choked down three inches and in effect Moe’s swing weight was somewhere around D-8.  Still heavy for a normal golfer.