Original Item: Only One Available. Now this is a great example of a golf club from the late Korean War into early Vietnam War Era (1950-1960). The golf club is marked as being used by the US Army Special Services, the entertainment branch of the American military. The unit was created on 22 July 1940 by the War Department as part of the Army Service Forces. Special Services not only used its own specially trained and talented troops but also would often engage local performers. Among its activities were staging plays and stage acts, holding concerts, filming documentaries, and providing recreational opportunities for servicemen.
Special Services were one of the few U.S. Army units to be racially integrated during World War II. Special Services opened their first Recreational Officer school at Fort Meade Maryland on 1 April 1942.
Within the United States Marine Corps, the Special Services Division was the forerunner of today's Special Services Branch. It was formed on 1 March 1943, to provide morale maintaining recreational and informational services to Marine Corps personnel. As of at least 2004, the Special Services Branch was still active within the USMC.
The golf club itself is a 37 ½” “Medium Iron” 7-Iron. The 7-Iron is used for approach shots from the fairway, tee shots on mid to short par 3, and even chipping from the edge of the green when you want the ball to roll out a substantial distance.
The club itself was manufactured by MacGregor Golf, an Albany, Georgia based company that traces its roots back to 1829 with the establishment of the Dayton Last Company. MacGregor Golf dates its corporate origins to 1829, when Archibald and Ziba Crawford arrived in Dayton, Ohio, to begin the manufacture of hand-carved wooden footwear lasts for the manufacture of shoes. Their product was successful and they expanded the operation to include four or five hired workmen under the firm name Dayton Last Works, with a concentration on shoe lasts, which the firm continued for a number of decades.
The firm was joined by John McGregor in 1874 and Edward Canby in 1886 so that by 1897 the company had taken the name "Crawford, McGregor & Canby", with its base of operations remaining in Dayton, being officially constituted. Golf shafts of the early 20th century being made of wood rather than the metal, fiberglass, and other materials of today, in 1897 the company made the transition from footwear lasts to clubmaking, becoming one of the first American manufacturers of golf clubs.
During the 1930s Crawford, McGregor & Canby was acquired by the Goldsmith Company to form MacGregor-Goldsmith. The new owners found the name "MacGregor" to be stronger than "Goldsmith" in the marketplace and subsequently changed the name of the firm to MacGregor.
The club is in overall good condition and does appear to have seen use but was cared for. The wrapped handle is complete and without fault, with the metal portions being covered in scatter surface oxidation. The oxidation is very light and does appear to have the chance of being properly cleaned.
Comes more than ready for further research and display.
