Golf card advice ?
 

Okay guys,

I've never owned any golf cards -- but am getting more into the sport and figured that it may be cool to pickup a card or two. So here's my question to the board:

1) what are the most prestigious cards (e.g. the T206wagner and '52mantle)

2) If you liked the old stuff like pre-1930 ... what would you recommend collecting?

Let's say I was going to spend $100 on one card

How about if I was going to spend $500-1k on a card (or a small set)

Thanks for educating me!
-Scott

Additional Question
 

Scott-

Thanks for asking the questions, I am newer to collecting the cards as well. What I would also like to know is:

What resources are out there checklisting cards etc? (Publications Books or Websites)

One thing I took from the main Board is collect what you like... that has pushed me towards the 1924 Will's set (my most recent pick-up) -

[IMG]<a href="http://s486.photobucket.com/albums/rr225/t2069bk/Golf/?action=view&current=StA.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i486.photobucket.com/albums/rr225/t2069bk/Golf/StA.jpg" border="0" alt="#21 St Andrews"></a>[/IMG]

Good Luck and can't wait to find out some of the info you and I asked about!

Cards...
 

You'll probably want to pick up the Berdock/Smedley guides I(tobacco) & II(gum), usually available on ebay.

Wagner/Mantle: 1932 U.S. Caramel Bobby Jones; Cope Tom Morris

$100+ a bit: exish cards of Jones from the era;

$1,000- a bit: 1927 Churchman small set(nice raw set); Ogdens Tom Morris(nicer copy)

T206 Joe Doyle: 1928 Crescent Confectionary Bobby Jones

...a lot of cards out there so opinions will obviously vary.

I am new to golf within the past few years, and have loved the journey. I've been able to complete a 1901 Ogden's Guinea Gold set, and picked up many other nice golf cards over that time.

The 50 card Copes set from 1900 is a great place to find some cards in this price range. $100 would get you some copies of most of the cards in mid-range condition, with the Old Tom Morris and Morris Jr. being more like $500 - $1000 (or up) depending on condition.

Golf on a whole seems to be less expensive than similarly-aged baseball; the supplies (in my opinion only) seem to be lower, although demand is as well. Also, I've found many golf cards have survived in better condition than their baseball counterparts. (Not sure why that is; anyone with any knowledge as to why this might be?)

For starters, check the 1927-1931 Churchman sets like Men of the Moment. Aside from Bobby Jones, most of these cards can be found relatively inexpensive.

I agree with everything Paul and Scott said.


Scott S..... I think in general - the European cards were better taken care of than the cards from the states. There probably was a greater appreciation for cards at the time of issue (and for years after) in Europe. Since most of the vintage golf cards are from Europe - this would be why the golf cards have survived in better condition when compared to US baseball cards. This is just something I have heard from other collectors and tend to agree with.



edit:
I think a great place to start is the World Golf Hall of Fame website. Read up on the old legends of the game - get to know them - and then eBay search for cards. There will be cards for most all of them.
http://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/h....php?sort=year

Thanks
 

Thanks for all the advice so far- this has been great!

Scott,
How do you like to collect? I started out as a player collector and then moved into set collecting. I eventually sold most of my golf sets and transitioned into more of a golf type card collector. Needless to say, a safe way to get started would be to pickup a key player from some of the more popular sets to get a feel for them. I would start with these players from these more popular sets, but there are plenty of good choices:

1900 Cope's (02 Old Tom Morris and 26 Tom Morris, Jr.)

1901/02 Odgen's (any of the Vardon's would be a good start, but the most popular are 1901 #476 Harry Vardon and the 1902 Old Tom Morris)

1914 Marsuma (any of the Harry Vardon's)

1926 Lambert and Butler (02 Bobby Jones rookie)

1927 Churchman (Any of the Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Tom Morris or Harry Vardon cards)

1928 Millhoff (Any of the Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and Harry Vardon cards)

1931 Churchman (Any of the Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen and Harry Vardon cards)

This would just be a safe way to start and you could sell these cards pretty easy down the road if you decide you don't like the set/player. You can pick up most of these cards in excellent condition for less than $100, except for the Copes cards. There are also strip cards (W590 and W512) and the two Churchman set's mentioned have a small and large version of the set to collect. The small version of the set consists of 50 cards and the large version only consists of 12 cards and is a little harder to find. Needless to say, this is only scratching the surface and I am sure I am leaving out some key cards/sets as I type.

Good luck,
Jason

A lot of good advice here. I would also suggest a 1926 Lambert & Butler Bobby Jones.

You'll find the largest quantity of vintage golf cards are British Tobacco cards from 1920s & 1930s. You can also find a number of German Tobacco cards from the 1930s. When you get into the 20s & 30s cards, throw in the Squire...Gene Sarazan.

Another of my favorites is a more modern card... From the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set is a card of Ted Williams and Sam Snead fishing off a pier. Can probably pick up a nice one in the $30 range.

Good Luck