Tiger Woods Grand Slam clubs back on sale, complete with controversy
Aug 24, 2010, 4:30 PM EST
Once upon a time (May 2010, to be exact) a guy named Steve Mata put a set of golf clubs for sale on eBay which he claimed was the Titleist set used by Tiger Woods throughout his Grand Slam championship run of 2000-2001. But problems arose when Tiger himself was quoted as saying about the set: “He may have my set of irons, but they’re not from those tournaments. They’re in my garage.” Ack. No sale.
But now Mata has the irons back on sale at Greenjacketauctions.com, and this time he’s armed with a lie detector test and certificate of authenticity. Bidding, however, is up to only $1,610; a bit off the $250,000 opening bid he set the first time around.
Mata has taken a lie detector test and claims that the irons in question are the actual irons used for the Tiger Slam. He has also singed an affidavit under oath attesting to the authenticity of the irons.
To further support their claim, GreenJacketAuctions.com is using a Sept. 16, 2000 Golfweek article about the clubs and a statement from PGA Tour player Greg Kraft that supports Mata’s assertion.
“It’s sad Tiger is not on board with Steve (Mata),” Kraft said. “There was a time they were very tight, which is why he gave him those irons. I was not visually there when he gave them to him but remember it well. I was in awe knowing how much they would be worth if ever sold … I remember talking about it. So I do remember most of the facts and do trust Steve Mata. I would have to think that after all Tiger has been through he is confused and doesn’t remember. It would be easy to sort out if they talked. The one thing I do know is that Steve Mata would not lie.”
Still, I don’t see how anyone could spend that much money without Tiger’s stamp of approval. But what do I know about golf?
Our winning bidder?:
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Tiger’s Grand Slam clubs back on sale [Golfweek.com]
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- gail - Aug 25, 2010 at 9:29 AM
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If these are the actual photos of the clubs, why would he carry both a 58 and 60 degree wedge? If he carried a Driver and 3-wood, which we know from the “stingers,” and he carried 2-W with his irons, he’s have room for two sand wedges. If one was 60, why would the other be 58? Good players wouldn’t have them that close, unless the 58 is bent…..
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- bogyman - Aug 25, 2010 at 9:43 AM
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If you read any of the other articles or saw them and the description on the website, the 58* is bend to 56* and re-stamped as such, so a 4* change is pretty common
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- gail - Aug 25, 2010 at 10:02 AM
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That’s the answer, thanks. By the way, they look authentic, and whether or not he won the “Slam” with them, he sure won enough other tournaments with them, maybe including the 3 US Amateurs. The fact that they’re his alone should carry the price, especially if you think he gets beyond 18 majors….
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- crime dog - Aug 25, 2010 at 10:08 AM
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if these are the clubs why would titleist not buy them back for display purpose even with what tiger is going though now in the future they would be a good marketing tool the clubs that won the slam ?????????
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- King Ding-A-Ling - Aug 25, 2010 at 1:44 PM
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Can you bid on 1 of his skanks?
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- ann Schlosser - Aug 27, 2010 at 1:16 AM
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Hi,
Very business knowledgeable.
I am the person who put the clubs on E-Bay for Mr. Mata in May. We pondered the same questions. However, after being in the golf business for 40 plus years (myself and my husband) Titleist made a preditical decision to NOT buy back the clubs, but instead they chose to empose a company wide gag order to not allow Steve Mata validate his clames by current employees who were witnesses to the transaction.
aphotoshop1
