Browning 440 plus - thoughts?

[Shallowface]

I always found it interesting that those woods weren't particularly shallow faced given the irons they were matched with.  It's been a long time since I've seen them in person, but it looks like they are all the same size, driver and fairways.

 

Those were the first 440 woods.  In later years the set matching woods were just very conventional laminated heads.  That was common at that time.  With the advent of investment casting there were some very odd iron designs from a number of companies, but invariably the set matching woods were about as plain as could be. 

Edited August 6, 2024 by Shallowface

[bcstones]

IMO, @Jiggered  has a fantastic video on the 440s on his YouTube site "Classic Golf Clubs"....goes into the history & plays them. 

 

I enjoy playing a set of 440 irons, I do have athe 3 & 5 woods...would love to find a driver.

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2024 by bcstones

[Shallowface]

I don't have time right now to watch the entire video, but the title says "why they disappeared."

 

The Browning 440s were introduced in 1976, and were available continually until the YEAR 2000.  Throughout the 1990s the heads were sold by a component supplier called UT Golf.  If you look on Ebay you'll likely see 440 irons with "440" in large gold letters on the back of the iron.  Those are the component clubheads.  UT Golf was acquired by The Golfworks and that was the end of the 440.

 

Does the video mention the Browning 440 had a 25 year run in the marketplace?

 

 

 

   

Edited August 6, 2024 by Shallowface

[bcstones]

Just for grins & giggles....I have these 2 sets of low profile irons: Walter Hagen Matrix LP (3-9, shaft is TT Dynamic S)  & MacGregor MG (2-9, +SW, Shaft MacGregor Response 2)...neither of these has the same profile as the 440s. I have not played them...yet. (all grips are my most disliked - green/black GP victory....in very poor shape)

 

 

[bcstones]

14 minutes ago, Shallowface said:

I don't have time right now to watch the entire video, but the title says "why they disappeared."

 

The Browning 440s were introduced in 1976, and were available continually until the YEAR 2000.  Throughout the 1990s the heads were sold by a component supplier called UT Golf.  If you look on Ebay you'll likely see 440 irons with "440" in large gold letters on the back of the iron.  Those are the component clubheads.

 

Does the video mention the Browning 440 had a 25 year run in the marketplace?

the video was specific to Browning 440s....Maltby's shows the Browning Golf making a 440 beginning in '76, a 500 beginning in '78....there was a 440 Plus and a 440 Gold - all under the  Browning label. In '87 to the former national sales manager for Browning & private investors (aka UT Golf) got the distributation rights to Browning Golf. In 1990, UT Golf began selling Browning clubs as both component heads & assembled (my copy of Maltby only goes to '93)

 

So yes, you're correct that the name of Browning has "a 25 year run in the marketplace"...but the video was only concerned with the clubs when Browning Golf stood as it's own business part of Browning Arms (now owned by the Belgium company mentioned in the video)...so really it did "disappeare" into UT Golf

oh, almost forgot....I do have a set of the 440 Gold....thank you, Shallowface, for that piece of history...

Edited August 6, 2024 by bcstones

[Shallowface]

11 hours ago, bcstones said:

the video was specific to Browning 440s....Maltby's shows the Browning Golf making a 440 beginning in '76, a 500 beginning in '78....there was a 440 Plus and a 440 Gold - all under the  Browning label. In '87 to the former national sales manager for Browning & private investors (aka UT Golf) got the distributation rights to Browning Golf. In 1990, UT Golf began selling Browning clubs as both component heads & assembled (my copy of Maltby only goes to '93)

 

So yes, you're correct that the name of Browning has "a 25 year run in the marketplace"...but the video was only concerned with the clubs when Browning Golf stood as it's own business part of Browning Arms (now owned by the Belgium company mentioned in the video)...so really it did "disappeare" into UT Golf

oh, almost forgot....I do have a set of the 440 Gold....thank you, Shallowface, for that piece of history...

Regardless of who owned the rights or who was doing the distribution, the 440, unchanged except for cosmetics, had a 25 year run in the marketplace.    

 

Truly remarkable.  And if they were reintroduced today they probably wouldn't sell ten sets.  Oversized is king, which is fine for the driver, but when the ball is sitting on the ground, not so much.  

 

I don't have any Browning irons anymore, but I believe the 5 iron was around 28 or 29mm deep at the center.  My Adams 5 hybrid is 36mm, which I think is ideal.  Short irons can and should be a bit deeper.  The 440 Sand Wedge was pretty standard depth-wise except it had no bounce and a very tapered heel.  If one had the skill one could do amazing things with it when it came to flop shots, but it wasn't the best from a soft bunker. 

 

I still use an Orlimar Trimetal for my fairway wood, and I will admit it occasionally gives me pause on the rare occasion I feel the need to hit a fairway wood from a tee.  At about one and one sixteenths inches deep it is on the extreme end of face depth for fairways.  I have a friend who couldn't hit a fairway wood at all off the fuzzy green mud that passes for fairways here, and I gave him a Trimetal out of my stash.  Instantly transformed him into a good fairway wood player.

 

And once again, if it were reintroduced today, they couldn't give them away.   

Edited August 7, 2024 by Shallowface

[JimmyC59]

On 11/24/2020 at 8:46 AM, deadsolid...shank said:

I always worried that if the ball was sitting up at all in the rough it would slide right under it without even making contact. 

^THIS!!^

[Shallowface]

26 minutes ago, JimmyC59 said:

^THIS!!^

Rocco Mediate tells the story of when he was a young man he took lessons from Jim Ferree.  Ferree had success on the Senior PGA Tour and was said to be the model for their original logo.

 

One day Ferree had Rocco take an iron and work through an entire bucket of balls, with the goal being to cold top every single one of them.  Rocco did as he was asked.

 

When he later asked Ferree about the purpose of the exercise, Ferree replied "You have to know where the leading edge is at all times."

 

And if you know that, going under the ball in the rough isn't a problem, regardless of the depth of the clubface.

 

Will it still happen on occasion?  Yep.  But when you walk through the used section at any golf store and see that most of the drivers have skymarks, even with those gigantic clubheads, one is led to conclude that nothing is foolproof when it comes to equipment.

 

 

 

 

 

[Orchardist]

Rudy played a set on our high school team in 1978. Straight up, no plus model.

Edited August 7, 2024 by Orchardist

[subrew]

10 hours ago, Shallowface said:

And once again, if it were reintroduced today, they couldn't give them away.   

 

I would be curious to see/hear how successful Taylormade's Stealth HD irons were.  They are about as low-profile as a new iron gets, with a very squashed shape.  They had to have sold some, because the used market is pretty active with them now.  Probably the type of club someone buys new hoping they fix whatever problem they have striking their irons, doesn't really fix anything, so they are traded in for the next potential fix.

 

https://www.golfwrx.com/702571/taylormade-introduces-all-new-stealth-hd-irons/

 

 

[CHE KJARRVERA]

On 8/7/2024 at 4:54 AM, Shallowface said:

Browning may have carried the low profile idea a bit too far for most people, but they had the right idea.  Why anyone would want a deep faced iron or fairway wood is beyond me.  You're trying to hit the equator of the ball with the 5th groove of an iron.  I can see having a bit of metal above that for comfort in the rough, but how much.  You need to know where the leading edge is at all times, so if one is concerned about going under the ball there's work to be done. 

100%. Face shape doesn’t feel much different dimension wise to a modern hybrid and there’s a lot of weight in the blade design so no surprise they’re easy to hit with that big sole... Hoping to give them another hit this weekend.

[Jiggered]

On 8/7/2024 at 12:39 AM, Shallowface said:

I don't have time right now to watch the entire video, but the title says "why they disappeared."

 

The Browning 440s were introduced in 1976, and were available continually until the YEAR 2000.  Throughout the 1990s the heads were sold by a component supplier called UT Golf.  If you look on Ebay you'll likely see 440 irons with "440" in large gold letters on the back of the iron.  Those are the component clubheads.  UT Golf was acquired by The Golfworks and that was the end of the 440.

 

Does the video mention the Browning 440 had a 25 year run in the marketplace?

 

 

 

 

 

If we're going into semantics then yes, disappeared is the wrong word.

 

What I was implying was that they disappeared from general sale.  Yes you could still find them if you tried, in the same way that you can find new hickory clubs, but they fell out of favour with the majority of the buying public.

Edited August 8, 2024 by Jiggered

[Shallowface]

2 hours ago, Jiggered said:

 

If we're going into semantics then yes, disappeared is the wrong word.

 

What I was implying was that they disappeared from general sale.  Yes you could still find them if you tried, in the same way that you can find new hickory clubs, but they fell out of favour with the majority of the buying public.

Considering how long the exact same model was available with no changes other than those of cosmetics, I don't think that it is the same thing at all.  Clearly they sold enough of them to justify the continued sale of them.  It's no problem.  We'll agree to disagree. 

 

I do enjoy your videos. 

Edited August 8, 2024 by Shallowface

[Shallowface]

16 hours ago, subrew said:

 

I would be curious to see/hear how successful Taylormade's Stealth HD irons were.  They are about as low-profile as a new iron gets, with a very squashed shape.  They had to have sold some, because the used market is pretty active with them now.  Probably the type of club someone buys new hoping they fix whatever problem they have striking their irons, doesn't really fix anything, so they are traded in for the next potential fix.

 

https://www.golfwrx.com/702571/taylormade-introduces-all-new-stealth-hd-irons/

 

 

I liked the way they looked, but I didn't like the price!

[Shallowface]

One other point about the longevity of the Browning 440 component version.  The long run may well have been less about ongoing demand and more that when they made a run of them they made so many they continued to offer them the entire time UT Golf was in business.  I often wondered if that was the case for the Spalding Executive iron that first appeared in 1977 and was available for nearly 20 years afterward.

 

That said, near the end of UT they offered the 440G, which was a modernization of the original.  I have never seen a set of these in person, and have only seen them on Ebay on a couple of occasions.  The Golfworks sold the last of those heads after acquiring UT Golf.  Shortly after that, around 2003, the Maltby Logic Gold appeared.  They were more of a progressive face depth design so while the 7 in the picture is more shallow than most it's deeper than the original 440.  I've never been able to compare them in person with the 440G, but it does look to be a close relative at the very least.  They were only offered for around two years and are extremely rare as well, but I do have a set of them.  In my opinion just for feel it is a far better club than the original 440. The 3 iron is the last one I have that I can still hit well today, by hit well meaning that the ball is flighted somewhat properly.  I can hit the center of the face with any long iron, but most of the time it's going to crash land somewhere short of where it should. 

 

No idea what P.F.S stands for on the hosel of the 440G, but if I were to run across a set of these I'd consider it Pretty Freaking Sweet!

 

   

Edited August 9, 2024 by Shallowface

[Jiggered]

The lofts of the 440G irons have crept up by 1 club when compared to the original too, as would be expected over the 20-odd years.

[CHE KJARRVERA]

A few rounds in now with the original 440’s. For such an old design they’re pretty legit IMO, albeit the local course is reasonably hard pan at the moment and the rough is manageable. Thinking about a new bag of clubs next year for my 50th which is coming in a few weeks and I’m tempted to take these with me to the fitter for a laugh. I’m really interested to see if he can show me with a launch monitor how much a jpx hot metal or g425/430 iron design can improve on 50 year old GI tech from a rifle manufacturer…

Edited October 18, 2024 by CHE KJARRVERA

[bcstones]

5 hours ago, CHE KJARRVERA said:

d the rough is manageable.

I've never understood the complaint about the 440's not good in deep rough....isn't that what trouble club is for - like the 440 SW or a Ginty or any 7 wood....

 

btw...what's the picture below your name, it comes up as a "?" on my computer?

Edited October 19, 2024 by bcstones

[CHE KJARRVERA]

On 10/19/2024 at 2:22 PM, bcstones said:

I've never understood the complaint about the 440's not good in deep rough....isn't that what trouble club is for - like the 440 SW or a Ginty or any 7 wood....

 

btw...what's the picture below your name, it comes up as a "?" on my computer?

 

On 10/19/2024 at 2:22 PM, bcstones said:

I've never understood the complaint about the 440's not good in deep rough....isn't that what trouble club is for - like the 440 SW or a Ginty or any 7 wood....

 

btw...what's the picture below your name, it comes up as a "?" on my computer?

Yea, I usually wedge or wood it out of deep rough. The 440 irons aren’t confidence inspiring in the deep stuff but bloody brilliant everywhere else. Haters gonna hate, but selling point for me was my first round with them whacking a 9 iron tee shot off the deck over a water feature for a three foot birdie putt, just as an old chap cruised past and called out “misspent youth”, haha.

[DonaldDunes]

@Jiggered I recently acquired a full set of irons (and 2 woods) of Browning 440s and I absolutely love the way they play. The only problem is, the set I found are ladies and I am 6'4". Naturally, this has lead to an aching back and more than a few topped balls. I watched your fabulous video about the irons and doing google research I found this post!

 

I have a couple of questions if you had the time.

 

Firstly, do you know if the ladies heads are weighted differently than the men's? I acquired a men's sand wedge to complete the set, but as you know the head design is vastly different. The ladies set sports blue paint whereas the men's are painted black. I do not know if that is the only difference. 

 

Secondly, do you knoq how long you can possibly go with shaft extensions? I would love to extend them 3", but I'm quite sure that's a reach. 

 

Thank you in advance and I thoroughly enjoy your youtube channel. I am making my way through your entire catalog.

 

Of course anyone else that may have the answers is more than welcome to chime in!

[Shallowface]

5 hours ago, DonaldDunes said:

@Jiggered I recently acquired a full set of irons (and 2 woods) of Browning 440s and I absolutely love the way they play. The only problem is, the set I found are ladies and I am 6'4". Naturally, this has lead to an aching back and more than a few topped balls. I watched your fabulous video about the irons and doing google research I found this post!

 

I have a couple of questions if you had the time.

 

Firstly, do you know if the ladies heads are weighted differently than the men's? I acquired a men's sand wedge to complete the set, but as you know the head design is vastly different. The ladies set sports blue paint whereas the men's are painted black. I do not know if that is the only difference. 

 

Secondly, do you knoq how long you can possibly go with shaft extensions? I would love to extend them 3", but I'm quite sure that's a reach. 

 

Thank you in advance and I thoroughly enjoy your youtube channel. I am making my way through your entire catalog.

 

Of course anyone else that may have the answers is more than welcome to chime in!

The paint fill is the only difference between the ladies and mens models.  The heads are the same.  

 

I don't know if three inches worth of extensions is a good idea or not.  I've never done more than two inches, and that was ok for me.  I've cannabalized old shafts for extensions as well as buying the ones from The Golfworks. 

 

The shafts in those are .370 and are an easy replacement if you choose to go in that direction.

 

 

[bcstones]

I agee with @Shallowface...reshaft. I do play the original 440s & I think I have another set in storage  I think the 440 Plus came out in the '90s for couple of years. 
The most consistent negative I've heard - in deep rough, cuz of the small head, it goes under the ball....never made any sense to me....throw a lob wedge in the bag - but more practice to stay out of the rough should be attempted. The club shouldn't be blamed for player errors/flubs

They are fun to play....reshaft & grip, then the fun begins.

[DonaldDunes]

Thank you so much for the replies! I very well may re-shaft them. I may make a new post chronicling the journey haha. 

 

So far as my thoughts about the club design, I agree. In fact, I think you understated the case. I have hit out of EXTREME rough at my home-made golf course in my yard (Think 2.5 foot high Bermuda hay field) and they cut through the rough stuff better than traditional irons. You have to aim to hit the ball well height wise, but that, to me, is a skill issue rather than a club design issue. And not a very difficult one to overcome. I am a high handicapper, and I haven't marked a real issue hitting these in rough.

 

To that end, I find it downright hilarious that hybrids are recommended by many now to hit out of the rough being the lower profile face cuts through the rough better. I think that modern hybrids are just the grandchildren of these low profile irons. To illustrate this point I have attached 2 photos of a side by side comparison between a 3 iron and my Ping G20 hybrid. 

 

 

 

[bcstones]

23 minutes ago, DonaldDunes said:

To that end, I find it downright hilarious that hybrids are recommended by many now to hit out of the rough being the lower profile face cuts through the rough better. I think that modern hybrids are just the grandchildren of these low profile irons.

Never thought about hybrids....not exactly fond of them - the only ones I have are Hogan hybrids, never used them in play...or hit them, come to thing on it.

[DonaldDunes]

14 minutes ago, bcstones said:

Never thought about hybrids....not exactly fond of them - the only ones I have are Hogan hybrids, never used them in play...or hit them, come to thing on it.

Funny story, I last played golf in 2002 until this year, and my clubs were new Rawlings in 2001...so not great haha. As such, I never could hit my irons well, usually topping them, or slicing badly. This year I got myself a set of 2016 Ping G series irons and had much the same outcome. I had never owned a hybrid as they were still a pretty new thing to my golf experience. So, I went out and bought a 31 degree Ping G20 hybrid. I then proceeded to hit it straight as an arrow for no conceivable reason. After being blown away by this experience, I went to my bag and compared it to my irons, and found that exact same shaft length and loft on my 6 iron. I then pretended I was holding the hybrid in my hands and swung the 6 iron. Perfect. Since then I have "found my swing" and have been playing way better than I ever have.

 

Now my nemeses is the short irons from these new sets, as the lofts and bounce are....horrible. Which is what has lead me to vintage club collecting and usage. (which has rapidly gotten out of hand as you can see by my photos haha) I much prefer the lofts of these old irons, but man are the "older" style hybrids amazing on the fairway....or even off the tee. I would highly recommend trying some.

Edited July 18 by DonaldDunes

[bcstones]

I just checked my 440s, 1 thru SW (I also have in the bag,

a Hogan BeCu Special LW 😂).
I had reshafed - Paragon ProX 2 graphite shafts & Karma grips....so perhaps I have the original shafts in my shaft bin....

The only reason why I have any hybrids, is that they are Hogan hybrids. will I ever use one, I don't know.

Edited July 18 by bcstones

[Jiggered]

On 7/18/2025 at 4:18 AM, DonaldDunes said:

@Jiggered I recently acquired a full set of irons (and 2 woods) of Browning 440s and I absolutely love the way they play. The only problem is, the set I found are ladies and I am 6'4". Naturally, this has lead to an aching back and more than a few topped balls. I watched your fabulous video about the irons and doing google research I found this post!

 

I have a couple of questions if you had the time.

 

Firstly, do you know if the ladies heads are weighted differently than the men's? I acquired a men's sand wedge to complete the set, but as you know the head design is vastly different. The ladies set sports blue paint whereas the men's are painted black. I do not know if that is the only difference. 

 

Secondly, do you knoq how long you can possibly go with shaft extensions? I would love to extend them 3", but I'm quite sure that's a reach. 

 

Thank you in advance and I thoroughly enjoy your youtube channel. I am making my way through your entire catalog.

 

Of course anyone else that may have the answers is more than welcome to chime in!

 

I'm a bit late reading your post and see you already have some excellent replies.

 

As stated by @Shallowface the head is standard whether in a ladies or men's model.  

I imagine that the ladies shaft will be lighter than the men's but you could still experiment with shaft extensions, nothing to lose as the saying goes.

 

And thanks for the kind words about the channel.