In 1973, Johnny Miller shot a final-round 63 to win the U.S. Open. Miller said, “It was the oldest set of clubs [in relation] to the year it was played on Tour in the history of golf.”

A recent tweet from Brian Schneider gave an incredible insight into the clubs in Miller’s bag for that event. Including irons and a 3-wood from 1945, as well as a pre-war 4-wood.

Here is a look at what Miller had in the bag for one of the most memorable rounds in golf history.

Johnny Miller 1973 U.S. Open WITB

Driver: 1961 McGregor Velocitized Tourney (10.5 degrees) D9 swingweight
Shaft:True Temper Dynamic Steel, X Flex, 43.5 inches

270 yards

Miller: “I had to have everything just right, so I refinished my clubs and re-faced them. In ’73, they used persimmon that wasn’t the hard work, I wanted the heavier blocks that had a real tight grain. I wanted a little bit of movement, which means [wood] from the knotty area of the tree.” 

3-wood: 1945 MacGregor Tommy Armour (15 degrees)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Steel, X Flex

235-240 yards

4-wood:1941 MacGregor Tommy Armour (19 degrees)
Shaft:True Temper Dynamic Steel, X Flex

225 yards

Irons: 1945 MacGregor Tommy Armour 915T (2-7), 1972 MacGregor Tourney Custom (8-PW)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Steel, Stiff Flex, +0.5″ shaft length

2-iron: 210 yards

3-iron:  200 yards

4-iron: 185 yards

5-iron: 175 yards

6-iron:  160 yards

7-iron: 150 yards

8-iron: 140 yards

9-iron: 125 yards

PW (10-iron): 115 yards

Miller: “I cut the irons and reground the bottoms [soles] and the top. You didn’t have much club left, so they had to have a lot of lead tape to bring them up [to proper swingweight numbers]. An extra wrap on the right hand made the grip not so V-shaped.” 

Wedge: 1959 Wilson Dyna-Power  Sand Wedge (58 degrees)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic steel shaft, stiff flex

85 yards

Putter: 1952 Acushnet Bullseye Old Standard (36″ shaft)

Miller: “No putter ever made feels better than a Bullseye, it’s so soft. The ones before the late ’60’s had a heavier brass alloy, which kept them from getting dinged up all over.” 

Ball: MacGregor Tourney

Miller: “In ’73, I switched to the Tourney ball that Jack [Nicklaus] was using. It was a heck of a ball. It was so hard [101 compression] that it wouldn’t spin and back up quite as much as the softer balata balls. When I switched, my scoring definitely improved.” 

So Johnny Miller used irons and a 3-wood from 1945, a pre-war 4-wood and a twelve year-old driver to shoot one of the best rounds ever in 1973… what’s the big deal? pic.twitter.com/6cgC3RSnhN

— Brian Schneider (@bschneider126) February 15, 2022