Tiger Woods’ ‘Tiger Slam’ irons up for bid at Golden Age Auctions, expected to top $1M

For the past 12 years, Houston businessman Todd Brock has owned one of the most valuables pieces of golf memorabilia in the world.

Brock owns the set of irons that Tigers Woods used in 2000 and 2001 to win four consecutive major championships, or what is known as the Tiger Slam. Brock bought the irons at auction in 2010 and has displayed them privately in a Houston office complex, where they have been viewed only by the occasional visitor with a passing interest in golf.

Brock purchased the irons from Golden Age Golf Auctions, which has been pleading with him to put the historic irons back on the auction block, showcasing them to the world while the sports memorabilia market continues to soar.

Finally, Brock responded. “OK. They’re yours,” he said.

The irons are up for bid at Golden Age and have already soared to $850,000. They are expected to exceed $1 million, breaking the record for golf memorabilia. The auction ends on Saturday, April 9.

“These irons have been in my office for 12 years, no one even knew I had them,” Brock said. “I am such a fan of Tiger Woods and I thought it was time for this collection to have wider exposure.”

Golden Age is thrilled to have one of the most rare and valuable golf collections to ever come to auction.

“Tiger Woods transcends the sport of golf,” Ryan Carey of Golden Age said. “His memorabilia has become its own asset class in the world of collectibles, and his items almost never come up for sale.”

In 2000, Woods won the last three major championships of the year, followed by The Masters in 2001, giving him four straight major victories and creating the Tiger Slam.

Seven weeks later, Titleist officials gave Woods a new set of irons at the Buick Classic at Westchester Country Club in New York. Woods decided to play with the new irons that weekend, while Titleist officials took the old set to the Titleist Tour Van to verify the specs of the new ones.

Tiger gave the old irons to Titleist VP of Player Promotions Steve Mata, who owned them before putting them up for auction in 2010.

The set includes 2-PW Titleist Forged irons and two custom Vokey wedges. The wedges are both stamped "TIGER." The 58-degree wedge is bent to 56 degrees and hand stamped "56*". 

The wear mark on the face of the 8 iron is otherworldly, showing where Tiger had struck the sweet spot thousands of times.

The Tiger Slam irons come with a substantial amount of provenance, including affidavits and declarations from the two Titleist executives in charge of Tiger's clubs and witness to the exchange when Tiger gave the clubs away.

Golden Age auctioned off Woods’ backup Scotty Cameron putter for $393,000 last year. His Tiger Slam irons are expected to sell for much more, setting a new record for gold memorabilia.