Rounds with a Vintage Bag

[NRJyzr]

> @"BIG STU" said:

> > @No_Catchy_Nickname said:

> > > @"BIG STU" said:

> > > > @dcopp7 said:

> > > > Hit a beautiful 9 holes today with the '69 X31s. Such incredible irons. Woods were Sam Snead driver and Wilson Staff laminate 3&5 woods. I forgot to bag a putter so I used the 2i. Lol

> > > >

> > >

> > > Brings back memories for sure----- My old man sold a lot of X-31s to the weekend warriors at the course----- Like we discussed on another thread those laminate woods were easily maintained and would take abuse of missed shots and sky shots. And he sold them at a good price too for a pro line club. Lots of the guys there started with the Ram Fastback or the Bristol models with those large soles so for them it was natural progression to a similar but better club. I remember around Christmas one year he sold about 8 complete sets bags and all. I remember because I had to unbox all that stuff and put into the apporiate bags for "under the Christmas tree". It also brought back memories of our Wilson rep he was one promoter. He had put up a Wilson Christmas tree display that year. When wives shopping saw the tree they were prone to order Wilson stuff

> >

> > Was the X-31 a line that Wilson maintained over the years, rather like the Staff label or FG moniker? I've seen a few X-31s up for sale in Japan, but they didn't look like the ones pictured above. Think some of them had a round weight towards the toe.

>

> Actually those in the States were the 76 or 77 Staffs. Wilson gurus correct me if I am wrong. They had a threaded in weight disc and a hollow cavity. I never saw the weight kit in person but someone on here one night posted one. They came off by using a standard 2 prong spike wrench. Over the years I have seen everything from lead powder lead shot and washers stuffed in them.

 

Stu, the weight port Wilson set were the 73-75 Staffs. :)

[Fellaheen51]

@"BIG STU". Not a guru of Wilson in the least. WTS, perhaps you're thinking of the '73 - '75 Dynapower Staffs that had the screw-in weight port. Out towards the toe. Only Wilsons I've ever seen that had this large, round, removal disc. Thought I read somewhere that Hale Irwin won the '74 U.S. Open using a set of them. Yeah, I remember seeing that weight kit posting. Those have to be quite rare.

 

Had a thrifted set for awhile. Stiff shafts and rather sharp leading edge. Didn't get on with them very well, so were liquidated.

[BIG STU]

Those were the ones I was thinking about just had the years wrong----- See I knew someone would know and correct me

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

> @"BIG STU" said:

> > @No_Catchy_Nickname said:

> > > @"BIG STU" said:

> > > > @dcopp7 said:

> > > > Hit a beautiful 9 holes today with the '69 X31s. Such incredible irons. Woods were Sam Snead driver and Wilson Staff laminate 3&5 woods. I forgot to bag a putter so I used the 2i. Lol

> > > >

> > >

> > > Brings back memories for sure----- My old man sold a lot of X-31s to the weekend warriors at the course----- Like we discussed on another thread those laminate woods were easily maintained and would take abuse of missed shots and sky shots. And he sold them at a good price too for a pro line club. Lots of the guys there started with the Ram Fastback or the Bristol models with those large soles so for them it was natural progression to a similar but better club. I remember around Christmas one year he sold about 8 complete sets bags and all. I remember because I had to unbox all that stuff and put into the apporiate bags for "under the Christmas tree". It also brought back memories of our Wilson rep he was one promoter. He had put up a Wilson Christmas tree display that year. When wives shopping saw the tree they were prone to order Wilson stuff

> >

> > Was the X-31 a line that Wilson maintained over the years, rather like the Staff label or FG moniker? I've seen a few X-31s up for sale in Japan, but they didn't look like the ones pictured above. Think some of them had a round weight towards the toe.

>

> Actually those in the States were the 76 or 77 Staffs. Wilson gurus correct me if I am wrong. They had a threaded in weight disc and a hollow cavity. I never saw the weight kit in person but someone on here one night posted one. They came off by using a standard 2 prong spike wrench. Over the years I have seen everything from lead powder lead shot and washers stuffed in them.

 

Hmm, they may well have been Staffs. It's been a while since I saw them.

[BIG STU]

> @No_Catchy_Nickname said:

> > @"BIG STU" said:

> > > @No_Catchy_Nickname said:

> > > > @"BIG STU" said:

> > > > > @dcopp7 said:

> > > > > Hit a beautiful 9 holes today with the '69 X31s. Such incredible irons. Woods were Sam Snead driver and Wilson Staff laminate 3&5 woods. I forgot to bag a putter so I used the 2i. Lol

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > > Brings back memories for sure----- My old man sold a lot of X-31s to the weekend warriors at the course----- Like we discussed on another thread those laminate woods were easily maintained and would take abuse of missed shots and sky shots. And he sold them at a good price too for a pro line club. Lots of the guys there started with the Ram Fastback or the Bristol models with those large soles so for them it was natural progression to a similar but better club. I remember around Christmas one year he sold about 8 complete sets bags and all. I remember because I had to unbox all that stuff and put into the apporiate bags for "under the Christmas tree". It also brought back memories of our Wilson rep he was one promoter. He had put up a Wilson Christmas tree display that year. When wives shopping saw the tree they were prone to order Wilson stuff

> > >

> > > Was the X-31 a line that Wilson maintained over the years, rather like the Staff label or FG moniker? I've seen a few X-31s up for sale in Japan, but they didn't look like the ones pictured above. Think some of them had a round weight towards the toe.

> >

> > Actually those in the States were the 76 or 77 Staffs. Wilson gurus correct me if I am wrong. They had a threaded in weight disc and a hollow cavity. I never saw the weight kit in person but someone on here one night posted one. They came off by using a standard 2 prong spike wrench. Over the years I have seen everything from lead powder lead shot and washers stuffed in them.

>

> Hmm, they may well have been Staffs. It's been a while since I saw them.

 

You never know it could have been an export only version of the X-31----- I have learned so much over the years on here about export clubs from you and our brothers in the UK and Scotland. Since coming on here I have seen clubs posted that I never knew existed including some Macgregor models

[NRJyzr]

Played a different sort of vintage round last week. With apologies if ive already posted about this...

 

Preamble: A year or so after starting this lovely game, I got into the club building habit. This was probably early 2000, when the Gigantor Driver was the original TiSI, at its whopping 323cc size. The humanity! The component Big Three were all going strong. With drivers now inching around 300, there were a fair number of closeout driver heads for quite cheap. Graphite shafts had not gotten stupid with their prices, it was very easy to buy a clubhead for <$20 or even <$10 and have a reasonably priced experiment.

 

Of course, these sorts of experiments don't sell well, I still have nearly all of them.

 

While it's not the same as playing persimmons, I still find a certain nostalgia in the idea of playing a smaller driver head. Also don't trust myself to try reshafting wood, find it much easier with metal woods. Maybe some day. Ran across a 275cc Dynacraft Ti clubhead I hadn't seen in quite a while, decided to throw a shaft in it and see what happened. Apache PM-50+ shaft, 44" length, enough lead tape to make Stu proud, and off I went. Already have blades in the bag, even if they're a 21st century product (MP37), figured that was close enough for a 90s retro round. [shrug]

 

Found myself having a load of fun hitting that 275cc clubhead. Even hit a couple tee shots that would rank top 10 for distance for me for 2019. Continuing a theme, felt like I was more accurate with this club, compared with my much larger options. Freely admit that could be power of suggestion or confirmation bias. Screwed up to shoot 78 (7 hdcp, fwiw) on aerated greens. How about that?

 

I've left it in the bag for now. :smiley:

[dcopp7]

> @NRJyzr said:

>

> Ran across a 275cc Dynacraft Ti clubhead I hadn't seen in

>

> I've left it in the bag for now. :smiley:

 

Show us!!!

[NRJyzr]

Let's see if I can manage this :)

 

 

 

 

[NRJyzr]

I especially like the visual confirmation of the rather ugly toe hit I had on #17 last Friday. LOL

[scomac2002]

That's a purty club @NRJyzr Your story reminds me of the spell I had a few years back where I was in love with my 195 cc Big Bertha War bird when I was crushing it and it became my primary tee option regardless of what else I was playing. I've never driven the ball that consistently since even though the magic seems to have disappeared from the War bird.

[dcopp7]

SP700 is awesome. 8.5° loft is ?

[NRJyzr]

Wasn't sure I could play that 8.5, but figured to give it a shot. Hasn't really been a problem so far.

 

I used to play a 7* driver, up until my Eye2+ experiment. Hence my buying the 8.5* model back in the day. ;)

 

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Played a round last week using mostly Mizuno MS1 clubs. I threw in a new Honma LB 3w that I was dying to try out, my RAM BeCu gap wedge, just because it looks so great in the bag, and my TM TPA XVIII putter. I don't think my putter liked the company it was in, because it misbehaved itself all round. Actually, that's a bit unfair to the putter; I missed 3 putts from within 4-foot and 3 more from within 8-foot, but I blame the greens a little. They looked like they hadn't been cut in a day or two, and were rather fluffy.

The MS1 irons feel great, but I was hooking them badly. Not sure if that's the shaft, the lie, or me. As I'm still not fully recovered from my hernia, I suspect it's me, so I'm going to give the irons another try. The MS1 woods were great, and the Exsar shafts in them are particularly promising. The Honma LB 3w was pretty forgiving for a persimmon. I had a couple of hits towards the heel that went longer and straighter than I expected, and when I middled one, I was surprised by how far the thing went.

One final note. Although I am not particularly found of the look of the MS1 SW at address, it flat out performed. Not only did it feel great, but it also played well on a variety of shots.

 

[deejaid]

Got out late afternoon today for 7 holes with the newly acquired Mac FC4000’s and my 1963 Wilson Staff persimmons and shot 2 over. Was hitting the irons really solid but 50% of my drives were pop ups that while straight were about 150 yards, and I’ve never had this problem before. Although I did have a first today. Carried the creek on #2 at my club with a steel shafted persimmon. Only ever did that before with my graphite shafted Cleveland Classic TC-15 but today smoked the Wilson Staff 250 down the middle. Then stuck the Mac 11 iron to 6 feet for my only birdie of the very short round.

 

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Played 9 holes with my daughter this evening. As I was thinking this would be my last vintage round of the year, I decided to load up with my favourite driver, my Mizuno Blondie, Honma steel-shafted 3w, and the Mizuno 5w that is fast becoming a go-to club. For the irons, I took along my Ram Tour Grinds, Ram BeCu gap wedge, Ram Tom Watson Grind SW, and TaylorMade TPA IX putter.

 

The forecast last night was light cloud with a 20% chance of rain. By this morning that had turned into heavy cloud with a 40% chance of rain and stiff breezes; by the time we started it had turned into a 100% persistent downpour with a decent wind.

 

Not my best round, but the woods were performing well. Nice tee-shot down the middle on the first (400y par 4) left a gap wedge in, which I caught a bit heavy. Nice chip to 2ft should have secured the par. Should have...

 

The next hole I hit a bit of a smother hook into a fairway bunker, but then hit a beauty of a 5w out to give me a short-iron to the green, and I made an easy par. The third is a tricky par 4, short but with OB both sides, and the fairway running right to left. I hit a beautiful 4i to leave a PW in...which I caught a bit heavy again. Failed the up-and-down to walk off with a stupid bogey.

 

And so the round went on, mostly good tee shots with indifferent iron play, though my irons of the tee were all good.

With the wind and rain, I had a real problem getting distances right, often ending up either 10-15 yards long or short (on good strikes).

 

Quite a few candidates for shot of the day, such as that 5w from the bunker, but I am going to choose the drive on the last, which I absolutely nutted. 393-yard hole, and I was left with 120 in. Wedge was a bit indifferent again, and I 3-putted for a bogey...

 

So, as I said, that was going to be my last vintage round of the year, but I have a full round in a couple of days. I was playing an experiment taking all four of my V-steels: T/S, 4w, 7w (always in my modern bag), and 9w, but I think I am going to have to go with the same bag setup again.

 

I want revenge.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

I played 18 today, my first full round since May or June, and took out mostly the same clubs as the round last Friday. The only difference was that I took out the 3i and added a 4w.

I wasn't striking the ball that well, but I did hit some nice shots with the lumber. Best drive came on a dogleg Par 5, followed up by a decent 4w. The pitch wasn't great but still gave me a look at birdie. Unfortunately, the putt, which looked like it was going in all the way, lipped out, doing a 180 around the hole (I also had a near 360 lip-out earlier in the round).

I started both the front and back nines with 3-putt bogeys, and came to the last, a par three, needing a par to break 80. I found the green with an 8i, then managed to 3-putt for a bogey and a round of 80.

We started early, so there was still lots of dew, and on the practice range, which is actually a lake, the morning mist was just burning off as we arrived.

 

 

 

 

[scomac2002]

Idylic day on a gorgeous course @No_Catchy_Nickname :relaxed:

[Fellaheen51]

@No_Catchy_Nickname. Nice course. Great Pics. Most excellent kit (especially tasty D). Solid score. A whole lot to like which warranted commentary beyond just a perfunctory "like".

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Thank you for the responses. The weather really was beautiful today, and the course in great condition. Now is one of the best times for golf in West Japan, as long as there are no typhoons nearby.

 

I also forgot to mention that one of my playing partners today, an older gentleman, was using a Macgregor Response putter, which he'd picked up recently from the Japanese Yahoo! Auction site. I gave it a quick try; the sheer size of the head takes some getting used to.

[Soloman1]

 

Natsukashii! Yahoo auction is the best. Sugoi...

 

Yeah, I loved golf in Japan in October. Here are some photos from the area where I lived:

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

That clubhouse looks palatial.

 

The grass here isn't dormant yet, but I don't think we've long before it starts to brown.

[memphishorn]

Usually on play the vintage MacGregors in warm weather but on a whim decide to give them ago last Sunday. Hit a the driver pretty well but struggled all day figuring out iron yardages, a much as 3 clubs more than I’m used to. Got to break out the new 2 iron though!

 

[James the Hogan Fan]

I was able to get out today with my old golf coach. We played a short course nearby and it was wet and muddy but a beautiful day. My weapons were Spalding RTJ stainless 2-9 with matching 1, 3-4 woods and a pair of Stan Thompson stainless wedges.

I shot a miserable 95, and I want to talk about that as a younger member of classics land. I never had to develop a small persimmon head swing for getting the ball in play. With the big 460 sticks I don't need to do anything special to ensure I make contact. With the persimmons I'll easily thump a 50 yard cold-top or fire a heel-hook into the trees. Then I have to rely on a persimmon fairway wood to recover, and so on. Taking two drives a hole and being short of the fairway anyway on a 5600yd golf course is not exactly usual for me. Need to work on keeping the swing under control and getting it in play.

But those on the other threads saying that 460cc clubs haven't made the game easier... I've got a bridge to sell you!

Moral of the story: Im glad I play in this era! Had some really good iron shots and putts, just let down of the tee. Also cracked the 3 wood, so Im probably going to retire the whole set of woods to the display case as I can't stand to break them.

 

All in all good to be out in the CA sun and away from the barren Finnish bleakness.

[Jiggered]

Nice bag and a beautiful day for it!

I'd guess that the 3 wood was already cracked if you managed it on a muddy/soft course, was it the neck that went?

 

Stick with the vintage clubs, they're well worth the effort.

 

Regarding driver/fairway wood swing, you've got to start swinging slower than your used to and concentrate 100% on finding the middle of the face, once you've got that then you can speed up but I'd never try and swing as fast as you do with your 460cc driver.

You can swing out your shoes with that and still be close enough to the sweet spot to make a decent hit, which is one of the areas where golf has gone all wrong for me.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

When I started in the back end of the persimmon days, the driver was a club to be avoided! Golf magazines frequently ran articles by pros advising an iron or fairway wood off the first tee. The simple reason was that the persimmon driver was one of the hardest clubs to hit (1-iron, and 2-iron were probably harder).

With the massive drivers now, this no longer holds true. The big-headed drivers are very forgiving, so that "first tee" fear has gone.

When I tee up with a persimmon on the the first tee now, I think first and foremost of a centre strike over distance, and then think I am hitting a modern 5w or 7w. Also, unless the hole really demands it, it's best to think back to those old golf magazines and hit a 3w or 4w.

[ALIF]

I remember when I was 18 just absolutely swinging out of my shoes as hard as I could with my m85 persimmon driver and nutting it all the time, dead straight down the center. I really miss those days!

[memphishorn]

When I was 18 I was playing MT woods and Irons. I also swung hard, didn't always nut it straight. Probably the similar distances I do today (47 years later) with new technology and a hotter golf ball.

When I play persimmon today I can hit almost as far as long as I get some roll out. Irons are not even close since there is at least a 2 club difference to length and loft.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

First persimmon round of the season today!

I took my Mizuno blondie driver, a blonde Mizuno 3w that I had yet to hit on the course, Mizuno 5w, then 1972 Hogan Apexes 3-E, RAM Camber sole SW, and a Wilson 8802 putter (not a '64 alas).

The woods were great, the irons not so much. I find the shafts a little too short in the short irons (the Equalizer is just about 35.25"), but I did hit some decent shots. I need to bend them upright a little before I take them out again.

I had also forgotten what a great bunker club the RAM SW is. One bunker save and one near miss (good splash shot, but misread the putt). I enjoyed the challenge of using only two wedges (Equalizer and SW), and didn't really miss the gap wedge or lob wedge.

It was a beautiful day, though the ground was still wet from heavy rain on Tuesday, which meant the course was playing quite long as there was little to no roll-out: one of my partners had THREE plugged lies. For example, on the last, I hit a lovely drive that got all of 2-foot of roll out, and that was with a draw ball.

All great fun. I think the Mac Muirfield 20ths are going in the bag for the next persimmon venture, possibly with some steel-shafted American persimmon: Powerbilt driver, Toney Penna 5w....and a Honma 3w (hey, they were made with imported American persimmon!).

One final thing. The greens on the course I played today are pretty tough. They have some severe slopes and the pin positions were testing. I hit 33 putts and didn't feel I putted particularly badly. One of my partners had NINE three-putts or more. In fact, both my playing partners today each had a four-putt. Brutal greens. They rolled fine, but the breaks...

[LeftyMac]

My son's bag from last Saturday. He flushed the 653 all day.

[rwc356]

Well since we are still sheltering in place in Chicago, I thought I would look back at my vintage bag round from a year ago....

April 16, 2019 - 51 deg, cloudy and damp with wind from NW at 10 mph. I played my regular 9 hole course which goes out/back along Lake Michigan.

Since it was damp and cool, I used my TM200 driver and 5w instead of my Mac AT2W and 4w. Hogan Apex BH Grinds, Hogan BeCu sand wedge and Ping Kushin putter.

I cobbled together a round of 88 with 36 putts, (4 -3putts ugh!) and 2 doubles. Not an overly impressive round but apparently I didn't lose any balls and walked the round in 3:40 minutes.

I'm looking forward to next week's round as I delve into my archive of old score cards.

Stay safe everyone!