Distances for these Classic Hickory Shafted Irons and Woods?

[Nalajr]

Hey all,

 

I was watching some Bobby Jones videos the other day while waiting for the Masters to come on. He used Hickory shafter clubs and that video where he busts that camera looks like those balls he was hitting were smoking pask that camera.

 

That caused me to think about the courses and distances that those guys dealt with back in those days. Lets say we're talking the 1930's and everyone is using hickory irons and woods. What would you estimate the distances would be with the woods and the irons? Also what kind of ball would they have been using?

 

Were there any length differences in the courses today and those of the Bobby Jones era? I'm talking about course distances BEFORE the TIGER factor that caused all these pro-line courses to extend the tee boxes to compensate for the LENGTH these guys have with their clubs and modern balls.

 

What can you tell about these questions?

 

Thanks all for the help and your time.

 

Nalajr

[pdgolferman]

[quote name='Nalajr' timestamp='1429075011' post='11362295']

That caused me to think about the courses and distances that those guys dealt with back in those days. Lets say we're talking the 1930's and everyone is using hickory irons and woods. What would you estimate the distances would be with the woods and the irons?

Thanks all for the help and your time.

Nalajr
[/quote]

Good questions.....
I can't say much about the distance aspect as I have no knowledge of his lofts, but I'm almost certain that he only had two lengths of shaft...for woods and irons - when he got the 'slam in 1930.
I find this very interesting at the moment....Up to a certain point, shafts only seem to dictate spin. The loft and weight of a clubhead combined provide force and trajectory - distance. These chaps knew this and as a result didn't play shots to a given club to a given distance. It was all trajectory driven...a 3 iron was good for 75 yards as much as it was for 175 yards.
Maybe the equipment matched the course length a tad better too.
The day we changed to multi weight, multi length clubs, things went a wee bitty sheet.
Regards
pd

[Pigems]

Very interesting thread OP, I'm curious to see what kind of answers you get

[hollabachgt]

[quote name='Nalajr' timestamp='1429075011' post='11362295']
Hey all,

I was watching some Bobby Jones videos the other day while waiting for the Masters to come on. He used Hickory shafter clubs and that video where he busts that camera looks like those balls he was hitting were smoking pask that camera.

That caused me to think about the courses and distances that those guys dealt with back in those days. Lets say we're talking the 1930's and everyone is using hickory irons and woods. What would you estimate the distances would be with the woods and the irons? Also what kind of ball would they have been using?

Were there any length differences in the courses today and those of the Bobby Jones era? I'm talking about course distances BEFORE the TIGER factor that caused all these pro-line courses to extend the tee boxes to compensate for the LENGTH these guys have with their clubs and modern balls.

What can you tell about these questions?

Thanks all for the help and your time.

Nalajr
[/quote]

In the film series "How I Play Golf" and "How to Break 90" Jones was still using hickory shafted irons, but had moved onto steel shafted woods. I don't have the list in front of me, but in "Down the Fairway" Jones describes each of his clubs and the distance he could hit them. You'd be surprised to see how similar his club distances were to modern day golfers. It was not uncommon for Jones to be able to hit his driver over 300 yards. The biggest difference is players from that era rarely hit their clubs 100% and would often play a longer club with a less than full swing to gain greater control. By the end of the 1920's, championships were being played at 6600-6700 yards. The 1934 US Open at Merion was played at just under 6700 yards, only 300 yards shorter than the 2013 US Open. Up until the late 90's, the standard length for major championships was around 6900 yards, and had been that way for nearly 50 years. The ball used by Jones towards the end of his career was a predecessor to the Spalding Dot and really not that dissimilar to the Tour Balata that was common 15 years ago.


[quote name='pdgolferman' timestamp='1429092204' post='11362691']

Good questions.....
I can't say much about the distance aspect as I have no knowledge of his lofts, but I'm almost certain that he only had two lengths of shaft...for woods and irons - when he got the 'slam in 1930.
I find this very interesting at the moment....Up to a certain point, shafts only seem to dictate spin. The loft and weight of a clubhead combined provide force and trajectory - distance. These chaps knew this and as a result didn't play shots to a given club to a given distance. It was all trajectory driven...a 3 iron was good for 75 yards as much as it was for 175 yards.
Maybe the equipment matched the course length a tad better too.
The day we changed to multi weight, multi length clubs, things went a wee bitty sheet.
Regards
pd
[/quote]

Jones used a very "modern" set of clubs for the time, which included a unified head design as well as a unified transition between club lengths. Much like you would see with a set of irons today. He was one of the first to used a true set of irons. Prior, players would build their set club by club until they had a grouping they liked. Jones took his mix and matched set to Tom Stewart who built him a set of matching iron heads. These were then shafted using a consistent stagger and the idea of a set of irons was born.

[xgolfx]

I could be wrong, but I recall Jones hitting the last hole at Riviera in two on the tape when he also struck the camera lense. Has the hole changed (aside from irrigation)?

CHARLEY PENNA

[Nalajr]

WOW!!

Gives me a whole new appreciation for the talent and skill those guys had.

Nalajr

[pdgolferman]

Apologies for the above post regarding Bob Jones and single length clubs. From what I can see, it would appear to be untrue.
I need to research some more.
pd