Need help putting together an Eighties persimmon bag

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Thought I would post some pics of the Eighties set I have put together. I say "Eighties," but I'm not really that sure about the woods. I can't find much info out there on them, as they don't appear to be a premium Mizuno line. That said, I've hit the 4w, and I like it. For the photos, I put in the Mizuno driver which hasn't been hit (still has a label on it saying it is oil-hardened), but I also have a Slazenger Powerthrust driver I could use, and a Bob Byman driver with an aluminium insert. I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm looking forward to giving it a hit as I've never tried an aluminium insert before. If anyone knows anything about it, please chime in as I could find nothing about it on the net.

Oh, I also have a Wood Bros Corker driver on its way to me For just over the equivalent of $20 (that includes shipping), it was too good a deal to pass up. Just hope the shaft is OK for me. For the irons, I am going to use my Honma PP737, which are in amazing condition. I call them my Spinal Tap set. I think they date from 1987~90 or thereabouts. Late Eighties, anyway. Putter is a Ping Anser 2 (not sure when this particular one was made, though). The L wedge I've had since I was a junior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the Bob Byman driver:

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, it's looking like the "Throwback" round is on! The two guys mentioned above who have never hit persimmon are both well up for it. One just called me to say he's found his father-in-law's old clubs. Bridgestone Tan-Bec TB1 irons (Titanium-Beryllium cavity backs from 1992), and Honma 1, 4, & 5 woods. The driver seems to have a stiff shaft, which is a good find. His irons and woods are all carbon shafts.

[skajaquada77]

Great bag! Those honmas are niiiiice!

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Great bag! Those honmas are niiiiice!

 

Thanks! They play alright, but for some reason I seem to hit fades with them, when my normal shot is a draw (well, OK, a hook...). I haven't played them for a few months so I need to get practice in with them.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Just got back from trying out the drivers. The Slazenger Powerthrust is OK. I'm used to it by now, because I got it earlier this year and have hit it a few times. Doesn't feel that great, but the results are OK. The Bob Byman driver was not a good fit for me. Hit nothing but low fades with it, and it was noticeably shorter than the Slazenger or Mizuno Center Flag. That said, the Byman was the most consistent in terms of ball path. The Mizuno was the best feeling of the trio, and also the longest. The shaft's a bit light for me, and I have to be careful I don't turn it over. My bad shots with this were high hooks.

However, a new contender had just arrived: A Wood Bros Corker. Crikey, this driver is beautiful :wub: It has a graphite shaft, but it doesn't feel too soft. There's no label on it, just "Champion Balance" and WB for Wood Bros. It actually reminds me of the graphite shaft I have in my old TaylorMade Burner that I bought in around 1990.

I need to get some pictures of this beauty up.

[NRJyzr]

Love the Spinal Tap reference

 

[super20dan]

the desighn of those honma irons looks vaguely familiar-dosnt it guys?

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

the desighn of those honma irons looks vaguely familiar-dosnt it guys?

 

Heh, yes. I think the PP737s came out in 1987, which would make them nearly 20 years late to the bulletback party.

 

Now that I think about it, I've always assumed that the gouge in the muscle near the hosel is a Wilson idea, but are there any earlier models like this from other makers out there? There's also a cut muscle Macgregor blade, which appears to have been designed by Clay Long. I can't remember when that came out exactly, but off the top of my head I think it was 1981 or 82?

[stixman]

 

These are MacGregor MCX end grain laminates which were reported to play well. Maybe these were the last of the Mac wooden woods. If so, nice tip of the cap to the Eye-o-matics.

As seen on Ebay.co.uk at £8 + shipping.

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

edit: I'm correcting what's below, this link confirms my Cleveland Classic had origins of 1987

http://www.clubsofdi...d2/ucwd4432.htm

 

I'm not going to pin them down to being exactly all out of the eighties (I continuously played their model DG43 in the very first years of the ninties) but Cleveland's efforts at persimmon woods were outstanding. if they've survived most likely should be found with either DG S300/S400 or X100 shaft in them.

 

and Catchy, common man, IMO you gotta go with the Diawa bullseye copy. I mean it's not like these dudes haven't seen an Anser 2 being used before :D .

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

edit: I'm correcting what's below, this link confirms my Cleveland Classic had origins of 1987

http://www.clubsofdi...d2/ucwd4432.htm

 

I'm not going to pin them down to being exactly all out of the eighties (I continuously played their model DG43 in the very first years of the ninties) but Cleveland's efforts at persimmon woods were outstanding. if they've survived most likely should be found with either DG S300/S400 or X100 shaft in them.

 

and Catchy, common man, IMO you gotta go with the Diawa bullseye copy. I mean it's not like these dudes haven't seen an Anser 2 being used before :D .

 

Fair point about the putter, Kenny! I really should take the Bullseye copy out, because I think that is a great way to put my putting stroke to the test.

However, recently, I discovered that heel-shafted putters work best for me. My normal putter is an Odyssey #9 heel shafted half-mallet. Sooooo, the obvious solution for my Eighties bag is to get a Wilson (or TaylorMade) TPA XVIII, right? I have wanted one of these ever since I saw Faldo win (IIRC) his first Masters with one (was it actually his first?). I've found some on Yahoo! Auction, but I think for the wife's sake, I should wait a while before I have another golf club shaped parcel turning up at the door.

[skajaquada77]

edit: I'm correcting what's below, this link confirms my Cleveland Classic had origins of 1987

http://www.clubsofdi...d2/ucwd4432.htm

 

I'm not going to pin them down to being exactly all out of the eighties (I continuously played their model DG43 in the very first years of the ninties) but Cleveland's efforts at persimmon woods were outstanding. if they've survived most likely should be found with either DG S300/S400 or X100 shaft in them.

 

and Catchy, common man, IMO you gotta go with the Diawa bullseye copy. I mean it's not like these dudes haven't seen an Anser 2 being used before :D .

 

Fair point about the putter, Kenny! I really should take the Bullseye copy out, because I think that is a great way to put my putting stroke to the test.

However, recently, I discovered that heel-shafted putters work best for me. My normal putter is an Odyssey #9 heel shafted half-mallet. Sooooo, the obvious solution for my Eighties bag is to get a Wilson (or TaylorMade) TPA XVIII, right? I have wanted one of these ever since I saw Faldo win (IIRC) his first Masters with one (was it actually his first?). I've found some on Yahoo! Auction, but I think for the wife's sake, I should wait a while before I have another golf club shaped parcel turning up at the door.

I have been playing a Maxfli by Tad Moore TM-S1 that is fantastic. I found it at a Playitagain Sports store for $4.99, cut it down 1inch and re-gripped it. I know there was another model, TM-S9, that you might want to try...

 

The TM-S9, taken from an ebay post... more shaped like a half-mallet... cant go wrong with this one!

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

edit: I'm correcting what's below, this link confirms my Cleveland Classic had origins of 1987

http://www.clubsofdi...d2/ucwd4432.htm

 

I'm not going to pin them down to being exactly all out of the eighties (I continuously played their model DG43 in the very first years of the ninties) but Cleveland's efforts at persimmon woods were outstanding. if they've survived most likely should be found with either DG S300/S400 or X100 shaft in them.

 

and Catchy, common man, IMO you gotta go with the Diawa bullseye copy. I mean it's not like these dudes haven't seen an Anser 2 being used before :D .

 

Fair point about the putter, Kenny! I really should take the Bullseye copy out, because I think that is a great way to put my putting stroke to the test.

However, recently, I discovered that heel-shafted putters work best for me. My normal putter is an Odyssey #9 heel shafted half-mallet. Sooooo, the obvious solution for my Eighties bag is to get a Wilson (or TaylorMade) TPA XVIII, right? I have wanted one of these ever since I saw Faldo win (IIRC) his first Masters with one (was it actually his first?). I've found some on Yahoo! Auction, but I think for the wife's sake, I should wait a while before I have another golf club shaped parcel turning up at the door.

I have been playing a Maxfli by Tad Moore TM-S1 that is fantastic. I found it at a Playitagain Sports store for $4.99, cut it down 1inch and re-gripped it. I know there was another model, TM-S9, that you might want to try...

 

The TM-S9, taken from an ebay post... more shaped like a half-mallet... cant go wrong with this one!

 

 

Hmm, that TM-S9 might be worth keeping an eye out for. It'd be nice to have a Tad Moore designed putter.

Looks right up my street.

[skajaquada77]

Million dollar question: My brother-in-law got a job with NATO in the UK, near Cambridge. I want to come visit and play a few rounds, first time there. So if ya’ll were planing on playing in the UK, would you take your modern #1 bag or your vintage bag?

[scomac2002]

I'd take a Bag for All Seasons!

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Million dollar question: My brother-in-law got a job with NATO in the UK, near Cambridge. I want to come visit and play a few rounds, first time there. So if ya’ll were planing on playing in the UK, would you take your modern #1 bag or your vintage bag?

 

Don't know much about the courses around Cambridge, but if you get to play an old classic like Gog Magog (https://www.gogmagog.co.uk) then I think it would be more fun to play with your vintage set.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Picked up a Wilson TPA XVIII putter the other day. I've wanted one of these ever since I watched Faldo win with one (which majors did he win with the TPA XVIII in his bag? And was his Wilson or TaylorMade?). Anyway, I've seen a few online, but the postage is usually almost as much as the club itself so I never bothered bidding. Then the other day I walked in to my local second hand golf store and there it was! It's got a thick TigerShark grip on it which I will remove, and I will probably cut it down from 35" to 34".

 

 

 

A happy find.

[Soloman1]

Well, now we know why you miss putts to the right . . . ;)

 

I'm in Japan this week so I may go check out some vintage/classic stuff. Playing with MS-11's and persimmon on Wednesday.

 

 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

Hey, my miss is left!

And I think I know why. It's the ball:

 

 

Wednesday looks like it's going to be OK for golf. It'll be warmer (highs around 19*C/65*F) up around Tokyo than down here. I'm playing Saturday, and it's going to be cold and cloudy, highs around 50*F. I may take my MS-11s as well, as they hit the ball nice and high.

[Kenny Lee Puckett]

Picked up a Wilson TPA XVIII putter the other day. I've wanted one of these ever since I watched Faldo win with one (which majors did he win with the TPA XVIII in his bag? And was his Wilson or TaylorMade?).

1990 was the only year of Major magic with that putter. He made that bomb in the dark down on 11 to beat Floyd in the Masters playoff. And won The Open later in the summer. FWIW it was most definitely a Taylormade TPA. Wilson moved in on the success of that putter later on.

 

edit: the other putter Fadlo brought into popularity was the Odyssey Rossie II when won the 1996 Masters with one. That putter is a big reason (this was era prior to their 2-Ball) why Odyssey is where they are today.

[birly-shirly]

Was it '89 when Faldo came off from finishing the delayed 3rd round and swapped putters before going back out for the 4th? Was that not the TPA that he put in the bag then?

[scruffynick]

Picked up a Wilson TPA XVIII putter the other day. I've wanted one of these ever since I watched Faldo win with one (which majors did he win with the TPA XVIII in his bag? And was his Wilson or TaylorMade?). Anyway, I've seen a few online, but the postage is usually almost as much as the club itself so I never bothered bidding. Then the other day I walked in to my local second hand golf store and there it was! It's got a thick TigerShark grip on it which I will remove, and I will probably cut it down from 35" to 34".

 

 

 

A happy find.

Oh man, best putter I ever used. I think it's still in my dad's attic but these pictures bring back happy memories of me being much younger and better at golf than I am now

[scruffynick]

Was it '89 when Faldo came off from finishing the delayed 3rd round and swapped putters before going back out for the 4th? Was that not the TPA that he put in the bag then?

 

Yes, used a bullseye for 3 rounds and switched to the TPA and holed everything! The look in Faldos face when he holed that monster putt in 17 still makes me chuckle now

[super20dan]

you will love the tpa Faldo putter . not only is it a bit of golf history/lore -but putts great also. I have 2 in my collection . both Wilson and taylor versions