Wilson 'The Whale' Driver Knowledge Sought

[DCCarpenter]

Howdy,

 

I picked up a Wilson 'The Whale' driver, wood laminated head with graphite shaft, 10.5 loft and would like to put it in play.

 

 I'm currently taking most tee shots with a '04 Wilson Deep Red 15 degree 3 wood with graphite shaft. Today's round featured a long drive of 220 carry, my best drive with it is probably 240 carry but I'm maddeningly inconsistent lots of not so great hits thrown in there that end up being 145 yards.

 

What kind of yardage can I expect from a good strike with Whale given my good strike 3 wood numbers? I'm planning to start working on my tee shot game seriously over the next few weeks so that hopefully more and more of these shots are 'good' strikes.

 

Also , opinions on how high I should tee up the balls for the Whale would be great.

 

[mocokid]

Payne Stewart used it, check us open video on úsga channel.

[Foozle]

On 2/24/2022 at 12:19 AM, DCCarpenter said:

Howdy,

 

I picked up a Wilson 'The Whale' driver, wood laminated head with graphite shaft, 10.5 loft and would like to put it in play.

 

 I'm currently taking most tee shots with a '04 Wilson Deep Red 15 degree 3 wood with graphite shaft. Today's round featured a long drive of 220 carry, my best drive with it is probably 240 carry but I'm maddeningly inconsistent lots of not so great hits thrown in there that end up being 145 yards.

 

What kind of yardage can I expect from a good strike with Whale given my good strike 3 wood numbers? I'm planning to start working on my tee shot game seriously over the next few weeks so that hopefully more and more of these shots are 'good' strikes.

 

Also , opinions on how high I should tee up the balls for the Whale would be great.

 

Individual yardage is impossible to say. My golf partner had one, I think with a firestick shaft, back in the day and could bomb it miles but he was a bit of an animal! I tried it a few times but didn't get along with it. Might seem odd in comparison the modern frying pan drivers but the head was just too big to my eye.

They seem to have had a bit of a resurgence and are getting good money these days.

Tee wise, start by tee'ing the ball so the balls equator is in line with the top edge of the club with the sole on the ground and experiment / adjust from there to suit your swing.

Enjoy and let us know how you get on.

[Newtown pippin]

On 2/23/2022 at 4:19 PM, DCCarpenter said:

Howdy,

 

I picked up a Wilson 'The Whale' driver, wood laminated head with graphite shaft, 10.5 loft and would like to put it in play.

 

 I'm currently taking most tee shots with a '04 Wilson Deep Red 15 degree 3 wood with graphite shaft. Today's round featured a long drive of 220 carry, my best drive with it is probably 240 carry but I'm maddeningly inconsistent lots of not so great hits thrown in there that end up being 145 yards.

 

What kind of yardage can I expect from a good strike with Whale given my good strike 3 wood numbers? I'm planning to start working on my tee shot game seriously over the next few weeks so that hopefully more and more of these shots are 'good' strikes.

 

Also , opinions on how high I should tee up the balls for the Whale would be great.

 

Depending on the shaft and your swing YMMV.... BUT with a Firestick (which is a Aldila HM series) the thing is a Beast, you cam bomb it ( whatever your bomb is)  The HM-55 is a sweet sweet set up, the 2.8 is a little more torque and wiggley (stiff - HM-45  or 50 if memory serves) - But that Head is the Shizzle Dizzle. Louisville Golf did the heads and Bobka was part of the design team. If you see one with a red insert and a Brass Bullseye or Firing pin ( instead of the  holdover inventory from  '73-75  of the Staff Epoloc with the W/S logo insert) it is a tour issue. Have Fun.  You may loose 5 yards, BUT you will have more control  of height and shape. Todd Demsey just did a test - Titleist Tsi3 with DG GS-95 (I think?) vs a New Persimmon he made with the Same Shaft GS-95;  total difference in ball speed 2 mph - not enough to notice/matter  unless you make a living hitting driver.

Edited February 26, 2022 by Newtown pippin

[DCCarpenter]

Very good info , I had a big oversized driver very briefly and the shaft was too long and it just wasn't my thing.

 

I'm going to work with this Whale driver and see what I get, I had read on here previously that these wood heads work better with a downward angle of attack then some of the newer stuff. I play much better with the ball teed lower and towards the middle of my stance than way out front like the new stuff. I'm such a new player I don't need an extra swing technique/thought when I'm at the tee, much better to swing like I normally do.

 

 

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

FWIW, I went to the range 2 days ago with, not a Whale admittedly, but a Peter Broadbent persimmon with the same shaft as the Whale, the 2.8 Firestick.

I teed it 2 inches back of my lead foot heel,and 1.25 inches high. I hit 6 tee balls like this, slightly on the upswing like a modern driver. One came out of the toe, the other five smack out of the middle with a ghost imprint for proof. Flight, straight with hint of draw, maybe 30 ft in height. How far I can't say with honesty because it was into the sun and hard to assess. I was very satisfied and look forward to taking it to the course when conditions allow.

This is my usual persimmon driver set-up with the modern ball.

[DCCarpenter]

Thanks for the detailed setup info, weather cooperating I'm going to get to the range on Monday and try and hit at least 20 balls with it and see what I can get going.

 

 

 

 

[DCCarpenter]

I took it off the tee on two holes today, on the good side both were right in the fairway. I teed them up about 1" off the ground I swing with a downward angle of attack....haven't perfected or really attempted a driver swing. Distance was a little underwhelming.  I hit both about 190 carry, I'm not a bomber but I had a 3 3wood tee shots over 200 on the day. I have the 3.5 graphite Regular flex shaft in it. 

 

Ball placement was about 3 wood, not too far forward of middle, certainly not off my front heel. I'm going to experiment with moving ball placement up and tee'ing a little higher. I'd like to be able to game this driver , I dig the graphic of the whale and I have 1991 Wilson irons so it kind of matches.  The grass range just opened for the year so I should be able to get out there with and see if I can't improve some.

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

9 hours ago, DCCarpenter said:

I took it off the tee on two holes today, on the good side both were right in the fairway. I teed them up about 1" off the ground I swing with a downward angle of attack....haven't perfected or really attempted a driver swing. Distance was a little underwhelming.  I hit both about 190 carry, I'm not a bomber but I had a 3 3wood tee shots over 200 on the day. I have the 3.5 graphite Regular flex shaft in it. 

 

Ball placement was about 3 wood, not too far forward of middle, certainly not off my front heel. I'm going to experiment with moving ball placement up and tee'ing a little higher. I'd like to be able to game this driver , I dig the graphic of the whale and I have 1991 Wilson irons so it kind of matches.  The grass range just opened for the year so I should be able to get out there with and see if I can't improve some.

How about posting a clip of you in action with your Whale?

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

Better still, visit Persimmon Golf Society on FB and look at Matt Stovall who has posted a clip of him hitting a Persimmon driver. Note ball position and posture, it's a very good example of what we've been talking about. No suggestion of 'hitting down'.

[DCCarpenter]

I will check that out , thanks a lot. I took it to the grass range and a 9 hole course yesterday. Even better results, cranked it out there over 200 on a whole bunch of drives. I brought the ball a little further up in my stance , bringing the tee height much over an inch or 1 1/8" seemed to hurt strike quality 

 

I'll try and get my daughter to video me taking a tee shot for my own edification, if it isn't too embarassing I'll post it up. Getting her to actually keep the camera on me is the tricky part, she's 6 so if her puppy is outside Daddy's golf swing becomes less interesting.

Edited March 4, 2022 by DCCarpenter

[DCCarpenter]

I played yet another round with The Whale yesterday, 11 out of 14 fairways hit. New record long drives for the Whale with carry clocking in at 235 and 245 with a total long drive carry+roll of 258 yards.  For perspective I am not a long hitter or seasoned golfer , all credit to the club.

 

Really starting to get the hang of using this driver, the 2 long drives were really the only 2 where I played around with swinging up a bit. The long drive hole was the widest hole on a very narrow course so I used the room to experiment. Everywhere else I used my standard tee swing that I use with the fairway woods, negative angle of attack. Made it over the 200 yard water carry from the tee for a drive of 210 no problem on the 18th so definitely now confident in this club.

 

I'm headed to play at the Greenbrier in West Virginia next week , the nicest course I have ever played and The Whale will be taking on driving duties. I usually play Noodle balls, the standard long and soft variety. Are these a decent choice for this driver? Especially for my round next week I'm willing to spring for any ball to make the most of the nicer course.

[scomac2002]

The Noodles will be fine.  That's what I play as SOP.

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

On 3/9/2022 at 10:37 PM, DCCarpenter said:

I played yet another round with The Whale yesterday, 11 out of 14 fairways hit. New record long drives for the Whale with carry clocking in at 235 and 245 with a total long drive carry+roll of 258 yards.  For perspective I am not a long hitter or seasoned golfer , all credit to the club.

 

Really starting to get the hang of using this driver, the 2 long drives were really the only 2 where I played around with swinging up a bit. The long drive hole was the widest hole on a very narrow course so I used the room to experiment. Everywhere else I used my standard tee swing that I use with the fairway woods, negative angle of attack. Made it over the 200 yard water carry from the tee for a drive of 210 no problem on the 18th so definitely now confident in this club.

 

I'm headed to play at the Greenbrier in West Virginia next week , the nicest course I have ever played and The Whale will be taking on driving duties. I usually play Noodle balls, the standard long and soft variety. Are these a decent choice for this driver? Especially for my round next week I'm willing to spring for any ball to make the most of the nicer course.

Which of the Greenbrier courses will you play? Quite a resort, make sure you send photos.

[DCCarpenter]

I’ll be playing the Meadows course , unfortunately Old White , the more famous , one doesn’t open until the following week. I’ll do my best to snap a few photos. 
 

The weather forecast is looking good for the week so I am fighting the temptation to leave a day early and play the Homestead Old Course on the way down.  The layout of 6 each par 3/4/5 is intriguing. 

[golfunderpar18]

@DCCarpenter Here’s a great article to read about the history of thewhale.  Louisville golf actually produced these for Wilson. Larry who is mentioned is a member of the persimmon golf society on Facebook and often shares info and stories there. 

https://louisvillegolf.com/blogs/blog/the-wilson-whale/?fbclid=IwAR09XskziH9McpIbciyi9EWIFe7BIU0B7RtlOtnwgagA3IN5Yc8_Y9yIwAw

 

Edited March 17, 2022 by golfunderpar18

[DCCarpenter]

Golfunderpar18 , thanks for sharing. The club definitely had a cool history. 

 

I had a real rough round with it this past week out in West Virginia , started off bad and just couldn’t keep it in play or make good contact which is surprising because I have been making good drives with the Whale at my home course. 
 

I ended up putting the new to me Macgregor eyeomatic 60 in use  , not as much distance but was able to keep it in play and turn some of the doubles and triples into pars and bogeys.