Old H&B Powerbilt persimmon driver

[freddiec]

Dad's

Here is my Dad's old Powerbilt driver which he played in the early 80s. He thinks he picked it up around the late 70s or very early 80s. It was used when he got it. Its got a great looking head and he used to hit it a ton. The head profile shape is similiar to an old Mac, very traditional pear shape. Anybody know which year this one was made? It was one of his favorites. John.. I think I want you to do this one for me over the winter so when I coax dad out this summer for a vintage round he'll have something nice. Today he was recalling "the first time he hit it". He said he was playing New Seabury on the Cape and hit one about 300 yds on the 1st hole a par 5. He said "it was so long, I hit an iron into the green". LOL.

[XYB34A]

you can tell that was a great driver, look how far back the shaft is set from the face. you can tell by the borethru on the pic of the sole of the driver.

when persimmon was king, that was the sign of a good driver.

[chrisbellaire]

I'll give this a shot........
The sole plate is looking 50's to early 60's, but the decal on top says 60's to 70's. May have been refinished. What makes this one tough is the Kaplan/PowerBilt book of catalogs rarely pictures the soleplates. Also, most pictured of this era have a white decal line on the top edge of the insert.
Hope this helps, Chris

[Bella Woods]

freddiec:

Based on a little catalog research, Powerbilt Model 48R woods were produced during 1952/53. Models 48R and 48 were the same club except the 48R version had the (red I think) golf pride grip of rubber/cork "vulcanized" to the shaft. I have tried and they are not easy to get off.

However, the Model 48R wood was not a Citation, it was part of the Louisville Grand Slam line of clubs. Funny thing about the picture, the club has a decal on it that I don't think Powerbilt used until the early sixties. The original Grand Slams had Louisville over Grand Slam stamped onto the top of the head. Could it be the club was twenty five years old when you dad purchased it?

Maybe be the original stamp was lost in prior refinishes and a decal later applied, it wouldn't be the first time! No wonder profile is similar to an old Mac, looks like approximately same time frame. Is the driver 42 inches long?

Wally

[freddiec]

Thanks for the info guys! Didn't realize it was that old. Its in great shape, except for the chipped paint. Its about 42 and 3 qtr inches from the top of the grip to the bottom of the heel. Not sure if the shaft is orig, but its a dynamic stiff with a thin black shaft band. It sure is a solid persimmon.

Wally, thanks for the detail ! Thats great info, by Dad will be amazed at its age.

John, I'll be around tomorrow. Give me a call anytime. Sounds good.

[chrisbellaire]

More confusion:
Early 50's woods with the red fiber 4-screw insert have multiple evenly spaced scoring lines. Late 50's/early 60's similar woods have the 2/gap/3 scoring line pattern.

[brokgolfer]

Very nice Fred and I'm sure it would look tremendous once John has worked some magic on it!

I am fascinated by Justaman's comment that the shaft being set back from the face was the sign of a good driver. Would love to understand that in a little more detail as I have not heard that before.

Cheers, BG

[freddiec]

Brokgolfer,
I'm also intrigued by his comment. I'm not doubting at all there is truth to what he said, but most of the good persimmons I have seen the bore through is in that same general area. I once had a M85 that had a bore more towards the middle and the club didn't sit right, so I think depending on the head if the bore is drilled correctly, the club will set up visually better for most players.

[Bella Woods]

chrisbellaire:

You are right! I did not notice that when I first looked at the picture. The first Powerbilt clubs I can find with that scoring line pattern is 1956. The Model 48R has a 10 line scoring line pattern.

Possible explanation, Powerbilt had a long standing policy at the time that replacement clubs of discontinued models would be available through special manufacture for a period of five years. Could be that it was a reproduction of a discontinued model that was manufactured using machinery (scoring lines machine cut or by hand?) of a later period (1956-1958). The insert looks a little wider than the similar model clubs I had from the same year (below).

Also, somebody could have taken the Model 48R soleplate and put it on a different club, but I don't think so, they would have to be a "professional router" to do the job I see in the picture. I had a set of Powerbilt Model 14R woods from the same year(s) that look the same as the Model 48R, except the faces on mine were stained too (deep cherry). In addition, Model 48R had a deep faced driver where my Model 14R woods were "medium deep". I sold them five years ago but I found the old pictures I had saved in Corel Paint Brush.

Wally

[freddiec]

Good info, so I think when I have it refinished I'm going to have the powerbilt decal on the top assuming it was made after 1960. Its got a nice grain pattern going into the hitting area so I'll make sure the grain can be seen. Any other recommendations are welcome , i.e score line paint color, ect.

[RobotDoctor]

Fred, are you going to refinish this driver? This sure a pretty driver. Thanks for sharing.

[freddiec]

Sam, yes I'm gonna have persimmonpal do it for me. He's done a bunch of others, the club right now deserves to look better. I'm about to go weigh it right now on the scale. Will post the specs in a bit.

D 1.8 Swing weight and 13.3 total ounces. Pretty good specs.

[RobotDoctor]

[quote name='freddiec' post='2157096' date='Jan 2 2010, 07:13 PM']Sam, yes I'm gonna have persimmonpal do it for me. He's done a bunch of others, the club right now deserves to look better. I'm about to go weigh it right now on the scale. Will post the specs in a bit.

D 1.8 Swing weight and 13.3 total ounces. Pretty good specs.[/quote]

Yea, pretty good specs there. Almost my specs. I swung a D2 driver at 43 1/4" during my persimmon hey day. This driver will look outstanding when refinished.

[teevons]

would these be the decals I paid for and never recieved from you along with other things
Tim Vaughan

[RobotDoctor]

[quote name='teevons' date='28 January 2010 - 02:41 PM' timestamp='1264714897' post='2210425']
would these be the decals I paid for and never recieved from you along with other things
Tim Vaughan
[/quote]


??

Would this be better served in a PM instead of public view? I know this is not about me but really, resolved privately between you and whomever you are pointing this to is the best course of action.