Anyone else break out the old Persimmon Driver every now and then?

[TCMP]

Love it!

Played a round of "worst ball" today with my golf pro today. We used the M85 Eye O Matic on about half the holes and we were both "stripe-ing" the thing. It was about 25 yards shorter for my golf pro, but only 15 or so for me. It made me re-live the old days!!!! I felt like I could score the same using that driver as my gamer!

[MtlJeff]

playing old equipment for me is using the Baffler Pro hybrid i bought 2 years ago. They made woods out of actual wood? When the heck did that happen? Next you'll tell me previous generations didn't use 64 degree wedges. As if....

[El Jefe]

[quote name='TCMP' timestamp='1309390876' post='3346773']
Played a round of "worst ball" today with my golf pro today. We used the M85 Eye O Matic on about half the holes and we were both "stripe-ing" the thing. It was about 25 yards shorter for my golf pro, but only 15 or so for me. It made me re-live the old days!!!! I felt like I could score the same using that driver as my gamer!
[/quote] Ok, why ??

[TCMP]

[quote name='MtlJeff' timestamp='1309391134' post='3346786']
playing old equipment for me is using the Baffler Pro hybrid i bought 2 years ago. They made woods out of actual wood? When the heck did that happen? Next you'll tell me previous generations didn't use 64 degree wedges. As if....
[/quote]

LOL! Who would have thunk it...........

I wish I had an Eye O Matic in Lefty!

[TCMP]

[quote name='El Jefe' timestamp='1309392112' post='3346822']
[quote name='TCMP' timestamp='1309390876' post='3346773']
Played a round of "worst ball" today with my golf pro today. We used the M85 Eye O Matic on about half the holes and we were both "stripe-ing" the thing. It was about 25 yards shorter for my golf pro, but only 15 or so for me. It made me re-live the old days!!!! I felt like I could score the same using that driver as my gamer!
[/quote] Ok, why ??
[/quote]

Why? Because I gotta!

Seriously, we were playing worst ball. We needed more of a challenge.

[onetime19]

Seem's like that would be fun every now and then!

[bsb70x7]

I occasionally do the same just to hear the sound "THWWWAAACKK" off of the persimmon heads.

[IIdiceII]

my local driving range has a bunch of persimmon drivers and one day i got curious. picked up a wilson persimmon driver and it was by far the best feeling and sounding golf club ive ever hit. i became addicted lol.

now I really want to build a vintage bag

[TCMP]

[quote name='IIdiceII' timestamp='1309393608' post='3346875']
my local driving range has a bunch of persimmon drivers and one day i got curious. picked up a wilson persimmon driver and it was by far the best feeling and sounding golf club ive ever hit. i became addicted lol.

now I really want to build a vintage bag
[/quote]

I hear you!

I've got a set of fluid feels and a set of Nickalus blades that I'd love to dig out of the garage.

[cbellamore]

my good friend that I play with regularly did this the other day,
he was having some trouble with his regular driver off the tee keeping it in the fairway
took out this old thing that looked about the size of a 3 wood by todays standards and killed it
missed 1 fairway all day with it and was only about 10-15 yds shorter than normal for him
it was great to watch

[rlynham]

No to the persimmon but a couple of times i have taken out the first metalwood i ever hit, the TM tour spoon. It was 1984 and i was at the ACC tournament at the end of my freshman year. One of the guys on the team had one and told me to try it out. I was just killing it straight as a string and it seemed like it was going farther than my driver at the time.

 

It looks so small to me now it is a joke. The original TM metal drivers are about the size of my current 3w.

 

Man i am getting old.

[Jaywalker]

Playing worst ball... I can see I would be very valuable in that group.

[TheMoneyShot]

My bro brings out his old powerbuilt persimmon driver every now and then. We all call it woody.

[Shambles]

No to the persimmon but a couple of times i have taken out the first metalwood i ever hit, the TM tour spoon. It was 1984 and i was at the ACC tournament at the end of my freshman year. One of the guys on the team had one and told me to try it out. I was just killing it straight as a string and it seemed like it was going farther than my driver at the time.

 

It looks so small to me now it is a joke. The original TM metal drivers are about the size of my current 3w.

 

Man i am getting old.

 

I loved the look of the spoon, unfortunately I foolishly gave it to a very good player who was looking for a way to get on par 5's in two. I thought it was the best looking club made by TM at that time.

 

I still have my Maple Mizuno Astrons and still play them when in the mood. I have not been in the mood for a while, but they are still in good shape and playable. My persimmons have all rusted shafts and would need rebuilding to be put back in action.

 

 

Shambles

[TCMP]

[quote name='Jaywalker' timestamp='1309402966' post='3347876']
Playing worst ball... I can see I would be very valuable in that group.
[/quote]

LOL. Typically we play bogey golf when we play worst ball, but this time we shot 2 over par for 9 holes!

Sometimes I wonder if I would be a better golfer if I grew up hitting persimmon woods??????????????

[elwhippy]

Only to remind me of how good older players were who could stripe a persimmon or laminated wood!! I admit to being a shocking driver of the ball with persimmon. The best I owned was a Joe Powell Lamaglass with an Aldila shaft. It was superb and the shaft made it far more playable. The quality of the head was amazing, the varnish never marked and it was impervious to wet, cold weather, unlike the junk MacGregor made in the 1980s.

[garcia51694]

Love my persimmon clubs. The best is to bring them to the range and get the box right next to some D bag who is dressed to the 9's by some company who wouldn't sponsor him if he were the last guy on the planet. Then, as he his struggling to hit his driver 175, I like to take the persimmon out and rip a few well passed his. Nothing better - especially when you are using a club that is 2 decades old.

[stixman]

I got a George Nicoll (Leven. Scotland) 1956 Autgraph + 2,3 &4 in for refurb at present and have withdrawal symptoms, so took out a no pedigree Dunlop from 1980s?, seemed to go better than OK. Hit the short stuff and carressed the pleasure buds while doing so. Unless you are playing a monster course the minor loss in distance makes no difference to scoring.

[bamboobender]

[quote name='Gunner22' timestamp='1309550368' post='3357043']
Love my persimmon clubs. The best is to bring them to the range and get the box right next to some D bag who is dressed to the 9's by some company who wouldn't sponsor him if he were the last guy on the planet. Then, as he his struggling to hit his driver 175, I like to take the persimmon out and rip a few well passed his. Nothing better - especially when you are using a club that is 2 decades old.


[/quote]

Thats funny. I have to admit that I sometimes get some sort of twisted pleasure out of doing the same thing. I have often left the $1.99 goodwill sticker on some "good finds" for the same purpose. lol

[FLOGMR]

I did some repair work for a guy last year and he asked if I would take some "Classic clubs" instead of cash....What you got??? He dragged in a bag full of Walter Hagen clubs....Walter Hagen "Haig-Ultras".....Persimmon Driver,2 wd,3 wd,4 wd....2 iron-PW with some odd ball putter. They had barely been hit. He bought them new in 1971 and played part of one year before he hurt his back and had to quit....they looked like new. He only owed me $50 so why not?? When I was going through the old bag I found his original bill of sale. He had purchased them in Germany at a US air base PX....$176 all in. I played them a few times and then sold them for $250........I already have a full set of persimmon woods and blade irons from the 80's which I use occasionally on sunny days.

The Hagens went to a Hagen NUT who uses them regularly.

[sergizmo]

[quote name='IIdiceII' timestamp='1309393608' post='3346875']
my local driving range has a bunch of persimmon drivers and one day i got curious. picked up a wilson persimmon driver and it was by far the best feeling and sounding golf club ive ever hit. i became addicted lol.

now I really want to build a vintage bag
[/quote]

Why the sad face? Do it! I've got two.

Steel shaft era:
- Louisville golf classic 50's driver, 3 and 5 woods. Dynamic Gold R.These are reproductions of 50's era clubs and are gorgeous and quite a deal. The persimmon grain is very, very nice. Can't wait to play these.
[url="http://www.louisvillegolf.com/product_info.php/cPath/131/products_id/283"]Louisville golf[/url]
- Walter Hagen Ultradyne 2's circa 1974-75, 4-PW (have 3 but won't be in the bag). Weird shafts with a twist section. Regular flex. Five iron is 37.5". Lie seems to be a bit flat by modern standards, which is great for me. Heads are cast stainless (I actually prefer this to forged, they will last) with surprisingly aggressive groves for that era. Not much hosel to speak of, transitions right into the shaft. About as clean as it gets. Soles are narrow and leading edge is pretty sharp, though it is rounded a bit.
[url="http://www.ironfinder.com/Individual-Irons/hagen/ultradyne_ii-74.htm"]Ultradyne 2's[/url]
- Ram Tom Watson Sand wedge, 55*. Year 1984-88. Not really vintage I guess, but wedges haven't changed that much. Says made in USA on the hosel. I removed some of the trailing edge bounce on the belt sander.
All clubs have red Lambkin midsized cords.
Thinking about playing this set full time for the rest of the year...

I also have a small hickory bag, will post details later.

To me, having "era" bags is a lot more interesting and fun than having 3 or so modern bags.

Serge

[MadGolfer76]

I wouldn't mind putting together a (modern) vintage bag. Maybe pick up some Mizuno Mp-68's (again) along with a 56 degree wedge. Modern steels shafts in them. Put some kind of Odyssey blade putter in there. Possibly get some Louisville woods with some steel shafts. Fg-Tour ball. Yeah, I could see that. Move up to the white tees. Yeah.

[sergizmo]

The Classic 50's Louisville woods are amazing. Great balance and the feel is unbelievable. Also, easier to hit than expected. I was hitting the fairway woods great but still need some time with the driver to develop any kind of consistency. I think some of it comes from not having figured out the perfect tee height yet. Overall for a first session at the range it went very, very well.

I'm going to play my steel shafted vintage bag only for the rest of the season. If I play any courses where the whites are over 6100 yards, I'll bump up to the reds.

[chuck-p]

Hi all..... I have a Honma 1w and 4w persimmon i use all the time. I can work the ball much better than the modern stuff and i hit the fairway and green much more often...
i also have a set of Hogan speedline peersimmons 1w,3w,4w,5w ...
Persimmons are soo good because they are solid wood with no weights inside.. Your swing gives you pure results.. Good or bad , whatever the day gives you....
Persimmons are also great because of the gear effect caused by the bulge and roll of the clubface. If you come over the top a bit the ball starts out left the cuts back to the center of the fairway. if you swing a touch from the inside the balll starts right then draws to the center of the fairway.... What a deal !!! New modern metal woods typically wouldn't do that; they just keep on heading off line in the woods...
The old persimmons do go a little shorter than modern metal woods BUT if you play from the correct tees for you ability you can still reach par 5's in two and driver wedge to the par 4's...just ilke the pro's...
I'm 63, 4 hdcap and can still reach most of the par 5's in the 500-530 yard range in the summer with my Honma driver/4 wood combo....
Love persimmon,oh yea!!

[freddiec]

I try to hit balls a few times a week with a 1980s Wood Bros. I swing much better and am so much more consistent with this club. I have not tried a modern ball like the Wilson Zip, but will get a box of those soon. You can't match or beat the feel and sound of persimmon on a well struck shot.

[freddiec]

My vintage bag, all from 1987 give or take a year, except for the Wood Bros 3 wood I think is from the early 90s. I need to pick up a good Staff SW, which will complete this set up.

[rex235]

[quote name='freddiec' timestamp='1320876898' post='3780645']
My vintage bag, all from 1987 give or take a year, except for the Wood Bros 3 wood I think is from the early 90s. I need to pick up a good Staff SW, which will complete this set up. Love this bag.
[/quote]


Freddie-

Staff SWs don't necessarily grow on trees...most are worn out, or ...gulp..rechromed.

..With all those circa 1986 clubs, a great fit is the '87 Wilson Staff "Fluid Feel" redux of the Dynapower....

...then again, with all those TX clubs in your bag, you might consider a Ben Hogan Sunburst "25" SW...

....a friend of mine got one to complement his '70 MacGregor VIP set....and has been stiffing shots ever since...

..just sayin...

[Woodridge]

I have a set of Kenneth Smith woods I like to drag out. They made some beautiful woods....and I'd love to pick a set of their irons one of these days.

[super20dan]

i have what must be a very rare kenneth smith driver-its got a fiberglass shaft! it goes a mile-but lots of foul balls dues to shaft torque. i played the irons for years-they are very hard to hit but the wedges are tops! i still use the sw some today

[Hofnar]

I play quite often with persimmon and old(ish) blades. It´s simply a more enjoyable game than bombing away with the modern stuff, especially when you find a nice course that hasn´t been modernized. Also it keeps one honest. When my swing goes south I revert to the old stuff and that somehow always cures what´s wrong.