Is it Easier to Hit a Draw with a Classic Driver?

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Persimmon and Steel Compared to Titanium and Graphite

So I have three rounds in a row with my 1951 Macgregor clubs, including persimmon driver, 2W and 3W with heavy steel shafts. I can't draw the ball with a 460cc Titanium driver more than many once in 10 or 20 swings, on a good day. But I get quite a few very nice hard-running draws and even the occasional frankly hooked drive with my Jimmy Demaret driver.

What might be the root of that new-found "ability". Lord knows my swing is no better than it was a week ago when I was playing Titanium and graphite. Is it the shorter length or maybe the heavier (much heavier) total weight of the club? Or is it something about the wooden head's geometry or moment or inertia, whatever?

Of course until I know for sure which half-dozen drives per round are going to draw (with another handful of fades and some straight ones mixed in) it's not the most useful thing in the world. But it's might cool.

[Shallowface]

[quote name='Fourmyle of Ceres' timestamp='1331566687' post='4489283']
So I have three rounds in a row with my 1951 Macgregor clubs, including persimmon driver, 2W and 3W with heavy steel shafts. I can't draw the ball with a 460cc Titanium driver more than many once in 10 or 20 swings, on a good day. But I get quite a few very nice hard-running draws and even the occasional frankly hooked drive with my Jimmy Demaret driver.

What might be the root of that new-found "ability". Lord knows my swing is no better than it was a week ago when I was playing Titanium and graphite. Is it the shorter length or maybe the heavier (much heavier) total weight of the club? Or is it something about the wooden head's geometry or moment or inertia, whatever?

Of course until I know for sure which half-dozen drives per round are going to draw (with another handful of fades and some straight ones mixed in) it's not the most useful thing in the world. But it's might cool.
[/quote]

I have heard that the farther the center of gravity is from the shaft, the harder it is to square (or close) the clubface.

That's why so many modern drivers are built with very closed faces and a lot of weight in the heel.

I'm always on the lookout for modern clubs with open faces like I've always liked in persimmon woods (the standard face angle on persimmon woods was 2 degrees open because this looks "optically square" to the golfer. That's from Ralph Maltby by the way, not me.). They're darned rare in the stock models. Most of them are at least zero degrees square, which to my eye looks 2 degrees closed.

[Jack Pearsall]

I always had trouble slicing my old persimmons. I know about 90% of it was my kid swing hitting for the stands...

I would love to demo a nice old late 50's persimmon with a valid steel shaft from that era.

Ah, a time when 230 out was damn good for a hack like me...