Rounds with a Vintage Bag

[oldschoolrocker]

SC,
I am of the opinion that yards lost off the tee for the average Joe when using wood and steel, compared to moderns is not as great as we think. Myself, a one club more with the approach shot is my assumption. I believe the gains follow a percentage curve and therefore the more power one has the more loss, in yards one is apt to experience. I also believe that this, when taking the number of times the driver is used throughout a round, is offset by the numbers of fairways hit with respect to persimmon versus titanium. No scientific evidence on my part, merely an assumption based on my own play.

[Fellaheen51]

Concur OSR. Based on no hard data other than my experiences with metal and persimmon on the course I usually play (know yardages, landing zones, etc.). When properly struck with both, the persimmon is only 10 - 15 yards shorter. The real difference on bad swings, for me the dreaded bolo slice, is that the persimmon ball is findable whereas the metal is not. Not factoring in those persimmon drives where I simply do not get the ball airborne.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Didn't think I was swinging any differently with them than the D. Dunno, maybe this is where the mental aspect of things comes into play. Hit FW, good. Can't D, bad. If that makes any sense.

 

Exact same conundrum I had, FW good, D bad, which makes no logical sense.

 

So what I did is try to mentally isolate the differences between my persimmon FW wood swing and my D swing. I do not have a steep angle of attack, and have a generally smooth sweeping swing.

 

I think Randy said in a different thread that there is something about having a driver in hand and being in a tee box that messes with the mind. I agree wholeheartedly with this assessment, with this bad habit being reinforced by one's "blunderbuss" (love the term BTW - much more refined than "toaster"). A wild attacking swing with a big ol' 460 driver doesn't punish the golfer quite as bad oftentimes, even if the centre of the face is missed. This margin for error is severely reduced when using a persimmon wood - this requires a controlled, measured, smooth tempo swing to ensure good accurate contact is made.

 

And heck, even if we bomb it 250 yds into a hazard, we still bombed it 250 yds! Funny how we're psychologically conditioned to prefer distance over accuracy.

 

Now when I use my vintage FWs, I mentally slow down my backswing, ensure I don't overswing and lose the clubhead, and concentrate on solid contact, not power. It was just a matter of forgetting I had the D in my hand, and approaching the shot the same as I would a FW. Also setup was key, and learning the difference between where the clubhead was at address versus at impact was very important as well.

 

And here are pics of the Mac. Indoor light doesn't do it justice, as sunlight makes the grain "sparkle" a bit. It had a hard life before coming to me, and hopefully my limited refurbishment will give it additional life.

 

 

 

[ScooterMcTavish]

Oh, and should note my bucket of "hit away" balls has some old would balata in there. Balls that are truly not suitable for more than one hit, as the cores are likely disintegrated after one hit.

Hit one of these on the screws with the Burke, and the only word that describes it is "sublime". I forgot how good this feels.

[scomac2002]

Scooter, I thought blunderbuss appropo as those things were weapons of mass dispersion!

[HoganApexBlades]

[quote name='golfnut1964' timestamp='1430103438' post='11448559']
I have a 5600 yd track right off my deck (I over look the 16th fairway) got the itch to play a short bag tnite. Not my home club but it was such a beautiful evening looked like nobody was out so I thought why not. Used 10 sticks (forgot my equalizer so I had 1 wedge haha) What a blast ! 36-35 for a decent +1 score on a course that's great for the ol ego !

The back starts with two 4 pars that are 230 & 254...I hit my Hogan speed slot 4 wood to 20 ft on 10 nailed the eagle made a nice u&d on 11 to start the back birdie eagle.
Ended up hitting couple week wedges coming in but it is so fun to play a 'short bag' that forces you to hit diff shots.

Also had a 79 on the weekend on my home course (plays to 6600 yds) using my Hogan Apex irons and my Hogan speed slots. Took $16 from my young friend in our weekend $5 Nassau with his battleship driver and shovel irons haha ! Had three birds and a lot of satisfaction when he handed over the $$$ after taking my usual ribbing for playing with old gear !

I get some funny looks when I hit my drive on 1st tee as well...doesn't bother me a bit anymore. Stay true my classic brethren !!
[/quote]

Love those HOGAN APEX BLADES!!!

[stevemcgee99]

[quote name='scomac2002' timestamp='1430224749' post='11457157']I have a charity scramble coming up in about a months time and had assumed that I would simply slip the titanium blunderbuss (and likely a couple of other modern woods/hybrids) in place of my laminates/vintage metal under the guise that my partners would expect me to be driving the ball "X" distance off the tee. I'm not so sure now as I'd hate to foul up my developing controlled swing and I haven't felt particularly handicapped so far by hitting shorter off the tee.[/quote]

In my opinion, being 50 yards shorter than other people off a drive doesn't matter much - as long as the hole is not longer than 400 yards. My approach shot can be 200 yards (or more). And, landing with less accuracy around the green can happen with a 4 iron, 6 iron, or even 8 iron sometimes. So, no real difference.

It just seems that there are plenty of clubs to get me on the green in regulation. I don't need to skip over the yardage that is intended to be played for the hole.

But I'm finding, now that I'm contacting the ball better, that the distance I'm 'behind' is much less than 50 yards. And, I'm almost always playing off fairway or from great lies in the 'rough' - blasting those 180 or more yards with my 2-wood.

[NRJyzr]

This will be considerably more pedestrian than the Herculean efforts described by some of our Classic aficionados....

I'd mentioned thinking about taking the persimmons out on the course, but had yet to do so. Dug them out of the Barrel o' Clubs (you think I'm kidding, i'll have to take a pic), but hadn't gone so far as to put them in the bag. I finally did last weekend.

My lovely wife has been talking about wanting to play golf, but we haven't been able to arrange it yet this year. We had some time this past Sunday afternoon, home duties having been accomplished, and hit the course for nine holes.

I brought out the Louisville Smart Driver, 9.5° with an SK Fiber Tour Trac 100 shaft (yes, graphite), and my mid-80s Golden Ram 3 wood, with Precision steel. I added my Cleveland Designed By putter to the party.

I wish I could say I started well, but I honestly hit my 3 wood tee shot fat, and it went all of 90 yds, on a 380 yd hole. Yeah, nice start. Hit the 3 wood again, more solidly, wound up with something that ran all the way up to short pitching range. Didn't make par, but I thought that was a nice start.

Following that, it was much better. 3 wood down the middle to short iron range. Driver down the middle on a short par 4 to partial wedge range. Another 3 wood down the middle. Hit a good drive on the lone par 5 on this nine that left me thinking briefly about trying to get home in two with a 3 wood, even with water short of the green, but laid up.

My last two tee shots were kind of ugly, blew one way right (I'm a righty), the other was a less obnoxious block into a willow tree that left me with a decent shot to the green.

Overall, it was quite interesting.

I hit the 3 wood extremely straight, and for me, extremely low; looked like stinger tee shots. The driver was OK, a heel fade to the center of the fairway on the short par 4 I mentioned above, big sweeping draw on the par 5, before finishing with the junk on 17 and 18.

I think the 43.75" length and the lighter weight of the graphite in the driver may have bothered me.

I think my next effort needs to be with a steel shafted something. I have several contenders, M09T Jumbo 80s reissue, Golden Ram TW805, maybe the Golden Ram that matches my 3 wood.

I could even dig out the balatas! Oh my!

[HoganApexBlades]

[quote name='NRJyzr' timestamp='1430441059' post='11476717']
This will be considerably more pedestrian than the Herculean efforts described by some of our Classic aficionados....

I'd mentioned thinking about taking the persimmons out on the course, but had yet to do so. Dug them out of the Barrel o' Clubs (you think I'm kidding, i'll have to take a pic), but hadn't gone so far as to put them in the bag. I finally did last weekend.

My lovely wife has been talking about wanting to play golf, but we haven't been able to arrange it yet this year. We had some time this past Sunday afternoon, home duties having been accomplished, and hit the course for nine holes.

I brought out the Louisville Smart Driver, 9.5° with an SK Fiber Tour Trac 100 shaft (yes, graphite), and my mid-80s Golden Ram 3 wood, with Precision steel. I added my Cleveland Designed By putter to the party.

I wish I could say I started well, but I honestly hit my 3 wood tee shot fat, and it went all of 90 yds, on a 380 yd hole. Yeah, nice start. Hit the 3 wood again, more solidly, wound up with something that ran all the way up to short pitching range. Didn't make par, but I thought that was a nice start.

Following that, it was much better. 3 wood down the middle to short iron range. Driver down the middle on a short par 4 to partial wedge range. Another 3 wood down the middle. Hit a good drive on the lone par 5 on this nine that left me thinking briefly about trying to get home in two with a 3 wood, even with water short of the green, but laid up.

My last two tee shots were kind of ugly, blew one way right (I'm a righty), the other was a less obnoxious block into a willow tree that left me with a decent shot to the green.

Overall, it was quite interesting.

I hit the 3 wood extremely straight, and for me, extremely low; looked like stinger tee shots. The driver was OK, a heel fade to the center of the fairway on the short par 4 I mentioned above, big sweeping draw on the par 5, before finishing with the junk on 17 and 18.

I think the 43.75" length and the lighter weight of the graphite in the driver may have bothered me.

I think my next effort needs to be with a steel shafted something. I have several contenders, M09T Jumbo 80s reissue, Golden Ram TW805, maybe the Golden Ram that matches my 3 wood.

I could even dig out the balatas! Oh my!
[/quote]

BALATA, BALATA, BALATA!!!

[dbuck47]

Well, I had a bad ballstriking day yesterday. I just could not find a good rhythm. I was able to conjur up every miss I have ever had. Harvey Penick said not to worry if you play bad one day, but if you play bad several days in a row, take a lesson. Well, I am thinking of laying off two weeks and then quitting! Well, you know that is tongue in cheek. I did hit some good shots; more than enough to get me back out as soon as possible.

I did not have a bad day, though. The weather was perfect, the course was green, and the group was friendly and enjoyable. That is golf for me. The old adage that the worst day on the golf course is better than the a good day at work is not lost on me, even though I enjoy my work.

Since I need something to blame my play on other than my talent, I will say that I played the first five holes with the new Callaway Chrome Soft. I have been wanting to see one of these in real life, and some finally showed up at my course yesterday. I bought a sleeve to try. My first shot was pretty good, but as I said, my ballstriking was off yesterday, so I will reserve comment. The ball did feel soft, but to me felt a little heavy. I switched back to the Wilson Duo after 5 holes, and they felt better but my performance was not better, hmmm. As I said, I'll not comment more on the Chrome Soft until my swing improves and I can give it a better work out.

[ScooterMcTavish]

I'd blame the ball Bucky. Losing confidence in a club or irons is tough. Losing confidence in a ball is easily fixed.

[scomac2002]

Do not feel bad dbuck, for today was my turn with the bad round. Four lost balls in nine holes; I seemed to pull a miss hit out of my hat every time I could least afford it. A tree limb here, a stubbed chip there, a beautiful draw with my 3W that ran right into a pond. My score was embarrassing and my frustration was only surpassed by my knack for the three putt. My wife, who was my playing partner, scolded me for my mood! The whole mess ended with a nice pitch from about 30 yd. to 6 feet or so followed by a one putt on a greasy downhiller. I stood there shaking my head and exclaimed: [i]what a stupid game! [/i]

Like you I hit some really nice iron shots, but they just didn't seem to amount to anything. I had had a great range session the night before, unfortunately that didn't carry over to today (I wonder if there's a hint in there). Oh well, these days happen and if we're going to talk about rounds with a vintage bag, I guess we should include the poor ones too. An hour (and a beer) later it was all pretty much forgotten as my wife and I were planning our next outing for Tuesday.

[Fellaheen51]

Know what you mean dbuck and scomac, there are days when one wonders what the heck is going on. Played 18 yesterday. Actually two nines, one with the Mrs. in the afternoon and another with my " usual suspects" a little latter. Struck the ball very well playing the all Hogan classic bag. Took a couple of holes to get warmed up with the D as I had not played persimmon in awhile. Swung the irons great, so much so that I had to "wax poetic" about how I was playing them in another thread while killing time between the rounds (possible jinx move, more further down). Shot a 44 which is a little better than the norm for me.

With the buds latter, played a two man best ball. Not for any money or anything, just bragging rights after. Again playing the full classic bag, and being subjected to the usual guffaws before starting. Pretty consistent with the D, not especially long, but was hitting fairways (or just off, some sidehill roll on this course). Keeping the ball in play. Was a good thing, because my partner was spraying the ball everywhere with his metal.

We were 2 up in our little grudge match when it happened. The Shanks. Bad. Out of nowhere. Couldn't hit an iron to save my life. "What a stupid game". Partner says "you got the shanks, put a tee over your left ear (a Tin Cup reference)". Chunked another PW shot but we managed a par and a half on the hole. Number 8 was a 143 yard par 3. Hitting last and with trepidation considering what had been going on the last two holes. My partner didn't have a particularly good tee shot. Tee over ear, finally made a good swing and put the ball on the back fringe, about 20 feet from the cup. Two putted for par. The other "team" made a miracle putt for birdie and won the hole. We halved the last hole and tied for the round. Laughs and beers commenced thereafter.

Just as mysteriously as the shanks occurred, they went away. Yeah, it's a silly game, with things happening for no rhyme or reason. Frustrating......you know it. But, there is always the next day. Hope springs eternal. Can't wait till Sunday afternoon to do it all again.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Ugh, the S word.

Had it happen last year during a round with my FG-17s. Unfortunately, I think the shanks lead to the shanks - as soon as you have one, the grip gets a little tighter

[HoldenCornfield]

Great reports, fellas, keep 'em coming. Fellaheen - stay patient with the persimmon D. It sounds like you're already starting to reap some of the benefits (control). My advice, for what its worth (not much, granted!) would be to stick with it exclusively for a few months. Its so very different from a modern driver (short-flat-heavy-compact vs long-upright-light-massive) that going back and forth between the two causes a lot of problems with each, or at least it does for me.

Not only does the persimmon driver require a different swing technique (smooth and rhythmic vs grip-and-rip) [b]but a different mindset, as well[/b]. Its about placement, not distance. Or to use a baseball analogy, its not about swinging for the fences, its about moving the runners over to keep the inning going. Originally the driver was called the "Play" club, as in - the club you use to put the ball[i] in play[/i]. In the modern game, its all too often the club that puts you [i]out of play[/i].

As an added bonus, when we find the swing with the persimmon driver we'll find that it complements the other clubs in our bag nicely. Not so with the modern driver and driving technique, which is radically different than anything else in the bag. Modern instruction has us placing the ball way up in the stance with our weight and our hands far behind it, then steeply swinging with a positive angle of attack at impact. I never could reconcile that swing with the one I needed to hit my irons crisply. Most of us don't have the opportunity to play or practice enough to groove even one swing, much less two distinct ones. And the modern game places way too much emphasis on driving and driving distance, imo, creating a lot of tee anxiety.

I tee the ball about halfway between my front foot and sternum, with my hands roughly even with the ball. I use a 2 1/8" tee and stick it in the ground about an inch so that the top of the ball peeks over the crown when the club is soled on the ground. I then try to keep my backswing short and compact and strike a slightly descending blow. My best driving rounds are when I can keep the same swing and mindset that I would use with a 4 or 5 wood on the second shot of an unreachable par 5: I know I can't get there, so all I'm after is solid contact and favorable placement for my next shot. If I can accomplish this with my tee shot then I'll almost always have, at worst, a putt for par -- and surprisingly often a putt for birdie.

There's an old saw about tournament golf that says you can't win a tournament on Thursday, but you can definitely lose one. I think the tee shot is a microcosm of that: you can't make birdie with the driver, but you can certainly make double bogey with it.

***

Stick with the persimmon and you may soon be averaging 10-12 fairways hit per round, especially if you're playing a modern golf course designed to accommodate the modern driving game. Two years ago, when I was still playing moderns, I averaged about 8.5 fairways hit per round, and if I ever hit 10 or more I felt like I had had a great driving round.

Now, flash forward to last month and I had what seemed to me a poor driving round with the persimmon. But when I finished and added it up, I had still hit 10 fairways. That was a lightbulb moment for me - I've gotten so used to being in the fairway that my perception of normal has completely changed. And that's a good thing.

None of us are likely to ever master this great game, but is surprising how much easier the game seems when you're consistently hitting out of the fairway. And its pleasingly frustrating to your playing partners!

[BIG STU]

[quote name='HoldenCornfield' timestamp='1430574914' post='11485523']
Great reports, fellas, keep 'em coming. Fellaheen - stay patient with the persimmon D. It sounds like you're already starting to reap some of the benefits (control). My advice, for what its worth (not much, granted!) would be to stick with it exclusively for a few months. Its so very different from a modern driver (short-flat-heavy-compact vs long-upright-light-massive) that going back and forth between the two causes a lot of problems with each, or at least it does for me.

Not only does the persimmon driver require a different swing technique (smooth and rhythmic vs grip-and-rip) [b]but a different mindset, as well[/b]. Its about placement, not distance. Or to use a baseball analogy, its not about swinging for the fences, its about moving the runners over to keep the inning going. Originally the driver was called the "Play" club, as in - the club you use to put the ball[i] in play[/i]. In the modern game, its all too often the club that puts you [i]out of play[/i].

As an added bonus, when we find the swing with the persimmon driver we'll find that it complements the other clubs in our bag nicely. Not so with the modern driver and driving technique, which is radically different than anything else in the bag. Modern instruction has us placing the ball way up in the stance with our weight and our hands far behind it, then steeply swinging with a positive angle of attack at impact. I never could reconcile that swing with the one I needed to hit my irons crisply. Most of us don't have the opportunity to play or practice enough to groove even one swing, much less two distinct ones. And the modern game places way too much emphasis on driving and driving distance, imo, creating a lot of tee anxiety.

I tee the ball about halfway between my front foot and sternum, with my hands roughly even with the ball. I use a 2 1/8" tee and stick it in the ground about an inch so that the top of the ball peeks over the crown when the club is soled on the ground. I then try to keep my backswing short and compact and strike a slightly descending blow. My best driving rounds are when I can keep the same swing and mindset that I would use with a 4 or 5 wood on the second shot of an unreachable par 5: I know I can't get there, so all I'm after is solid contact and favorable placement for my next shot. If I can accomplish this with my tee shot then I'll almost always have, at worst, a putt for par -- and surprisingly often a putt for birdie.

There's an old saw about tournament golf that says you can't win a tournament on Thursday, but you can definitely lose one. I think the tee shot is a microcosm of that: you can't make birdie with the driver, but you can certainly make double bogey with it.

***

Stick with the persimmon and you may soon be averaging 10-12 fairways hit per round, especially if you're playing a modern golf course designed to accommodate the modern driving game. Two years ago, when I was still playing moderns, I averaged about 8.5 fairways hit per round, and if I ever hit 10 or more I felt like I had had a great driving round.

Now, flash forward to last month and I had what seemed to me a poor driving round with the persimmon. But when I finished and added it up, I had still hit 10 fairways. That was a lightbulb moment for me - I've gotten so used to being in the fairway that my perception of normal has completely changed. And that's a good thing.

None of us are likely to ever master this great game, but is surprising how much easier the game seems when you're consistently hitting out of the fairway. And its pleasingly frustrating to your playing partners!
[/quote]I still play a modern driver with the old school method you described. I still tee it that way also unless a tee shot calls for a high cut control driver which sometimes I have to hit on our 17th hole which is a par 3 especially in the late afternoon at 195 with the ocean wind directly in your face. A friend of mine from up North describes me as teeing the ball traditionally

[scomac2002]

[quote name='BIG STU' timestamp='1430575356' post='11485555']
I still play a modern driver with the old school method you described. I still tee it that way also unless a tee shot calls for a high cut control driver which sometimes I have to hit on our 17th hole which is a par 3 especially in the late afternoon at 195 with the ocean wind directly in your face. A friend of mine from up North describes me as teeing the ball traditionally
[/quote]

This is the only technique that has ever worked for me with the driver. When I began playing golf, I couldn't hit driver, so I resorted to using the 3W exclusively off the tee and teed fairly low at that. Even now with a modern driver, I play the ball teed about a foot's width back of my left toe and teed down so maybe half the ball is visible above the soled club. One thing I discovered with my laminate woods was that they need to be teed very tight to the ground, played back in the stance and hit down upon similar to an iron for my best results. I've actually got along better with the laminates in the vintage bag than the old War birds.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Well guys, finally got the first round in today. At the lake house so I used one of the sets I acquired out here last year. Did bring a persimmon driver from home, and my old Dunlop L III putter. Most of the clubs were unknown quantities today - Staff Model 3 & 4W laminates, 3-9 Wright and Ditson irons, and a couple of wedges (Palmer Dual, and H&B). Wood was the Burke, all in an excellent musty smelling Cooper bag:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net result was a "not bad for first round of the year" 45 (+10) on a course I am not super familiar with. A 3-putt on the first green, and a duck hook drive on the second hole were the two worst shots, and I was +4 after two. Add in one fluffed pitch, and I could have easily had a quite good 40 or 41. A couple of interesting notes about the round:

 

The first two drives were poor, one was skied, while one duck hook hit lateral water. They improved from here as I corrected my setup, hitting a nice 200-220 yds on my last two drives. Most interesting was that I did not look for a ball all day. Fairway or fringe - that was it. Considering this is an older course with narrow fairways that punish the wayward modern driver, it set up beautifully for persimmon.

 

Favourite shot was on a 220 yd Par 3, I hit a 3W to 10 yards short, and slightly to the left of the green. Second favourite was a 3i into the wind on a 180 yd par 3 - hit it pin high, just to the right of the green. But it felt gooooood.

 

Overall, a very good first vintage only round - a note about the ball as well. I started with a 50 Elite, tried a Velocity, and went back to the 50 Elite. At $12/doz or less, it is one heck of a ball, and plays nice off vintage.

 

The course was pretty quiet today, and as I was only playing 9, the Pro Shop manager offered to let me start on 10 as two groups had just teed off of 1. Instead, I chose to play behind a threesome, something that forced me to slow down my walk, game, and thoughts. What a refreshing way to play a round on a gusty 78* day.

[HoganApexBlades]

Well guys, finally got the first round in today. At the lake house so I used one of the sets I acquired out here last year. Did bring a persimmon driver from home, and my old Dunlop L III putter. Most of the clubs were unknown quantities today - Staff Model 3 & 4W laminates, 3-9 Wright and Ditson irons, and a couple of wedges (Palmer Dual, and H&B). Wood was the Burke, all in an excellent musty smelling Cooper bag:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net result was a "not bad for first round of the year" 45 (+10) on a course I am not super familiar with. A 3-putt on the first green, and a duck hook drive on the second hole were the two worst shots, and I was +4 after two. Add in one fluffed pitch, and I could have easily had a quite good 40 or 41. A couple of interesting notes about the round:

 

The first two drives were poor, one was skied, while one duck hook hit lateral water. They improved from here as I corrected my setup, hitting a nice 200-220 yds on my last two drives. Most interesting was that I did not look for a ball all day. Fairway or fringe - that was it. Considering this is an older course with narrow fairways that punish the wayward modern driver, it set up beautifully for persimmon.

 

Favourite shot was on a 220 yd Par 3, I hit a 3W to 10 yards short, and slightly to the left of the green. Second favourite was a 3i into the wind on a 180 yd par 3 - hit it pin high, just to the right of the green. But it felt gooooood.

 

Overall, a very good first vintage only round - a note about the ball as well. I started with a 50 Elite, tried a Velocity, and went back to the 50 Elite. At $12/doz or less, it is one heck of a ball, and plays nice off vintage.

 

The course was pretty quiet today, and as I was only playing 9, the Pro Shop manager offered to let me start on 10 as two groups had just teed off of 1. Instead, I chose to play behind a threesome, something that forced me to slow down my walk, game, and thoughts. What a refreshing way to play a round on a gusty 78* day.

 

Scott, great to hear you got out for 9 yesterday. Now that you've shot your high water mark for the season, everything from here on will be better! Keep those vintage clubs in that musty, smelly old bag!

[minimal45]

Those wilson staff woods are a thing of beauty! I just put my old tm bubble burner 5w back in the bag to use off the tee. Can't get out to play this weekend tho which is a bummer.

[johnnydman]

My first full round with the Classic kit this year was a success! Played yesterday at Turnberry (Columbus, Ohio), flat 5900yd, Arthur Hills design - upside down bowl greens. Course was in great shape.
My kit:
MacGregor M85W Driver
MacGregor 80's repro 3wd
Dunlop laminated 5wd
Hogan Apex PC 3-E
TP Mills #3 putter
Modern Mizuno 56* wedge
Callaway SS, Wilson Staff Duo ball

3 poor Tee shots (2 horrible hooks and one bad slice), otherwise a nice day striking the ball. The shot, well the hole of the day was #9, a par 4 at 420yds into a light wind. Great Driver shot to the fairway, then a flush 5 iron pin high, left the 8ft birdie putt hanging on the lip.

Shot 44/40 for my best round with the Classics since starting to play them late last Summer.

Holy Cow! The SuperSoft is quiet off a wooden clubface!

[HoganApexBlades]

[quote name='johnnydman' timestamp='1430704141' post='11492807']
My first full round with the Classic kit this year was a success! Played yesterday at Turnberry (Columbus, Ohio), flat 5900yd, Arthur Hills design - upside down bowl greens. Course was in great shape.
My kit:
MacGregor M85W Driver
MacGregor 80's repro 3wd
Dunlop laminated 5wd
Hogan Apex PC 3-E
TP Mills #3 putterputter
Modern Mizuno 56* wedge
Callaway SS, Wilson Staff Duo ball

3 poor Tee shots (2 horrible hooks and one bad slice), otherwise a nice day striking the ball. The shot, well the hole of the day was #9, a par 4 at 420yds into a light wind. Great Driver shot to the fairway, then a flush 5 iron pin high, left the 8ft birdie putt hanging on the lip.

Shot 44/40 for my best round with the Classics since starting to play them late last Summer.

Holy Cow! The SuperSoft is quiet off a wooden clubface!
[/quote]

Johnny, congrats on a great round! Nice choice of clubs, especially the irons!

[johnnydman]

Thanks!
I have a few Hogan iron sets, lol...Grinds, Radials, '99's, Bounce Sole 1+, Edge GS, and some PC 3 or 5's...maybe one more.
My Apex PC's are 1987's but I thought it'd be neat if I played a Classic kit with everything from when I played High School Golf my Sophomore year in the Fall of 1984.
I grew up playing a clone of the Radials but the ball flight is a little high for my liking.
The Apex PC's just felt the best. I've been looking for a PC 7 iron, this set came with a '99 replacement 7 iron.

My PC's have Apex 4 shafts...keeping my Radial set as a donor if I ever want to change to Apex 3's as I get older. My Edge GS set gave up its Apex 4's and are now in my "Modern" Bridgestone J33 Combos (a bit of a nightmare shaft job due to the J33 hosel depth variance).

[ScooterMcTavish]

[quote name='HoganApexBlades' timestamp='1430658304' post='11489549']
Scott, great to hear you got out for 9 yesterday. Now that you've shot your high water mark for the season, everything from here on will be better! Keep those vintage clubs in that musty, smelly old bag!
[/quote]

Great thought Alan, but last year my handicap grew from around a 9 to a 16 or so. Lack of practice and play will do that, so a +10 for the first nine likely isn't the high water mark.

That being said, I played this course for the first time in 30-some years last year, and shot a 50 on the same 9. So five strokes better than last year, and last year I would have been using modern wedges and driver.

As we talk about using persimmon, what struck me is that other than one wayward tee shot, I kept the ball in play all day. This is so much different than using a modern driver on the same course. With the classics, the fairways look wide. With modern, they sure look narrow.

The mustiness of the clubs and bag made my round smell and feel like it was in the 50's. Awesome.

[HoganApexBlades]

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1430766622' post='11496819']
[quote name='HoganApexBlades' timestamp='1430658304' post='11489549']
Scott, great to hear you got out for 9 yesterday. Now that you've shot your high water mark for the season, everything from here on will be better! Keep those vintage clubs in that musty, smelly old bag!
[/quote]

Great thought Alan, but last year my handicap grew from around a 9 to a 16 or so. Lack of practice and play will do that, so a +10 for the first nine likely isn't the high water mark.

That being said, I played this course for the first time in 30-some years last year, and shot a 50 on the same 9. So five strokes better than last year, and last year I would have been using modern wedges and driver.

As we talk about using persimmon, what struck me is that other than one wayward tee shot, I kept the ball in play all day. This is so much different than using a modern driver on the same course. With the classics, the fairways look wide. With modern, they sure look narrow.

The mustiness of the clubs and bag made my round smell and feel like it was in the 50's. Awesome.
[/quote]

Just don't tell me that you're wearing socks that haven't been washed since the '50s!!!

[ScooterMcTavish]

[quote name='HoganApexBlades' timestamp='1430772181' post='11497493']
[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1430766622' post='11496819']
[quote name='HoganApexBlades' timestamp='1430658304' post='11489549']
Scott, great to hear you got out for 9 yesterday. Now that you've shot your high water mark for the season, everything from here on will be better! Keep those vintage clubs in that musty, smelly old bag!
[/quote]

Great thought Alan, but last year my handicap grew from around a 9 to a 16 or so. Lack of practice and play will do that, so a +10 for the first nine likely isn't the high water mark.

That being said, I played this course for the first time in 30-some years last year, and shot a 50 on the same 9. So five strokes better than last year, and last year I would have been using modern wedges and driver.

As we talk about using persimmon, what struck me is that other than one wayward tee shot, I kept the ball in play all day. This is so much different than using a modern driver on the same course. With the classics, the fairways look wide. With modern, they sure look narrow.

The mustiness of the clubs and bag made my round smell and feel like it was in the 50's. Awesome.
[/quote]

Just don't tell me that you're wearing socks that haven't been washed since the '50s!!!
[/quote]

Nope, but I did wear a 50's style polo shirt. It's a bright robins' egg blue, with a dark blue placket and collar. With plaid shorts, of course.

[stevemcgee99]

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1430772489' post='11497533']
Nope, but I did wear a 50's style polo shirt. It's a bright robins' egg blue, with a dark blue placket and collar. With plaid shorts, of course.
[/quote]
LOL. The Hickory boys can't have all the fun!

[scomac2002]

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1430772489' post='11497533']
Nope, but I did wear a 50's style polo shirt. It's a bright robins' egg blue, with a dark blue placket and collar. With plaid shorts, of course.
[/quote]

50's? That sounds like it's right outa the 70's! You sure you're not a member at Bushwoods CC?

[ScooterMcTavish]

[quote name='stevemcgee99' timestamp='1430774037' post='11497759']
[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1430772489' post='11497533']
Nope, but I did wear a 50's style polo shirt. It's a bright robins' egg blue, with a dark blue placket and collar. With plaid shorts, of course.
[/quote]
LOL. The Hickory boys can't have all the fun!
[/quote]

Although I was born in 70, I do have a spiritual affinity for the 50's. Certainly people romanticize the past, but to me it seemed to be a simple, straightforward time, built on traditional values.

First came the counterculture in the 60's, and Randy with his bell bottoms, discos, mustache, and backgammon in the 70's. The 80's made "greed is good" a reasonable statement, followed by the transition to a celebrity and media culture in the 90's and 00's. To me, the 50's seemed like a normal, happy time, where people had much less complicated lives, believed in societal good (vs. the individual), and corporations honored the social compact they had with their employees.

In other words, we weren't reminded on a daily basis how miserable our lives were, and that only with rock hard abs, whiter teeth, and a sexy car we'd be happy.

Regardless, I think it would be fun to have period correct clothes and bags for the set we're playing - in my case, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's. and 90's. Think I got the fat Jack pants from the 70s nailed, and I have some 50's baby blue pants.

[Fellaheen51]

[quote name='ScooterMcTavish' timestamp='1430766622' post='11496819']
......As we talk about using persimmon, what struck me is that other than one wayward tee shot, I kept the ball in play all day. This is so much different than using a modern driver on the same course. With the classics, the fairways look wide. With modern, they sure look narrow.
[/quote]

One of those subconscious things that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Why I'm not that concerned with the tree line(s) on my familiar course when playing persimmon. The one that I've rattled many a ball into when playing metal. Because I no longer hit balls over there! I've got this wide open expanse of fairway to hit into. Just lay it out there and go. Thx for the clarity.

Edit note on your post ^: I'll give you that the 50's were simpler times. But.....just no, on anything disco. Gawd, that was a pathetic era, culturally speaking. And no to baby blue pants, can't do it. Not then, not now. Plaid only if they're shorts (of which I own exactly ONE pair that the Mrs. bought), never pants. My father wore plaid golf pants all the time. I'm not old enough yet. As always, to each their own. Carry on.