Rounds with a Vintage Bag

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

My daughter wanted to go for an early morning half round, so off we went today.

 

A few days ago, the forecast looked a bit dodgy, so I was thinking classic irons (RAMs) with a set of V-steels in the woods, but the forecast changed to probably dry and sunny so I put some persimmons in the bag.

 

When I woke this morning, it was wet,  but the rain had stopped, so I stuck with the persimmons.

 

Irons were good, the woods not so much. Pretty much the state of my game at the moment. However, hitting the persimmons not so well has helped me get to the root of the problem a little, so that's good.

 

Best shot was an 8-iron on a short par 3. At one point I thought I might have my first ever hole in one, but it ended up 4~5 foot short. Made the birdie putt, but it was mostly bogey golf today.

 

You might notice I have two drivers. I took the Powerbilt Pro Sonic along to try out. The black Beston has a carbon shaft, the Powerbilt a steel one. I think I prefer steel in persimmon, especially drivers, but I'm not sure why.

The long uphill par 5 third

Think this is the par-3 seventh from the pink tees.

Early morning mist after the overnight rain.

Edited April 27 by No_Catchy_Nickname

[BIG STU]

Ok the wife and I are doing the Par3 thing today. I am going full Hickory. Here is what I have

I am not an Hickory expert so I may need help and information on these from @Hickory4ever and anyone else with info.

Go Sum Mashie Niblick marked 6X with a L in a circle on the back

Macgregor Dayton Ohio Tru Whip Niblick 8

Macgregor Mashie Niblick 6 with a clover leaf stamp

Putter Otey Crisman Stainless 34H

I do know all of these Niblicks have different soles and lofts. 

Should be a fun day will play with one of my balata balls or the Dunlop Elite wound balls. That course is really short so I figure I can get on the green with something. Worse comes to worst with the tight fairways I can take the old Otey and run it up Carnoustie style. I see today being a blast!!!

[Hickory4ever]

The MacGregors should play well but the Go Sum will likely be too light a swing weight as the L indicates it to be a lighter head. The Niblicks are usually around 50* loft and Mashie Niblick around 45* or so. They should play similar distances to a classic era club with the same loft. If they feel too light, @BIG STU savor to taste with lead tape. You should be good for the par 3 course. Have fun.

 

The Otey will be an effective Texas Wedge and I putt well with most of my Oteys.

 

I played a mishmash of new to me hickory irons in yesterday’s round with mixed results. Likely not the clubs fault.

Edited April 27 by Hickory4ever

[cold_war_era_golfer]

Felt good to golf two days in a row!  Temps in the lower 50s here in the Chicagoland area.

Thursday I went out with my neighbor to our park district course and played the 9 hole for the first time this year.  It's was great being back out there as to I tied my best round from last season.

Friday we went out again and played the same course in the morning.  Absolute disaster of a round for me with three tee shots going OB.   We had lunch at the club house and went back out to the 9 hole and bettered my score from the previous day. So ending on a high note!

 

I think it's safe to say I had more fun than my neighbor who couldn't figure out his new woods and new set of Callaway irons.  I'll never get him over to vintage but on the drive home he did ask for the name of "that book" I bought 4 years ago when I decided to learn how to golf with vintage clubs and only vintage literature.   He will soon be the proud owner of a copy of Hogan's 5 Lessons.  

 

My beat up set of '63-64 Top Flite irons.

1986 Staff Sand wedge.  

1954 Tommy Armour 693 2w that the previous owner had refinished and reshafted with a DG s300 

1961 MacGregor RT2W 4w

Late 60s Bullseye FL M 5  P

 

 

 

 

[cold_war_era_golfer]

3 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

My daughter wanted to go for an early morning half round, so off we went today.

 

A few days ago, the forecast looked a bit dodgy, so I was thinking classic irons (RAMs) with a set of V-steels in the woods, but the forecast changed to probably dry and sunny so I put some persimmons in the bag.

 

When I woke this morning, it was wet,  but the rain had stopped, so I stuck with the persimmons.

 

Irons were good, the woods not so much. Pretty much the state of my game at the moment. However, hitting the persimmons not so well has helped me get to the root of the problem a little, so that's good.

 

Best shot was an 8-iron on a short par 3. At one point I thought I might have my first ever hole in one, but it ended up 4~5 foot short. Made the birdie putt, but it was mostly bogey golf today.

 

You might notice I have two drivers. I took the Powerbilt Pro Sonic along to try out. The black Beston has a carbon shaft, the Powerbilt a steel one. I think I prefer steel in persimmon, especially drivers, but I'm not sure why.

The long uphill par 5 third

Think this is the par-3 seventh from the pink tees.

Early morning mist after the overnight rain.

Beautiful pics!  What s your decision process with rain and the persimmons?  Is it not wanting to get them wet?

[Hickory4ever]

@cold_war_era_golfer, my criteria on wet days is take out a set of laminates such as Ping Eye 2’s. The same for cold winter days. It will not hurt the clubs as long as you dry them after the round.

[cold_war_era_golfer]

49 minutes ago, Hickory4ever said:

@cold_war_era_golfer, my criteria on wet days is take out a set of laminates such as Ping Eye 2’s. The same for cold winter days. It will not hurt the clubs as long as you dry them after the round.

 

Interesting.   I've always been using laminates on cold days but usually just try to dry off the persimmons on wet days.  I may rethink that now!

[SnowbirdTom]

Set this bag up for the coming week if we get a break in the weather.  MacGregor VIP by MacGregor persimmons and a set of VIP split sole irons.  Add in an Otey Crisman putter, some vintage balls and a sure recipe for par golf.  🙂

 

(found two nice UK Slazenger small balls in the stash!)

PS - anyone have a review on how the split soles play?  Haven’t hit them yet.

Edited April 27 by SnowbirdTom

[Jiggered]

Made another 6 hole video playing with 1950s persimmons and blades, a bit of a nervy start but played well after that.

 

The blades don't get a picture in the video so to save you watching the previous video, here's one.

 

 

 

[BIG STU]

8 hours ago, Hickory4ever said:

The MacGregors should play well but the Go Sum will likely be too light a swing weight as the L indicates it to be a lighter head. The Niblicks are usually around 50* loft and Mashie Niblick around 45* or so. They should play similar distances to a classic era club with the same loft. If they feel too light, @BIG STU savor to taste with lead tape. You should be good for the par 3 course. Have fun.

 

The Otey will be an effective Texas Wedge and I putt well with most of my Oteys.

 

I played a mishmash of new to me hickory irons in yesterday’s round with mixed results. Likely not the clubs fault.

Thanks for the info. I did not read your reply before I left. I pretty much figured out things after a couple of holes. The first hole plays about 85 yards up the hill with the wind in my face. I hit the Mashie Niblick High with a lot of spin and stopped the wound Dunlop to about 15 feet and stopped it. What was funny the course was crowded but we had a tee time. I heard someone say "is that a wood shafted club?" His bud remarked rather snarky oh this day is going to be fun. After that shot they were perplexed. Lipped out the putt with the Old Otey. Never saw those guys again. A couple of longer holes into the wind I hit a low running screamer with the Go Sum. Yeah it is light but I like it fine. I did airmail a couple of greens with the wind at my back. I did experiment some with different bump and run shots with the different clubs. As you stated that Otey is a great Texas Wedge club. Had 4 bogies mostly due to me getting used to the clubs and learning how to use them. But I did have 2 birdies one almost being a HIO on the 7th hole with the Tru Whip. I Texas wedged one in from long distance on the back side with the Otey. Ended up +2 for the day which I felt good about. Main thing it was an absolute blast. Yep this will be my set up for that course until winter when they put the mats in and the course plays longer

[BIG STU]

5 hours ago, SnowbirdTom said:

Set this bag up for the coming week if we get a break in the weather.  MacGregor VIP by MacGregor persimmons and a set of VIP split sole irons.  Add in an Otey Crisman putter, some vintage balls and a sure recipe for par golf.  🙂

 

(found two nice UK Slazenger small balls in the stash!)

PS - anyone have a review on how the split soles play?  Haven’t hit them yet.

Now this is just me and everyone is different. I tend to be steep anyhow but I can dig to China with those split soles. They may play well for you. For me my fun is seeing if I can hit some of this stuff

[SnowbirdTom]

Just now, BIG STU said:

Now this is just me and everyone is different. I tend to be steep anyhow but I can dig to China with those split soles. They may play well for you. For me my fun is seeing if I can hit some of this stuff

I’m a sweeper, so that may work in my favor.  Yeah, it’ time to try and keep or move some stuff to someone that can use or appreciate it.

 

I did manage to figure out they’re 1973 releases.  All the persimmon and iron serials match too!

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

8 hours ago, cold_war_era_golfer said:

Beautiful pics!  What s your decision process with rain and the persimmons?  Is it not wanting to get them wet?

 

Mostly that, but as @Hickory4ever said, they should be alright if you dry them properly after the round.

 

The other factor is loss of distance on wet fairways. Recently, I've been hitting the ball low with persimmons (well, the driver at least) and relying on roll-out for distance. 

 

But it's more about not getting them wet. If they're properly coated, it's not much of a worry, but I've a couple of favourite fairway woods that I really should re-coat.

[Hickory4ever]

1 hour ago, BIG STU said:

Thanks for the info. I did not read your reply before I left. I pretty much figured out things after a couple of holes. The first hole plays about 85 yards up the hill with the wind in my face. I hit the Mashie Niblick High with a lot of spin and stopped the wound Dunlop to about 15 feet and stopped it. What was funny the course was crowded but we had a tee time. I heard someone say "is that a wood shafted club?" His bud remarked rather snarky oh this day is going to be fun. After that shot they were perplexed. Lipped out the putt with the Old Otey. Never saw those guys again. A couple of longer holes into the wind I hit a low running screamer with the Go Sum. Yeah it is light but I like it fine. I did airmail a couple of greens with the wind at my back. I did experiment some with different bump and run shots with the different clubs. As you stated that Otey is a great Texas Wedge club. Had 4 bogies mostly due to me getting used to the clubs and learning how to use them. But I did have 2 birdies one almost being a HIO on the 7th hole with the Tru Whip. I Texas wedged one in from long distance on the back side with the Otey. Ended up +2 for the day which I felt good about. Main thing it was an absolute blast. Yep this will be my set up for that course until winter when they put the mats in and the course plays longer

I am glad you had fun, it is great fun. You will find the hickory shafted clubs work fine, especially if you can feel where the clubhead is. On Friday, I was checking out several newly acquired clubs as I am making up some new play sets.

 

A week from tomorrow is World Hickory Golf Day and we are going to have fourty plus players with several newbies. It is going to be a lot of fun.

[bcstones]

5 hours ago, Jiggered said:

Made another 6 hole video playing with 1950s persimmons and blades, a bit of a nervy start but played well after that.

 

The blades don't get a picture in the video so to save you watching the previous video, here's one.

 

 

 

Fantastic video & play....so I gotta ask - What the blazes do you mean "...so to save you watching the previous video..."?!?!  Watch both the prior video where you provide the history of the Harold Bird AND when you play the clubs themselves. It is all a great historical info and a further proof that vintage clubs play well

[ezgoer]

Ready for the first full vintage round of the year. Mismatched 80’s set. Mac M85 irons along with a Hogan 53 wedge, ZING putter and EYE2 woods in the Burton bag. Not sure if the 7 wood is gonna go. Really sketchy rainy weather forecast for next 2 days so gotta be ready to go at drop of the hat. Just did a middle of the night regrip on the woods. Gonna need some luck getting this in. 

[BIG STU]

24 minutes ago, ezgoer said:

Ready for the first full vintage round of the year. Mismatched 80’s set. Mac M85 irons along with a Hogan 53 wedge, ZING putter and EYE2 woods in the Burton bag. Not sure if the 7 wood is gonna go. Really sketchy rainy weather forecast for next 2 days so gotta be ready to go at drop of the hat. Just did a middle of the night regrip on the woods. Gonna need some luck getting this in. 

Good Luck hope you get it in---- BTW I have always been a fan of mismatched bags--- Play what works or in our cases play what you want to try

[Jiggered]

21 hours ago, bcstones said:

Fantastic video & play....so I gotta ask - What the blazes do you mean "...so to save you watching the previous video..."?!?!  Watch both the prior video where you provide the history of the Harold Bird AND when you play the clubs themselves. It is all a great historical info and a further proof that vintage clubs play well

 

I was trying a bit of reverse psychology in the hope that they'd be tempted to watch even if they didn't take the first prompt at the stat of the playing video!

[ezgoer]

  First full vintage round of the year. Constant light to medium mist and about 50 degrees. Luckily very little wind so other than the pain of keeping hands and grips dry it wasn’t as bad as I was worried about. Played ok considering weather. Could have been far worse. Very poor iron contact first 4 holes. Iron play improved then went away in middle of the round but came back very good at the end of round. Wood play was actually pretty solid so promising. Usually have one just total stinker but other than a couple push slices that I got away with I had no real embarrassing stinkers. Was getting tired and starting to pout a little from poor play then played last 4 holes even par with 1 ball and 1 over with other so nice finish. 

  I was pretty much the only one out there so I played 2 balls tee to green so 36 holes! 5400 yard par 68 course. Titleist ball went around in 84 with 4 doubles. Srixon ball went around in 81 with 1 double. Lots of stupid mistakes on those doubles. 

  Cuz of weather I left the Burton bag at home. No cense soaking that. Good thing cuz damn near threw out my back loading this water logged bag in my trunk after round. Rain hoods are a godsend and pain all at same time. Hard keeping hands dry. 

Chosen sticks

Saturated 

  Why 2 irons are useful. I did hit it a just a touch fat but got it through there nice and low and still got about 170 yards out of it ending back in center of fairway positioning perfectly for 3rd shot on a par 5. 

  9 iron bump and run from about the cart to about 2 feet from the hole. Up and down par on a 390 par 4. Gonna mix that shot in a lot more often. 

  Don’t know what to think of the PING 7 wood. It’s a shocking site over the top of it. Hit it once pretty successfully. Slight push but plenty high and straight. Probably 175-180 yards. Really like the driver and 3 wood. The EYE 2 driver actually hits like a 12 degree club. Only wood wood  I have that occasionally goes borderline too high at times and not cuz hitting down too much. Hit a couple drives 230 yards plus and a mile high. Not much roll today but curious in dry conditions if these will run like a persimmon. Sure plenty of my 80’s Mac persimmons are 11 degrees and hit nowhere near as high as these. 

  Hogan 53 and Colokrom 56 sure have a rounded leading edge. I’m not super steep with my swing but wondering if those that are really dig to China with this style? Like both of them but sure makes me nervous over tight lies. They actually dig just enough that it may make those tight lie shots easier but it’s just strange looking to me. 

  Didn’t do it justice but not the putters fault. The ZING has been my favorite PING putter for awhile. Use to have a PAL I putted lights out with for a short period so always looking for another. I ruined this regripping with an oversized grip but that will be corrected sooner than later. Pleasant view. 

 

Edited April 29 by ezgoer

[ezgoer]

On 4/27/2024 at 2:28 PM, Jiggered said:

Made another 6 hole video playing with 1950s persimmons and blades, a bit of a nervy start but played well after that.

 

The blades don't get a picture in the video so to save you watching the previous video, here's one.

 

 

 

You make very enjoyable videos, thank you. Looked like you got along with that 2 wood pretty well. Sharp looking woods and those irons look dead on MacGregor. May start to play that match play format myself. 

[Hickory4ever]

With World Hickory Golf Day coming up on Sunday, it was time to get out my favourite lineup of early 1920’s hickory clubs. Although I have several sets of matching clubs, in true early 1920’s fashion, my A team is basically an all star team from more than one manufacturer.  The two Niblicks and Mashie Niblick are Stewarts and are the best I have. From the Mashie on up I prefer my Jack Whites and throw in a Spalding Sammy driving iron for good measure. 
 

For woods, it varies from day to day. Jack Whites or Gibsons with the odd MacGregor depending on what I had for breakfast 😀.

 

Today’s game got off to a slow start but I finished strong. Tomorrow is Hickory Friday and I will sort out my choice of woods for the big event on Sunday. We also have our $3 game tomorrow which is an added incentive to play well.

[cold_war_era_golfer]

In previous RWVB posts I mentioned sticking to the one set of '63-64 Top Flites.  I used them for all my rounds for the month of April.  May is here and I decided to try these '65-66 Top Flites I got over the winter.  I have another set of these in the collection with the original grips however this second set came cheap and had already been regripped with playable grips so I thought about making these my playable '65-66 set.  

 

Last week I played a long course and played rather well except my short irons were longer than I had hoped so I made a point to go to a local par 3 course the following week and just play off the deck on all the tees to simulate being 100-185 yards off the green but fairway like circumstances.  I got to do that twice this week.  On Tuesday with the '63-64s and on Thursday with the '65-66s.  

 

These '65-66s look more like a traditional blade than the '63-64s and have a slightly longer face.  They also have different shafts, or at the very least different shaft labels indicating "Pro Flite."  These might be "matched shafts" on the '65s?  But they do have that funky vintage Spalding length that I'm so used.  These are sweet feeling!  When you hit them right they feel like butter and the sound is unlike anything else heard on the course that day.  Accompanying the irons was a 1961 MacGregor Tourney RT2W 3w.   This course has one long hole that if it is not crowded I can practice a bit with the 3w and I'm still trying to iron out my favorite 3w for this year.   

 

[ezgoer]

  Back to back full vintage rounds. Buddy was in town without his clubs so let him use my moderns and I played 76 Staff irons, Dyna-powered reproduction wedges, 8886 putter and  Muirfield persimmon set and used the Burton bag. 
  Played a 6300 yard par 71 called River Oaks. Bit more of a test than I’ve played yet this year. Bad score overall (90). I was a double machine (7). Struggled off tee with a driver. Hit exactly 1 good one. Struggled with the most important delicate shots around the green also. Didn’t putt well either, been the trend this year. Hit irons, full wedges and fairways pretty good overall. Made the turn 12 over par. Battled back to under bogey golf after 16. Then proceeded to double 17 & 18 to shoot 19 over par. Those really stung! Actually felt pretty good walking off 16 green then it all left again. Nothing worse than finishing that way. 
  Muirfield driver was too much for the swing I brought today. May need to stay with the PING EYE’s I play last week for a bit yet. Not saying they are better but the LCG on those seem to really help me. Was stressing so much playing I never thought to take any pictures until I was unloading my bag.
  Course’s really greened up in last 5 days here and starting to grow out. Winter rules preferred lies almost unneeded now. 

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

Yesterday's vintage round with MacGregor RMT2 flatbacks, just as easy to hit as my hickories, just lovely.

[Maine Golfer]

I almost holed one out from the woods, Jordan Spieth experience style with the Sandy Andy this AM. Up against a stub so I had no follow through, drive it into the ground and magically stop! Saved par!

 

 

Edited May 4 by Maine Golfer

[dashanks]

On 5/3/2024 at 5:17 PM, ezgoer said:

  Back to back full vintage rounds. Buddy was in town without his clubs so let him use my moderns and I played 76 Staff irons, Dyna-powered reproduction wedges, 8886 putter and  Muirfield persimmon set and used the Burton bag. 
  Played a 6300 yard par 71 called River Oaks. Bit more of a test than I’ve played yet this year. Bad score overall (90). I was a double machine (7). Struggled off tee with a driver. Hit exactly 1 good one. Struggled with the most important delicate shots around the green also. Didn’t putt well either, been the trend this year. Hit irons, full wedges and fairways pretty good overall. Made the turn 12 over par. Battled back to under bogey golf after 16. Then proceeded to double 17 & 18 to shoot 19 over par. Those really stung! Actually felt pretty good walking off 16 green then it all left again. Nothing worse than finishing that way. 
  Muirfield driver was too much for the swing I brought today. May need to stay with the PING EYE’s I play last week for a bit yet. Not saying they are better but the LCG on those seem to really help me. Was stressing so much playing I never thought to take any pictures until I was unloading my bag.
  Course’s really greened up in last 5 days here and starting to grow out. Winter rules preferred lies almost unneeded now. 

You might have shot 90 but you looked good doing it with those gorgeous sticks in the bag.  Love the Mini Bullet Backs!

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

On 5/4/2024 at 8:06 PM, The Aspidistra in the Hall said:

Yesterday's vintage round with MacGregor RMT2 flatbacks, just as easy to hit as my hickories, just lovely.

 

I love those RMT2 flatbacks. There's something about a chromed flatback iron that really appeals to me.

[The Aspidistra in the Hall]

2 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

I love those RMT2 flatbacks. There's something about a chromed flatback iron that really appeals to me.

Thanks Catchy. Not only are they satifying to hit, I love the shafts in them. Very nice wedge too.

[cold_war_era_golfer]

On 5/4/2024 at 6:06 AM, The Aspidistra in the Hall said:

Yesterday's vintage round with MacGregor RMT2 flatbacks, just as easy to hit as my hickories, just lovely.

Beautiful! I had a set of those a few years ago when I was starting out and couldn't hit them.  I believed the "internet hype" about them being the world's most difficult playing irons.  I'd like to try them again.

[Maine Golfer]

All from winter goodwill finds, minus my white hot.  The burners are awesome. The X31 have fluted shafts and if I swing them fine, they are great. If I half a** swing them, well not so much lol. The 50s Hogan Wedge is pure FIRE.