Rounds with a Vintage Bag

[Nomad Golfer]

It's amazing what you can run across when you work at a golf course. Running into someone who plays vintage kit is a rare experience in this part of the world. Usually it falls into a couple of categories: Someone who rarely plays and has access to an old set of clubs or a senior who hasn't changed their gear in years. But even then, you would expect to see a modern titanium driver in the bag. Today I met a women who shares our affection for vintage golf gear...

 

 

 

This is Leslie. She plays a regular weekly game with a ladies league group. This was my first Friday working at the club so I had never met her before, but I instantly spied a set of blade irons and pristine laminate woods in her bag when she checked in at the starter's hut. We had some time for a conversation and talk about vintage clubs. All of her playing companions commented about how far she hit those woods without even being prompted!

 

She has a set of Macgregor Mastermaker (?) irons -- they've been mentioned on here before -- North Western laminate woods with keyhole inserts and a Spalding aluminum mallet that's reminiscent of Ray Cook models. All men's clubs. Pretty cool! :good:

Is she single?

[scomac2002]

It's amazing what you can run across when you work at a golf course. Running into someone who plays vintage kit is a rare experience in this part of the world. Usually it falls into a couple of categories: Someone who rarely plays and has access to an old set of clubs or a senior who hasn't changed their gear in years. But even then, you would expect to see a modern titanium driver in the bag. Today I met a women who shares our affection for vintage golf gear...

 

 

 

This is Leslie. She plays a regular weekly game with a ladies league group. This was my first Friday working at the club so I had never met her before, but I instantly spied a set of blade irons and pristine laminate woods in her bag when she checked in at the starter's hut. We had some time for a conversation and talk about vintage clubs. All of her playing companions commented about how far she hit those woods without even being prompted!

 

She has a set of Macgregor Mastermaker (?) irons -- they've been mentioned on here before -- North Western laminate woods with keyhole inserts and a Spalding aluminum mallet that's reminiscent of Ray Cook models. All men's clubs. Pretty cool! :good:

Is she single?

 

:lol:

 

Would you like me to ask?

 

I know this guy down under... ;)

[Nomad Golfer]

It's amazing what you can run across when you work at a golf course. Running into someone who plays vintage kit is a rare experience in this part of the world. Usually it falls into a couple of categories: Someone who rarely plays and has access to an old set of clubs or a senior who hasn't changed their gear in years. But even then, you would expect to see a modern titanium driver in the bag. Today I met a women who shares our affection for vintage golf gear...

 

 

 

This is Leslie. She plays a regular weekly game with a ladies league group. This was my first Friday working at the club so I had never met her before, but I instantly spied a set of blade irons and pristine laminate woods in her bag when she checked in at the starter's hut. We had some time for a conversation and talk about vintage clubs. All of her playing companions commented about how far she hit those woods without even being prompted!

 

She has a set of Macgregor Mastermaker (?) irons -- they've been mentioned on here before -- North Western laminate woods with keyhole inserts and a Spalding aluminum mallet that's reminiscent of Ray Cook models. All men's clubs. Pretty cool! :good:

Is she single?

 

:lol:

 

Would you like me to ask?

 

I know this guy down under... ;)

hehe If I wasn't happily married then yes, but we look forward to Leslie (or Lesley?) joining the banter on this forum. A lady with this talent would have been whisked up to the altar very quickly by some lucky fella in the golfing world, and she's a MacGregor fan !

[Nomad Golfer]

It is funny ain't it? Mostly I hear "Man you really need a set of NEW clubs" Looks of shock from the tourist golfers with the latest and greatest. Around the club some of the old fart retirees seriously think I have "a screw loose" . Some of them are really curious as to what I have in the bag this time. It is funny if I was retired and played everyday I could literally play a different set every day if I wanted. Now in a money match or serious round I will pull out the modern gear listed in my signature. But in some circles that is considered antique because the irons are 4 years old now and the 915 driver is 2 generations old and hell they don't make Adams any more. That aint counting the old wedges old hybrid and 1997 rusty Scotty.

The only club less than 10 years old in my regular bag is the Adams hybrid. When the vintage set gets a run, patrons gather around like wedgetail eagles at a road kill, there ain't many vintage players at my course !

[BIG STU]

It is funny ain't it? Mostly I hear "Man you really need a set of NEW clubs" Looks of shock from the tourist golfers with the latest and greatest. Around the club some of the old fart retirees seriously think I have "a screw loose" . Some of them are really curious as to what I have in the bag this time. It is funny if I was retired and played everyday I could literally play a different set every day if I wanted. Now in a money match or serious round I will pull out the modern gear listed in my signature. But in some circles that is considered antique because the irons are 4 years old now and the 915 driver is 2 generations old and hell they don't make Adams any more. That aint counting the old wedges old hybrid and 1997 rusty Scotty.

The only club less than 10 years old in my regular bag is the Adams hybrid. When the vintage set gets a run, patrons gather around like wedgetail eagles at a road kill, there ain't many vintage players at my course !

I can see that. What used to really draw the yuppie tourist types was my Titleist Staff bag. It is a oddity within itself. It is in pristine shape and is at least 3 maybe 4 generations old now. I would see them walking up ad looking on the range and looking shocked when I had the rusty well worn VIPs with my assortment of other well worn stuff. I switched to one of my well worn stand bags for a while but for the summer I ride unless I am playing one of my vintage rounds so I switched back to the staff bag. Of course I get some odd ball looks with a set of forged Callys sticking out of them. When I ride playing vintage I have my green and white Mac mini staff bag. It really gets some looks from the tourist type. Now if I have either the "taking care of business" set or the vintage clubs in one of my stand bags it hardly gets noticed. Most of the older fart members do not pay me any attention but a couple will wander over to see as they put it "WTH has Stuey got in the bag this week?" . Those same 2 when I show up with the TCB set will say "oh hell he is serious today" Most of the regulars around the club think I have a screw loose anyhow. They keep raising the age of the men's senior league anyhow. I remember when it was 60 (i am now 60) last year and they changed it to 65. Last year I was asked to sub for a friend of mine (who has since passed) who was sick. Some of them got to raising hell because they play from the senior tees said I hit it too far. So I told them how about If I played persimmon and blades from the senior tees? They jumped on that. It was a two man best ball deal. I live around the corner so I scooted back and got my FC-4000s and whatever persimmon woods. They told me I was playing off of a 0 handicap since I do not keep a card. Ok by me. I threw a 76 on them (+4) and the team shot a 69 best ball. We waxed their butts. I think I am unofficially banned from the Men's league which I could give two hoots about anyhow. Besides I ain't retired yet so do not play everyday. I sorta made my reputation around that crowd a couple of years ago-- One of those guys is a big mouth nosy old fart. I was out practicing my short game had my Sunday bag with the 7 iron down in it. He remarked I did not have many clubs. He had irritated me before. I promptly told him I had enough to beat his arse with. Played him on the front 9 from the senior tees with a 7 iron up for a $50 bet 2 down automatic press. The idiot did not realize I could hood down a 7 iron from the tee and hit it with roll out 200 yards. Normally the 7 iron is my 150 club at sea level. He could not putt anyhow and after I got him 2 down after 2 holes he about had to have oxygen the rest of the round. I let up some and only beat him 2 bets. He would not double up so I closed him out on #8. He found out some of my past from some of the boys on the North end of the beach . They told him he ought to not jumped on me. Went around here telling everyone I was a hustler but he does not mess with me. Won $50 off another of the guys he wanted me to get another match with this guy with me playing 2 clubs. I told the guy he is more scared of me than he is a bear. I came up with a game. I was going to play him with a Kroyden "rough Iron" which is the loft of a modern 5 iron and a Calamity Jane style putter. I bet the other guy $50 he would not take the game. I won that bet. I offered that guy the same game but he would not take it either. Those guys will not mess with me but relish in telling people I have a screw loose

[Nomad Golfer]

Good read Stu. "WTH has Stuey got in the bag this week?" "oh hell he is serious today" that sounds like psychological warfare to me.

I get the odd invite to play with a group (think they feel sorry for me) and the first time it was $20 each winner takes all. Feeling sorry for me and my vintage set, they put me on the front tee - big mistake. I spent most of the $80 at the bar buying them drinks anyway but it was a lesson learned and the word got around. I have to admit the opposition weren't great players and up against a group of low handicappers I would have been taken to the cleaners. With my vintage clubs, what is lost in distance is gained in accuracy (don't know whether you find this) so little difference in end result between old and not so old gear. My lovely MacGregor tour bag always draws attention more so than the clubs in it, and had a few good offers but it's not leaving any time soon. I do enjoy using my Persimmon woods off a crowded first tee - it's like listening to a Jamaican steel band from the other players - TING THWOCK BOOENG CRACK and a muted thud from my Pwood as the ball flies up the fairway. Good stuff that vintage

[scruffynick]

I wish my wife would be like this!!! Trying but she ain't interested but she might change once the kids start playing.......boy my fingers are crossed!

[BIG STU]

Good read Stu. "WTH has Stuey got in the bag this week?" "oh hell he is serious today" that sounds like psychological warfare to me.

I get the odd invite to play with a group (think they feel sorry for me) and the first time it was $20 each winner takes all. Feeling sorry for me and my vintage set, they put me on the front tee - big mistake. I spent most of the $80 at the bar buying them drinks anyway but it was a lesson learned and the word got around. I have to admit the opposition weren't great players and up against a group of low handicappers I would have been taken to the cleaners. With my vintage clubs, what is lost in distance is gained in accuracy (don't know whether you find this) so little difference in end result between old and not so old gear. My lovely MacGregor tour bag always draws attention more so than the clubs in it, and had a few good offers but it's not leaving any time soon. I do enjoy using my Persimmon woods off a crowded first tee - it's like listening to a Jamaican steel band from the other players - TING THWOCK BOOENG CRACK and a muted thud from my Pwood as the ball flies up the fairway. Good stuff that vintage

I do lose quite a bit of distance with the vintage irons about 1 1/2 clubs on the irons and that is ok I can deal with it. 100 yards and in no effect at all since I basically play the older wedges in front line sets too. Any wedge I really like (Cleveland 588s Vokey 252s or Wilson Staff JPs) I have 4 or 5 of. All it is on the irons is the number on the bottom and the loft. Basically on the modern Callys the PW is the same loft as my vintage Mac 8 iron. Persimmon woods depending on condition of the course there may be at least 20 yards difference or so. Right now we are dry and the persimmon will roll out like the Energizer Bunny keep on getting it. Also with the persimmon I change balls and play the Lady Bridgestone. Now hitting the real lumber helps my ball striking. Yesterday I played a match so the "TCB" set was in play. I was flat nutting the 915 driver dead in the screws never missed a fairway all day. Also putting with one of my vintage putters helps my putting. I will more than likely play vintage golf this afternoon after church. Went over to my building yesterday and drug some more vintage stuff out. Drug another deep faced Penna driver out , a old Kroyden rough iron and a Power Bilt Calamity Jane style putter. Those last 2 items I have played before mostly on a 2 club bet but it has been years since I hit them.

[Nomad Golfer]

Good read Stu. "WTH has Stuey got in the bag this week?" "oh hell he is serious today" that sounds like psychological warfare to me.

I get the odd invite to play with a group (think they feel sorry for me) and the first time it was $20 each winner takes all. Feeling sorry for me and my vintage set, they put me on the front tee - big mistake. I spent most of the $80 at the bar buying them drinks anyway but it was a lesson learned and the word got around. I have to admit the opposition weren't great players and up against a group of low handicappers I would have been taken to the cleaners. With my vintage clubs, what is lost in distance is gained in accuracy (don't know whether you find this) so little difference in end result between old and not so old gear. My lovely MacGregor tour bag always draws attention more so than the clubs in it, and had a few good offers but it's not leaving any time soon. I do enjoy using my Persimmon woods off a crowded first tee - it's like listening to a Jamaican steel band from the other players - TING THWOCK BOOENG CRACK and a muted thud from my Pwood as the ball flies up the fairway. Good stuff that vintage

I do lose quite a bit of distance with the vintage irons about 1 1/2 clubs on the irons and that is ok I can deal with it. 100 yards and in no effect at all since I basically play the older wedges in front line sets too. Any wedge I really like (Cleveland 588s Vokey 252s or Wilson Staff JPs) I have 4 or 5 of. All it is on the irons is the number on the bottom and the loft. Basically on the modern Callys the PW is the same loft as my vintage Mac 8 iron. Persimmon woods depending on condition of the course there may be at least 20 yards difference or so. Right now we are dry and the persimmon will roll out like the Energizer Bunny keep on getting it. Also with the persimmon I change balls and play the Lady Bridgestone. Now hitting the real lumber helps my ball striking. Yesterday I played a match so the "TCB" set was in play. I was flat nutting the 915 driver dead in the screws never missed a fairway all day. Also putting with one of my vintage putters helps my putting. I will more than likely play vintage golf this afternoon after church. Went over to my building yesterday and drug some more vintage stuff out. Drug another deep faced Penna driver out , a old Kroyden rough iron and a Power Bilt Calamity Jane style putter. Those last 2 items I have played before mostly on a 2 club bet but it has been years since I hit them.

Love the mix n match element, and I do it all the time. Even mix metal woods with real woods, takes some of the boring out.

There is about one club difference in distance between the two sets. The biggest danger I face is going somewhere and finding another vintage club that I like. I did that last week, in a barrel I found 3 matching immaculate laminated woods and I was halfway to the checkout when I realised they were left handed. As far as balls go, anything soft does me - got plenty of W/S duos so that's flavour of the month.

[Wriggles]

I've been playing my "new" Tommy Armour 845's since I got them a few weeks ago, and regriped them. They are stamped, pat pending, so they are from 1988 or so. Qualifies as vintage, I'd say. Paired them with a R11 driver and 3W, along with a Natalie Yes putter from 2006. Since I'm a minimalist, 4,7,PW, and SW are my bagged irons, seven clubs total. Will take out the SW to make maximum 6.

 

The 845's are good irons, I think better than my Karsten 2's from 1975.

 

After I get over the cold I have, I need to play some hickory.

[Nomad Golfer]

I've been playing my "new" Tommy Armour 845's since I got them a few weeks ago, and regriped them. They are stamped, pat pending, so they are from 1988 or so. Qualifies as vintage, I'd say. Paired them with a R11 driver and 3W, along with a Natalie Yes putter from 2006. Since I'm a minimalist, 4,7,PW, and SW are my bagged irons, seven clubs total. Will take out the SW to make maximum 6.

 

The 845's are good irons, I think better than my Karsten 2's from 1975.

 

After I get over the cold I have, I need to play some hickory.

Hi Wriggles, yep the 845s are good irons, but I only have the #7 iron which is filling in for a missing MacGregor RD. Having used it for a while now I don't think I'll bother looking for the Mac 7. Recently there was a full set of Silver Scot irons advertised on Gumtree and I was very tempted and it caused some angst I kin tell ya !

[TimV]

Most of the older fart members do not pay me any attention but a couple will wander over to see as they put it "WTH has Stuey got in the bag this week?"

 

The version of this that I get is the bag crew at one of my regular courses...

"What set is he playing this week?" "Wow, I haven't seen those before." "Is he packing Persimmon, Laminates, or Metals?" "If we send him out with (insert name) he'll freak that guy out." "Let's do it!"

All snippets of conversation I've overheard and I'm sure there's more lol. Good group of guys who fall over themselves to take care of me because A) I treat them like real people, and B) I tip well.

[DM70]

I played a quick 9 with my Muirfields today, together with an 80s remake of the M65 Eye-O-Matic, a Titleist laminate I refinished last year (my first attempt a restoring) and the 8813 I also game with my modern set.

 

This was my first round with the Muirfields, yesterday I got them checked for loft and lie, got a few dings evened out, and got the lines rescored, all by a local club-maker. For that service I paid almost what I paid for the set itself, which is not a knock on his prices, just a tell on how cheap you can get a set like this.

 

As for the round, not too good, but still fun. This set is playing a bit tougher than my Hogan Redlines, although I did a range session afterwards where they felt much better, and I do love the M65!

 

[Nomad Golfer]

I played a quick 9 with my Muirfields today, together with an 80s remake of the M65 Eye-O-Matic, a Titleist laminate I refinished last year (my first attempt a restoring) and the 8813 I also game with my modern set.

 

This was my first round with the Muirfields, yesterday I got them checked for loft and lie, got a few dings evened out, and got the lines rescored, all by a local club-maker. For that service I paid almost what I paid for the set itself, which is not a knock on his prices, just a tell on how cheap you can get a set like this.

 

As for the round, not too good, but still fun. This set is playing a bit tougher than my Hogan Redlines, although I did a range session afterwards where they felt much better, and I do love the M65!

 

 

Lovely clubs. I have 2 sets of MacGregor irons, one is the Jack Nicklaus Classics and they are not the easiest to play with. A classic Mac bag for your set would really finish them off.

[BKN1964]

Played "The Willows" in Kenton County, Kentucky for the first time today. Nice day so I took out the vintage set ('58 Wilson blades, 70-something MacGregor M/T persimmons). Starting to gain a true appreciation for how good a small-headed 5 wood is out of the rough.

[Tumbleweed_1968]

It was a dark and stormy Saturday morning here in Wisconsin as I waited for a line of thunderstorms pass. Loaded up the vintage set @ 10AM, minus a few clubs to facilitate walking, and headed for the home course - an executive, but challenging, 18 hole layout.

 

Played the front nine twice with my Wilson K-28 woods and irons, along with a Northwestern J.C. Snead 483 putter which I found last week. Got my first birdie of the season and pared the ninth hole twice, something I never do with my GI clubs.

 

Observations: Misses with the woods are not as penalizing. Usually a straight pop-up or something that is not to far off of the fairway and playable. Irons are getting better each time I play them. Not having too many clubs to chose from simplifies things and makes the game more fun for me. You have to be more creative. I hit more approaches closer than I ever have. Scoring was decent, and improved throughout the weekend.

 

My Achilles heel was decision making, trying to hit shots I just don't have in me - yet.

 

Played 9 hols Sunday afternoon. My buddy and I have a standing date on Sunday afternoon's, and it was in the mid 80's unbder a beautiful blue sky. Slight breeze. Sunday's bag was a mix of modern and vintage. Scoring was slightly better, but it will take a while to get used to those Adams Irons. They may be a bit too lite, and may be better suited to me in about 10 years.

 

I have attached pics, but haven't figured out how to insert them in between paragraphs yet.

 

League starts for me this Thursday. I have chosen the Adams 3 wood, Wilson 4 wood, Adams 4 & 6 hy, Wilson 5, 7, 9, Ram PW, Unknown 62* wedge, and the previously mentioned Northwestern putter in my 10$ Nike carry bag. I'm going to try to mix it up and see how I score. I can hit the 3 wood pretty well, better than any driver actually, so I am taking Harvey Penick's advice and locking the driver(s) in the closet for the time being. I like the Wilson Irons better right now, and the RAM PW over the Adams. The Adams PW feels like I am hitting a marshmallow. I can't seem to feel the clubhead.

 

If I go to a longer course, I will add the rest of the Wilson irons (4, 6) (2-4 need new grips) and possible a gap wedge, although it looks to my untrained eye that the RAM PW and the modern gap wedges I have are the same angle...?

 

Anyway, it was a very fun weekend going old school.

[Nomad Golfer]

It was a dark and stormy Saturday morning here in Wisconsin as I waited for a line of thunderstorms pass. Loaded up the vintage set @ 10AM, minus a few clubs to facilitate walking, and headed for the home course - an executive, but challenging, 18 hole layout.

 

Played the front nine twice with my Wilson K-28 woods and irons, along with a Northwestern J.C. Snead 483 putter which I found last week. Got my first birdie of the season and pared the ninth hole twice, something I never do with my GI clubs.

 

Observations: Misses with the woods are not as penalizing. Usually a straight pop-up or something that is not to far off of the fairway and playable. Irons are getting better each time I play them. Not having too many clubs to chose from simplifies things and makes the game more fun for me. You have to be more creative. I hit more approaches closer than I ever have. Scoring was decent, and improved throughout the weekend.

 

My Achilles heel was decision making, trying to hit shots I just don't have in me - yet.

 

Played 9 hols Sunday afternoon. My buddy and I have a standing date on Sunday afternoon's, and it was in the mid 80's unbder a beautiful blue sky. Slight breeze. Sunday's bag was a mix of modern and vintage. Scoring was slightly better, but it will take a while to get used to those Adams Irons. They may be a bit too lite, and may be better suited to me in about 10 years.

 

I have attached pics, but haven't figured out how to insert them in between paragraphs yet.

 

League starts for me this Thursday. I have chosen the Adams 3 wood, Wilson 4 wood, Adams 4 & 6 hy, Wilson 5, 7, 9, Ram PW, Unknown 62* wedge, and the previously mentioned Northwestern putter in my 10$ Nike carry bag. I'm going to try to mix it up and see how I score. I can hit the 3 wood pretty well, better than any driver actually, so I am taking Harvey Penick's advice and locking the driver(s) in the closet for the time being. I like the Wilson Irons better right now, and the RAM PW over the Adams. The Adams PW feels like I am hitting a marshmallow. I can't seem to feel the clubhead.

 

If I go to a longer course, I will add the rest of the Wilson irons (4, 6) (2-4 need new grips) and possible a gap wedge, although it looks to my untrained eye that the RAM PW and the modern gap wedges I have are the same angle...?

 

Anyway, it was a very fun weekend going old school.

that's a mix of old and new!.

[Nomad Golfer]

I went over to the course this morning for a few hits, bit of a mix and match in the bag also, persimmon & laminates, Mac blades and a Hogan, Wilson driver and Cleveland #4 wood. I found a way of not closing the club face at impact by changing my grip and turning my left hand anti-clockwise, if that makes sense. The result was a pronounced fade, which is something I almost never do, so working on that I made sure the club face was square at address and progressively used a little less anti-clock grip until I started to get some really good straight drives with all the woods. This grip change wasn't needed for the irons as I normally hit them square anyway. . Another thing I changed was bringing my feet closer together and standing more upright, this seemed to improve contact with the ball. Best club of the day was the Hogan E equalizer wedge from about 80m out, it was dead on the pin. Didn't bother to keep score so there was no pressure on. All and all a very productive and enjoyable session.

[Tumbleweed_1968]

@Nomad Golfer: Yeah. Saturday's round was all Wilson, with the exception of the King Cobra Driver (Mid 90's, I think) that I wanted to try in comparison to the Wilson driver. Hit it twice, and it stayed in the bag for the rest of the holes.

 

Sunday I brought along the new irons to show my playing partner who is not into old school golf and would never change no matter how bad he gets.

 

The "cart bag" is a thought I had for when I play a certain person who spent more on their bag that I did on my whole setup. That person usually likes to play longer courses, so we normally ride. That person is very much into image, and would be embarrassed by my scruffy set. The relationship is more important that the clubs I use.

 

League is all about scoring, so I'll most likely mix, match, experiment with a variety of clubs. Definitely trending towards a minimalist set with 2 woods (either Wilson or Walter Hagen), 4 irons, one wedge, and one putter.

 

So I guess I am not a purist yet, but I only started playing with vintage clubs a little while ago, so....

 

But one day, I will play that certain person (and be brave enough to play) with my minimalist set from the 1970's and will beat them! All with a setup that cost less than their shoes...

[Nomad Golfer]

@Nomad Golfer: Yeah. Saturday's round was all Wilson, with the exception of the King Cobra Driver (Mid 90's, I think) that I wanted to try in comparison to the Wilson driver. Hit it twice, and it stayed in the bag for the rest of the holes.

 

Sunday I brought along the new irons to show my playing partner who is not into old school golf and would never change no matter how bad he gets.

 

The "cart bag" is a thought I had for when I play a certain person who spent more on their bag that I did on my whole setup. That person usually likes to play longer courses, so we normally ride. That person is very much into image, and would be embarrassed by my scruffy set. The relationship is more important that the clubs I use.

 

League is all about scoring, so I'll most likely mix, match, experiment with a variety of clubs. Definitely trending towards a minimalist set with 2 woods (either Wilson or Walter Hagen), 4 irons, one wedge, and one putter.

 

So I guess I am not a purist yet, but I only started playing with vintage clubs a little while ago, so....

Good post. You will find that the King Cobra drivers of that vintage tend to have a closed face and will lead you into a strong hook - I have 2 of these clubs somewhere in storage and although I like them for their age, they don't get onto the course very often. If you do use yours, open the face up at address and hold it there throughout the swing. I get plenty of funny looks at my vintage sets from the few glitterati on the first tee - they are easy to spot. I'm more afraid of the olds with beaten up bags and clubs. As you can see from my sig I'm a fan of Wilson, MacGregor, Hogan, Cleveland etc etc, it's a deadly addiction.

[birly-shirly]

Count me a fan of those Cobra drivers. The shallow face 10.5 feels great with a steel shaft. Probably my favourite steel headed driver. The Deep Face 9 should have been on my list of best names for clubs - but I find it a bit of a handful to get it airborne, and suspect it's a bit of a low spin beast for my clubhead speed. Had some recent success on the range with a stupidly high tee - maybe enough to warrant taking it out if the fairways scorch this summer. I haven't found either to have a hook bias - in fact the deep face is pretty hook proof in my experience. There were some offset models around though - which I think you'd want to avoid on general principles. Who needs a driver that you can shank?

[Tumbleweed_1968]

@Nomad Golfer: Yeah. Saturday's round was all Wilson, with the exception of the King Cobra Driver (Mid 90's, I think) that I wanted to try in comparison to the Wilson driver. Hit it twice, and it stayed in the bag for the rest of the holes.

 

Sunday I brought along the new irons to show my playing partner who is not into old school golf and would never change no matter how bad he gets.

 

The "cart bag" is a thought I had for when I play a certain person who spent more on their bag that I did on my whole setup. That person usually likes to play longer courses, so we normally ride. That person is very much into image, and would be embarrassed by my scruffy set. The relationship is more important that the clubs I use.

 

League is all about scoring, so I'll most likely mix, match, experiment with a variety of clubs. Definitely trending towards a minimalist set with 2 woods (either Wilson or Walter Hagen), 4 irons, one wedge, and one putter.

 

So I guess I am not a purist yet, but I only started playing with vintage clubs a little while ago, so....

Good post. You will find that the King Cobra drivers of that vintage tend to have a closed face and will lead you into a strong hook - I have 2 of these clubs somewhere in storage and although I like them for their age, they don't get onto the course very often. If you do use yours, open the face up at address and hold it there throughout the swing. I get plenty of funny looks at my vintage sets from the few glitterati on the first tee - they are easy to spot. I'm more afraid of the olds with beaten up bags and clubs. As you can see from my sig I'm a fan of Wilson, MacGregor, Hogan, Cleveland etc etc, it's a deadly addiction.

I'll give that a try. I can hit it pretty well some days, but I was slicing it badly on Saturday, so... I went with the Wilson. Drives straightened out. Misses were is the fairway.

 

That said, I am taking Harvey Penick's advice and not using a driver, going forward, until I can hit ten fairways in a row using my 3 wood. As a rule, I generally punish clubs for two holes until I make two good shots in a row with the next club in the bag. Then they have permission to come out and play again...

[Tumbleweed_1968]

Count me a fan of those Cobra drivers. The shallow face 10.5 feels great with a steel shaft. Probably my favourite steel headed driver. The Deep Face 9 should have been on my list of best names for clubs - but I find it a bit of a handful to get it airborne, and suspect it's a bit of a low spin beast for my clubhead speed. Had some recent success on the range with a stupidly high tee - maybe enough to warrant taking it out if the fairways scorch this summer. I haven't found either to have a hook bias - in fact the deep face is pretty hook proof in my experience. There were some offset models around though - which I think you'd want to avoid on general principles. Who needs a driver that you can shank?

Maybe that's what I should do with mine - replace the graphite shaft with a steel shaft. Hmmm......

[Fellaheen51]

D, first let me take the opportunity to welcome you to these environs. Great place to learn, discuss and extoll the virtues of playing classic golf clubs. I've been following along to some degree your chronicles of trial and discovery. Can't argue with Mr. Penick's advise of hitting 3W from the tee. Typically allowing one to control the clubhead square and begin to realize consistency while driving the ball. A number of years ago, my golf league partner and I were really struggling using our drivers. We made a pact with one another to not use our drivers the rest of the league season. We didn't. We won the league that year. FWIW.

 

A multitude of variables that can contribute to one's struggles with a driver. I'll leave the swing mod discussions to others. From a implement perspective, the neat thing about discovering and playing classic clubs is one can experiment with different models and options inexpensively. You've already tried the King Cobra and it certainly was a popular driver of that era. I don't know if reshafting yours to steel would be a prudent, cost effective option. May be better served to shop around for one already steel shafted. I've seen them before at the local thrift stores that I browse, for next to nothing.

 

Another option to consider if you should run across one. A Titleist 975D (275 cc) and/or 983K (365 cc). Both can be found steel shafted regularly. The compact head size allows one to better square the clubhead through impact. I thrifted a 983K for like $6.00 a couple of years back. It was rather extraordinary how it allowed me to get my very errant driving of the ball back under control. There was a 975 thread around here awhile back that brought these drivers to my attention. There was a lively discussion of their merits and many extolling their virtues. I would recommend placing one on your radar in case your were to run across one. A very inexpensive experiment to see how it may work for you.

[Tumbleweed_1968]

D, first let me take the opportunity to welcome you to these environs. Great place to learn, discuss and extoll the virtues of playing classic golf clubs. I've been following along to some degree your chronicles of trial and discovery. Can't argue with Mr. Penick's advise of hitting 3W from the tee. Typically allowing one to control the clubhead square and begin to realize consistency while driving the ball. A number of years ago, my golf league partner and I were really struggling using our drivers. We made a pact with one another to not use our drivers the rest of the league season. We didn't. We won the league that year. FWIW.

 

A multitude of variables that can contribute to one's struggles with a driver. I'll leave the swing mod discussions to others. From a implement perspective, the neat thing about discovering and playing classic clubs is one can experiment with different models and options inexpensively. You've already tried the King Cobra and it certainly was a popular driver of that era. I don't know if reshafting yours to steel would be a prudent, cost effective option. May be better served to shop around for one already steel shafted. I've seen them before at the local thrift stores that I browse, for next to nothing.

 

Another option to consider if you should run across one. A Titleist 975D (275 cc) and/or 983K (365 cc). Both can be found steel shafted regularly. The compact head size allows one to better square the clubhead through impact. I thrifted a 983K for like $6.00 a couple of years back. It was rather extraordinary how it allowed me to get my very errant driving of the ball back under control. There was a 975 thread around here awhile back that brought these drivers to my attention. There was a lively discussion of their merits and many extolling their virtues. I would recommend placing one on your radar in case your were to run across one. A very inexpensive experiment to see how it may work for you.

Thanks for the welcome!

RE: 975D - What does the "D" stand for? Draw? I read some of those discussions, but I like your idea of using the three wood. Congrats on winning league!

RE: Your Avitar: Two Words - Rocky Lombardi. Some day I hope to live long enough to see him hoist the Lombardi Trophy playing for the Green Bay Packers. :-) Keep an eye on that kid, who, btw, is a scratch golfer.

[birly-shirly]

Count me a fan of those Cobra drivers. The shallow face 10.5 feels great with a steel shaft. Probably my favourite steel headed driver. The Deep Face 9 should have been on my list of best names for clubs - but I find it a bit of a handful to get it airborne, and suspect it's a bit of a low spin beast for my clubhead speed. Had some recent success on the range with a stupidly high tee - maybe enough to warrant taking it out if the fairways scorch this summer. I haven't found either to have a hook bias - in fact the deep face is pretty hook proof in my experience. There were some offset models around though - which I think you'd want to avoid on general principles. Who needs a driver that you can shank?

Maybe that's what I should do with mine - replace the graphite shaft with a steel shaft. Hmmm......

 

That's exactly what I did with my deep face model. I thought the graphite shaft, some Cobra "Autoclave" or some such, was horrible. It was made back in the day when a lot of graphite shafts still had a suspect reputation for being soft to flex and torquey. This thing was, I think, a horrible over-reaction.

 

I found a cheap old metal driver, pulled the shaft and swapped it over for a great improvement in feel. The Cobra hosel was 0.350 - so I also needed a shim adaptor to plug in the more conventional tipped TT DG. You might or might not need to do similar - I don't know whether the 10.5 model had the wider hosel bore, but the current shaft may well tell you the tip size.

 

Having said all that, it's hard to disagree with Fellaheen's case in favour of a 975 or 983. The Cobra is my favourite steel headed driver. But those are probably my favourite drivers ever.

[Fellaheen51]

There were four models in the 975 line. D, J, JVS and LFE. Varying CC's and head shapes. The 975D was the "standard" version. It was not draw bias. Had a 975D 9.5* for awhile. Preferring the slightly larger size (365cc), loft (10.5*) and shaft (GD YS-6) the was in the 983K.

 

The QB position is wide open this year. Like his size (6'3", 200) and reportedly an outstanding all around athlete. A multi-generation coach's son, so coming with a pedigree. Always like coach's sons, especially at QB. They have savvy about them. However, he's yet to arrive on campus. So behind the curve relative to the others. Wouldn't be surprised that he gets red-shirted this season.

 

Nevertheless, welcome to Spartan Nation young man. Learn that everyone wearing a blue and yellow uniform is to be despised and humiliated.

[DM70]

Used the same set as above for my round today, shot an 86 (31 points stableford) in a 2-3 club wind and I'm very happy with that! Course was playing quite firm, so all shots downwind had to be carried well short of the green and bounced on, something which I felt suited how the Muirfields play. Highlights from today was the driving and pitching though, on the SI 1 par 4 11th (440 yds) I hit a real corker downwind, cutting the dogleg leaving less than 150 to go, an easy 9 into the green for a good par. I managed to go all pars and bogeys (mostly bogeys) until the 16th, 420 yards into the teeth, after a great drive and an ok 2iron I still had 70 yards to go, fatted the wedge into the bunker for a double, a score which I repeated on the 17th,.. A par on the 18th (again into wind) felt great after that.

 

I'm pretty sure I could not have saved more than a couple of shots playing my moderns, and I know I had much more fun doing it this way!

[gsea33]

Put these on the back of the cart Sun morning. Love the conversations that arise when they are spotted.

[Nomad Golfer]

Put these on the back of the cart Sun morning. Love the conversations that arise when they are spotted.

love the bag too !