I actually own one. It's a 7 wood from Louisville Golf and it shore is perty. By far the most beautiful club I've ever owned. Sure, I hit my 5 iron the same distance and more accurately and the shaft is all wrong for me, but man is it a great looking club.
The feel of it is totally different from anything else I've ever hit. When I hit it off center I feel it all the way past my elbows and it makes a disconcerting "CLUNK!" type of sound. Every time I hear that sound I have to examine it to make sure I haven't shattered her.
But when I hit it on its microscopic sweet spot it makes this neat little "click!" sound that's very pleasing to the ears and body.
I don't how the old pros were able to hit those things 300 yards. Granted, if persimmon were still the dominant force in woods (real and actual "woods" that is) I'm sure Tiger, Phil, Vijay, etc would be belting shots just as far as Nicklaus and Palmer. But I am curious as to how the modern players would fair swinging with irons made of real irons and woods made of real wood.
There should be a tournament held every year where PGA players, in a nod to the greats of the past should have to play with the exact same kind of equipment they did. I wonder how they'd score.
I have five old clubs from 1964 3, 3.5, 4, 5, & 7 steel shafts with the string windings at the hassel. Great clubs ever once in a while I will get one out just to get the feel of what it used to be to hit a golf ball with one of these.
Just today, as a matter of fact. Every wood in my bag is a real wood. I'll never use graphite shafts or titanium heads.
Yea, they would just make the game too easy.
J/K. But the game is so hard as it is, i would be interested to hear why you don't play titanium or graphite.
The last time i played wood was when i was like 10 or 11 and had this old set. I never broke sixty, and that was playing like 10 mullies and never taking more than 10 on a hole. Man was I terrible. Then i gave up golf for about 8 years, and am now in love with the game. My irons are all x stiff graphite, and so are my titanium "woods". In fact the only traditional clubs in the bag are the steel shafted wedges, putter, and 2 iron.
Hey! Graphite is the old,arthritic's friend! Seriously, I have been playing graphite shafts for at least 15 years 'cause of the arthritis in my hands. Had an occasion a couple of years ago to hit a persimmon 3W with a graphite shaft and almost drove the green on a 310 yd par four. And man! did it sound sweet! Used to have a set of Macgregor MT's and they were great clubs. I now have a set of Pinseeker persimmons which I will pass on to my grandson.
I played with them until this year. Titleist 1,3,4 & 5. Steel shafts. I went to a TM Burner Bubble a couple of years ago and it didn't really improve my driving. My 3-wood got beat up and I cut it down for my son a couple of years back. I was still using the 4 & 5 until this year. I bought a new set this year and I hit the 5 about 15 yards longer than the old Titleist 5. Forgiveness is about the same, but I hit the old ones pretty solid. I won't be going back though.
I found a persimmon driver laying around the pro shop and decided to hit it on the range. It had been at least 15 yrs since hitting a wooden headed driver. It's amazing - skyed every shot, hit nothing over 180 yds and the sound was so unfamiliar. Just could not get the ball to start on a lower trajectory. 5 minutes after hitting that club, I took my driver out and smacked it perfect - used my same lousy swing. Glad I don't have to hit wooden clubs anymore, but they sure are nice to look at.
I had a wooden 3 wood in an old bag that I'd never hit til I just decided for the heck of it to take it with me one day after my other 3 wood was busted. I had it in there for a few weeks and only really hit it on one hole...#11, a 285 yard par 4. Every time though, I striped it down the center with a slight draw, travelling every bit as far as the 3 wood I was using before. The only difference was that I couldn't seem to get the ball up off the fairway. Once I got my new fairway wood though, I put that one back in the garage and haven't hit it since.
If I had the money I'd get a full set from 5 wood to driver if for nothing else the novelty of it and the fact that Louisville Golf makes such beautiful clubs. I'd also have to have a single digit handicap so that I would have the skill and knowledge to be able to adjust to them. As it stands right now, my game (and wallet) won't withstand such a radical experiment. Like I said, I do like the looks of my 7 wood but I don't carry it in my bag anymore.
I play them all the time. I have a Louisville Golf Fairway Finder driver and 3,5, and 7 Niblick fairway woods. They are the sweetest hitting woods I have ever owned, not to mention the most beautiful. The Niblicks get the ball up better out of the rough than any metal wood I have tried. 75 percent of the head weight is below the ball's center. No metal wood comes close to that. I do like to also use my Cleveland Launcher driver, but the persimmon clubs have such a sweet sound and feel. AND, in case you forgot, or did not know in the first place, the LONGEST DRIVE on record was 515 yards. It was made by Mike Austin in 1974 with a Wilson 10 degree PERSIMMON driver. So don't think persimmon can't keep up. It's the Indian, not the arrow, as they say. Maybe a lot this so called "hi-tech" of today is also a lot of expensive hype? Take a look at the profits being made by the big manufacturers with their "forced obsolecence" marketing . They bring out the latest high tech "gotta' have" gizmo, and we all run down and plunk down our money. I have been as guilty as anybody. The only thing that has really improved my game is getting out and playing as much as I can. Sorry to get on a soapbox, but I think it needed saying. You want to get better at golf? Then get out and play as often as you can.
I'd love to get a nice persimmon wood. My first two sets of clubs had laminate heads so I never really hit a persimmon head. I may have tried my dad's First Flight woods but that is it. Picked up my first set of metal woods, a 1,3,5 of the Mizuno Quad in the mid 80's. By that time, metal woods were really coming into force so I never went to a "wood" club. If I remember reading correctly, Bernhard Langer finally caved in and gave up his persimmon driver in the mid to late 90's.
June 28th, 2005, 05:22 PM
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