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Anybody keep an old set of persimmon woods just for fun?

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Badger_Golfer

Badger_Golfer

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Does anyone out there keep an old set of persimmon woods around that they play every now and then just for fun? Im thinking about picking up some off of Ebay.
Theres a part of me that thinks it might be fun every now and then to play a set of woods that actually are wood. Perhaps Im just romanticizing a bygone era but theres a part of me that would like to see the USGA roll technology back and bring back wooden woods.
 
My wife and I were actually walking past a thrift store about a month ago and they had as set out front. Had they been Left handed I probably would have picked them up just to see how they actually hit.
 
i pondered this last year i wanted to get my first set when i was 14 but i can't remember what irons and woods i had. i keep looking at pics online i know if i ever see them i will know thats them and then i can find the right set.
 
Buckjob said:
i pondered this last year i wanted to get my first set when i was 14 but i can't remember what irons and woods i had. i keep looking at pics online i know if i ever see them i will know thats them and then i can find the right set.
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I'd love to see you smash a persimmon driver, Buck.
 
Jersey Nate said:
I'd love to see you smash a persimmon driver, Buck.
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me too if i ever find one id buy it. im not the yard sale kind of guy but i think it be funny to see if i destroyed it or not.
 
I have an old persimmon driver that I used to love. I am going to have to pull it out and give it a go for old time sakes.
 
Gaijin_Golfer said:
Does anyone out there keep an old set of persimmon woods around that they play every now and then just for fun? Im thinking about picking up some off of Ebay.
Theres a part of me that thinks it might be fun every now and then to play a set of woods that actually are wood. Perhaps Im just romanticizing a bygone era but theres a part of me that would like to see the USGA roll technology back and bring back wooden woods.
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Been there and done that. Not something I would want to see. There is nothing wrong with technology nor is there anything wrong with breaking out the woods now and then, but lets not back up in golf.
 
I still have a Cleveland Classic Persimmon Driver...it's at my mom's house in the garage with a bunch of my old clubs.
 
TripleBogieTim said:
I still have a Cleveland Classic Persimmon Driver...it's at my mom's house in the garage with a bunch of my old clubs.
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Ah, so THAT is where Cleveland got that name...pretty cool.

Tapping from my S3
 
I just looked at mine. It is a Wilson, but the grip is messed up. I think my son used to fool around with it.
 
I found a old set of Arnold Palmer's in my dad's garage. The driver was missing, so I thought I would take a hack with the 3 wood. Worm burned one about 100 yards. The head was way to small for me. Those were some real golfers that played those.
 
Have a set that I have never hit. I need to give them a swing.

TapAhoy!
 
I've got one, but the hozzel is fouled up. I need to get it repaired, because it hit really well actually.
 
Badger_Golfer said:
Does anyone out there keep an old set of persimmon woods around that they play every now and then just for fun? Im thinking about picking up some off of Ebay.
Theres a part of me that thinks it might be fun every now and then to play a set of woods that actually are wood. Perhaps Im just romanticizing a bygone era but theres a part of me that would like to see the USGA roll technology back and bring back wooden woods.
Click to expand...

This noob is finding a lot of interesting threads here.

I don't know about rolling the technology back, but I for one would love to see part of the silly season given over to some of today's players playing some championship courses set up close to the way they were in the early sixties with 1960s-era equipment.

Even Nicklaus thought ball flew too far and courses were too long for beginners in the 1980s after developing a new ball for a course in the Cayman Islands. this is from oobgolf:

Brief History Lesson- Cayman Golf Ball
By Kickntrue on 1/18/10

Since today is a day for remembering history I thought I'd discuss the Cayman Golf Ball; how it came to be and its failure. Back in the 1980's Jack Nicklaus was designing a course in the Grand Caymans and had very limited space, so he got creative.
In the 1980s pro golfer Jack Nicklaus asked the MacGregor Golf Company to develop a ball for an small course his design company was laying out on Grand Cayman Island. Troy Puckett, then MacGregor’s top golf equipment engineer, produced a suitable ball composed mainly of DuPont’s Surlyn. Mr. Puckett has further improved that ball and his company now manufactures it as The Cayman ball.

The Cayman ball is the same size as a golf ball. Instead of dimples it has a brambled surface and weighs 24 grams, compared to the approximately 45 grams of a golf ball. Together these restrict its distance to only slightly more than half the distance of a golf ball with a fast swing and a greater percentage with a slower swing. Its lightness also permits beginners to easily get this ball airborne and prevents miss hits from ever stinging their hands, common drawbacks to these players with a golf ball.​
Eagle Landing Golf Club in South Carolina, designed by architect William W. Amick, also tried the Cayman Ball philosophy, but as you can see from the scores and ratings on oob (virtually none) the concept never really took off. You can still play the Nicklaus course with a Cayman ball, but they sell more as souvenirs than anything else.

So what happened to the ball and the company who makes them? They are still around- making all kinds of illegal golf balls. Some of them fly much further than USGA legal and others focus on the initial Nicklaus idea, including the new and failed Ceasar Dimpleless Ball. What I can't figure out from my preliminary research is if Nicklaus still has anything to do with the company, though I doubt it since they started manufacturing illegal balls that fly 20-30 yards longer off the tee (though I've got to say I'm really curious to try those).

I guess the only question unanswered is why didn't the concept work? Are we just too prideful to use a ball that doesn't go as far, or does using technology that purposely limits our abilities go against everything American ingenuity and progress stands for? At any rate- I doubt we're going to see these balls make a comeback though they do make a fun footnote in golf ball history.
- See more at: http://www.oobgolf.com/content/fore...on_Cayman_Golf_Ball.html#sthash.kD46YTUI.dpuf​
 
Then Nicklaus should stop designing long courses.
Its hard for me to take anybody seriously that ******* nonstop about courses being too long, yet he is the one designing them.
 
My Dad had a set of persimmons. Years ago my Mom had them refinished for him, and the guy who did it wanted to buy them. My Dad passed away 4 months ago today. Next time I'm out there I'll have to look for them. Would like to get them mounted for display.
 
I still have my Wilson Property Staff persimmons I purchased in 1972. Driver, 3wd, and 5wd. I used to have a 2 wood that I really loved, but I cracked the head open. I always hit it straight and long.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk
 
There are probably some young people on here that wonder why we call 'em woods.
 
Den60 said:
There are probably some young people on here that wonder why we call 'em woods.
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And don't know what hitting them on the screws means.
 
I have a dozen or so persimmon woods that I kept from back in the day. I take them out at least once a year and honestly they are only about 10 yards shorter than my new gear. People forget that Davis Love averaged 289.4 yards(longer than the current PGA Tour average) with his persimmon driver his rookie 1986 season when the ball flew much shorter. That same rookie swing of his with his persimmon driver and modern ball would have easily averaged over 300 yards. Give A 25 year old DL III a modern driver as well and he'd be Bubba long, maybe longer.
 
I'm pretty sure my Dad still has his old set of persimmon woods. I've hit them a lot in the past. The difference between now and them is rediculous, to say the least.
 
My dad still plays his PowerBuilts. Got him to upgrade the driver finally for a x2hot.
 
I do have a set but never use them. They were my grandfather's and cherish them for that reason.
 
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