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Persimmon fairway woods/drivers

SuperStroke
Jefka

Jefka

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I'm excited, I'm really really excited....I have just hit a "real" fairway wood for the very first time in my life.

All I can say is just wow, what an absolute joy to hit these clubs. I bought a practice set of Ben Hogan Blades for 25 bucks (percussion slazenger/hogans) and it came with Ben Hogan speedslot 2, 4 and 5 persimmon fairway woods (At least I think they are persimmon). They were a sort of bonus for me and I didn't expect much of them when I picked them up for the first time. Five swings later I was in love, these things are soft, really soft probably softer then the pillow I sleep on. That soft feeling probably has to do with the sound aswell which is just awesome, a real pleasing soft sound instead of a metal ping.

I see no reason why I wouldn't play the Speedslot instead of my Callaway Diablo 3 wood. The Speedslot feels much better, sounds much better and is much much easier to hit off the deck then the Diablo. The only thing I couldn't really compare yet is distance, I was playing the Speedslot into a very strong wind so distance was difficult to judge but looked similar to the Diablo. I actually loved the fairway woods so much I'm already hunting ebay for a driver. The driver has always been my weakness, judging how easy these fairway woods are to hit compared to the Diablo I'm hoping a persimmon driver might be equally "easy" for me.

It's been a short relationship sofar but I'm in love with these "wood" woods. Searching the forum I only see a few very old threads regarding persimmon woods/drivers, are there more fans out there or am I just weird that way?




 
Visit the website Louisville Golf. They still make persimmon wood and even had Tiger Woods help with a design.
They are extraordinary.
I believe the Hogan's are made from a laminated maple. It is hard to tell from the photos.
I built a couple of their Thumpers.
 
Orange Hog said:
I'd think as long as you catch them in the sweet spot those would be a smooth as butter.
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That's so very true, they are incredibly soft feeling. What's even stranger is that I find it much easier to hit the sweetspot with these then with my "modern" big size 3 wood. Surprising since I'm quite an average golfer if I say so myself. Kmanc, that website is just pure art. I love what they offer but my wallet would be screaming buying and shipping these to europe :D
 
i love persimmon woods. I grew up playing them since my grandfather had a ton of em. Definitely one of the softest feels around. I like going around to thrift shops and sifting through the golf club tubs for persimmons. I won't play them because they're considerably shorter than new tech but they are some great fun when killing time at the range. I don't have many at this point, but I hope to have a nice collection at some point
 
Those are laminated, you can see the different layers on the face. You'll have to be very careful with those because they have a tendency to crack at the neck.

I grew up playing real woods, and can remember when Harry Taylor first released the metal driver. Good luck with them.
 
Wow talk about bringing back memories! I learnt to play with Wilson blades and one of those Hogan 3woods , that exact model actually. Nothing compares to the feeling of one of them hit out of the screws. Ah good times.
 
i just bought a 1W and 3W from a garage sale that i'm gonna go hit when i get to the range next time just for fun.
 
I played some very good golf when I was younger with a persimmon driver and woods, but I'm not going back now. We do have a couple of skins games each season where you have to play clubs at least 35 years old. Makes things interesting and you see a lot of "worm burner" shots for sure.
 
I agree with Hoosier, been there - done that.

But I do remember loving the Hogan Apex persimmon fairway woods, they had such perfectly shaped little club heads, a great look at setup and sweet feel. I'm not sure how well they would work with today's lower spinning golf balls but hat's off if they work for you. I've been thinking lately about taking my old persimmon driver out of the garage and using it for practice. I figure if I could hit that consistently in the sweet spot I should kill with my Razr-Fit.
 
Texas Hacker has a good story about a persimmon wood that he told me today. He should come in here and relay it.
 
Mike gave me one that was found and so I decided to take it to the range. My first swing with it I shattered the head and sent pieces flying everywhere
 
Would have loved to have seen that!
 
JPR1959 said:
Those are laminated, you can see the different layers on the face. You'll have to be very careful with those because they have a tendency to crack at the neck.
Click to expand...

I've still got my dad's circa 1980 golf set in my shed, complete with laminated woods. Unfortunately the 3 wood cracked at the neck, but the driver, 5 and 7 woods are still playable and in great condition thanks to head covers. They do feel superbly soft. The 7 wood was the hybrid of its day, so easy to hit and launch. Pity the steel shafts are too soft for my swing speed, but I do like to hit them from time to time.
 
I have a Hogan 4 wood that I put in the bag this time of year. It's a lot of fun, and feels good, paired with a Wilson Duo or something similar.
 
We still have my great-grandfather's spalding 5 wood at home... As cool as it would be to see it hit, the age of the club combined with the sentimental value it holds for my dad have overruled our desire to see it hit one last time.
 
TexasHacker34 said:
Mike gave me one that was found and so I decided to take it to the range. My first swing with it I shattered the head and sent pieces flying everywhere
Click to expand...

My first set of clubs had a persimmon headed driver and fairway woods. I think I had a 3, 4 and 5 wood to go with a driver.

Every one of mine ultimately met the same demise as what you described. It was always so pathetic when it happened. Pieces of the club would seemingly go as far as the ball. I'd then be down another club and have to figure out what to do (which when I broke my last one, meant turning to the 1 iron).

The driver was probably about 280 CC. If you hit it square, it would definitely go and with nice feel (particularly with old balata balls). The problem was hitting it squarely. Between the small head and the difference in properties between the head and insert (mine had inserts), mishits were just brutal.

While it'd be fun to mess around with persimmon, I don't miss those days at all. Metal woods are more durable, more forgiving and the ball goes further. Find the right one (composite models help here) or mess around with some sound deadening material like cotton, and you can get something that doesn't sound that much different.

If you feel like the persimmon club is easy to hit, I suspect that it is due to the fact that you have the wooden head on the end of a shorter length, heavier steel shaft. You could easily do the same thing with your Diablo and have the best of both worlds.

If you dig a little, you'll see a lot of people who have done that. I personally chose my hybrid iron sets (e.g. Altitudes in my signature) in steel for this exact reason.
 
I have a few old sets, including Haig Ultra and Wilson Staff. Still love the feel. I play with a guy who still uses the old PING wooden fairway woods. They are funky looking, but very easy to hit.
 
Nice! I haven't hit a "wood" since my beginner Macgregor set back in the mid 80's....I distinctly remember one time when the middle red area where the screws were broke off....good times
I believe they were Tommy Armour's and it had a 10 iron
 
My first set was my mom's Hogan Princess woods and forged blade irons. I first hit a golf club in like 1977 or something. Man I wish I still had those clubs.

JM
 
#Cookie that thing is Beautiful. Is that original condition or refinished? Looks original.....
 
I couldn't bring myself to hit it either Cookie. That IS so pristine
 
They are laminated maple woods. I had a set as a kid. Great clubs. You can have them reconditioned by Louisville Golf, they do wonderful work!
 
Cookie if you ever want to sell that, I'm your buyer. I have an old 70's hogan vinyl bag with a set of hogan apex irons and woods that I pieced together from garage sales when I was a teenager. I plan on restoring them all some day, but I'm always looking for great condition hogan clubs from that era.
 
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