WE TRY TO BEAT THE 1970'S PGA TOUR LONGEST DRIVE! | PERSIMMON GOLF CLUBS

[@hudsonrilke]

I grew up with wooden woods. I remember the first metal woods and some were horrific. I can never remember anyone talking about distance and there was certainly no call to change clubs until they wore out. No gps etc. a lot was guesswork based around the 150 markers etc. I guess I’m old 😂😂😂

[@thebigeasy8609]

Exactly!

[@deansmith5678]

Hey up Gaz, i worked for Paul Gibson he run the guiseley American golf back in the early nineties and specialised in refurbishing the old American persimmon woods , he bought and imported a trailer full and slowly worked through them for resale he then designed he’s own range at the same period , sadly passed on now but great guy 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@gavinporter8035]

First ever golf club I hit was with my grandads wooden driver, down at the local fields. Probably why I love the look of a low cutting drive so much. My grandad was a night shift printer for the Daily Mail in Manchester, so during the day he'd get on his bike, with his pencil bag, and cycle down (about 4 miles) to Chorlton-cum-Hardy golf club have a round. Nice little nostagic trip down more sedate times! Great video Gaz

[@iamfodder1017]

Kind of skipped though the video looking for any comments on Mike Dunaway or Mike Austin who regularly drove the ball over 350. Plenty of vid's on here to show what I'm talking about. "Austin is best known for a 515-yard drive made during a 1974 U.S. National Seniors Open championship in Las Vegas, when he was 64. He used a steel-shafted persimmon wood driver and a balata-covered ball and had a 27-mph tail wind." He hit the green which was at 465 yards...the ball bounced and rolled down a hill...but still, he hit the effing green at 465...with a wooden driver...just wow...

[@garymartingolf]

That is in human 😳 I’ve just got some balata balls and we’re going to do a video on the course. I can’t believe how long they hit it 👀

[@bigdghost3319]

Tip- Hit it on the screws... The days of wood and Balata Balls- a true test of the Flask my friend... I purchased a set Hogan Persimmon woods in our Golf Club pro shop in 1978 and have never played them- I wanted to keep them for my collection- a work of art.......... Love the video Gaz, thanks........

[@davidlittle317]

I loved my Macgregor George Bayer persimmon driver with it's keyhole insert and multi step steel shaft back in the late 1960s. I probably hit it about 225 yards - about the same as I hit my Ping G425 driver now but then I'm nearly 75 now!! Loved the video!!

[@DaveENC]

An excellent video Gaz. The sound of a Persimmon well struck is a thing of beauty.

[@darrenarbergolf]

I had a Wilson Tour block persimmon driver, still have it. Used it for years, even when the metals came out I always reverted back to the old faithful. Fun video mate.

[@guyr7351]

Maybe newer golfers might appreciate just how good players like Nicklaus, Player, Watson, Trevino, Palmer were

[@tcofield1967]

There has been that age old argument of Nicklaus vs Tiger. Personally I call it a tie. Tiger Woods started out playing persimmon woods but was able to take advantage of the revolution in club design in the 90s. I think it would have been damned close if the played each other during the same time period. Tiger could hit traditional woods and I think Nicklaus could have kept up with Tiger off the tee with newer clubs. Both had excellent short games.

[@Master...deBater]

@@tcofield1967 I think Nicklaus has the edge. He has 3 more majors and played in a much more competitive era. He had 6 competitors with 5 or more majors...Player-9, Watson-8, Palmer-7, Trevino-6, Ballesteros-5 and Thompson-5. Tiger only had Phil-6! Not to mention Jack's record second place-19 and top 5 finishes-56 in majors...and 117 PGA Tour victories! All against that level of competition.

[@tommiethatcher7265]

Those drivers take me back to when I started playing golf, they had an awesome feeling when you hit one out of the screws Great video Gaz and really enjoyable to watch, hopefully you will take one out onto the course

[@garymartingolf]

100%, with a 1970’s ball too. I think we’re ruining the game, they were class

[@tommiethatcher7265]

@@garymartingolf they certainly took some hitting mate and the balata golf balls were so soft

[@roberthudson3571]

Fascinating! It DOES make you think what they would’ve achieved if they’d had modern drivers back then!! Hope you’re well Gaz. I must pay a visit to the simulator room soon.

[@garymartingolf]

We’ll be at the range weds too. Yeah, I think they game back then must have been more fun, more varied and less perfection.

[@robertakerson7186]

Mr. Martin- He'd never seen one before? It was quite funny to see the amazement that these persimmon clubs caused in you fellows!

[@garymartingolf]

😄 Haha 😆 I’ve bought some old golf balls. Can’t wait to play with them in the summer. It will be good to find out what the game used to be like.

[@poocrayon4588]

@@garymartingolf It's probably more fun to play normal local courses if your a long hitter. Brings more clubs into play.

[@petermolyneux9544]

This gave me a laugh. Like other posts, I grew up with wooden woods as a beginner in the late 70s. There was nothing else, and we just got on with it. I tended to prefer my 3 wood off the tee, and still have driver, 3 and 7 wood. We also used the smaller British size balls which would cut up really easily with miss struck iron shots. I might dig my old clubs out and have a go, although the grips are probably shot by now.

[@loutennant99]

Great fun video and really shows how good the best were, in fact, it shows the really good we’re far above most pros too, rather than a mass of good golfers today.

[@tcofield1967]

I grew up playing with woods like these. I still have an old set of Hogans in the shed. Titanium drivers revolutionized the game but it also had a negative impact. Many traditional courses on the old PGA tour are no longer used because the distances off the tee made them obsolete. Back in the 70s a 6800 yard course was considered long. Now anything under 7200 is not even looked at.

[@graemetaylor4149]

I still choose to play persimmon woods. I much prefer the sound feel of persimmon over modern oversized "woods". I am lucky enough to own a few Paul Gibson woods, they were definitely not for the average golfer they were very much pro line with most being custom order for some of the biggest names in golf. Look after them but most of all enjoy them.

[@garymartingolf]

They’re so nice to use. It gives you more please than the new clubs.

[@campbellst1]

Great video, having used a set of MacGregor persimmon woods... 1, 2 & 4... Control was tough compared to today's drivers

[@richardmick8918]

Gary I grew up with wooden clubs. You are still suppose to hit up on the driver as you do with the drivers of today. I always loved how it felt when you hit the ball in the screws. You could hit some bombs with them but if you missed it you paid for it lol

[@brianmcpeake2509]

Up until 5 years ago I used a Ping Eye 2 wooden 5 wood. I loved it from the fairway. Idk that I ever teed off with it.

[@garymartingolf]

Really. They are still a pleasure to hit.

[@brucehubbell3526]

I have 2 wood drivers and 3 woods. I get them out March/April while snow is still on ground and work on my head control as they have tiny sweet spots. I would love to see you play 3 or 4 holes with a set of hickory shaft clubs. That would show you how good your tempo truly is.

[@foxlinks6656]

Remember a golfball back in the day were dence compared to today's standards. Ball flights were much lower. Nickolas was considered a high ball hitter, but he also added a counter weight at the grip. I remember playing a Ping Blonde driver that felt great. The persimmons were a challenge.

[@guyr7351]

I still have persimmon Wilson 3,5 woods and was gaming them still last year. The 5 wood is a lovely club. Have moved into new gen equipment, ping G400 3 wood, and a Sim 2 max 3 Hybrid, and. Await delivery of PXG 2011 driver

[@michaelr9397]

Cool Video, I also grew up using persimmon Woods, a 1 an a 1/2 Driver if you've ever seen one, a 3 wood an a 5 wood, still have them out in the garage, must have a look an see what model they are ⛳

[@davidbrady7478]

I grew up using wooden driver n 3 wood , mcgregor Woods then onto ping Woods loved them .

[@wayneharvey9189]

I still have a 1 wood in my shed which I used in the late 70s. I took it out last year and hit it quite good.

[@garymartingolf]

You appreciate the good shots more don’t you 👌🏼

[@hudsonrilke]

I wood! Yep that’s what we called them 🙂

[@kenlightfoot7944]

I used to play Persimmon woods back in the day, the best I had were "Tony Penna" and Jack Nicklaus "EYE O MATIC" woods. They were really expensive and really well made. If they got wet you had to ensure they were really dry before putting them away as they were prone to swelling and even splitting. I hit driver then around 260 yards, cant do that now with metal clubs.

[@garymartingolf]

That’s tremendous feedback, thank you. Im gathering all this info for a following course vlog with the 1970’s ball.

[@whocares3986]

@@garymartingolf Get ready to lose another 10-15 yards with an old school ball.

[@rileywong9530]

One thing to point out is that the ball was about 20 yards shorter back in the 70s compared to the modern solid core ball. Tour distance skyrocketed around 2000 when the Pro-V1 was introduced

[@ly776]

When I played as a teen in the early 1970s with Wilson Staff woods - a good drive was about 275 yards. However, a few times when I hit them perfectly square I hit over 300. Longest I can recall was driving a 340 year old green. And I was not a big guy at the time - 5'9" and 130 pounds. They just needed to be hit better than the modern clubs.

[@garymartingolf]

I don’t know how you hit these things so far! Unreal 💪🏼

[@philshield2027]

Foubd this really interesting ive still got my driver I learnt with back in 1978 . Ryder mk2 titanium shaft and smallest head ever. I don't use keep it for nostalgia. I also have the 3 and 5 wood and the heads are tiny. Gary why not try theses drivers with an equivalent ball from the 70s and see how far you can hit them

[@rogerschuck5013]

in your testing , what golf balls was you using , back in the day golf balls was 1.62 compared to todays 1.68s . good to see you trying them out

[@timgilbreth1830]

The wooden drivers required more of a smooth, grooved and good tempo in your swing. Today you can just swing hard and get decent results. The biggest thing was the balls. They were soft covers called "Balata" mostly rubber. The core was a ton of rubber bands wrapped around a small sphere of something. If you hit one of them thin, you got a giant "smile" or cut on the cover. Jack, Arnold and the like could hit those soft balls and wood clubs past 300 yards. Imagine what they could have done with a new Smoke driver and a Pro V1. :)

[@alanmackechnie5728]

Here's Nicklaus driving through the green at the 18th st. Andrews in the 1970 Open play off. kzbin.info/www/bejne/poHMlJSBidSYoq8 The main thing was that out of the screws (literally!) distance was fine, but the punishment for off centre hits was tremendous. So you end up swing at about 80% to make sure you make a good contact. OH and persimmon were the top end woods, most of us had laminates. And the old UK ball was 1.62 inches not 1.68 as now

[@brianjones2180]

Growing up in 70s,I used 2 wood with rock hard grip,wouldnt dream of tryin to use it today lol.

[@garymartingolf]

😂😅 I’ve never seen a 2 wood either 😳

[@raymondbabb1970]

Don't forget, players used a smaller wound balata covered ball in 1970.

[@johnhewitt2106]

Hi Gary fancy testing the Taylor Made stealth Hybrid Plus? That’s Plus not actually available until April? I’m only from Pontefract so could pop it over it’s awesome

[@koolkats724]

Haz, it wasn’t just the clubs. We were also playing with balls that were nowhere near the consistency nor the distance of those today.

[@500VulcanRider]

Dang you make me feel old, but I guess I am, My first set of clubs were Persimmon woods

[@lexxwhite747]

I hit a few last year with my 1973 Walter Hagen Haig Ultra driver vs my Epic Max LS, for me it was average 35-40 yards behind

[@gordongidney6973]

Hi Gaz, nightmares from my young days! Frightening especially with Dunlop 65 balls?

[@ladgolf]

Used to play a set of Ryder's Gaz, wasn't a fan of the driver but the wooden 3 wood and 4 wood were great clubs - If you ever went to the Driving Range in Upper Hopton, Mirfield, well I could knock the 3 wood out of the range there - think the fence was about 220 yards, but it was proabably about 40 foot high. If you hit them well, they go far enough.

[@brianmurray4199]

He averaged depending on the year in the 60s and 70s 270-278 try hitting a Dunlap 65 from the same era and then Gaz you will really appreciate how well they struck the ball back then

[@garymartingolf]

I’ve ordered half a dozen for a course vlog, I can not wait! I appreciated hitting the persimmon good, way more than my own.

[@andrewthomas3315]

I play a modern persimmon driver made by Louisville Golf. Distance is fine and more accurate on mishits because the club face isn't as hot as a metal wood. Holds more fairways. Looks, sounds, and feels superior on impact. Try it.

[@garymartingolf]

I’m going to Google them 👍🏼 Sounds very interesting 🔥

[@chrisgash6408]

you need to try with a 70's Balata for a true representation of back in the day!

[@garymartingolf]

Is that’s Dunlop 65?

[@adriancox-thesantjordigolf3646]

I had the McGregor Eye o Matic in 12 degrees, about 280 yards with old wound balata titleist pro 100 compression balls. I was plus 4 with these. STIFF.

[@garymartingolf]

Jesus! That’s insane!!! 👀👀

[@ClassicGolfClubs]

Look after those clubs, they're pretty special. Paul Gibson was a respected bespoke club maker. Another thing you need to remember is that you're using modern balls which give around 10% more distance than the old balata balls of the 1970s.

[@stevewhytegolf]

Mike Austin hit 515 yard drive in tournament play in 1974! That'll take some beating Gaz😲😲

[@garymartingolf]

What with? A cannon?

[@RedTigerWatch]

Great to see someone else that knows about Mike Austin. I try to follow his method. How about Mike Dunaway! What a swing.

[@stevewhytegolf]

@@RedTigerWatch made the speed look so easy👌

[@stevewhytegolf]

@@garymartingolf whatever he was gaming I guess Gaz! he was in bio mechanics probably before most knew it was even a thing, check his swing out and Mike Dunaway's as HKMAN said below

[@ianmitchell9752]

Was he related to Steve Austin 🤣🤣? One for the oldies. Showing my age there.

[@paulandrews8140]

You should use the smaller ball from that era.

[@garymartingolf]

I’ve just received some 😬

[@nathanyoung3388]

What driving range is this please Gary? I know you’re local but can’t recognise it, cheers

[@tonythomas8564]

And you were using a modern golf ball Gaz!!

[@colinpettifer4339]

I grew up playing wooden drivers in the 70's. To be fair, you should be using 70's balls to make a comparison.

[@garymartingolf]

This is a very good point! I’ll have to get one and have a few holes, really enjoyed these clubs.

[@jamiehooper2126]

Hope you got them in the bag when we play 🤣🤣

[@starks1974]

The average golf course length was much shorter back then(1970-80) was 6500+/-, so they had the distance to play the course. Plus everyone played blades and used balata balls and spun way more, so that may also decrease distance from too much backspin. Just be thankful for modern clubs. Then again someone will make a video in 50yrs and ask how did we play with our clubs.

[@garymartingolf]

Haha 😂😂😅 People will be laughing at the stealth, feeling sorry for us when par 4s are 500 yards 😂😂

[@zanefoster9352]

Most of the persimmon and laminated maple drivers from back in the day had a loft of 11*. They are hard to hit because of the bulge and roll of the club head. Modern drivers has little to no bulge and roll. I still play these at age 55 here in the states and average 250 yards with them. , but do own modern clubs and play them more.

[@stephenjones9840]

Remember no pro v1 back then either

[@garymartingolf]

We’ve bought some Dunlop 65 to play with this summer. Can’t wait to see how hard the game was 😵‍💫

[@edanzore]

Gaz, you cannot use a modern day ball or old wooden clubs🤔🤔🤔

[@CHHickory]

I was 5 handicap at Moortown (6700 yds)in the 1980s with this kit + spinny Dunlop 65s, and I didn't regard myself as being anything more than a decent club player Does this mean I was a more skilled player then than a 5 handicapper today.....answers on a postcard please 🤣🤣

[@peterjohnson350]

When you said you could out drive Jack I thought let's see it then. I played wooden headed drivers in my youth and could maybe hit them 230 to 240 yards. Modern clubs help me get about the same distance now that I'm older. You really had to hit them out of the middle or you lost a lot of distance. When you see old videos the players were hitting lots of 1 and 2 irons. They don't even exist in modern sets. Those players really were skilled in the long game.

[@neilanderson7116]

And they were playing different balls

[@garymartingolf]

What was a good 1970’s ball?

[@stuartgogay9274]

remember these clubs were played with golf balls that spun twice as much.

[@garymartingolf]

This is all new to me, I’m going to have to get some old balls and play a few holes. Loved these clubs.

[@waynepark4430]

You needed good hand eye coordination just to hit them.

[@Master...deBater]

Famous last words..."I think I can outdrive Jack Nicklaus"!!!

[@garymartingolf]

🤣

[@stevenwalmsley3468]

Just shows how the clubs have come on since the 70s to now. The players then played a great course management… well tried lol 😂

[@nebraska39]

Lol, couldn't outdrive Jack Duckworth let alone the golden Bear, just shows how much equipment has come on in 50 years

[@garymartingolf]

Unreal. I think after trying them, we’re spoiling the game. I appreciated a good shot with the persimmon, way more than with my own driver.

[@whocares3986]

Jack averaged 270. He could move it 300 when he pushed it. That's with the old ball too.

[@Johnny_smathers]

Can’t call this a real test if you’re using a modern ball. A range ball still would go further than the balls they played back then

[@garymartingolf]

We’ve got some old balls to use this summer. Never even crossed my mind.

[@Johnny_smathers]

@@garymartingolf my comment came off harsh, still a cool video nonetheless, with the old balls it will be really interesting to see

[@charlesobscure9534]

you have to also use balata balls or this is a waste of time. jeesh.

[@garymartingolf]

Yeah. We’ve got some now, and we’ve got a full set of old clubs. Can’t wait to see what it was really like.

[@stephenbell5026]

Mind the balls weren't as good as the ones you were using also

[@garymartingolf]

Yes, very good point! I’ve got to try these now with the 1970’s balls

[@llllllkss4152]

бро крутой биток 💗❤️‍🔥 можешь мои биты тоже заценить☄️🥰

[@banditbaker1675]

Don't forget that in the 70s they weren't playing with PROv1's, they were playing with Tour balata balls that were much softer & spun much more than modern ballsour balata ballsour balata balls