Balata and Persimmon

[iacas]

I took up golf the summer after my freshman year in high school. My first set of clubs were MacGregor/Nicklaus "Tourney"s - forged, muscleback blades, persimmon driver/3W/5W. I had a Bullseye type putter I wish I could find.

The Tour Balata was "the" ball (though most of the time I used the DT Spin 90 in cold weather and 100 in warmer weather). Then the Big Bertha was introduced a year or so later, then the Titleist Pro Trajectory driver (still have it), and so on. My first set of irons were Titleist 962Bs(the "blade-like" ones), and the ball to play was the Titleist Professional for awhile.

[Mhinderaker]

Nope, I only started golf 6 years ago, in 4th grade.

I guess I will never have the experience of hitting the ball with a wooden wood. Although if I hit that worse than I hit my current 906F2 I'm not really sure I want to have that experience.

[lamebums]

Yes, but barely. I picked up golf at the tail end of that age (early 90's). Occasionally I'll still hit a persimmon wood or balata ball out of the tee box, just for the hell of it, especially if I'm not taking the round seriously. I used to have a pretty decent collection of persimmon woods but I got rid of most of them. The garbage man can play golf now, too.

[dkm978]

Nope, started in 1998ish in the fourth grade.

First set was a no-name set-in-a-box. The woods did have steel shafts though.


I did buy a wooden 2-wood at Goodwill for $1.50, and put in my bag on occaision to hit at the range.

[niblick]

Nope. I started playing in my early twenties, around 2000 or so. Balata and persimmon were already ancient history.

I do have a set of old Tommy Armour blades from the 60s that I use to keep my ego in check though.

[Terrier]

Yes to both the balata and persimmon inquiries. I also used to walk two miles in a foot of snow to attend a one-room schoolhouse.

Although I'm not quite 40 yet, my father put a stick in my hands before I could ride a tricycle. I still have my first irons -- a sawed-off set of Spalding Top-Flite Synchro*Dyned -- and my first driver -- a sawed-off Wilson B 4300. I can't imagine how hard it was for Dad to find a lefty set way back when. *thanks, Dad*

My computer room is golf-themed, and those mentioned clubs and some balata balls that are meaningful to me are within reach of where I'm typing now -- modest displays of fond memories.

Among the balata balls on display -- a never-hit, Hogan 100 ball that Larry Nelson handed me when I was a young spectator on a tee-box. If memory serves me correctly, this happened at the IVB Golf Classic at Whitemarsh.

[tomas216]

started out with a northwestern junior set in the late 80's. actually had a metal 2 wood in the set. then used my dad's persimmon ping woods, loved the three or four wood off the tee. i remember using ultra balls starting out, because thats what my teacher used. i started using titleist tour balatas when i joined the high school team, and then professionals after that. my three wood in high school was an old taylor made metal my grandpa gave me, it was one of the first metal woods that taylor made produced, and man was it tiny, just a tad bigger than my hybrid today.

[MGP]

I started playing golf in 1972 so you can probably guess my answer.

Yep, forged blades and laminated woods at first. When I was in high school I lusted after PowerBilt persimmon woods. I never did get a persimmon driver but I did buy a PowerBilt Citation 2 Wood (13° loft). I played that as my driver for many, many years and won a lot of tournaments using it. I still have it too.

I played Titleist Pro Trajectory 90 and 100 balata balls in tournaments. Ahhhh wound balls with a balata cover. Talk about soft feel and incredible spin. You could put a 50' oak tree in the middle of the fairway and I could hit a 5 iron approach shot around it! They stopped on the green with the V-groove wedges of the day almost as well as the premium balls of today do with the box-groove wedges everyone plays now. Well, except out of the rough...

Most of you younger guys have probably never experienced a real "smiley" either. If you skulled one of those balls, the cover was so soft that you would actually cut right through the cover and expose the rubber band windings -- a "smiley". If I remember right, I think I paid about $1.50 each for PT90's back then. That's about the same cost as ProV1's in today's dollars I'd guess. And if you hit a cart path or a tree... oh boy, another destroyed ball. I guess it may be why I still strike the ball pretty solidly and keep it in play to this day.

I'm not sure which era I like better. The equipment is miles better today. But back then you had to be a lot more creative with your shotmaking and your misses were generally a lot worse.

[BigAl5150]

I had metal woods with my Northwestern Jr set from the mid-80's but ditched those in high school to use my dad's Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear MacGregor blades and persimmon woods. I used those up until 1996 when I graduated from college. As for the golf balls, I don't recall as to what I used back then but I never paid for golf balls as my dad had over 20 ice cream buckets full from balls he found.

Good times...

[scotton]

I spent summers with my grand parents who lived on a golf course in the late 70s, early 80s. My grand-dad was the pro shop manager, so I would spend all day on the course or the range. My club options were anything that was in lost and found for longer than 2 weeks. I could play any ball I fished out of the ponds on the par 3s. It wasn't uncommon to knock the cover off of the old balls.
I could hit all the range balls I wanted, but I had to shag them myself. That was interesting while people were actually using the range. As long as I have the way-back machine turned on, one time a guy came in and needed some new shoes. Grand-dad was busy with something, so I sold him a pair. He gave me his old pair, these awesome red and blue alligator skins with a big silver buckle. I was THE golf pimp. They were worth every blister.

[thementhol]

YES! I started golfing in early 90's. I used my father's wooden wood and a set of taylormade forged irons.
I am actually still using those irons after seven years of absence from golf. Those irons looks skinnier than some of the "player's" iron on the market now.
Damn, those are so difficult to use.

[CG031]

Nope, just started playing last June.

[Jeepthrills]

I voted no, but that was because of the word serriously. I got my first set in Summer of 83. They were persimon woods and blades with a Bullseye style putter as well. I used them for a while until basketball took over as my sport/passtime. I didn't play much golf from Summer of 85 till I finished college in 93. I used my old irons that Summer, but got a metal driver from a cheap set my brother had. I got a full set from Nevada Bob's the following year and the rest is history.

[ettsn]

I started playing in about 1985 or so, and my first set was some Ram Tom Weiskopf signature blades and some Northwestern persimmon woods. When I got a metal driver, I thought I was something else. I absolutely loved balata balls, specifically the Titleist Tour models (90 durometer, please!). Feel around the green like nothing else. I was even a single digit handicap back then (I just returned to golf after a decade or so off). I should go dig out my trusty old 3 wood and give 'er a go at the range tomorrow...

[NM Golf]

My first driver was metal, although my 3 wood was persimmon. I remember balata balls, but was not good enough at the time to play them. They were soon replaced by the professional.

[williethekid]

I just started a little over half a year ago, but I found a tour balata ball at the golf course yesterday, tried hitting it, balooned up high and went really short.

[blue_crush]

mmmmmmmm, I started golf in 1960 and by 1971 could hit my driver like 230+ and saw a rep from the northwestern van at stanford who gave me a special persimmon driver from the tour van, the driver had a special insert on the face and the shaft was special too a stiff graffaloyd shaft...
that driver I still have today, it was oversized for its time and still hits the ball a mile... having tour equipment or access to them has something to be said for as they just tune them and have the best of the best.....

[WhiteSoxFan]

I played with persimmon woods for most of my youth. (the 90's) Balatas were big back then too, but I don't think I ever played on - too rich for my blood back then. I played Top Rocks and whatever I found out on the course.

I just got back from my parents house, and my dad had about 200 balls in his basement he was trying to ditch off on me. I grabbed about 25 titleists for my shag bag - about 1/2 of them turned out to be crusty, yellow, old balatas.