What if Tour Pros Used Wooden Clubs?

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

You hope.  Bubba couldnt hit a straight shot if his life depended on it and persimmon woods werent nearly as forgiving as today's metalwoods are.  My bet is Bubba would be a minitour nobody if metalwoods had never been invented.  Its amazing how you win 1 major and people suddenly think you are a God, even though for years you were a nobody on tour.

Bubba could absolutely hit a straight shot. But he'd choose death over doing it on purpose. It's a mental thing of his.

Also, I read that as "minotaur". Made me lol.

[David in FL]

........, even though for years you were a nobody on tour.

Huh? :-\ 8th in FedEx cup both 2010 and 2011. 4 wins and $17 Million in earrings since 2007. Sure wish I was that kind of "nobody"......

[MSchott]

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

You hope.  Bubba couldnt hit a straight shot if his life depended on it and persimmon woods werent nearly as forgiving as today's metalwoods are.  My bet is Bubba would be a minitour nobody if metalwoods had never been invented.  Its amazing how you win 1 major and people suddenly think you are a God, even though for years you were a nobody on tour.

For some reason you seem to have a beef with Bubba Watson which clouds your judgement. Many tour players work the ball on purpose. Bubba could do anything he wants with a golf ball. He's very talented.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

You hope.  Bubba couldnt hit a straight shot if his life depended on it and persimmon woods werent nearly as forgiving as today's metalwoods are.  My bet is Bubba would be a minitour nobody if metalwoods had never been invented.  Its amazing how you win 1 major and people suddenly think you are a God, even though for years you were a nobody on tour.

Uh, I'll go on record as disagreeing that Bubba would be a nobody on the mini-tours.

You do realize he hits a lot of three-woods. And irons. And putts. It's not all about driving. And irons have smaller sweet spots than even the old persimmon drivers.

Plus he was pretty well known years ago, too.

[Lihu]

You hope.  Bubba couldnt hit a straight shot if his life depended on it and persimmon woods werent nearly as forgiving as today's metalwoods are.  My bet is Bubba would be a minitour nobody if metalwoods had never been invented.  Its amazing how you win 1 major and people suddenly think you are a God, even though for years you were a nobody on tour.

Driver-driver-putt for a double eagle at Kapalua. Watch it on YouTube and listen to what the announcers said about his shot shaping ability with a driver off the deck. Mini-tour? PING didn't think so.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Lihu

Driver-driver-putt for a double eagle at Kapalua.

They have a Par 6 at Kapalua?  How long is it ... 800 yards??

[Datsyuk]

Originally Posted by Lihu

Driver-driver-putt for a double eagle at Kapalua. Watch it on YouTube and listen to what the announcers said about his shot shaping ability with a driver off the deck.

Mini-tour? PING didn't think so.

I mentioned Bubba because players like him (and Tiger and Rory and Phil and a few others) see shot shapes and have the skill to do it.

[Lihu]

They have a Par 6 at Kapalua?  How long is it ... 800 yards??

Sorry, I meant eagle.

[dbuck]

If the pros had to change to persimmon clubs tomorrow--I mean just make the rule and it starts the next time they tee it up--it would an adjustment for many. A lot of them have never even hit a persimmon club-they grew up on metal. At first you would see a change in scores, but in half a season or less the scores would be right back where they are if that is all you change. The worst person on the tour is an order of magnitude beyond most of us, and they have the time and resources to adapt. As for "homemade" swings, look at Lee Trevino who described his own swing as "a cave man killing his lunch", yet he could do miraculous things with the old lumber. Jack, Arnie, Seve, and others could in fact hit it over 300 with persimmon, Jack and Seve quite frequently. I think Jack's average in his heyday was around 270 with persimmon and balata. Those guys who have hit both in their prime say the ball is at least as important as the driver, so if you gave these young guys persimmon, you might see a decrease in the average of 10-15 yards after they adjust. That means on a lot of par 4's they'd hit 8 iron instead of 9. big wup. Don't get me wrong, I love persimmon. I played 9 with mine yesterday, and think everyone who doesn't have some should call up Joe Powell or Louisville Golf and give it a try. It is a pleasurable experience to nail one with a persimmon driver, or work a little draw with a persimmon 3 wood. It would put about the same handicap on the pros as the new groove rule.

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Lihu

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSchott

Insane comment. Players like Bubba have a ton of talent and great hand/eye coordination. He would have no trouble playing with Persimmon woods. His swing would have evolved to suit the clubs.

Agreed, Bubba is really powerful. The only reason he would probably not be successful with the 80 year old persimmon wood, is that it would most likely explode from impact. Titanium is one of the toughest materials commonly available for use in golf clubs.

I'm not going off on a tangent on modern wood club designs again, but I find it very unrealistic to consider using 80 year old technology for many reasons including those mentioned by other posters. Club manufacturers need to produce the highest performing heads they can, for us.

80 year old????  You only have to go back 25 years to find a metal wood to be a rarity.  Inexpensive woods were laminated maple and the good ones were persimmon.  The TaylorMade metal drivers were still mostly a curiosity.

Originally Posted by MSchott

Quote:

Originally Posted by GaijinGolfer

You hope.  Bubba couldnt hit a straight shot if his life depended on it and persimmon woods werent nearly as forgiving as today's metalwoods are.  My bet is Bubba would be a minitour nobody if metalwoods had never been invented.  Its amazing how you win 1 major and people suddenly think you are a God, even though for years you were a nobody on tour.

For some reason you seem to have a beef with Bubba Watson which clouds your judgement. Many tour players work the ball on purpose. Bubba could do anything he wants with a golf ball. He's very talented.

Ben Hogan always said that if he hit a straight shot it was a mistake.

[ldpk]

if they did that they would also have to change to differant balls

[WUTiger]

Wooden-headed clubs have an occasional problem: the wooden bloc may contain an unusual, off-center knot inside which can cause the ball to fly funny.

When I caddied back in the late 1960s, I remember instances of a member coming into the pro shop and saying a driver or a 3W "felt funny." The pro and the assistant would go out to a tee box and try the club. Usually the member got advice on a stance adjustment, but twice the pros hit several wild shots and said "it's knotty, probably."

The members got the clubs replaced in those instances.

Not that it happened all the time, but I've seen "knotty heads" pop up in the past.

What we might do is perform x-ray searches for knotty heads, and force all the pros to carry, say, a knotty fairway wood. That would really raise the excitement level for hitting long par 5s in two.