Will Playing Old Clubs Benefit My Game in the Long Run?

[TristanBlevins]

Being 16 years old, I have never had the chance to play with the old persimmon woods or blades of "yesteryear." However, I've always been intrigued by them. I've heard they're harder to hit, but feel great when you do hit one solid. I'm already what I consider a pretty good ball-striker, but I'm always wanting to get better. Do you guys think that buying an old set of clubs and using them for a month or 2 at a time would help my game? I'm really wanting to try some blades, as all I've ever hit are my Taylormade Burner cavity-backs. For the blades specifically, are there any big disadvantages technology-wise?

[WUTiger]

TST has this thread pop up about once a year. Search around on the site, and you can find them.

If you wanted to try "old style," you might borrow a set for a range session and 18 holes. The persimmon-headed woods had a good feel to them. The steel shafts, however, were quite heavy. In the long clubs, most golfers get a better power transfer and clubhead speed with lighter graphite than with steel.

As for the blade (or muscleback) irons, these were hard to hit. Back in the 1980s I had my MacGregor MT irons with heavy steel stiff shafts. In seasons when I only played a couple of times a month, I rarely broke 90. It just took a lot of work to keep your swing in tune with those irons. Not much foregiveness for off-center hits.

An "old-style weekend" would be fun, and likely make you appreciate modern golf technology - both shafts and heads.To see how golf clubs work, check out these sites:

http://www.ralphmaltby.com/

http://wishongolf.com/