Does Anyone Still Use "Old" Clubs on a Regular Basis?

[WedgeHead]

By "old", I'm talking 15yrs old or more. I'm interested in what people think about older tech.

Btw, I just bought a set of 1992 Ping Zings for $80 that I think swing wonderfully. They feel like an extension of my body. For the record, I also use Taylor Made Burner woods circa 1985 that I can hit like the devil. For some reason I like the smaller heads of the older clubs. Probably because that's what I learned with. With the new huge drivers, I feel like I'm swinging a frying pan.

Anyone else still play with "classic" clubs?

[Ozz174]

Sometimes I borrow my dad's old Pal Joey set. The driver and woods are small heads and the irons are oversized. They where his first set I believe he got in the eighties and there still in really good shape. It's cool to go out and play with clubs that you used back in the day sometimes.

[ay33660]

Not 15 years old but 10 years old.

I still play my Mizuno MX-23 that I bought in 2005.

[SavvySwede]

I have A Ping Eye set of woods 1,3, and 5 that I will break out on occasions when I really want to challenge myself. Also have a Taylormade Burner Tour Preferred steel driver which is actually a smidgen smaller than the persimmons which I'll occasionally use.

[billm408]

Yup. My newest set of irons (and primary sticks) are early 80's Titleist blades. Also have two sets of mid 70's Ram tour grind blades. Haven't found a good reason to switch yet.

[JonMA1]

I practice almost daily with a set of '83 Hogans. I play a couple rounds per season with them.

Not going to lie, they're harder for me to hit. But a bad swing is a bad swing regardless of what club is in my hands.

[dfreuter415]

I have hit a lot of golf clubs in the last 55+ years. My personal feeling is that when you talk about functionality of older golf clubs that it can be divided into three categories: woods, irons and putters. (The current made, model and year of my clubs are in boldface type.)

Putters - In my opinion Karsten Solheim is the master of innovation in putter design. Prior to using Ping putters, I tried every putter I could get my hands on, but stability of stroke was always an issue for me. Then in 1976 began using the Ping B60, which was a putter used by Nick Faldo to win two major championships.  Solheim's putter designs have been copied time and time again over the years. In 1969 his Anser putter was used to win the Masters tournament. Since then there have been more than 50 major winners that have used ping putters.  I now use 4 putters on a rotating basis, but the B60 from 1976 is still my "goto" club.

Irons - Again, Karsten Solheim had a huge influence on the development of irons with beginning with his "Eye" series. The clubs that especially made an impact were the Eye 2 with square grooves. The square grooves were controversial, but that issue was eventually resolved. (In fact Mark Calcavecchia was not allowed to used his Ping Eye 2 irons in 1990 to defend his British Open title. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-05/sports/sp-1646_1_mark-calcavecchia ).  What Solheim did with his design was develop a perimeter weighted design that revolutionized golf design. In 1991 I bought Ben Hogan Edge irons (perimeter weighted) that I still use today from November through April. When I hit my Hogans and then hit today's irons, to be honest, my performance is not much different. My primary set of irons are the 2002 Ping i3+ from April through November.

Woods - To me, woods are continually evolving compared to putters and irons. Pinseeker Golf made the first metal wood called the Bombshell in 1976. The design did not have promotional success, but in 1979 Gary Adams, (founder of the Taylor Made Golf Company),  introduced his Pittsburgh Persimmon driver at the PGA Merchandise Show. On May 3, 1985 Ron Streck became the first winner of a PGA event using a metal wood. Metal woods became accepted and have evolved ever since. In the 1990's the heads became bigger and bigger until the early 2000's where 1000cc drivers were being made. In 2004 a size limit of 460cc were placed on clubheads. Graphite shafts came out in the 1970's, but the shaft's performance and durability limitations almost caused their extermination from the scene. However, as shafts developed and became more reliable, they became the best option for woods. For me, I bought more drivers over the last 10 years than any other club, basically because I felt the newer ones had better performance. I currently use the TaylorMade R11 (2011) and don't know if I will look for another driver anytime soon. My three wood is a Rocketballz (2011) that is the longest fairway wood that I have ever hit.

[clfplayerscup]

I have a set of Ping Eye 2s Orange Dots. 2-wedge I love them. I know new technology might provide better zip off the face. But when I found them in my father-inlaws garage covered in dust I felt obligated to resurrect them! Went to have them adjusted and was denied because the metal is too brittle....

Cant go wrong with Ping! Just know that any lye or loft adjustments might not be possible...

[MrFlipper]

By "old", I'm talking 15yrs old or more. I'm interested in what people think about older tech.

Btw, I just bought a set of 1992 Ping Zings for $80 that I think swing wonderfully. They feel like an extension of my body. For the record, I also use Taylor Made Burner woods circa 1985 that I can hit like the devil. For some reason I like the smaller heads of the older clubs. Probably because that's what I learned with. With the new huge drivers, I feel like I'm swinging a frying pan.

Anyone else still play with "classic" clubs?

Yes, but not for much longer. I've resisted upgrading clubs for various reasons: old clubs look too nice, new ones not the same, etc. Until 2 months ago, my driver was 11 years old, my 3 wood an old burner bubble, irons 22 years old, 56 degree 15 years old, putter a Ping l-a 40+ years old.

Driver and 3 wood are now updated, the newer clubs are too easy to hit and the extra distance means a lot. Probably won't need to change my 56 degree and putter but I'm thinking about updating my irons. When folks who don't hit the ball as clean as you hit it much higher, longer and straighter than you, its a problem.

We can sure like how old clubs look, maybe convince ourselves they feel better to hit, but we are kidding ourselves if we think they are better for our games than newer clubs. It's not even close anymore. I've picked up prob 25 yards on drives, what a handicap to play without that. I still want to shoot low scores

Guess I sold out, but I got tired of my friends beating me because of an equipment advantage. Plus it's just more fun to play better---

[Patch]

I have clubs that date back to the 1960s. They are a tough way to go, and you know when you mis-hit a ball.  My current game clubs are some where between 8-10 years old. I don't see me replacing them. They still play just fine. I have tried some newer, component clubs, but they did not play any better than what I already have.

[dbuck]

See my signature.

I do have newer stuff including Titanium Drivers and hybrids, but the newest stuff I have is probably 10 years old. I don't dislike the newer stuff nor dispute the performance possibilities, but I simply enjoy the old school equipment. I am a bogey golfer regardless of what I use.

I have owned the irons in my sig since 1979.

[dbuck]

The Bert Dargie driver in my sig is circa 1993. It has an oversized(for the time-prob 210cc,LOL) persimmon head with a graphite shaft. The Joe Powell 3 wood is a traditional steel shafted persimmon 3 wood, and the PING Eye2 5 wood is laminated maple. The PING 5 wood is actually pretty easy to hit.

I also have a matching PING Eye2 Driver and 3 wood that I use from time to time.

[Tat14]

Irony is:

Shortly after joining last December, I asked dbuck why he typically avoids newer golf technology.

Thursday, my Ping Eye 2 3-PW set shows up. $100 - why not. I'm curious how fun the lofts are going to play; 1-2 clubs weaker than my current set.

[BEF081056]

I started playing golf in the late 1980's. At that time I bought a Jack Nicholas Golden Bear set with woods that were really made of wood. I played with these for 9 or 10 years, at which time I basically stopped playing due to growing family and work commitments. Late last summer I started back playing again. After a few rounds I started checking out demo clubs at Dick's, picking up an inexpensive Wilson driver and a Nike Covert hybrid. For Christmas I got a new set of Taylormade irons (speedblade) and a new Jetspeed driver. (Still need to pick up a fairway wood.) Unfortunately with the weather in the northeast, I haven't been able to hit them yet. Going to Florida in March and looking forward to "christening" them. Can't wait to see how much difference in terms of forgiveness they provide. BTW, the old clubs are still in the garage, just in case...

[Tee2Trees]

I still use a Wilson 1200LT 55 degree "SI" that my dad bought me in 1992 from Kmart to fill out my high school set.  I am convinced it is every bit the club as a Vokey wedge.  The design is timeless, as it looks just like a modern Vokey, and the finish is still excellent after well over a hundred rounds and just a re-grip.  Don't believe the hype (for wedges).

[Harp stein]

I still play with the only set of irons I've ever owned, cavity-back Ping knock-offs purchased in 1991. I had them extended a 1/2" and re-gripped last year, now that the kids are old enough I can get out of the house to play a round here and there. Feels like I should buy a new set, but I'm cheap and not sure what benefits I would get from a new set? They're higher lofted than today's irons, my PW is at 51 for example whereas it seems the typical PW today is 45-48.

[irishmike27]

My oldest club in the bag is a ram investor II 4 wood from the 70s, I also have a ram tour grind tom Watson gap wedge from the early 90s. My mx-23s are ten years old, but I don't have any plans of changing them out any time soon.

[WUTiger]

A Ping Pal putter (circa 1973) may find its way back into my bag if my Ping B60 Scottsdale doesn't start finding the cup more often.