Retro gear (not hickories) and what playing it highlights about architecture etc

[Thomas Dai]

Can’t recall if I’ve posted about this before but I’m curious to know if any poster herein plays either usually or occasionally with retro gear or even collects them? If so what.
By retro gear I’m meaning blades and persimmons or even early generation cast cavity backs, metal headed drivers and fairway ‘woods’.
Kind of 1950’s to 2000 era. Some cracking stuff out there second/third hand.
Might be cool to give some of it a go (although maybe not from the current era back tips tees!).
Atb

[Tommy Williamsen]

Every once in a while I will pull out my Haig Ultras from the sixties. I find it interesting that I used to hit those little blades in the center of the face. I do like chipping with them though.

[Pete Lavallee]

There is the ethical question here in the USA is about posting scores with older equipment. The USGA still believes every round is sacred and must be posted.[size=78%] I realize those of you in the UK do not post casual rounds; this is an ideal time to have fun with retro equipment. But here in the US, the handicap Chairman may have issues with inflating ones handicap using lower performing equipment only to revert back to modern stuff for Competitions. Is it true that US hickory golfers have two separate handicaps for steel and graphite versus hickory?[/size]

[size=78%]The answer of course is to only post scores from competitive rounds but I don’t see that happening anytime soon![/size]

[Greg Gilson]

A few of the club pros on & around the Mornington Peninsula (south of Melbourne, Australia) have occasional catchups for a round using 70-80's era clubs & balls. Some of them even dress up in the fashions of the day.


I think its a neat idea. I have set of my father's classic early 70's Slazenger Gary Player Offset Power clubs that are actually pretty good shape. The grips are shot but may be worth a try. Do people that do this regularly replace grips and even shafts or just play them as they find them?

[Ally Mcintosh]

I played with old 90’s era DCI irons up until 3 months ago. I’ve now gone down an equipment rabbit hole trying to replace them. More fool me.

[BHoover]

I play with 1950s persimmon woods and 1980s blades several times per month. I don’t post those scores, but I really don’t care about my index as I don’t play in handicapped events in the first place.


It’s a lot of fun to hit shots with the old equipment. The biggest difference I’ve found is that the lofts in irons have gotten stronger, so I always play at least one extra club with the old irons. I only wish there was an available source of balata balls.

[Peter Flory]

There is the ethical question here in the USA is about posting scores with older equipment. The USGA still believes every round is sacred and must be posted.[size=78%] I realize those of you in the UK do not post casual rounds; this is an ideal time to have fun with retro equipment. But here in the US, the handicap Chairman may have issues with inflating ones handicap using lower performing equipment only to revert back to modern stuff for Competitions. Is it true that US hickory golfers have two separate handicaps for steel and graphite versus hickory?[/size]

[size=78%]The answer of course is to only post scores from competitive rounds but I don’t see that happening anytime soon![/size]

One thing that I find strange is that the hickory equipment is not conforming per the USGA. I.e. even if I wanted to do it, I couldn't sign up for a State Am qualifier and play the round with the same equipment that Bobby Jones won a US Open with 100 years prior. 

I don't know the details with classic equipment, but my guess is that a lot of it would also not be conforming for various reasons.  Some maybe because of rules changes, but some because they just aren't actively on the conforming list.  For instance, with clubs from the hickory era, the most common reason that they don't conform are the grooves (not perfectly parallel, not lines, too deep, etc).

So it would make sense that you shouldn't post a score if you're using equipment that is non-conforming.  I know that some people have asked permission from their State organizations and they've gotten feedback that they shouldn't post scores with antique clubs. 

[John Emerson]

Blades from today and blades of yesteryear aren’t to different correct?

[Ally Mcintosh]

Blades from today and blades of yesteryear aren’t to different correct?

Correct. Only two differences are lofts (7 iron = 6 iron) and that today’s blades are more muscle-backs as compared to the thin butter knives of old. Other than that, they are a lump of steel. Perhaps a slightly softer feeling lump.

[Thomas Dai]

Bit more bounce on modern era blades, which could well say something about conditioning and irrigation and lies on courses these days being lusher with less need for sharp leading edges etc. Mass manufacturing standards and quality control better these days for heads, grooves, shafts etc and matching them all up.
Question - what if anything does playing retro gear highlight about developments in architecture and construction .. prior era vrs current era?
Atb

[Jim Sherma]

I try to play a couple of stretches a year with blades and persimmon. I kept most of what stayed in my bag for long stretches over the years so have some choices to break out. My go to sets include a set of 1960 MacGregor Tourney "saddle-back" CF4000 MT's and a set of 1952 George Sayers hand forged stainless blades. Both sets saw significant time in my bag in the 1980's and 90's and are a fairly easy transition for me. The lofts are so weak, I believe that the MacGregor 9-iron was stock 50-degrees. No bounce to speak of on the MacGregors and slight bounce on the lower irons of the Sayers set. The long irons are difficult to hit well because it is tough to find balls that spin enough to keep them in the air given the lower launch angles due to the higher centers of gravity. I usually carry 4-9, PW, SW.


The persimmon I carry is either a 1950's Hagen 2wood with a 1980's union UCV-304 driver shaft in it or a 1952 George Sayers driver for off the tee. Off the fairway I can hit the 2-wood and I also carry a 1970's Toney Penna 5-wood. I have some other persimmon clubs but these are the ones I hit the best.


I keep the grips in good shape changing them when necessary. These were all daily play clubs and I keep them as such. I find that the game is a little more fun with the old equipment and I can shoot scores that are not much different than I do with the modern equipment. If I played them for a full season I doubt my handicap would be more than a stroke or two higher assuming that I kept the played yardage inside of 6,400 for the most part. The game certainly plays differently with a lot more ground game in play and tacking around hazards instead of simply driving over them. I also think that it forces you to interact with the green complexes a bit more since you are not able to hit the ball as high and therefore need to be more conscientious with the angle of attack and where you're landing the ball relative to where you want it to stop. I will be taking the retro equipment to Ireland this summer and look forward to playing some links golf with it.

[David_Tepper]

atb's prior thread on this topic:

https://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,55491.msg1287254.html#msg1287254