[rich13]

Well, all the old stuff's gone back in, for some strange reason it looks and feels right. All from 1980, and the irons have very old school weak lofts, in fact almost a club weaker than modern lofts! The Busson driver goes the same distance as the FT-5, but only when I manage to find the screws! Hope you like this little trip down memory lane.....

[TM golf guy 182]

Very nice. I had a set of those clubs. Bought them a few years ago at a garage sale LOL. Great feeling clubs. You just need some old golf balls and you will be all set.

[OldSkoolTexan]

SWWWEEEEEETTTT!!   Let me send you a 975D atleast. lol  Leave the irons as-is though.  The cameo irons are a classic.  Im surprised you didnt rock the Redlines or PC.

[jgpl]

Nice to see a persimmon wood and a set of old school blades again.

More remarkable is the fact the the ave club handicap has not decreased to any significant degree from the time of these old chaps to the current era of ProV's, cavities, musclebacks, composite headed-high MOI drivers, composite weave shafts, etc.................

Though I play all of these new tech driven products it makes you wonder, who is really winning, us or the marketing guys.......

[OldSkoolTexan]

jgpl, on Dec 8 2008, 03:04 AM, said:

Nice to see a persimmon wood and a set of old school blades again.

More remarkable is the fact the the ave club handicap has not decreased to any significant degree from the time of these old chaps to the current era of ProV's, cavities, musclebacks, composite headed-high MOI drivers, composite weave shafts, etc.................

Though I play all of these new tech driven products it makes you wonder, who is really winning, us or the marketing guys.......

EXACTLY!!!!

[DoglegRight]

Great irons, it's tough to find the cameos in good shape. I'm sure that 1 iron is a lot of fun.

I need to update my WITB which has both Hogan Redlines and PC's.

[rich13]

jgpl, on Dec 8 2008, 04:04 AM, said:

Nice to see a persimmon wood and a set of old school blades again.

More remarkable is the fact the the ave club handicap has not decreased to any significant degree from the time of these old chaps to the current era of ProV's, cavities, musclebacks, composite headed-high MOI drivers, composite weave shafts, etc.................

Though I play all of these new tech driven products it makes you wonder, who is really winning, us or the marketing guys.......

Interesting point, jgpl, and one that's crossed my mind a few times. I think part of the reason for putting these "old-timers" back in play was to see how they stood up to "modern" kit.....and, basically, they do! The only real difference is the driver, I have to hit the Busson right out of the screws (or else anything could happen), but when I do there is virtually no difference to the FT-5. Also, persimmon drivers are workable, whereas the modern ones are basically very straight (not that there's anything wrong with that of course!!)

[BEND OF THE RIVER GC]

Does anyone miss the CRAAAAAAAAAAACK sound that a persimmon driver gives off after well struck shot? I sure do!

[1930_]

jgpl, on Dec 8 2008, 04:04 AM, said:

Nice to see a persimmon wood and a set of old school blades again.

More remarkable is the fact the the ave club handicap has not decreased to any significant degree from the time of these old chaps to the current era of ProV's, cavities, musclebacks, composite headed-high MOI drivers, composite weave shafts, etc.................

Though I play all of these new tech driven products it makes you wonder, who is really winning, us or the marketing guys.......

So, so true! Is technology really making the game "better?" I think not.

This fall, after spending $500 on a Nak H-Tec 460, I randomly put my Cleveland Classics persimmon RC85 driver and RC75 4-wood in my bag. I played the last two months of the season with them. I am all of ten yards shorter with the driver, if that, and I attribute a lot of that to the club being a full inch-and-a-half shorter than the Nak. Frankly, I was shocked how far I hit it. Of course, it isn't very forgiving at all, but not so bad really, and the gear effect definitely helps on certain types of mishits. The sound is wonderful, the clubs are beautiful to the eye, and I absolutely had a blast playing them. They're far more workable too, which is neat. I hit some amazing shots with them that I know I couldn't quite pull off with a longer club with a modern titanium head. I played absolutely beautifully with them and have decided to keep gaming persimmon all next year.

[freddiec]

I can't get enough of the old stuff. I love looking at that. The hogan bag and the Apex II irons bring back such incridible memories. I'm not familiar with that driver, but it looks good. Every summer I take out my old persimmons atleast a few nights with some old balatas and play a few holes at the muni. Golf the way it was meant to be played. My goal is to acquire a great throw back set. It will definitely consist of a set of Apexs. Probably the PCs that I used in 1989.

[rich13]

Well, the driver isn't that well known.......
J.H.(Harry) Busson was head pro at Walton Heath for many years, and was recognised as one of the very best clubmakers during the 50's, 60's and 70's. He used to hand-make woods for many of the top players in Europe, and also some of the very best US pro's when they came over for the Open and Ryder Cups. I was told that mine used to belong to Mark James, and that Seve had a swat with it a few times too, though I have no idea if thats true or not! I don't think that Busson woods were ever commercially available (maybe in the Pro Shop at Walton Heath ), as they were all special order stuff, in fact I got mine from Stuart Brown, an Ex-Tour Pro, in 1980. I guess the US equivalents would be Wood Brothers or Joe Powell, if that helps! Anyway, glad you like it, and, yes, the crack off the clubface is the most gorgeous sound!!

[84425]

Nice bag. Lovely driver. Love the look of that big high face.
thanks for the info on Harry Busson, interesting to read.

P.S. have you seen the latest driver louisville golf has to offer?
Tiger Woods Practise Driver

[MGWP]

Rich,
Thanks for the pics, makes me realise how much persimoon I have in my attic..I will post pics.
You may be right about Mark James, I remember him hitting a Busson for a while before he went to his jubilee Hogan.
He used the Hogan most of the time.
We had the same teacher back then Gavin Christie at Kedleston Park near Derby...dont know what happend to him great teacher...also worked with Woosie DJ Russel.G brand to name a few.

[rich13]

84425, on Dec 11 2008, 10:30 AM, said:

Nice bag. Lovely driver. Love the look of that big high face.
thanks for the info on Harry Busson, interesting to read.

P.S. have you seen the latest driver louisville golf has to offer?
Tiger Woods Practise Driver

Thanks for the comments and the link........ that TWPD looks gorgeous! Wonder if Louisville or Joe Powell deliver to the UK? Yummmm.......

[rich13]

MGWP......thanks for reminding me about the Hogan Commemorative! I also now remember Jacklin and Ken Brown using them, they were like gold dust at the time! Maybe this is the very Busson that you remember........?

[Jack lives here]

84425, on Dec 11 2008, 10:30 AM, said:

Nice bag. Lovely driver. Love the look of that big high face.
thanks for the info on Harry Busson, interesting to read.

P.S. have you seen the latest driver louisville golf has to offer?
Tiger Woods Practise Driver

200 bucks for a classic!!

The real cost of the titanium trash should be $30 a club.

....well that's not fair....$30 for the club and $470 for the marketing.

Bar Tigers contract with Nike, he would probably prefer to use persimmon as his gamer. One could only imagine what he would shoot with a driver where he could shape his shots....now that's scary.

[MoaningM]

Man after my own heart! I own a Harry Busson 3 wood - absolutely gorgeous piece of percy, I had read that he had made Driver for both Olazabal and Norman in his time.

Great set up, also love them irons!