32 replies to this topic

[LeopardGolf]

Hello Golfwrx, I'm a fairy new member and this subject just ticks me off!!!!!!!!!!! Golf is a snowball that is rolling down a mountain and keeps getting faster. There are 2 things I  HATE about Modern Golf. I started golfing when I was 11 (late 2007-Early 2008) and the love affair started. when I started I, like many others, had trouble hitting long irons so I went to YouTube for help. I got hit with:
1. Throw your long iron away get a hybrid
2. long irons suck get a hybrid
3. The hybrid is the greatest invention in golf (I think the sand wedge is )
and worst of all 4. IF YOU ARE NOT USING A HYBRID YOU ARE HURTING YOURSELF . Hybrids are the first of the 2 Modern game flaws.

Second is game improvement clubs specifically drivers.

There are many guys my age on YouTube make WITB videos and emphasize how much cavity backs are needed. Really, the real GI club is the blade because you must practice to use it. Other GI clubs will gladly help you with their  perimeter weighting and low center of gravity. This is what blades say "Give us a good swing we will reward you with a good shot, but defy us with a bad strike and the ball will not go towards the intended direction and will we hurt your hands!" well ...... that's what mine tell me.

The 460cc drivers are just as guilty. One day I played with to other High School players (both 15 like me) had their shiny new R11s and i had my lynx persimmon driver. They were like, "You use wooden golf clubsyou must suck to use clubs that old." I said, "wanna give it a try" The first guy hit it down the middle of the OTHER FAIRWAY and the second guy missed the ball  completely then I hit it 255 down the middle . Next on a 187 yard Par 3 they hit 9 irons (today's equipment ) both missed the green by 30 yards, while I hit my Walter Hagen 3 iron to 12 feet .

In the end, golf is a great game that's destroying itself with technology. I may be young but I know how golf should be. For Christmas I'm getting very good condition Spalding persimmons with some rare new Wilson Staff 1976 tour blades . My friend said," Those irons look like knives." Well with my bags full of knives I'm ready for this season's competition .

[LeopardGolf]

Please post  your opinions

[KYMAR]

LOL this is great kid. I like your enthiusiasm.

I also like hybrids and big Drivers. and graphite shafts and urethane balls.

I appreciate that a youngster such as your self is gaming old school sticks., but don;t be fooled into thinking that GI clubs don't and cant make you better.

there's an opinion for YOU!

[freddiec]

I agree that Traditional golf has been tarnished some by Manufacturer's brainwashing players to believe they need the latest and greatest, especially drivers. Drivers today are not built to last and players are changing drivers every 18 to 24 months, not like the old days when players looked for clubs that were made years prior (woods) and a driver and a set of irons would remain as their gamers for many years. Play what makes you happy.  Your new sticks sound like some great ones!

[LeopardGolf]

KYMAR, on 23 December 2011 - 04:00 PM, said:

LOL this is great kid. I like your enthiusiasm.

I also like hybrids and big Drivers. and graphite shafts and urethane balls.

I appreciate that a youngster such as your self is gaming old school sticks., but don;t be fooled into thinking that GI clubs don't and cant make you better.

there's an opinion for YOU!

They can make amateurs better but pros shouldn't use game improvement clubs.

[DaSportsGuy]

I highly doubt a couple of 15 year olds hit a 9 iron from 187...unless it was downhill/downwind, but then again, if you can hit an old, wooden driver 255 I don't think it would take an old 3 Iron to reach that same green on the 187 yard Par 3.

[Bella Woods]

LeopardGolf:

Good for you - you master the old clubs and you can hit anything.

I am with you on the technology and its effect on the game. Its
not the game I learned in the late 1960s - and why I only play
classics and hickories now.

Don't agree with DaSportsGuy on his driver/3 iron distance "theory"
Your old Hagen 3 iron probably has a modern 5 iron loft. I used to hit my
drives in the old days on average 260 with persimmon, and 3 or maybe 4 iron
sounds right to me on a 190 yard par 3. Maybe even 5 wood depending on the
conditions.

Welcome aboard young man!

[Nessism]

When I was younger, I played with blades and wood woods.  My handicap peaked using such clubs.  As the years piled on, and technology of clubs improved, I've come to realize that blades are dang hard to hit.  Yea, I suck.  But I make no apology for playing with the easiest to hit clubs I can get my hands on.  I still carry an old 7-iron blade in the trunk of my car that comes out for practice sessions, but for playing to score my Ping G-series irons are in the bag!

[MadGolfer76]

I would be the first in line to go back to persimmon, blades, and balata. Just can't find where that line is. The game has moved on. Truly, I feel it is victimized more by shameless corporations and marketing than anything else. It wouldn't have been as bad if the USGA was able to develop any kind of conception about what golf could look like in the future, but in the absence of a clear vision, the companies have stepped in and imposed theirs instead. I'll forgo an ironic comparison to what has happened in our country...

[Blade Junkie]

Welcome to the best board on WRX LeopardGolf - you already seem to have a wise old golfing head on young shoulders !

I think you can tell my opinion/preference for clubs from my user name !  I have had 11 sets of irons in 30 years of golfing and they were/are all blades bar one set of Vega forged cavity backs that I played with once and hated (note to self: they are still  in the loft and I should sell them!). One lesson I learned early was always buy irons second hand. There are  some bargain clubs out there in wonderful condition, especially vintage  stuff. I have friends who waste hundreds of pounds every year on the latest new equipment that all depreciates much much faster than their handicap.


Sounds like a great shot you hit with that 3-iron. Assuming no wind, I would have used the same # club for that length par-3 (I use Hogan Apex IIs), or maybe a 5-wood if the shot called for a higher trajectory.

That 3-iron of yours is probably the same loft as today's 5-irons, which is probably what your mates ought to have used if they were 30 yards short!


Post a pic of your new clubs when you get them - we like that sort of thing on here

Edited by Blade Junkie, 24 December 2011 - 05:00 AM.

[Unusual Penguin]

As a junior golfer I agree with most of what your saying, especially how  most kids our age think that more forgiveness=better play. While I do  use blades I prefer a regular titanium driver just because I could can  use the extra forgiveness off the tee.

But if you can use persimmon woods then power to you!! If I ever  came across you in a match the first thing that would come to my mine  would be... "DAAAAAAANNNGGGG that guys got game"

LeopardGolf, on 23 December 2011 - 03:38 PM, said:

Next on a 187 yard Par 3 they hit 9 irons (today's equipment ) both missed the green by 30 yards,

The funniest part about when this happens is they usually say something like, "WOW that one really caught a big gust of wind there!". One match last season a kid who played hybrid up to his 8 iron kept saying stuff like this and probably half way through the round I couldn't control my self and just cracked up every time he complained about his bad shots. While I wasn't intentional trying to tick him off, he hot super angry and mad some huge number on the last couple of holes. Now that I think of it in hindsight, that might be a good tactic to win some matches.

Best of luck to you!

Edited by Unusual Penguin, 25 December 2011 - 05:16 PM.

[shi shi]

I am a junior golfer aswell, and IMO i think that is great and all that you are gaming old stuff, i mean if i had older clubs i would take them out there once and a while to practice with them, but what you have to understand is that if you are trying to get somewhere in golf and have big dreams/expectations you have to understand that if you start to play tournaments every one plays these new clubs and it is helping them Distance/forgivness wise (hitting older clubs will help you with ball stricking). Like you you said they were all hitting 9 irons and you hit a 3 iron im sure if you had the new technology you would be hitting a short iron as well, any ways i just beleive you can't fall behind the pack (if you want to persue the game) by actually gaming the throwback clubs. I still game small headed drivers, blades Etc. (r510 non TP 330cc & titleist 731pm and cally x forged 07 muscle backs). Great post!! Just my 2...

[osu67]

Sorry but I'm not sure I believe much of this post. The modern golf ball doesn't spin near enough to be used effectively with a persimmon driver and woods. I don't get why you wouldn't take advantage of the technology even in modern blades but mainly in the driver and woods which are designed to be used with today's low spinning ball. I mean if you can really hit a wodden club 255 then surely you could hit a modern driver at least 350. I just don't see it as being logical. Sure you might beat some local high school kids, but 255 isn't gonna cut it if you do plan on trying to play national tournaments and college golf on 7,000-7,500 yard courses. You don't need to play SGI or even GI get some titleist 690 blades or some Nike blades and you don't need the newest r11 white everything this and that. You could get an older 905s or along those lines. Surely a little extra distance couldn't hurt your game. But to each there own.

[db22]

i dont think its a shock that he hit it 255, d.l. III hit it 8 yards further with his persimmon than he did the first year with titanium. i would recommend getting a "newer" driver like maybe a 975d i still have one. there will be little changes to get used to...if you plan on playing as much competitive golf as possible...if not keep hittin the persimmon alot of people have never heard that sound

[shi shi]

osu67, on 26 December 2011 - 01:02 AM, said:

Sorry but I'm not sure I believe much of this post. The modern golf ball doesn't spin near enough to be used effectively with a persimmon driver and woods. I don't get why you wouldn't take advantage of the technology even in modern blades but mainly in the driver and woods which are designed to be used with today's low spinning ball. I mean if you can really hit a wodden club 255 then surely you could hit a modern driver at least 350. I just don't see it as being logical. Sure you might beat some local high school kids, but 255 isn't gonna cut it if you do plan on trying to play national tournaments and college golf on 7,000-7,500 yard courses. You don't need to play SGI or even GI get some titleist 690 blades or some Nike blades and you don't need the newest r11 white everything this and that. You could get an older 905s or along those lines. Surely a little extra distance couldn't hurt your game. But to each there own.

Good post just what i was trying to get at!

[LeopardGolf]

Unusual Penguin, on 25 December 2011 - 05:15 PM, said:

As a junior golfer I agree with most of what your saying, especially how  most kids our age think that more forgiveness=better play. While I do  use blades I prefer a regular titanium driver just because I could can  use the extra forgiveness off the tee.

But if you can use persimmon woods then power to you!! If I ever  came across you in a match the first thing that would come to my mine  would be... "DAAAAAAANNNGGGG that guys got game"

LeopardGolf, on 23 December 2011 - 03:38 PM, said:

Next on a 187 yard Par 3 they hit 9 irons (today's equipment ) both missed the green by 30 yards,

The funniest part about when this happens is they usually say something like, "WOW that one really caught a big gust of wind there!". One match last season a kid who played hybrid up to his 8 iron kept saying stuff like this and probably half way through the round I couldn't control my self and just cracked up every time he complained about his bad shots. While I wasn't intentional trying to tick him off, he hot super angry and mad some huge number on the last couple of holes. Now that I think of it in hindsight, that might be a good tactic to win some matches.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks man. the thing with my HS team is im the only one that cares. My high school is FOOTBALL ABOVE ALL and the rest of the team are bored athletes that want to get out off class. Im the only one that goes to practice. So I get alot of 1 on 1 time with coach (kind of like of a tour player). We lose every match here are the average scores for a 9 hole match
Me 40
2    57
3    59
4    69 (im not joking)
And in one match two guys on the winning team had hybrids to the SW..............................................It hurts me every time.

[jwfgolfpro]

LeopardGolf, on 23 December 2011 - 03:39 PM, said:

Please post  your opinions

Golfers are leaving the game at an alarming rate. Why make the game harder. We need to make it easier.
More power to you if you want to challenge yourself playing with outdated equipment but take a look at the PGA Tour. You think those guys dont embrace technology.

Try it.....you might LIKE it.

JWF

[LeopardGolf]

osu67, on 26 December 2011 - 01:02 AM, said:

Sorry but I'm not sure I believe much of this post. The modern golf ball doesn't spin near enough to be used effectively with a persimmon driver and woods. I don't get why you wouldn't take advantage of the technology even in modern blades but mainly in the driver and woods which are designed to be used with today's low spinning ball. I mean if you can really hit a wodden club 255 then surely you could hit a modern driver at least 350. I just don't see it as being logical. Sure you might beat some local high school kids, but 255 isn't gonna cut it if you do plan on trying to play national tournaments and college golf on 7,000-7,500 yard courses. You don't need to play SGI or even GI get some titleist 690 blades or some Nike blades and you don't need the newest r11 white everything this and that. You could get an older 905s or along those lines. Surely a little extra distance couldn't hurt your game. But to each there own.

Im weird in this sense... I can't hit a 460cc titanium driver to save my life. Its mental, I feel i can hit a small head better than a big head. About the balls, My HS coach supplies our balls and most of them are old and beat up so if the balls i use were better I'd hit my Lynx farther. I also changed my swing and yesterday I hit the ball 20 yards farther. I'll buy some metal woods and we'll see what happens.    I'm kind of a BIG 15 yr old( 6'0''  255 lbs)

[southpaw72]

I can honestly say that I have never hit a persimmon wood. Ive been looking for one at local used sporting good stores, they have tons but no lefty. IMO its great you want to play the game traditionally but if your serious about your scores and competing it wouldn't hurt to take advantage of modern technology. Especially in the driver. From what I know about Persimmon drivers, 255 or 20 yards further like you said you have been hitting seems really long. I think the wilson blades will make for a great set of irons though .Good luck

[highergr0und]

LeopardGolf, on 30 December 2011 - 06:29 AM, said:

Im weird in this sense... I can't hit a 460cc titanium driver to save my life. Its mental, I feel i can hit a small head better than a big head. About the balls, My HS coach supplies our balls and most of them are old and beat up so if the balls i use were better I'd hit my Lynx farther. I also changed my swing and yesterday I hit the ball 20 yards farther. I'll buy some metal woods and we'll see what happens.    I'm kind of a BIG 15 yr old( 6'0''  255 lbs)

So you admit that you've tried playing GI clubs and cannot do it?  And your "logical" explanation is that those who can should have to play small headed woods?  To me, it's more of an indication that you are playing the clubs best suited to you within the rules specified by the USGA or R&A as are your competitors.  Their skill just isn't up to yours.

[Cwing]

LeopardGolf, on 23 December 2011 - 05:49 PM, said:

KYMAR, on 23 December 2011 - 04:00 PM, said:

LOL this is great kid. I like your enthiusiasm.

I also like hybrids and big Drivers. and graphite shafts and urethane balls.

I appreciate that a youngster such as your self is gaming old school sticks., but don;t be fooled into thinking that GI clubs don't and cant make you better.

there's an opinion for YOU!

They can make amateurs better but pros shouldn't use game improvement clubs.

Who is the OP to judge what anyone else should use or what may work best for others? Many pros are now using what players GI irons and have been for 20+ yrs or at least snce the Eye2's came out.  



Silly trying to belittle others in a round about way for what they play. Play what you want and leave otehrs be. There is no best for everyone in anything.

[farmer]

At 6' and 255 you are a huge 15 year old.  Good luck with your golf, but you could play football and golf.

[tom93084]

farmer, on 30 December 2011 - 08:37 PM, said:

At 6' and 255 you are a huge 15 year old.  Good luck with your golf, but you could play football and golf.

Save your brain and knees, play golf.

[BkgolferNH]

DaSportsGuy, on 23 December 2011 - 06:18 PM, said:

I highly doubt a couple of 15 year olds hit a 9 iron from 187...unless it was downhill/downwind, but then again, if you can hit an old, wooden driver 255 I don't think it would take an old 3 Iron to reach that same green on the 187 yard Par 3.

He said they missed the green by 30 yards meaning they probably came up short. The one time they played the whole they probably hit and 8 iron downwind, downhill, 115%, and hit it on the screws and got over the pin or something freakish and so they saw that and try to hit 9 iron just to show off. I used to do the same but in my maturity (I'm only 18 hahaha, not that mature) I have started taking more club because its funnier when I hit 4 iron from 200 and my competitor pulls 6 iron and barely reaches the green but I'm pin high. Give the club a twirl and start walking.... don't say a word. There is no better feeling.


When I was just starting out and it was my first year playing golf we hosted a home scrimmage against the defending state champs. There 1-4 were like All-Region, unbelievable players but there bottom 4 were pretty bad (46-60 through 9 holes). I was playing the number 6 shooting like 44-50 at the time and we got the the seventh hole at my course, a downhill par 3 that is 172 from the tees we are playing from and I said "it is 172 but doesn't play very downhill like you would think I would play it like 165" because I was friends with the kid prior and was trying to help and hee pulled a LOB WEDGE, swung it, got totally under the ball and hit it maybe 65 yards. I couldn't help but laugh because I hit like a 6 (wimpy I know, I can almost get an 8 there now) or something and was on the green past pin high.

[mikey96]

I will have to agree AND disagree with this post.  I do agree that its not all about new technology.  You have to use the clubs that work for your swing.  But I have to disagree when you said "Golf is destroying itself with technology."  I don't think technology is destroying golf.  If you have GI irons you still have to practice!  Technology is used to help and enhance ones already formed swing.  All the pros use the new big headed 460cc graphite drivers, but they still practice, they still love the game, they are still the best players in the world.  Technology should be used to enhance the game, but technology should not be obsessed about.  Golf isn't about showing off your clubs.. It's about enjoying the outdoors, taking all stress off your mind (except your score!), and just enjoying improving in the game!

[Ping33]

I love this kid! Love to hear stuff like this, and he gets to play the equipment I only dreamed of when I was his age. Sounds like he may be a force to be reckoned with one day.

[Snufles]

MadGolfer76, on 23 December 2011 - 08:06 PM, said:

I would be the first in line to go back to persimmon, blades, and balata. Just can't find where that line is. The game has moved on. Truly, I feel it is victimized more by shameless corporations and marketing than anything else. It wouldn't have been as bad if the USGA was able to develop any kind of conception about what golf could look like in the future, but in the absence of a clear vision, the companies have stepped in and imposed theirs instead. I'll forgo an ironic comparison to what has happened in our country...

Golf now seems to be more about travel, hotels and spas.

[Snufles]

LeopardGolf, on 23 December 2011 - 03:38 PM, said:

Hello Golfwrx, I'm a fairy new member and this subject just ticks me off!!!!!!!!!!! Golf is a snowball that is rolling down a mountain and keeps getting faster. There are 2 things I  HATE about Modern Golf. I started golfing when I was 11 (late 2007-Early 2008) and the love affair started. when I started I, like many others, had trouble hitting long irons so I went to YouTube for help. I got hit with:
1. Throw your long iron away get a hybrid
2. long irons suck get a hybrid
3. The hybrid is the greatest invention in golf (I think the sand wedge is )
and worst of all 4. IF YOU ARE NOT USING A HYBRID YOU ARE HURTING YOURSELF . Hybrids are the first of the 2 Modern game flaws.

Second is game improvement clubs specifically drivers.

There are many guys my age on YouTube make WITB videos and emphasize how much cavity backs are needed. Really, the real GI club is the blade because you must practice to use it. Other GI clubs will gladly help you with their  perimeter weighting and low center of gravity. This is what blades say "Give us a good swing we will reward you with a good shot, but defy us with a bad strike and the ball will not go towards the intended direction and will we hurt your hands!" well ...... that's what mine tell me.

The 460cc drivers are just as guilty. One day I played with to other High School players (both 15 like me) had their shiny new R11s and i had my lynx persimmon driver. They were like, "You use wooden golf clubsyou must suck to use clubs that old." I said, "wanna give it a try" The first guy hit it down the middle of the OTHER FAIRWAY and the second guy missed the ball  completely then I hit it 255 down the middle . Next on a 187 yard Par 3 they hit 9 irons (today's equipment ) both missed the green by 30 yards, while I hit my Walter Hagen 3 iron to 12 feet .

In the end, golf is a great game that's destroying itself with technology. I may be young but I know how golf should be. For Christmas I'm getting very good condition Spalding persimmons with some rare new Wilson Staff 1976 tour blades . My friend said," Those irons look like knives." Well with my bags full of knives I'm ready for this season's competition .

Your love of the game is fantastic, keep it going and never let the numbers bring you down.



If anyone on here would like to build a set of clubs for this kid I'd be willing to supply a set of 1-SW Maxfli Revos Black dot heads to the cause. They may not be truly old school but there is the 1i.

[GatorNate11]

The teams who beat you were using hybrids, but it's destroying golf? Are you using the logic it's making scores easier to come by? I'm not jumping on you, just trying to get some insight as to what you mean.

[Sean2]

I disagree. According to a study I read by Frank Thomas, former R&D director of the USGA, in the past 20+ years the average driving distance for the average golfer hasn't changed from around 200 yards. The average golfer still struggles to break 100. The average handicap for golfers who keep a handicap is still around 16.

If technology has been such a boon, those numbers should be a lot different than what they were 20 years ago.