Nice one for getting the pics and vids up Griff.
It really was a great day.
My Equipment;-
Hogan Apex Speed Slot Driver
Hogan Apex 3 wood
Hogan Apex Irons 2-E
bullseye putter, the grip so shiny and old that I had to keep my glove when I putted to get some grip!
I used to be a member at Walton Heath, and for anyone that has played there will understand that it is truly a Classic golf course that has stood the test of time, that even the modern gear cannot beat up! Its the type of course, that when you are playing you could be in 1910 0r 2009… no concept of era.
It was a good day for golf, a little chill in the air and a little breeze, probably a club wind.
So we arrived mid morning, then str8, griff and I headed to the first tee of the NEW course (which was opened in 1907 as a 9 hole, then extended to 18 holes in 1913) so not that new!
we decided to have a straight up strokeplay match. As I stood over my first tee shot on the USUALLY driveable first hole my first thought looking down at the Persimmon was “I hope I dont miss this!”, but about 2 seconds later when I was looking up watching the ball fly straight down the middle and hearing the ‘CRACK’ of wood on ball it was a great sight and feeling.
The feel and sound of the Persimmon on ball reminded me of why I wanted to take up golf for a living!
As we got into the round it was quite apparent that the course would play really differently with our Original gear, all of a sudden the golf course ‘looked’ different, the shots that we were having to play were different from our normal game. I felt I had to funnel my drives through the fairway bunkers as opposed to get out the 400 cc driver and try to bomb it over them. Shaping the ball from the tee was paramount to keep the ball in the fairway and miss the bunkers. Funnily enough I dont think we were losing that much distance… normally I carry the ball about 275 and it ends up about 295 avg, with the persimmon I think it carried about 240-245 and ended up about 280…
The ball flight was about half the height of the modern driver for me. One hole in particular really played different for me, its the 9th hole, 465 yard par 4 slight dogleg left to right up the hill a little. there is a big patch of heather that crosses the fairway so you can only hit it about 275 from the tee. There is a tree on the corner about 200 yards out which normally I would hit a ‘mindless’ 3 wood straight over, but today with it being into the breeze, I decided to hit a driver, but with the Hogan Speed slot, I had to cut the ball around the tree, so I aimed down the left and hit a 10-12 yards fade around the tree and down the middle of the fairway… setting up a 3 iron approach into the green. The hole was back to how it should be played!
I had a good front 9 and had got a bit of lead on str8 and griff, ( I had a slight advantage of playing here 3-4 days a week between the ages of 16-20) and the fact that I had a stiff shafted driver whereas the boys had softer shafts, but funnily enough it didnt take long for them to adapt and and be ripping it. lucky I did get ahead on the front 9 as they both played some really good golf on the back 9, Griff making 3 birdies on the way in and str8 making 2 birdies and a tidy Eagle at the 13th.
It was probably the best driving round I have had in quite a while, I felt so much more in control and confident with the persimmon because it was back to the skill of hitting the ball with precision and control, not blasting it as far as you can (which can be fun also). Driving with a persimmon was an ART, and there was so much satisfaction in having the control, hitting it straight and being able to manoeuvure ball the ball both ways to suit the hole. Much more engaging round of golf, more tactics and skill.
The sound of Persimmon, the ‘CRACK’ and the feel off the club was so satisfying, there is really nothing like it.I will definitely be getting the old gear out a lot more often now, as I could really feel myself tuning in and getting a feel for the club and, using skill to hit shots as opposed to mindless smashing! It got me thinking my way round and what was quite apparent was any over acceleration and you were in big trouble… 
. Considering none of us have done this before it was a great success. noonan took the cash with a great round of 69 (-3) myself and str8flush tied on a respectable 73.
