I was wondering if there was a market for the old clubs out there beyond the small community here? There are opportunities out there to buy out places for pennies on the dollar… Are any of you guys buying, cleaning them up and selling them outside the ABS group?
I think there is an opportunity if you are invested long term. I can’t see golf continuing endlessly into the crazy technologies and obsoleting the game every 5 years and all the courses having to keep being lengthened or redesigned. It’s just silly.
At some point, even the average Joe is not going to keep shelling out for the latest and greatest.
Eventually (in the future) people in power will wake up to the reality of the mistakes of the previous generation. I hope sooner than later, but these things take time.
I am quite sure as an example, that more golfers now are hitting persimmon and even Hickories than there were 10 years ago.
Personally, one of the biggest motivating factors for me to go out and play is the thought and sound of hitting a properly constructed persimmon off the first tee, the crack of the wood echoing through the trees, and the feel of hitting heavy flat irons that naturally find their way around and behind my body then striking through and taking a laser thin divot that flies left off my clubface while the ball starts slightly right and works either way from from it’s apex depending upon how I choose to shape the shot post impact.
I know for a fact I am not alone.
I was thinking that there has to be some value here because they arent making clubs like these any more and eventually it would seem they go up in value (like cars, guitars, everything)…
I just wonder if the average hacker is going to ever be pulled away from their giant oversized graphite clubs… I see lots of older guys at our club and all they talk about is hitting it farther. I certainly hope you are right as I think that the big companies like callaway (by buying hogan, etc) are ending this era for good.
I have the chance to buy a large lot of clubs for a few grand… I think I might take a shot on them and just start messing around with them and see what I can do.
The game changer would be the rebirth of a Persimmon Tour.
A pro tour would give credence to golf being played properly again… as it was intended so that there is a serendipity and harmony between humans, the gear they play and the architecture of the golf course… particularly the historic classics.
When this happens, and I believe it will at some point, this entire frying pan era is going to look pretty silly.
I’ll say this… 20 years ago, nobody ever would have imagined that golf would turn into the game it is today. Therefore I don’t think it is a stretch to imagine golf returning to a respectable traditional game with the return of shotmaking and strategic playing again at some point in the future. History has a way of exposing absurdities in retrospect, and when a new curious generation lift their heads up from their hand-held devices, there will a be a lot of rethinking going on.
I have confidence in humanity over the long haul.
I tend to pop in my local recycle centres. Generally always something of interest in their sales area. I have found numerous tour bags, £5.00 a piece which have been re sold on ebay for a good profit ready for re-investment 
Also plenty of clubs, £1.00 a club is the rate-occasionally unearth some real good old clubs for bringing back to life. Again either play them or re sell. Unfortunately living in Germany at the moment and the pickings are not so rich - never guessed I would miss it so much!!
Hi all,
I just returned from a week long golf trip with about 25 mates. Of course they all using the latest piece of crap, but i played all week with my persimmons and 50’s blades that I got from Lag. My golf wasnt special, some serious injuries and have not have kept me from the game for the past 3 months, but it was a joy to get back playing.
I can assure u, after every round, my 3 playing companions where enthralled with the “why” i was playing the “old stuff” They were all going to dig in the garages and bring the woods out for a game. Changing views 1 round at a time
Steve
Great Story Apples,
Similar story this weekend with me, curiosity is getting the best of my playing partners lately,
my buddy unearthed his circa 1982 Taylor Made Burner metal driver with the tiny head, I regripped it for him added an inch and got the dead weight up to 14.3 oz. and he loves it !!. pretty similar to persimmon drivers of that era in look, weight, but still not as sweet feeling as persimmon… tHe was gaming some old Spalding persimmon Fairway woods that his grandfather had given him ons ago, the leather grips are great shape and he loved getting back in his hands a well struck shot… now just gotta get him into some blades and he’ll officially be my 1st convert 
Sounds like Kevinhutto will be the guy to look up for new/old clubs!
cheers,
Dale
Dale…I’m curious what you did to get the driver weight up to 14 ounces. I’ve loaded some clubs up with lead tape, and they still didn’t get that heavy. Having that much “extra” weight all at one end of the club also seemed to distort the playing characteristics of the shaft.
Is there a better way to increase the weight?
Hey Dukeman,
Suprisingly enough that old metal Taylor made was already 13 or so oz’s… so only needed to add around an oz…
If you are referring to other modern drivers and loading them with lead tape, with a ‘stiff’ graphite shaft I could see where you might have club dynamics
issues… This club had an s400 steel shaft so it seemed like adding weight did not affect it too much,plus the head is a fary cry from todays stuff, in shear size (230 cc I think) and 'wall thickness… I am not a club builder just been asking others for advice…
I normally tinker with persimmon’s and add weight to the head under the sole plate or drill holes on the rear heel of the clug opposite the sweetspot…
and pour lead there…or a little down the shaft, using x100’s so the seem to handle the load…
On this particular club I took 2 oz.lead fishing weights put in the vise and hit them with a bastard file and making my own lead filings/powder and adding down the shaft than ramming a cork down coated with epoxy, 1/2 to 3/4 oz. MAX as per the advice I have been seeing from the posts here. The rest I add tape on
rear of the clubhead…but usually not more than 3/10th’s OZ. on woods when I do that…
hope that helps
Dale
Resurrecting an old thread, but I have been wondering the same thing. kevinhutto, How did your lot purchase go? I have found two large club lots for sale this week and have been trying to decide whether to get them or not. I have a fair idea about the irons, but not persimmons. Anyone have some experiences they would like to share?