RichA
Well-known member
What could possibly go wrong...
Vintage Golf
- Thread starter Crow
- Start date
Voyager EMH
Slipper Wearing Plucker of Pheasants
The battery could lose its charge or one of the wheels could fall off.
Well, you did ask.
Well, you did ask.
RichA
Well-known member
I think the Ping Eye 2 7-wood is as good as any modern hybrid I've used. Those red rubber or plastic face inserts are crazy. The ball just flies off them with pretty effortless consistency. It was like a cheat code for 180 yards this morning until its last shot on 18 which I hooked 50 yards left. 
craigstardis1976
Head Pro
Wanted to show off my latest acquisition. Some 1989 Palmer Peerless Blades. In really good condition with R flex shafts 3-SW. Not sure they were ever for sale in the UK but as per Getty Images, Arnold Palmer had this model in the bag at the 1990 Open Championship.
I also splurged and purchased a Louisville Golf 2 Wood, 4 Wood and 7 Wood this week. Together with my Wood Bros Drivers and my slightly later model Peerless Irons I have from the 1990's - along with my Wilson Blade Putter (Or Ping Anser) I am seriously considering going to a vintage set up full time as I am shortly to take up membership at a club that held a major championship back in the 1970's.
I also splurged and purchased a Louisville Golf 2 Wood, 4 Wood and 7 Wood this week. Together with my Wood Bros Drivers and my slightly later model Peerless Irons I have from the 1990's - along with my Wilson Blade Putter (Or Ping Anser) I am seriously considering going to a vintage set up full time as I am shortly to take up membership at a club that held a major championship back in the 1970's.
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Crow
Crow Person
They look beautiful, a great set up you have there.
You won't regret going vintage full time, your handicap might rise a little but that's just a number.
you'll still be the same golfer, just with a bigger smile on your face as you nail your Wood Bros, or fire in a 4 iron with the satisfaction you only get when middling a blade.
craigstardis1976
Head Pro
Here is a curio piece for those of you interested in vintage golf - part of the second round of the 1974 Open Championship played at Royal Lytham as it was broadcast on BBC Television.
As archive TV is somewhat of a specialist subject, the commentators are Harry Carpenter, Henry Longhurst, former Tour Professional, Dave Thomas and in the latter stages of the broadcast, Peter Alliss. By my reckoning this is the last competitive round Peter Alliss ever played and you see him at around the 55 minute mark and indeed the putting stroke looks very shaky. It was the second year the BBC used the ANCHOR graphics system for individual scores. It was revolutionary looking for the time but inside the BBC commentary area there would have been charts, not unlike the lap charts used in motor racing to record scores as they were posted of the significant players.
Most of the country would have been still watching this in monochrome but the video quality is very good for this era and I cannot emphasize enough that despite it looking very primitive - the use of crossfades and screen wipes as we go from shot to shot took great skill using the production techniques of the time and is far superior to what the US TV Networks were putting out - albeit they were operating in very different circumstances with a television system that did not have the same definition as the UK had.
As archive TV is somewhat of a specialist subject, the commentators are Harry Carpenter, Henry Longhurst, former Tour Professional, Dave Thomas and in the latter stages of the broadcast, Peter Alliss. By my reckoning this is the last competitive round Peter Alliss ever played and you see him at around the 55 minute mark and indeed the putting stroke looks very shaky. It was the second year the BBC used the ANCHOR graphics system for individual scores. It was revolutionary looking for the time but inside the BBC commentary area there would have been charts, not unlike the lap charts used in motor racing to record scores as they were posted of the significant players.
Most of the country would have been still watching this in monochrome but the video quality is very good for this era and I cannot emphasize enough that despite it looking very primitive - the use of crossfades and screen wipes as we go from shot to shot took great skill using the production techniques of the time and is far superior to what the US TV Networks were putting out - albeit they were operating in very different circumstances with a television system that did not have the same definition as the UK had.
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craigstardis1976
Head Pro
Some gamer updates: The aforementioned Louisville Golf Fairway Woods. The 2 Wood is a revelation. Virtually as long as the driver and very hittable off a good lie from the fairway woods. Reading some of my old golf instruction books, it appears 2 Woods were quite popular with club and tournament pros in the UK in the 1960s?
2 Wood Bros Kool Cat Drivers, one with a graphite shaft and a Wood Bros Corker Original Model Driver.
Irons continue with the Arnold Palmer theme. Played by AP from 1991-1994 they are the final iteration of "The Standard" iron set with a very shallow cavity and virtually no offset. Quite forgiving on toe hits which is a feature of all Standards.
Ready to commit full time to vintage golf and (as I am a journalist) I am actually writing some old school daily practice and play schedules as well as a series of writing prompts to get the right mindset for this new (old) way of playing!
2 Wood Bros Kool Cat Drivers, one with a graphite shaft and a Wood Bros Corker Original Model Driver.
Irons continue with the Arnold Palmer theme. Played by AP from 1991-1994 they are the final iteration of "The Standard" iron set with a very shallow cavity and virtually no offset. Quite forgiving on toe hits which is a feature of all Standards.
Ready to commit full time to vintage golf and (as I am a journalist) I am actually writing some old school daily practice and play schedules as well as a series of writing prompts to get the right mindset for this new (old) way of playing!
Attachments
Voyager EMH
Slipper Wearing Plucker of Pheasants
£10.78 spent on this joblot and possibly about £5.22 on petrol for the round trip to Melton Mowbray to collect.
What did I get for my £16 ?
There was a Dunlop 65 5-wood and 7-iron and a Regency putter in very poor state and destined for a skip.
Donnay 3 & 5 woods for the charity shop.
A H&B Powerbilt oversize 5-iron that I don't know what to do with.
Ping Eye2 driver and 3-wood. Possibly for resale or give away. I have a 1,3,5 and a 1,4,7 set already.
Ladies lengths Ping eye2 driver and 7-wood. Back on ebay for these maybe.
Keepers.
Callaway Big Bertha Warbird 10° with headcover in great condition.
Ping Eye2 1-iron with original grip that seems hardly used - fantastic. It is a Ping Eye2+. It is 39.75 inch and 16°.
A Leyland Golden Trophy putter with leather grip.
Putter looked very tarnished, but a quick going over with Fairy liquid showed its true colour. Face has no dents or dinks. I'll get it looking much better with some more effort.
No need for pics of the Big Bertha Warbird.
Oh, nearly forgot.
A Donnay copper dual-way chipper in great condition.
What did I get for my £16 ?
There was a Dunlop 65 5-wood and 7-iron and a Regency putter in very poor state and destined for a skip.
Donnay 3 & 5 woods for the charity shop.
A H&B Powerbilt oversize 5-iron that I don't know what to do with.
Ping Eye2 driver and 3-wood. Possibly for resale or give away. I have a 1,3,5 and a 1,4,7 set already.
Ladies lengths Ping eye2 driver and 7-wood. Back on ebay for these maybe.
Keepers.
Callaway Big Bertha Warbird 10° with headcover in great condition.
Ping Eye2 1-iron with original grip that seems hardly used - fantastic. It is a Ping Eye2+. It is 39.75 inch and 16°.
A Leyland Golden Trophy putter with leather grip.
Putter looked very tarnished, but a quick going over with Fairy liquid showed its true colour. Face has no dents or dinks. I'll get it looking much better with some more effort.
No need for pics of the Big Bertha Warbird.
Oh, nearly forgot.
A Donnay copper dual-way chipper in great condition.
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Voyager EMH
Slipper Wearing Plucker of Pheasants
That'll do
craigstardis1976
Head Pro
That same Leyland mark I have seen on 1990's component clubs in the USA.
Voyager EMH
Slipper Wearing Plucker of Pheasants
Social game yesterday.
Played with
Cobra F Speed driver 2005 - £25 from club pro in 2010. Used this only eleven times on the course.
Wilson Walter Hagen 2&4 woods with aluminium shafts circa 1968 - came as bonus in A Daiwa Coach Collection bag for £26.50 last year.
Spalding Topflite Professional irons 2-SW circa 1965/69 - £22 in 2023, but that included a very nice MacGregor bag.
Leyland Golden Trophy Putter 1960s - recent purchase that will probably work out better than £zero after I sell a Big Bertha Driver from the joblot.
Interesting full-metal-jacket ferule and how the grooves follow the curve of the toe.
First off the tee as a two ball - we finished about 11am.
Double bogey on the first due to a 3-putt on the very dew-laden green.
Three more 3-putts followed over the course of the round as I struggled to read the pace of long putts as the greens dried out.
8-over par by the end.
One birdie on a Par-3.
Went in 4 greenside bunkers and made a par 3-times out of the 4, including 18th hole.
Quite satisfied with how I played with mainly 1960s clubs that cost me about £25 and a driver also for £25.
Despite the 3-putts, I think the putter is superb. Met head greenkeeper on the 11th and he had a few goes with the putter. He liked it as well.
Played with
Cobra F Speed driver 2005 - £25 from club pro in 2010. Used this only eleven times on the course.
Wilson Walter Hagen 2&4 woods with aluminium shafts circa 1968 - came as bonus in A Daiwa Coach Collection bag for £26.50 last year.
Spalding Topflite Professional irons 2-SW circa 1965/69 - £22 in 2023, but that included a very nice MacGregor bag.
Leyland Golden Trophy Putter 1960s - recent purchase that will probably work out better than £zero after I sell a Big Bertha Driver from the joblot.
Interesting full-metal-jacket ferule and how the grooves follow the curve of the toe.
First off the tee as a two ball - we finished about 11am.
Double bogey on the first due to a 3-putt on the very dew-laden green.
Three more 3-putts followed over the course of the round as I struggled to read the pace of long putts as the greens dried out.
8-over par by the end.
One birdie on a Par-3.
Went in 4 greenside bunkers and made a par 3-times out of the 4, including 18th hole.
Quite satisfied with how I played with mainly 1960s clubs that cost me about £25 and a driver also for £25.
Despite the 3-putts, I think the putter is superb. Met head greenkeeper on the 11th and he had a few goes with the putter. He liked it as well.
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Crow
Crow Person
I've heard that those Top Flite bird on ball irons are excellent clubs.
craigstardis1976
Head Pro
Wonderful looking Spalding irons and the 2 wood and 4 wood combo is the stuff of legends!
craigstardis1976
Head Pro
Vintage golf fans on here may enjoy this:
Palmer Vs. Jacklin on The Best 18 holes in Great Britain made in the summer of 1970. and broadcast in December and January of 1970 and 1971 on BBC-2. Lots of close up's of clubheads and so on throughout.
It is interesting to me how Jacklin was perhaps the best player in the world at the time but you can almost tell from his body language he doesn't feel he quite "belongs." There does not seem to be much in the way of optimism in his manner and speech. Yes, Palmer was fifteen years older and undoubtedly the most famous golfer of the time. But considering they both came from modest beginnings, I think it something about how post WW2 US culture that Palmer was very much exuding confidence whereas perhaps in the UK for Jacklin there was still "tall poppy syndrome." That said, I always have loved watching Jacklin and very much have enjoyed reading books he has published.
This was actually made by IMG in its pre TWI phase as a co-production with the BBC and I am almost certain (I am actually having someone find this out) one of the very last times BBC Sport made an entire sporting event on 16mm film. In the USA this was shown on CBS. It was also released in 1981 as a BBC Videogram from which this copy is sourced.
Palmer Vs. Jacklin on The Best 18 holes in Great Britain made in the summer of 1970. and broadcast in December and January of 1970 and 1971 on BBC-2. Lots of close up's of clubheads and so on throughout.
It is interesting to me how Jacklin was perhaps the best player in the world at the time but you can almost tell from his body language he doesn't feel he quite "belongs." There does not seem to be much in the way of optimism in his manner and speech. Yes, Palmer was fifteen years older and undoubtedly the most famous golfer of the time. But considering they both came from modest beginnings, I think it something about how post WW2 US culture that Palmer was very much exuding confidence whereas perhaps in the UK for Jacklin there was still "tall poppy syndrome." That said, I always have loved watching Jacklin and very much have enjoyed reading books he has published.
This was actually made by IMG in its pre TWI phase as a co-production with the BBC and I am almost certain (I am actually having someone find this out) one of the very last times BBC Sport made an entire sporting event on 16mm film. In the USA this was shown on CBS. It was also released in 1981 as a BBC Videogram from which this copy is sourced.
Crow
Crow Person
Voyager EMH
Slipper Wearing Plucker of Pheasants
Voyager EMH
Slipper Wearing Plucker of Pheasants
I'm going to have to set aside a few hours for that over the next few days, as I am sure to be replaying some parts a few times.
And with the voice of Mr Longhurst - how wonderful - thanks for this!
craigstardis1976
Head Pro
Sadly not. I am thankful in my career I have lots of access to archive material. But it also means a lot of it cannot be shared which as a TV history geek is very annoying, lol!
The survival of BBC Television's Open Coverage until 1966 is very sketchy as there was not a demand for edited highlights in the evening because The Open finished on a Friday back then. Yet we have well over an hour of coverage in the archive from the 1960 Open that finished on a Saturday because of bad weather. Things get a lot better post 1968. Faster turnarounds on video editing completely changed the way golf was televised. And that was something the BBC and ABC here in the USA had a long time partnership in developing the coverage of sport on television going back to 1961.
craigstardis1976
Head Pro
You are welcome! What a great voice of golf Henry Longhurst was.
craigstardis1976
Head Pro
Winter Club Test Time! The star of the set may be the 2 Wood. I have never had such a low lofted wood I can get airborne before. Reading some old books by well known British pros from the 60s and 70s and the 2 wood 4 wood combo seemed to be much in favor by many of them at the time. An old school hack! Any fans of the 2 wood on here?
Also a photo of my home course from the clubhouse. Tanglewood, home of the 1974 PGA Championship, the 1986 USGA Public Links Championship and the Vantage Championship on the Senior PGA Tour from 1988-2002. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr in 1958, it is the perfect setting to play vintage equipment. And despite its storied past, anyone can play and become a member there. One of the most inclusive high end and affordable public golf complexes in the United States. Not a shade of elitism. Just the kind of place I always wanted to be a member at.
Also a photo of my home course from the clubhouse. Tanglewood, home of the 1974 PGA Championship, the 1986 USGA Public Links Championship and the Vantage Championship on the Senior PGA Tour from 1988-2002. Designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr in 1958, it is the perfect setting to play vintage equipment. And despite its storied past, anyone can play and become a member there. One of the most inclusive high end and affordable public golf complexes in the United States. Not a shade of elitism. Just the kind of place I always wanted to be a member at.
