A great deal of talk about persimmon clubs is of the play in their original state or the restoration back to playing condition. I recently refinished a set of clubs for someone which included reshafting them with modern graphite shafts. I checked in with the owner to see how they are working out and he said the new shafts play great and he is really launching the ball. He mentioned the 2 wood is going so far he hasn’t even been using his driver lately.
This has me thinking about the potential of persimmon woods. Since we are mostly stuck using a modern low spin ball, how can we optimize our persimmon woods to work better in the modern game. If you were to install a graphite shaft in your persimmon woods, what characteristics would you look for? High spin shaft? How about weight? How could we maximize the performance?
The original design with the shorter and heavier steel shafts in the persimmon heads is still my personal favorite.
I have a few persimmon drivers with factory shafts from the 70's and did not find the magical solution for correct launch angle or more distance off the tee. Perhaps gained a little bit of distance but in my opinion, I still love the original design.
For the most part, we can not change the COR of the persimmon. I believe there is a difference between the material used to refinish the face ( insert and varnish )effect the COR just a smidget.
How the faceplate put together with the head is another issue with the persimmon woods. A golfer could often tell a loose faceplate from golf ball contact, even if it's not apparent to naked eyes.
My personal medicine to compensate for lack of the high sinning wound balata golf ball is to tee up higher with a low compression golf ball.
I would have the golf ball showing 3/4 of it over the topline of the driver's crown when address. Mindful of hitting the golf ball in the center of the club face to promote an upward path through the golf ball.
I used to play the 2 piece "rock" Topflite with persimmon so I was used to swing up a bit with the driver. Of course , with the fairway woods, I had to play a slight cut to help to get the elevation I want and never was able to get long from a fairway lie.
A softer golf ball with smaller dimple ( more dimple numbers on the golf ball ) will help to lift the golf ball than the larger dimples. Personally, I found the Wilson line of 50/50 was working well with the persimmon woods.
The graphite shafts in persimmon heads may help other golfers. However, my personal preference is still the traditional shorter heavier steel shafts. I prefer the feel and the balance of the old set up.