The persimmon driver has made somewhat of a return to prominence in recent months.
While they are unlikely to make an appearance in the bag of professionals on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR, the nostalgia of trying out the club is proving too great for many.
This week, with the help of former professional golfer John E Morgan, who owns a persimmon wood company, two-time Major winner Jon Rahm and Hollywood actor Tom Holland tried out a new prototype.
The custom-made club, with a Spiderman carving, was used by both during Wednesday’s Celebrity Pro-Am at Wentworth Club’s West Course.
This followed on from the Genesis Scottish Open when Rory McIlroy swapped his modern driver for a wooden version, the most popular driver of choice for players up until around the 1980’s.
Such is the heavier weight of the club, forgiveness is reduced while slower ball speeds and more spin are an inevitability.
The results showed McIlroy’s ball speed was 168.6mph, while his carry measured 256 yards.
Reflecting on seeing his persimmon driver used this week, Morgan, who is now a golf commentator, is hopeful the persimmon driver can serve as a training aid for the stars of the game.
“It has been amazing,” he said of its use this week. “David Mould, a TV director (at European Tour Productions) put the idea to me, and we were able to rush it through and make an amazing club for Tom Holland.
“I was so happy Jon Rahm was able to hit it as well.
“The loft on the club was a bit too severe. It was a prototype, but it was nice to see them hit it. We are going to make bigger and better ones down the road.
“Hopefully the players use it as a bit of a training aid because it is obviously a little heavier. The sweet spot is almost non-existent. You have got to put a nice rhythm on the swing to hit a perfect shot.
“The players love it. It is not going to impede on modern technology because we are going back 30 to 40 years when this was the hottest property there was.”
