I still have my original clubs that i purchased from a farmer, he had them in a barn. 2 wood, steel shaft, hickory shafted, mashie and niblick plus a putter. The putter is still the best i have ever used. Worked in the pro shop on Saturday mornings as the pro played with the captain, players would come on and buy a dunlop 65 or slazenger, if they didnt have the money a penfold ace (they have just been re launched). They would unwrap the ball on the 1st, and hope it lasted to round without a smile or getting lost, unwrapping a ball was a big thing back then. As a junior, we went hunting balls, and made a few quid, selling them on the 10th tee, amazing how many were playing with cut balls by then.
In 1972/3 all uk pga members voted to play the 1.68 ball in competition rather than the 1.62, it was a common belief it would improve your ball striking, however balls at that time were not manufactured to the standards of today. Before playing competitive golf we used to bounce them on a hard floor and use the ones that bounced the highest. I had a contract with Dunlop at the time so played 65’s during the early 70’s until the Americans started supplying balls in decent numbers.
Hi James, I played a few tournaments in the late 60's with the small ball 1.62 ins in diameter. There were 2 premium balls to play in those days either a Dunlop 65 or Slazenger, on the first tee of pre qualifying the starter would give you 3 balls for a PGA tournament say the Daks at Wentworth I was signed to Slazenger 3 complimentary balls were hande out a choice of numbers I always chose a no 3, to get the best out of the old balls you needed more hand action through the ball than is taught today. When the 1.68 ball came out I personally could not get it to work for me, I found difficulty adapting my swing, into the wind I could keep the small ball down the 1.68 would balloon up, I satrted blocking it right, my confidence was gone. My head was gone. I have great great memories of the Dunlop 65 and the Slazenger, I enjoyed the video Thanks James for a walk down memory lane.
Hi James, I really enjoyed this video. I joined first golf club in my mid teens in 78. I’m sure both ball sizes were available then. I know in those days we found that a D65 did seem to go slightly off performance wise if you left it a couple of years b4 using it, so 40yrs+ must have reduced its performance considerably. The smaller ball did also seem to fly less distance too. Good luck in 25, look forward to you playing my club again soon in Dorset, (you’ve played it quite a few times and are always very complimentary). Thanks Rob
Excellent video. My dad was a 4 handicap and I have a card of his from Wentworth West course in 1958 when the course yardage was 6689 and the par was 38 out and 39 back. Dad shot 39 out and 39 back, obviously with the old ball and butter knife irons and persimmon woods, and a solid mallet putter that he could also use as a rescue club to keep the ball down when getting out from under trees! Time for the PGA to roll that ball back.
touch of a surgeon john! while holding my tissue.. if people dont appreciate the vlogs and just the sly humor they're missing out mate.,. always a pleasure to watch john!!
Would like to see the launch monitor comparison vid, we used to play with these 1.62 balls and you thought you struck gold when you found a 1.68 UK Pro version, blades and persimmons etc
Hi James, Agree with your "rant", I reckon it would be good to see the pros restricted to playing Persimmon woods and fairway clubs, drivers of no more than 200cc displacement, like we used to play before the advent of the metal woods. This would bring precision and artistry back into the game, plotting one's way around the golf course, rather than today's "bomb and gouge" technique. It would also revive the craft of building proper wooden woods. Re the Dunlop 65, and the Slazenger B51, these were two of the premium golf balls back in the day. I seem to recall that they could be purchased in several different "compressions", like 60 or 90 or 100, the lower numbers spinning more and the higher numbers getting more distance. As others have commented, the ball you were using has not aged well. With your swing speed, I'd expect far greater carry distances than you were getting. The smaller diameter ball had a more piercing flight, and I recall hitting these balls 200 yds with a butter knife 3 iron, and steel shafted persimmon 3 wood about 220, 2 wood about 240. My swing speed with driver is about 100-105 mph today, so I'm no "Gorilla James". Cheers James, love these comparisons of old equipment vs new.
Jack Nicklaus at Baltistroll in 1967 US Open, hit a 1 iron to a 238 yard pin to ten feet, carried the bunker at 215. They have a plaque in his honour from where he hit from.
I found a small size Titleist the other week. And 3 days ago i tested them off the tee. I smoked a Taylormade ball with a big high draw first. Grabbed the Titleist and smoked that too. Flight was a lot lower, and finished 14yds shorter than the newer ball.The small ball makes those 3 footers easier though!
You’ve probably known this but it’s called Dunlop 65 because Henry Cotton shot a 65 in the open with it. Why don’t you do some research and find out what course cotton shot his 65 around , go there with your modern equipment and ball and see if you can shoot a 65 😂😂. Love your vids mates watch them from the start ( gorilla James. ) you mentioned it 😂😊shows how good some of these old boys were. I’ve played golf for 45 years and because of equipment improvements I’m hitting it as far as I did in my prime when I used a lump of wood and a Dunlop 65. 😂😂😂
Golf was so hard when i started playing, i used my grandads old clubs that he had used in the 50s and whatever golf ball was around in the 80s, penfolds were crap i remember that. Wooden headed driver until probably 1989. Hitting great drives and long irons was a thing. Now golf is absurdly easy by comparison, i can hit it 300 yards stood on one leg with a graphite pole with carbon head with a ball that does not want to come down. Drive pitch and putt is not really golf as it was when i was young.
Funny to see you hotting that 65 the same distances as I hit my shots (allowing similar conditions). 230 yard drives, 120 yard pitching wedges. But I’m an 18 handicap.
My grandfather was a decent golfer. He was playing off +5 under the old handicap system so he was a good golfer. He started on hickory clubs and then steel shafts with handmade heads that he had to have made. His last set of “matched” clubs were probably made in the 50s and my dad used them up until the mid 80s until he went to get them regripped as they had leather grips. The pro told him they were absolutely not clubs for an “ordinary” golfer as they were totally unforgiving for anything not hit perfectly. So he got a set of X31 Wilson’s game improvement clubs which were far better for him. He played much better with those and anything that came after that. Equipment has transformed golf for pros and for ordinary hackers especially. You can get away with far more if you don’t hit the sweet spot. I saw my grandfathers swing on an old cine film. It’s disgusting compared to what you see now. But it was obviously repeatable and consistent. Anyway. Balls are much better too.
That was great , cheers James. Have to say spot on there with the course / ball rant. Many courses have been lengthened beyond recognition purely to remain current. Pretty sure at the time of release , Jack Nicklaus said the Pro V 1 was borderline cheating.
These comparisons are always entertaining, but it should be remembered that wound balls like your Dunlop 65 had a fairly short shelf life - maybe only a couple of years - before a very noticeable drop in performance. One that is that old cannot be expected to perform as it would have in the 1970's - a bit like me!
9 hole vlog (over a few episodes, if needed) of 60 or 70s clubs/ball & up-to-date clubs/ball played at same time would be good. Like the new ball with old club (or vice versa) comparison but think the above would be good to show full development over 50+ years..
Even though the older ball must have lost some of its performance over the years spent on a shelf it wouldn't be too far off. A good demonstration of why the golf ball needed to be regulated but they didn't go far enough in my opinion.
Great video seeing what things were like for our parents and grandparents. Oh what rangefinder you’re using mate if you don’t mind. I’m looking to buy and don’t know which to get. Cheers.
Course design the problem not the equipment most courses these days have little character and why do the pga want to penalise length when golfers have strived to get longer happy new year mate👍
i agree with the others aboit the balls being dead. I first played in the late 80s, and we didnt usually use balatas bc they were too pricey fr kids, but we def knew they had a shhort shelf life. MaxFli 100 would fly about the same distance as a TopFlight while the 90 was shorter, and they both spun more; you could back nalls up on a 6 stimp green with ease. The very 1st time i was on a suoer crude lau ch monitor was 1998 (so still pre ProV, but pe9b the transitional ball??) 95 mph 5i equated to 195 carry. 99mpj CHS was reqd for 200ish carry. with an TA 845 28* 5i and a shaft about like a PX 6.5
Exactly, this ball probably wasn't stored at room temp, id bet it's spent a fair amount of time in cold and hot storage. Def will affect the performance.
So much is down to how these old balls have been stored. I play quite a few rounds with them and some are like puddings while others play pretty well. Both the 1.62" and the 1.68" weighed the same at 1.62 ounces, so the smaller ball went further as it had less wind resistance. Your rant at the end about how dull the modern game is, you're talking my language and I'm old fart so don't hit it anywhere close to the distances you do, yet I don't play modern clubs at all any more. If you fancy a vintage game some time let me know, I have a couple of sets with stiff shafts for you to choose from.
@@GolfJamesWiltshire I'm in the midlands but I'm down your way occasionally, probably around April/May time next. My home course isn't really suitable for filming as it's busy just about all the time. Could meet half way somewhere but preferably when the weather has improved and things have warmed up a bit!
@@GolfJamesWiltshire As I said, I don't have many sets of irons with stiff shafts but these might be a good set for you as they're about 3/4" long. We can talk woods and putters nearer the time. ruclips.net/video/Fe2KL4WP1VA/видео.htmlsi=N-8igKkAFtTAMi5L
They need to stop making clubs where the whole face is sweet spot, reduces the skill needed. Drivers nowadays, if I hit one right on the heel or toe it will not go straight but it will be Almost the same distance as if I hit it out the middle
You’ve probably known this but it’s called Dunlop 65 because Henry Cotton shot a 65 in the open with it. Why don’t you do some research and find out what course cotton shot his 65 around , go there with your modern equipment and ball and see if you can shoot a 65 😂😂. Love your vids mates watch them from the start ( gorilla James. ) you mentioned it 😂😊shows how good some of these old boys were.
I’m 62 years old. Started playing when I was about 9. So Ive seen a hell,of a lot of advancements in golf equipment over the years and it is night and day. This is why Tiger Woods is NOT the greatest player of all time. He had HUGE advantages In equipment over Jack Nicklaus. In my opinion we played with CRAP in the 60’s 70’s and much of the 80’s.
I do think that Nicklaus is the greatest to play the game but Tiger could only play against his contemporaries and they all played the same equipment. In saying that, there was a window when Tiger played a prototype ball when the rest were still playing a balata ball, and he dominated until everyone switched.
@@robertsandidge441 Niklaus won the masters in the 70’s and hit 6 iron to 16, in 1986 age 46 he hit 9 iron, there is your equipment change. He retired saying i cant keep up with the kids, he played against so many greats, Tiger didnt
Interested to know what you think of my ‘rant’ on the last hole 😂
i agree.. maybe the ball rollback will help but i doubt it
Speaking for all golfers James unfortunately.
That's why we all like watching the Open .....proper golf courses were length isn't a priority.
Great rant what driver are you using atm
Conceited
@@mowgli1747 cobra DarkSpeed still
I still have my original clubs that i purchased from a farmer, he had them in a barn. 2 wood, steel shaft, hickory shafted, mashie and niblick plus a putter. The putter is still the best i have ever used. Worked in the pro shop on Saturday mornings as the pro played with the captain, players would come on and buy a dunlop 65 or slazenger, if they didnt have the money a penfold ace (they have just been re launched). They would unwrap the ball on the 1st, and hope it lasted to round without a smile or getting lost, unwrapping a ball was a big thing back then. As a junior, we went hunting balls, and made a few quid, selling them on the 10th tee, amazing how many were playing with cut balls by then.
In 1972/3 all uk pga members voted to play the 1.68 ball in competition rather than the 1.62, it was a common belief it would improve your ball striking, however balls at that time were not manufactured to the standards of today. Before playing competitive golf we used to bounce them on a hard floor and use the ones that bounced the highest. I had a contract with Dunlop at the time so played 65’s during the early 70’s until the Americans started supplying balls in decent numbers.
Nice, interesting stuff
Hi James,
I played a few tournaments in the late 60's with the small ball 1.62 ins in diameter.
There were 2 premium balls to play in those days either a Dunlop 65 or Slazenger, on the first tee of pre qualifying the starter would give you 3 balls for a PGA tournament say the Daks at Wentworth I was signed to Slazenger 3 complimentary balls were hande out a choice of numbers
I always chose a no 3, to get the best out of the old balls you needed more hand action through the ball than is taught today.
When the 1.68 ball came out I personally could not get it to work for me, I found difficulty adapting my swing, into the wind I could keep the small ball down the 1.68 would balloon up, I satrted blocking it right, my confidence was gone. My head was gone. I have great great memories of the Dunlop 65 and the Slazenger,
I enjoyed the video Thanks James for a walk down memory lane.
Nice watching this from Perth Australia when I see the weather 😅
Hi James, I really enjoyed this video. I joined first golf club in my mid teens in 78. I’m sure both ball sizes were available then. I know in those days we found that a D65 did seem to go slightly off performance wise if you left it a couple of years b4 using it, so 40yrs+ must have reduced its performance considerably. The smaller ball did also seem to fly less distance too. Good luck in 25, look forward to you playing my club again soon in Dorset, (you’ve played it quite a few times and are always very complimentary). Thanks Rob
Excellent video. My dad was a 4 handicap and I have a card of his from Wentworth West course in 1958 when the course yardage was 6689 and the par was 38 out and 39 back. Dad shot 39 out and 39 back, obviously with the old ball and butter knife irons and persimmon woods, and a solid mallet putter that he could also use as a rescue club to keep the ball down when getting out from under trees! Time for the PGA to roll that ball back.
touch of a surgeon john! while holding my tissue.. if people dont appreciate the vlogs and just the sly humor they're missing out mate.,. always a pleasure to watch john!!
Get the tissues out John he’s going for the deep screw
@@GolfJamesWiltshire messy storm in coming john!
Would like to see the launch monitor comparison vid, we used to play with these 1.62 balls and you thought you struck gold when you found a 1.68 UK Pro version, blades and persimmons etc
Would love to see this in summer!! Maybe even playing the tee forward for the older ball or the appropriate tee for the times
Hi James,
Agree with your "rant", I reckon it would be good to see the pros restricted to playing Persimmon woods and fairway clubs, drivers of no more than 200cc displacement, like we used to play before the advent of the metal woods. This would bring precision and artistry back into the game, plotting one's way around the golf course, rather than today's "bomb and gouge" technique. It would also revive the craft of building proper wooden woods.
Re the Dunlop 65, and the Slazenger B51, these were two of the premium golf balls back in the day. I seem to recall that they could be purchased in several different "compressions", like 60 or 90 or 100, the lower numbers spinning more and the higher numbers getting more distance.
As others have commented, the ball you were using has not aged well. With your swing speed, I'd expect far greater carry distances than you were getting. The smaller diameter ball had a more piercing flight, and I recall hitting these balls 200 yds with a butter knife 3 iron, and steel shafted persimmon 3 wood about 220, 2 wood about 240. My swing speed with driver is about 100-105 mph today, so I'm no "Gorilla James".
Cheers James, love these comparisons of old equipment vs new.
Fair points about all the sub 7000yd courses. Not wrong
Jack Nicklaus at Baltistroll in 1967 US Open, hit a 1 iron to a 238 yard pin to ten feet, carried the bunker at 215. They have a plaque in his honour from where he hit from.
Kind of agree with your assessment of the modern game on established courses... 👍
I found a small size Titleist the other week. And 3 days ago i tested them off the tee. I smoked a Taylormade ball with a big high draw first. Grabbed the Titleist and smoked that too. Flight was a lot lower, and finished 14yds shorter than the newer ball.The small ball makes those 3 footers easier though!
Hi James would like to see you hit a Tony Penna persimmon driver with a Titleist Pro V1. It must have the old stainless steel shaft
@@grahamkatz5495 good shout
Enjoyed this one James something different looked a great day for a game 😊😊 Happy New Year
You’ve probably known this but it’s called Dunlop 65 because Henry Cotton shot a 65 in the open with it. Why don’t you do some research and find out what course cotton shot his 65 around , go there with your modern equipment and ball and see if you can shoot a 65 😂😂. Love your vids mates watch them from the start ( gorilla James. ) you mentioned it 😂😊shows how good some of these old boys were. I’ve played golf for 45 years and because of equipment improvements I’m hitting it as far as I did in my prime when I used a lump of wood and a Dunlop 65. 😂😂😂
This is why Jack V Tiger is pointless. Different games
Golf was so hard when i started playing, i used my grandads old clubs that he had used in the 50s and whatever golf ball was around in the 80s, penfolds were crap i remember that. Wooden headed driver until probably 1989. Hitting great drives and long irons was a thing. Now golf is absurdly easy by comparison, i can hit it 300 yards stood on one leg with a graphite pole with carbon head with a ball that does not want to come down. Drive pitch and putt is not really golf as it was when i was young.
Funny to see you hotting that 65 the same distances as I hit my shots (allowing similar conditions). 230 yard drives, 120 yard pitching wedges. But I’m an 18 handicap.
My grandfather was a decent golfer. He was playing off +5 under the old handicap system so he was a good golfer. He started on hickory clubs and then steel shafts with handmade heads that he had to have made. His last set of “matched” clubs were probably made in the 50s and my dad used them up until the mid 80s until he went to get them regripped as they had leather grips. The pro told him they were absolutely not clubs for an “ordinary” golfer as they were totally unforgiving for anything not hit perfectly. So he got a set of X31 Wilson’s game improvement clubs which were far better for him. He played much better with those and anything that came after that. Equipment has transformed golf for pros and for ordinary hackers especially. You can get away with far more if you don’t hit the sweet spot.
I saw my grandfathers swing on an old cine film. It’s disgusting compared to what you see now. But it was obviously repeatable and consistent. Anyway. Balls are much better too.
That was great , cheers James. Have to say spot on there with the course / ball rant. Many courses have been lengthened beyond recognition purely to remain current. Pretty sure at the time of release , Jack Nicklaus said the Pro V 1 was borderline cheating.
These comparisons are always entertaining, but it should be remembered that wound balls like your Dunlop 65 had a fairly short shelf life - maybe only a couple of years - before a very noticeable drop in performance. One that is that old cannot be expected to perform as it would have in the 1970's - a bit like me!
9 hole vlog (over a few episodes, if needed) of 60 or 70s clubs/ball & up-to-date clubs/ball played at same time would be good.
Like the new ball with old club (or vice versa) comparison but think the above would be good to show full development over 50+ years..
Even though the older ball must have lost some of its performance over the years spent on a shelf it wouldn't be too far off. A good demonstration of why the golf ball needed to be regulated but they didn't go far enough in my opinion.
James I get up at 6am to warm up a little before teeing off at 7.40am at my local golf course Basildon. Pick wipe and place through the green 😂
Great video seeing what things were like for our parents and grandparents. Oh what rangefinder you’re using mate if you don’t mind. I’m looking to buy and don’t know which to get. Cheers.
Loookkks cold there bro! I'm in shorts, t-shirt and flip flops :P
Haha cheeky bar steward
I grew up woth dunlop 65, used to nick em out of my dads golf bag.
Should have tried the Uniroyal plus 6..that was a proper 1.62 size ball😅
Uniroyal was a good ball. With revolutional, angular dimples. Great vid.
Really enjoyed this video james best of luck for 2025
@@Joe-rg2ne cheers mate you too 👊
Course design the problem not the equipment most courses these days have little character and why do the pga want to penalise length when golfers have strived to get longer happy new year mate👍
It's nice to see a young man like yourself appreciate the history of our game. Well done James, best wishes for 2025 ❤
i agree with the others aboit the balls being dead. I first played in the late 80s, and we didnt usually use balatas bc they were too pricey fr kids, but we def knew they had a shhort shelf life. MaxFli 100 would fly about the same distance as a TopFlight while the 90 was shorter, and they both spun more; you could back nalls up on a 6 stimp green with ease. The very 1st time i was on a suoer crude lau ch monitor was 1998 (so still pre ProV, but pe9b the transitional ball??) 95 mph 5i equated to 195 carry. 99mpj CHS was reqd for 200ish carry. with an TA 845 28* 5i and a shaft about like a PX 6.5
Balls' degraded a fair amount in 40 odd years even though its 'new'
Yeah there is that tbf
Exactly, this ball probably wasn't stored at room temp, id bet it's spent a fair amount of time in cold and hot storage. Def will affect the performance.
🤔 Were all those distances in yards or metres? 👍
@@steveputland4324 yards
James, what you need to do is hit the old ball with clubs of that era. See how it feels to play butter-knife blades and persimmon woods.
@@GreenDistantStar I going to try and do this
The sound the dunlop makes off the putter is horrendous , sounds like you’re hitting a squash ball 😂
Now get a full set of Wilson Staff mid 1970s clubs and try playing with them with both balls and the realise how easy modern golfers have it….
So much is down to how these old balls have been stored. I play quite a few rounds with them and some are like puddings while others play pretty well.
Both the 1.62" and the 1.68" weighed the same at 1.62 ounces, so the smaller ball went further as it had less wind resistance.
Your rant at the end about how dull the modern game is, you're talking my language and I'm old fart so don't hit it anywhere close to the distances you do, yet I don't play modern clubs at all any more.
If you fancy a vintage game some time let me know, I have a couple of sets with stiff shafts for you to choose from.
I would love to come film with you, where are you based?
@@GolfJamesWiltshire I'm in the midlands but I'm down your way occasionally, probably around April/May time next.
My home course isn't really suitable for filming as it's busy just about all the time. Could meet half way somewhere but preferably when the weather has improved and things have warmed up a bit!
@ ok mate sure let’s meet up when the we at her improves. Maybe try playing Burnham with the old clubs. Would be brutal 😂
@@GolfJamesWiltshireSounds good, never played there before but I've heard it's a test!
@@GolfJamesWiltshire As I said, I don't have many sets of irons with stiff shafts but these might be a good set for you as they're about 3/4" long. We can talk woods and putters nearer the time. ruclips.net/video/Fe2KL4WP1VA/видео.htmlsi=N-8igKkAFtTAMi5L
This is how you regulate the Pros distance, but Im not afan, let them hit it miles, theyre pros ffs!! Happy NewYear James, regards Fraser
I enjoyed it mate haha. Happy New Year mate 👊
Agree. Sport has always been about being faster, longer, higher, quicker, stronger. Don't stop now.
They need to stop making clubs where the whole face is sweet spot, reduces the skill needed. Drivers nowadays, if I hit one right on the heel or toe it will not go straight but it will be Almost the same distance as if I hit it out the middle
Get yourself to saunton James,dry and all in good nick
Heading there within the next few weeks 👌
who's John
You’ve probably known this but it’s called Dunlop 65 because Henry Cotton shot a 65 in the open with it. Why don’t you do some research and find out what course cotton shot his 65 around , go there with your modern equipment and ball and see if you can shoot a 65 😂😂. Love your vids mates watch them from the start ( gorilla James. ) you mentioned it 😂😊shows how good some of these old boys were.
Still playing in this rubbish weather..bovey castle is holding up well ⛳
@@klins118 nice I’m heading there to film soon
Boring subject 😅
« Just taking the wrapper off you are losing 30 quid » feels like opening a pro v.
I’m 62 years old. Started playing when I was about 9. So Ive seen a hell,of a lot of advancements in golf equipment over the years and it is night and day. This is why Tiger Woods is NOT the greatest player of all time. He had HUGE advantages In equipment over Jack Nicklaus. In my opinion we played with CRAP in the 60’s 70’s and much of the 80’s.
I do think that Nicklaus is the greatest to play the game but Tiger could only play against his contemporaries and they all played the same equipment. In saying that, there was a window when Tiger played a prototype ball when the rest were still playing a balata ball, and he dominated until everyone switched.
@@robertsandidge441 Niklaus won the masters in the 70’s and hit 6 iron to 16, in 1986 age 46 he hit 9 iron, there is your equipment change. He retired saying i cant keep up with the kids, he played against so many greats, Tiger didnt