Equipment
How far does Rory McIlroy hit a persimmon driver? We got the shocking answer in Scotland
Scotland is a place of nostalgia for golfers – even for those who have never been there. As the home of golf, and the mecca of the sport itself, Scotland offers all golfers a place to pay homage to those who blazed the golfing trails before them, learn about the game’s history, and to experience golf courses that were built hundreds of years ago.
Every year, PGA TOUR players make the trek overseas to the United Kingdom to play in the Genesis Scottish Open, and then the Open Championship the following week (this year, the Open is at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England).
In recent years, we’ve seen PGA TOUR players post some of their local adventures to social media. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, for example, visited the famed North Berwick Golf Club (West Links) this year for an evening round.
Just two friends having fun ?#GenesisScottishOpen | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/KtwO9lERJ5
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 11, 2023
In the same nostalgic vein, Rory McIlroy experienced a different piece of history before the start of the Genesis Scottish Open: a persimmon driver.
Persimmon drivers, which are made from wood (and have screws on the face to attach face inserts), were the most popular drivers of choice for golfers from the 19th century until around the 1980’s, when they were overtaken by steel (and eventually titanium and carbon composites). Famous golfers such as Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer used persimmon drivers during their careers.
Obviously, persimmon drivers are no where to be found in the bags of PGA Tour players anymore, since they produce slower ball speeds, less forgiveness, more spin, and decreased durability when compared to modern designs and materials. They’re fun to revisit, though, especially when in Scotland.
Using his new-age TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus driver, McIlroy currently leads the PGA Tour in Driving Distance for the 2022-23 season, averaging 327.6 yards per drive. He also ranks 6th in ball speed at 184.6 mph per drive, on average.
But what happens when you hand McIlroy a persimmon driver?
Past vs. Present ?@McIlroyRory tried out a persimmon driver during his practice round @ScottishOpen. pic.twitter.com/WdFb0uKPNs
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 12, 2023
According to the launch monitor results, McIlroy’s drive with the persimmon driver was clocked at 168.6 mph ball speed, with 255.7 yards of carry, and 4410 rpm of spin. It should be noted, he was using his modern TaylorMade TP5x golf ball.
McIlroy’s numbers with the persimmon driver certainly pale in comparison to his modern driver, which highlights how much technology has improved in the last 40 years. It also goes to show that golf doesn’t HAVE to be played with the newest and most expensive equipment for it to be enjoyable. Sometimes, mixing it up with older (and much less expensive!) clubs can provide a really fun challenge and memorable experience.
Not to make this about me or anything, but I recently got my own taste of what it’s like to play golf using an old wooden driver. In a recent match against my Two Guys Talking Golf podcast co-host Brian Knudson, I used just 3 clubs – one of them was a wooden Ben Hogan driver from last century. Technically speaking, it wasn’t a “persimmon” driver, but rather a “laminate.” Essentially, a laminated driver is built with sheets of wood, whereas a persimmon driver is made from a block of wood; persimmon drivers are currently more expensive and collectable, for the most part, while laminate drivers are arguably more durable. They’re similar in function, however, and equally technologically-stunted.
In my experience, I found the Ben Hogan laminate to produce drastically more spin and less ball speed compared to my 2023 driver, and it severely affected both direction and distance. While I typically average around 295 yards and 170 mph of ball speed with my gamer driver, I struggled to fly the ball more than 240 yards using the old wood driver.
By clicking on the video embedded below, you can check out the full 9-hole match between myself (0-handicap) and Knudson (9-handicap) to see my experience with the wood driver in action:
For more persimmon driver content, check out the links below:
Neal Shipley was the first to admit that he enjoyed his food while in college. But since his days at Ohio State, he’s slimmed down and earned a PGA Tour Card.
That hasn’t stopped him from having fun with his wedge stampings, though it’s led to some misunderstandings.
On the 54 (degree), we have ‘Big Fudge,'” Shipley told GolfWRX. “It was supposed to be ‘Big Fridge,’ so this happened a little while ago. ‘Big Fridge’ was a nickname between my college teammates and I, with ‘fridge’ meaning stomach, a big stomach.
“We told the Ping guys to put … ‘Big Fridge’ on it, and I think maybe some bad cell service or something, and they thought I said ‘fudge,’ so they put fudge on it.”
On Shipley’s 50-degree he also continues the food theme, this time with his go-to order at the “Golden Arches,” and his stamping “DONS 7.”
“The number 7 meal, the two cheeseburger meal, that was my McDonald’s order, back when I would have McDonald’s frequently,” Shipley shared.
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @raw10628 has a L.A.B. DF3 putter and Masters putter cover up for grabs.
From the listing: “Some great items here today, time to thin out and make room for next set of gear. All prices include shipping.
LAB DF3 Purple 33.5” 68° lie with TPT – $725. LAB Masters release DF3 cover – $150.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4
3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
5-wood: Ping G440 Max (19 degrees @18)
Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4
Hybrid: Ping G440 (23 degrees)
Shaft: Oban Isawa Red Hybrid Shaft 04 Flex 70 Gms
Irons: Srixon ZXi7 (5-P)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i80
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50-MID, 54-FULL, 58-MID)
Shafts: Aerotech SteelFiber Private Reserve i105
Putter: L.A.B. Golf OZ.1i
Shaft: ACCRA Putter Shaft
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Aaron Rai’s winning WITB: 2026 PGA Championship
Russell Henley’s winning WITB: 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
Photos from the 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
CJ Cup Byron Nelson Tour Report: Koepka and Kim’s newest putters finally get hot
Charles Schwab Challenge Tour Report: MacIntyre, Åberg and Spaun all switch putters, TaylorMade launches new Spider
Details on J.J. Spaun’s surprise putter switch
GolfWRX Launch Report: 2026 Titleist GTS drivers
Photos from the 2026 Charles Schwab Challenge
PGA Championship Tour Report: Fitzpatrick, Koepka among big-name putter switches for Aronimink
Photos from the ShopRite LPGA
Maria Torres WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: Ping G440 LST (9 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 5-M4 3-wood: Ping G440 Max (15 degrees) Shaft: Accra TourZ Green 6-M4 5-wood: Ping G440...
Eric Cole WITB 2026 (June)
Driver: PXG Lightning Tour Max (9 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D (15 degrees) Shaft:...
Si Woo Kim WITB 2026 (May)
Driver: Callaway Quantum Triple Diamond (8.5 degrees) Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X Mini driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Mini...
Wyndham Clark’s winning WITB: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Driver: TaylorMade Qi4D (10.5 degrees) Shaft: Project X Titan Yellow 60 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi4D Tour (15 degrees) Shaft: Project...
Pingback: How Long Is Rory Mcilroys Driver? Exploring His Impressive Golf Game
Larry
Jul 27, 2023 at 3:57 pm
This is the answer to PGA and other Tours worries about distance, simple anything other than an Iron, (hybrids, fairway, drivers} must be made of wood. Simple distance taken care of and we move on all courses over 6,800 hundred yards would be fair play. And best of all reaching a par 5 would be a driver and a fairway wood not a driver and a 8 iron anymore and forget driving a 330 yard par 4 anymore.
N
Jul 13, 2023 at 2:13 pm
Not shocking at all. It’s exactly how it should be. Why would you say it’s shocking? I don’t get it
Pingback: How far does Rory McIlroy hit a persimmon driver? We got the shocking answer in Scotland - SOCAL Golfer
Brian
Jul 13, 2023 at 10:08 am
Did Kamala Harris write this article:
“persimmon drivers are made of wood.” “Woods were used by golfers”
Lol. Terrible.
Rich D
Jul 14, 2023 at 11:14 pm
You mean the woman who graduated from Hastings with her law degree? The one who was California State Attorney General, US Senator, and it currently the Vice President of the United States? The one who has never lost a general election? That Kamala Harris?
No.
Jbone
Jul 15, 2023 at 1:41 pm
The woman is a disgrace…
Jurren
Jul 13, 2023 at 9:48 am
Does anyone know how accurate these trackman numbers are with persimmon woods? Do they actually measure launch angle, spin and ballspeed a yard or two off the clubface, or do they calculate (predict) these based on the measured swingspeed and one or two other factors? Ball stays on the face of a persimmon driver a fraction longer than on a titanium or carbon driver for instance.
P
Jul 13, 2023 at 2:10 pm
Ballspeed is ballspeed. It doesn’t matter whether you hit the ball with a spatula, it just sees the ball flying and extrapolates that from the algorithm programmed into it
Jurren
Jul 13, 2023 at 2:44 pm
ok thanks. Wasn’t sure if trackman just measured clubheadspeed and calculated ballspeed based on that or if it also measured ballspeed.
M
Jul 13, 2023 at 12:36 am
Yeah? But what length was it? 43.5?
Rors TM driver is 45.75.
If you can add that extra 2 inches to a persimmon driver without making it too heavy to swing, he’ll be right there at 290 carry and then you’ll know tech really hasn’t done much
Brian
Jul 13, 2023 at 10:06 am
The one thing I hate about these “persimmon” challenges is that whoever just grabs some random persimmon wood and gives it to somebody to hit. What’s the loft of it? What’s the shaft?
Maybe if we put a 44” graphite shaft and fit the loft of the persimmon and matched it up to a ball with the correct spin, I bet we would see a huge difference.
Knowing what we know now, do you think Rory would be happy with such low launch and high spin on that driver. This could easily be tweaked with a different ball and loft.
Mike
Jul 12, 2023 at 10:01 pm
Makes me feel better about how I could hit the ball in my youth and wish I had today’s technology “back in the day” when all we played was blades and persimmon or strata block woods. If you found a good driver back then, you would replace the insert because a good cut of persimmon was hard to find.
LivvyDivvy
Jul 12, 2023 at 9:49 pm
Jack Nicklaus “roll back the ball, roll back the ball, roll back the ball”…
Oops