Dustin Johnson Hammers Jack Nicklaus’ Old 1-Iron

For years there has been a discussion about how players have evolved into hitting balls ridiculously long distances. But what happens when a modern player uses older designs of clubs?

This is a question that has been tested a few times in the past but Dustin Johnson decided to put his own touch on the idea. With the permission of greats Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, Johnson took out some of the clubs that they played with back in the day, notably a 1-wood and a 1-iron that the Golden Bear used to carry in his bag. The results are pretty insane.

After hitting both clubs, Johnson reported the distances that the balls went. With the 1-Wood, Johnson hit a ball a whopping 290 yards. And taking his shot with the ever rare 1-iron, Johnson was able to smack the ball 232 yards. Now those numbers are impressive in themselves, but they don’t even tell the entire story.

Cool experience today at Bears Club. @jacknicklaus and @garyplayer wanted to see @DJohnsonPGA hit Jack’s old 1 iron and Persimmon driver. pic.twitter.com/eX0joF4AgQ

— Dustin Johnson Golf School (@DJGolfSchool) August 29, 2018

The numbers that DJ posted are only the carry distances that he had with the historic clubs. If you want to include the total distance that Johnson hit the Persimmons driver, that would be 318 feet. DJ even laughed afterward saying that he could have swung harder but he didn’t want to break the club.

Contemporary golfers aren’t the only ones impressed with this distance, as Nicklaus weighed in after seeing the numbers. “Those were pretty good hits @DJohnsonPGA for seeing the persimmon driver and 1-iron for the first time,” Jack tweeted. “I don’t imagine the 1-iron was that much different for you because it’s like a driving iron. But 290 with a wood driver is pretty impressive….. for a “modern-day” player.”

So it seems that the argument that equipment is the reason balls are flying further may have taken a big hit with this test. And while it’s impressive to see DJ hit a ball that far with a club so old, what I really want to see is him play a full with those two clubs in his bag. Now that would really be something to watch.

Cover Image Via Twitter