How far John Daly and Vijay Singh drove the ball after being given chance to hit 1980’s persimmon driver

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John Daly was well known as the longest driver of the ball in the game during the 1990’s and early 2000’s.

It was only a couple of weeks ago when John Daly returned to golf after a lengthy lay-off due to a hand injury.

The so-called ‘Wild Thing’ has been a hugely popular figure during his time on the PGA Tour and then on into the senior circuit.

John Daly broke the mould when it came to achieving success in the professional game.

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He won two major championships – the 1991 PGA and the 1995 Open, as well as three regular PGA Tour titles, whilst spending little time on the practice ground.

Daly was mostly known for his enormous length off the tee. Vijay Singh was far from short either.

And now we have been given a glimpse of how long the pair would have been if they had been playing on tour in the early-mid 80’s.

How far John Daly and Vijay Singh drove the ball after hitting persimmon driver

Persimmon drivers are obviously a thing of the past now.

They were replaced by steel in the late 80’s and then the likes of titanium and even carbon followed.

Being a good driver of the ball 40 years ago required exceptional skill. And to hit the ball anywhere over 250 yards with the wooden drivers really was a huge achievement.

Now we’ve seen just how far some of the famous names on the senior tour can hit the ball with one of the old-fashioned clubs.

Today, John Daly recorded a 275 yard drive with the persimmon-headed driver, whilst Vijay clocked a very respectable 249 yards with the old-school club.

How good is that to see. I say there should be one tournament each year on the PGA Tour where every single player has to use a persimmon driver!

John Daly’s immense driving distance stats

Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how far Big John would be able to drive the ball with today’s equipment if he were in his 20’s or 30’s.

His driving distance stats on the PGA Tour during a 13-year stretch starting 34 years ago make for hugely impressive reading.

Not only was he incredibly long off the tee, but he possessed an elite short-game as well.

John Daly may be one of golf’s most captivating characters, and who knows what he could have achieved had he spent more time on the range than he did in the bar.

The fact that he’s still entertaining the fans at the age of 58 says a lot about his popularity in the game.