Bandon's - Society of Hickory Golfers

Bandon's - Society of Hickory Golfers Bandon's - Society of Hickory Golfers

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Rare club offers glimpse of early golf by r a n dy jensen very rare, wood shafted golf A iron has come to light that has sparked considerable curiosity from golf collectors around the world. The club, at first glance, appears to be much older than any known examples of golf irons. The design is quite crude. The hosel is extra long (nine inches) and very thick with heavy oxidation to the metal of the clubhead. The clubhead is a separate piece of metal from the hosel. And yet the wood shaft appears to be the original (from the look of the two original shaft/hosel pins). And the shaft looks to be in virtually playable condition. The fact that the shaft is so relatively good and the clubhead patina shows so much age, adds credence to the possibility that this club is one of the earliest known examples of an existing golf club. However it is puzzling that the see CLUB, 18 Newsletter of the Society of Hickory Golfers • Autumn 2010 • www.hickorygolfers.com photos/courtesy kevin m e n d i k t h e ocean green, No. 7, on the Old Macdonald course at Bandon Dunes is seen from the tee of the following hole, Biarritz. SoHG member Kevin Mendik played the course shortly after its opening in June. Bandon’s Old Macdonald honors legacy of American golf legend by kevin m e n d i k The land was shaped primarily by the greatest golf architect of all: Mother Nature. Over thousands of years, the winds and rain along the southern Oregon coast sculpted links land atop the bluffs. After she did her work, it was only a matter of time until someone with golf on the brain came along to reveal the golf holes. The first human contribution to the wonderful look and feel of the golf resort known as Bandon Dunes occurred in the mid 1850’s when a homesick Irish farmer transplanted a few gorse plants which subsequently spread for miles up and down the coast near the town of Bandon. In the mid-1990’s the land caught the eye of a few golf minded folks looking for much the same kind of land that Charles Blair Macdonald was seeking when he came upon the area that is now National Golf Links of America (NGLA) on eastern Long Island. Initially opened in 1999, first one (Bandon Dunes) then two (Pacific Dunes in 2001), then three (Bandon Trails in 2005) golf courses were laid out and built and each quickly found its way to the very top of the various lists of the great modern American courses. Bandon and Pacific Dunes play largely along rolling dunes overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Trails begins and ends within site of the sea, but takes golfers see MACDONALD, 16

Rare club

offers

glimpse of

early golf

by r a n dy jensen

very rare, wood shafted golf

A iron has come to light that has

sparked considerable curiosity from

golf collectors around the world.

The club, at first glance, appears

to be much older than any known

examples of golf irons. The design is

quite crude. The hosel is extra long

(nine inches) and very thick with heavy

oxidation to the metal of the clubhead.

The clubhead is a separate piece of

metal from the hosel. And yet the wood

shaft appears to be the original (from

the look of the two original shaft/hosel

pins). And the shaft looks to be in virtually

playable condition.

The fact that the shaft is so relatively

good and the clubhead patina shows so

much age, adds credence to the possibility

that this club is one of the earliest

known examples of an existing golf

club. However it is puzzling that the

see CLUB, 18

Newsletter of the Society of Hickory Golfers • Autumn 2010 • www.hickorygolfers.com

photos/courtesy kevin m e n d i k

t h e ocean green, No. 7, on the Old Macdonald course at Bandon Dunes is seen from the tee of the

following hole, Biarritz. SoHG member Kevin Mendik played the course shortly after its opening in June.

Bandon’s Old Macdonald honors

legacy of American golf legend

by kevin m e n d i k

The land was shaped primarily by

the greatest golf architect of all:

Mother Nature. Over thousands of years,

the winds and rain along the southern

Oregon coast sculpted links land atop the

bluffs. After she did her work, it was only

a matter of time until someone with golf

on the brain came along to reveal the golf

holes. The first human contribution to the

wonderful look and feel of the golf resort

known as Bandon Dunes occurred in the

mid 1850’s when a homesick Irish farmer

transplanted a few gorse plants which subsequently

spread for miles up and down

the coast near the town of Bandon.

In the mid-1990’s the land caught the

eye of a few golf minded folks looking for

much the same kind of land that Charles

Blair Macdonald was seeking when he

came upon the area that is now National

Golf Links of America (NGLA) on eastern

Long Island. Initially opened in 1999, first

one (Bandon Dunes) then two (Pacific

Dunes in 2001), then three (Bandon Trails

in 2005) golf courses were laid out and

built and each quickly found its way to the

very top of the various lists of the great

modern American courses.

Bandon and Pacific Dunes play largely

along rolling dunes overlooking the

Pacific Ocean and Trails begins and ends

within site of the sea, but takes golfers

see MACDONALD, 16

a wee nip

Spring 2010

Editor – James Davis

Down the

Fairway...

from the

President

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying a

great hickory golfing season!

2010 has been full of activity, along with

continued growth and interest in playing

hickory golf. I personally made a commitment

this year to give up modern clubs.

I have not regretted this decision for one

moment. I have found that my hickory play

has improved and my appreciation and

satisfaction with golf overall has been a

much more worthwhile experience. I do get

some strange looks and questions like “Why

would I ever do something like that – doesn’t

it cost you more strokes?” My response is

simple – “It is just more fun!”

I would be interested in hearing from others

who have given modern golf the heave

ho! Please write to me and let me know your

thoughts, feelings and experiences. It would

make for an interesting article for a future

Wee Nip. Maybe the title will be: Those Who

Swing Lumber ... Forgo Modern Methods!

This issue of the Wee Nip is once again

loaded with useful hickory information.

Events, interviews, domestic and international

happenings, club information, playing

tips, and lots more. As we still have a strong

fall golf schedule ahead, don’t pack away

those hickory clubs just yet.

And stay tuned! The Society of Hickory

Golfers has some exciting things planned

for the 2011 season. More information and

details will be coming, so until then spread

the good word about hickory golf.

Share the hickory experience with a

friend, invite someone to play and introduce

them to our hickory world. Give it try and

get out and play!

Ken Holtz President

Society of Hickory Golfers

Contributors

Roger Brinkley, Chris Deinlein, Paul Deitz, Matt Dodds,

Johnny Fischer III, Lionel Freedman, Pete Georgiady,

Rich Grula, Jay Harris, Roger Hill, Ken Holtz, Randy

Jensen, Tom Johnson, Marty Joy, Doug Marshall,

Christoph Meister, Kevin Mendik, Tad Moore, Bill Reed,

Breck Speed, Pehr Thermaenius

The Wee Nip is the printed newsletter of the Society of

Hickory Golfers. It is published twice yearly.

Articles, comments, correspondence are gratefully

accepted, though publication is not guaranteed.

Address all correspondence to:

Editor, Wee Nip

338 Gladstone Ave. SE

E. Grand Rapids, MI 49506 USA

or via e-mail to: jdavis2364@gmail.com

For information about

the Society of Hickory Golfers,

visit the website at: www.hickorygolfers.com

society news

Planning for the future

There are many items on the agenda for

the SoHG board. New tournaments are on

the horizon, equipment and handicapping

matters to discuss and, as always, how to

bring in new members and improve the

value of the organization for everyone.

Long range planning continues with the

underlying theme of playability – how to

hold competitive tournaments that challenge

the best players and yet provide

a agreeable level of enjoyment for the

higher handicaps.

Your Board exists to serve and to

promote hickory play, so please contact

anyone on the Board with your questions,

issues or other concerns. The more feedback

we receive, the better we can plan.

The Wee Nip is one of the strongest

tools we have to communicate and

strengthen our shared interest in hickory

play. So, for those of you who contribute

your time and articles, your letters and

photos – Thank You. The newsletter is our

print equivalent of the 19th Hole, where

a wee nip goes hand-in-hand with golf

news, stories and anecdotes.

from the editor

One of the very best benefits of working

on a newsletter such as this is the caliber

of the contributors. Into my inbox come

stories and letters from very intelligent

and talented individuals, all who love

hickory golf and golf history. It is a happy

thing to learn from their enthusiasm and

to share their work with the membership

at large.

In this issue, Kevin Mendik writes about

a hickory round on the Old Macdonald at

Bandon Dunes, a place that would seem

heaven-made for hickory golf. Golf historian

and man of letters Johnny Fischer

III shares a story that his father, the great

hickory playing amateur, developed as a

presentation on playing with hickories.

You’ll meet Slab, the putter owned by

Jay Harris, and learn about a very unusual,

and quite old, antique club that Randy

Jensen thinks might own quite a title.

Connor Lewis is preparing a new pre-

1900 tournament on the site of the original

Chicago Golf Club. And there are news

SoHG Board of Directors

2010 - 2011 Term

President – Ken Holtz

Membership Secretary – Roger Hill

Treasurer – Mark Wehring

Secretary – Barry Markowitz

Board Members

Chris Deinlein

Matt Dodds

Bill Engelson

Jay Harris

Adam Mednick

Tad Moore

Breck Speed

SoHG Executive Committee –

Day to Day Operations

Chair – Ken Holtz

Long Range Planning – Breck Speed

Events and Equipment – Chris Deinlein

Marketing and Membership – Matt Dodds

Resource and Support – Barry Markowitz

Please feel welcome to contact your Board

and EC Committee with questions, ideas and

concerns.

and notes from a variety of sources.

This issue of the Wee Nip also presents

something new, something perhaps we

should have been doing many issues ago –

a player profile. The idea is to get to know

one another. There are several members

of the SoHG who, though they may not

frequent tournaments with the regularity

of many of our more devoted competitors,

still love hickory play as much as anyone.

So, a toss of a dart at the member list

turned up Mitch Laurance, who begins our

profile series on page 19.

As for the tournament summaries, more

information can be found through the

SoHG website and Facebook page.

Jim Davis

As always, we invite your participation

with letters, stories, photographs and illustrations.

Note: Tad Moore suffered a minor

stroke about a month ago and is reportedly

coming along well. We all send our

wishes for a speedy recovery.

If Old Tom Morris

was still roaming

St Andrews he

might have

been playing

these clubs -

Tad Moore

Hickory

Classics.

Tournament Results

2010 was a busy season for

hickory golfers. Let’s get right

to it with tournament summaries

and photos.

HICKORY CLASSICS

Tad Moore

Hickory Challenge Four-Ball

March 22-24, Selma, Ala. Country Club

Once again Carol and I enjoyed having everyone in Selma. We

had great hospitality thanks to Carol and some good golf played

as well on the Selma Country Club course. One of the best hickory

courses we play all year. Glorious weather up until Saturday,

but we did get to play nine holes thanks to Tommy Burns getting

the course in great condition for us.

We look forward to having you back with us next year. Our

tentative date is the first weekend in May 2011. If you have any

thoughts on timing please send me your comments.

All the best, Tad & Carol Moore

Low Gross

1st – Roger Andrews and Tom Johnson with 109

2nd – Ted Kopec and Jay Harris with 110

3rd – Otey Crisman and David Schulz with 113

511 Selma Avenue • Selma, AL 36701 • 706.333.9626

email: tad@tommorrisclubs.com

www.tommorrisclubs.com

National Hickory

Championship

June 10-12, 13th annual, Oakhurst Links

2010 NHC Goes to Mike Stevens

Mike Stevens, right with trophy, nipped Randy Jensen by a single stroke

to claim the 2010 National Hickory Championship June 10-12 at Oakhurst

Links in West Virginia. Both players shot 78 on the second day but Stevens’s

80 on Friday, to Jensen’s 81 was the difference. Jensen is eight-time

champion; Stevens has now won twice and is the possessor of the Kameika

Cup for the next year.

Winston-Salem, N.C. dentist Dave Chermak won the Reserve Division

(net) and first-timer Sherry Smeltzer from Camdenton, Mo. was the

Women’s Champion. In the Sporting Division (9 holes each day), Eric

Wolke and Theresa “Terry” Thompson, both from New York City, were the

winners.

Perhaps equally important were the coveted non-competitive awards. Mike

Stevens received the Lynah Sherrill Award and Ross Snellings of Augusta,

Ga., was accorded the Dundee Prize. The Society of Hickory Golfers “Bogey”

Award was won by Jack Busic of Clemmons, N.C. Bern Bernacki of

Pittsburgh, Pa. and Sherry Smeltzer were judged the Best Dressed.

continued next page

Low Net

1st – Barb Kopec and Simone MacLellan with 92

2nd – Terry Howarth and Rich Grula with 93

3rd – Mike just and Josh Fischer with 94

Gross

Andrews-Johnson 109

Kopec-Harris 110

Crisman-Schulz 113

Searcy-Boyd 115

Flynn-Ellis 115

Just-Fischer 117

Sewill-Floyd 118

Mcguire-Jones 118

Howarth-Grula 118

Farrar-Wagner 123

Moore-Hill 123

MacLellan-Case 123

Deinlein=Munsey 124

Aaron-Seibert 127

B.kopec-S.MacLellan 131

Speed-Williams DNP - Weather departure

society of hickory golfers 2

3 www.hickorygolfers.com

M

nhc-golf@earthlink.net

NHC

from page 3

June 25-27, 2009

Belvedere Golf Club,

Prizes were also awarded to winners Charlevoix, Michigan

in the four divisions of the Elmore Just

Foursomes Competition.

USA

Match Eight Foursomes: Randy Jens-

photos/marty joy

en and Hugh Cameron def Mike Stevens by chuck mcmullin

and Bill Engelson 2 & 1

This year’s tournament, the

There were four divisions in

this year’s tournament with two

beautiful weather blessed the

4th annual Hickory Open at

the Belvedere Golf Club in

Clan Match Championship: Mike 4th Steannual,

was a rousing suc- prizes awarded in each divi- Charlevoix, Michigan, USA.

Clockwise from top left: the

vens and Andy Just def Jack and Stephen cess despite the sour economy. sion. Championship and Senior

7th hole looking back down

Busic, 21 holes

Twenty-six players from 13 U.S. (gross) divisions were restricted the fairway; Roger Hill, left, and

Bob Martin Flite: 1st – Ross Snel- states and Canada participated in to authentic clubs as defined by Doug Marshall strike a studious

lings and Pete Georgiady; 2nd – Fred the and two-day medal tournament. the SoHG. Net and senior net pose; Fred Muller, champion of

the 2009 event; Scotsman Burt

Sherry Smeltzer

Everyone enjoyed themselves divisions were allowed to use all

Hogg served as official starter

Mungo Park Flite: 1st – Terry Pitts at and cocktail parties after both clubs acceptable to and defined and has quite a good record

Thursday’s 2010 practice n h c champs. round Reserve and Division by the winner SoHG. Dave This Chermak was disclosed and Women’s as an Champion amateur golfer Sherry – he Smeltzer. also

Jim Clawson; 2nd – Terry Howarth and

Friday’s first The round, date for and the at 2011 the NHC is to set all for participants June 9-11 at in Oakhurst. the entry plays piano and has a wonder-

Bob White

ful voice; Chuck McMullin, one

awards dinner Saturday night materials and full SoHG club

of the top American hickory

that concluded the festivities. definitions were printed from players; enjoying the day is

The weather was a fairly typi- the Web site and included in the the foursome of Ernie Behnke,

cal June experience in northern

Michigan with temperatures in

Vermont the 70’s.

Hickory Open

tournament materials distributed

prior to play.

Results of this year’s event:

Champion – Fred Muller

Runner up – Marty Joy

left, Scott Staudacher, Max Hill

and Ken Holtz; Belvedere’s pro

Marty Joy warms up before his

round.

Tommy Armour 59 and under

Net division champion Ross Hays

Runner-Up Robert Caston

2009 Belvedere

Hickory Open

photos/pete georgiady

The Belvedere Club was,

again, a most gracious host.

June 18-20,

Several members attended all

Copley Country Club

vthickoryopen.org

of the festivities to mingle and

meet the players, take pictures

The Vermont Hickory Open again and show a genuine interest in

treated its participants to wonderful golf our enthusiasm for hickory golf.

and press coverage as well. Two local Two pa- club members played in

pers featured photos and a story about the the event with borrowed sets

event. After play on Saturday, there was of authentic a clubs and enjoyed

golf collectibles trade show on the veranda themselves immensely. Member

of the Copley club house. recruits have already been solic-

Walter Hagen Division

Winner (senior gross) –

Dr. Jay Harris

Runner up – Chuck McMullin

Tommy Armour Division

Winner (net) – Todd Collins

2010 Vermont Hickory Open

Runner up – Ken Holtz

s e n i o r w i n n e r Bob Dyer, right,

receives an award from tournament

host Matt Dodds.

Open Division

1st – Brad Gregory, 169

2nd – Matt Dodds, 178

3rd – Robert Titterton, 182

Net Winner – Allen Johnson, 140

Net Runner Up – Chris Gilgun, 142

ited to play

Senior

in next

Division

year’s tourna- Horton Smith Division

Super Senior

ment. 1st – Bob Dyer, 174 Winner (senior net) Division – (70+):

Belvedere 2nd is – a Paul classic Gaynor, 1925 180 Tad Moore 1st – Pat Kennedy, 188

design by 3rd Scotsman – Allen William Johnson, 192 Runner up – Max Hill 2nd – Norm Burnett, 202

3rd – David Sellers, 204

(Participants over 70 were

given the option of playing Best Dressed from – Bob Moran

R.M. Thomson Award – Paul Nesky

“Willie” Watson. It has hosted

39 Michigan Amateurs and looks

forward to number 40 in 2014.

Some of Watson’s other design the white tees, and in so doing

work includes Interlachen Golf

Club (1911) in Edina, Minn.; the

were playing for net prizes only.)

Lake and Ocean courses (1924) We sincerely thank the

at Olympic Club, San Fransisco; Walter Belvedere Hagen Club 60+ for their hospi-

The Belvedere Hickory Open

and two of the four courses at Gross tality Champion again this year. Fred All indica-

June 24-26, Belvedere Olympia Golf Fields, Club No. 2 (1918) Muller tions are that we are invited back

and No. 3 (1924) in Chicago. Runner-Up next year. Rick Hope Frank to see all of you

Host professional Golfing of the great Belvedere Tom Watson Golf spent there.

Club Dennis “Marty” Joy reports that many a great a summer time was perfecting had by his

Horton Smith 60+

Net Champion Roger Hill

all, including “three nights of lavish parties.” game at Belvedere The course and was is an in hon-

Runner-Up Bill Engelson

excellent shape and the northern Michigan orary member weather of in the Charlevoix club.

was absolutely perfect.

Gene Sarazen 70+

Open Division

Gross Champion Bill

Lawson

10

Champion - Mike Teter

Runner-Up Dr. Jay Harris

Runner-Up Max Hill

Ladies Scramble

Kate Tomkinson & Kathleen Alexander

Belvedere Golf Club

2009 French

Hickory Open

French Hickory Open

August 2009

July 2-3,

Chantilly Golf Club

Chantilly Golf Club francehickory.com

Chantilly, France

French hickory players continue their tradition of hosting a fine

event at the beautiful Chantilly Golf Club.

Scratch Division

by jean-louis panigel

Champion – Iain Forrester (Scotland),

T

+6, Sudden Victory Playoff

Silver – Davey van Mulken (The Netherlands), his first edition +6 of a hickory

Bronze – Perry Somers (Australia), championship +7 in France gathered

25 players who represented

Net Division:

such nationalities as Australia, USA,

Gold – Markus Kuemerle (Germany)

England, Scotland, the Netherlands,

Silver – John Still (Scotland)

Bronze – Carol Gibbs (England)

Germany and France. The British

Golf Collectors Society played a

prominent role. Two young associa-

photos/jean-l

tions were also invited to participate

the open de france hickory was contested at the beautiful and historic Chantilly Golf Club, top,

in their first hickory event – the

celebrating its centennial this year.

French (APGF) and one European

The U.S. (EAGHC). Hickory Open

July 12-14, The Mimosa Open de France Hills Country Hickory Club Society Hickory Grail competition in

2009 was organized ushickoryopen.org

by Jean-Louis Falsterbo, Sweden.

A record Panigel, 59 competitors president of from the French 19 states Chantilly Golf Club was founded

and Canada contested for the Hickory 2010 Golf U.S. Society Hickory (SFGH). Open over It the the Sept. 23, 1909 by Jean Gassiat,

challenging Donald Ross-designed was played Mimosa at the Chantilly Hills Country Golf Club Arnaud Massy, Prince Murat and

course in Morganton, N.C. Club, which is celebrating its centen- Chasseloup-Laubat.

The Monday practice round nial (1909-2009). provided the opportunity for play-

Since 1913 the club has hosted

Australian professional Perry numerous French Opens (Open de

ers to reacquaint themselves with the hot and humid conditions

Somers won the 2009 Open de France), therefore the name given

as well as the devilish Ross greens. A cocktail party followed,

France Hickory with 74, one under to the French Hickory – “Open de

announced to the distant sounds of Scottish bagpipes. While liba-

par. Somers plans to participate in France Hickory.”

tions and hors d’oeuvres were the World enjoyed Hickory by all, Championship a club swap/sale In the 1920s, the Old Course

was underway in the banquet in Scotland hall. and is a very promising Chantilly-Vineuil was redesigned by

randy jensen and perry somers battled for the French

At the end of two days play, player Rick of this Woeckener season. of Fredericks- Simpson.

title. Somers finished with 74 to Jensen’s 76.

burg, Va., closed with a low round Randy of Jensen one over from par the 73 USA for won a two Though the original holes of 1909

t r a d e s h o w, left, and hors

day total 143 to win the Open the Silver Division. medal Scott with McAllister a 76, two of Wil- could not be revived, the distance

d’oeuvres followed a Monday

liston, Vt. and Matt Boumphrey strokes of after Chagrin his competitor. Falls, Ohio, He were tied of 5,650 meters is very close to the

practice round. Below, Society

at 154. A card “playoff” gave played McAllister very well the as silver usual, and squaring Boum- original.

of Hickory Golfers President

Ken Holtz, makes a few

phrey the bronze. his match with a birdie on the 16th, Jean-Louis “Coco” Dupont, is the

announcements.

In the Reserve Division, but Rusty finishing Wells with of Pinehurst, bogeys on N.C., both 17 posted honorary president of Chantilly Golf

net rounds of one under par and 143 18. to claim the gold medal. There Club and former executive president

was a tie between Jay Harris

David

of Pinehurst,

Kirkwood,

N.C.

who

and

is

Breck

64,

Speed,

(1980-2001).

shot a 78 to earn the bronze scratch Executive president is Alexis

from Little Rock, Ark. at 145. Harris was awarded second place

medal, just four strokes behind Godillot since 2002. Both Dupont

following a card playoff.

Somers and two behind Jensen. It and Godillot gorgeous are setting. former The French hills of North golf

The Senior Open Division

was

gold

one

medal

of the more

winner

remarkable

was Glenn Davis

champions. Carolina, below, offered a beautiful

of Pinehurst, N.C. with a fine scores score of the of 161. French Second Hickory place and was Dupont setting is for widely the hickory regarded championship.

won by John Hopper of Fishkill, shows that N.Y. he with can Hamp stand high Munsey in comof

throughout France and Europe as

Greensboro, N.C. taking third parison place. with In his the PGA Senior professional Reserve Divi- the embodiment and personality of

sion, first place was won by competitors. Mike Just of Louisville, Ky. Thomas French golf tradition and history.

Ochs of Bloomington, Ill placed Kirkwood second is followed also the hero by Paul of this Dietz Dupont was also instrumental in pro-

french hickory trophy, left. Right, David Kirkwood rec

of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada hickory in third season place. as under his leadermoting the German and Czech hick- “scratch” bronze medal from Jean-Louis Dupont, hon

Mountain Valley Spring ship Water as again Captain, sponsored the European the U.S memory events, both new this year. president of the Chantilly Golf Club.

Hickory Open and the tournament bers won committee the British thanks Golf Collectors them for

their continued support. Thanks to all of our contributing sponsors

along with the Mimosa Hills members and staff for all of

their efforts.

The 2011 U.S. Hickory Open will be hosted by the French Lick

Resort in French Lick, Ind. on July 11-13. The tournament will be

contested on the Donald Ross Golf Course at French Lick, originally

constructed in 1917. We look forward to seeing all of this

year’s constants as well as many new faces in French Lick in 2011.

society of hickory golfers 11 www.hickorygol

society of hickory golfers 4

5 www.hickorygolfers.com

Heart of America

Hickory Championship

July 17, Otter Creek Golf Course

hickorygolfassociation.org

Members of the Golf Collector’s Society, the Society of Hickory Golfers,

and the Hickory Golf Association joined forces to conduct the GCS

Region 7 event known as the “ Heart of America” over the Otter Creek

Golf Course, Ankeny, Iowa.

The field of 38 players teed it up in temperatures that were high in the

90’s with a heat index that reached 107. It made some traditionalist “walkers”

say hello to a golf cart for the first time since you could buy Po-Dos at

Walgreen’s.

The Senior Medal winner, Dr. Gary Wiren, proved that he has lost very

little game since winning the forerunner to this tournament in 1976. The

tourney was then called the “World Hickory Hacker.” Thirty-four years

later, this PGA Hall of Fame member comes back home to Iowa and

reclaims a title.

Open Division

1st – Randy Jensen, 74

2nd – Dr. Dave Brown, 77

Low Net

1st – Gary Swenson, 63

2nd – Bryan Doughman, 67

Senior Medal

1st – Dr. Gary Wiren, 75

2nd – Mark Wellman, 80

Swedish Hickory

Championship

Senior Net

1st – Mike Enich, 64

2nd – Bill Reed, 66

on t h e b a g for m o m . Frida Rydberg carried for her mother, Britta Nord,

Bro-Bålsta GK, who won the 2010 Swedish Ladies’ Championship.

One week earlier, Ms. Nord won the Finnish Hickory Championship.

Ladies Medal

1st – Jeanne Swenson, 84

2nd – Chris Shanahan,

3rd – Debra Herrington

July 24-26, Stockholms Golfklubb

http://golfhistoriska.golf.se

This year’s winner was Per G Nyman, Växjö GK.

The 2011 Swedish Hickory Championship will be

played over the Kronholmen course of Visby Golfklubb

on the island of Gotland in the Baltic; exact date, (near the

end of summer) has yet to be determined.

photos/pehr thermaenius

champions. Heart of America Open winner Randy Jensen, left, and

Senior Medal winner Dr. Gary Wiren, right, pose with new additions

to their trophy shelves.

13-year-old a n d i e fleuron, Eslövs GK, was

tied for 15th in the championship. He

plays on the Swedish youth tour, usually

against boys who are five years older.

We think he is hickory golf’s world number

one in his age group. Please correct

us if we are wrong.

mikael tillström of Stockholms GK

looked anxious when he came out

of the woods. He is an experienced

hickory player who usually has nothing

to worry about out on the course.

Scramble

1st – Marcus Jones, Jeff and Christie

Wendel, and Kevin Beard, host pro at

Otter Creek – 61

2nd – Gregg Dress John Ausen, Rives

McBee (former PGA and Champions Tour

player, now Region 4 Director for the Golf

Collector’s Society), and ( I kid you not )

Bobby Jones Jr.

swedish c h a m p, Per G Nyman, above, of

Växjö GK, made several pressure putts to

defend his lead on the finishing holes.

German

Hickory

Championship

Aug. 7,

Bad Wildungen Golf Course

germanhickory.com

The second German Hickory Championship

was played at Bad Wildungen Golf

Course in Central Germany.

There were three local players out of the

field of 36. The number of hickory players

in Germany is growing slowly but steadily

with more players now owning an original

pre-1935 hickory set. The tournament

was played according to SoHG equipment

rules and was a walking-only event.

Iain Forrester, the 2009 German

Hickory Champion, gave a golf clinic on

Friday afternoon followed by a three-hole

exhibition match with Forrester, Dutch

professional Davey van Mulken and two

German based professionals, Perry Somers

(Australia) and Andrew Gauld. Somers

won by one stroke over Gauld.

Saturday was bright and sunny with

agreeable temperatures.

The 1930 Charles MacKenzie & Karl

Hoffmann-designed course remains

virtually unchanged except for two added

fairway bunkers on the 9th hole.

Somers won the championship with a

solid 74. Forrester was second with a 78.

North German Boris Lietzow was the

leading amateur in the clubhouse with 83,

Ark. vs. Miss.

Hickory

Challenge Cup

Aug. 11-12,

Ole Miss Golf Club

hickorygolfers.com

On Aug. 11 and 12, the hickory golfers

of the Country Club of Jackson, Miss.

captained by Keith Cleveland, hosted

the Arkansas Hickory Golf Association,

captained by Breck Speed, in the first annual

Ark-Miss Hickory Challenge Cup at

the Ole Miss Golf Club in Oxford, Ms.

The event was contested in Ryder Cup

format, consisting of four matches of four

ball, four matches of foursomes, and seven

singles matches. On the first day, Mississippi

used its home field advantage to take

a 3-1 lead in the four ball matches over the

hilly Ole Miss course.

followed by Michael

Edin from Stockholm,

Sweden, and

Hans Lichtenberg

from Krefeld, Germany,

both with 84.

Defending Ladies

Champion Britta

Nord from Sweden,

playing out of Annika

Sorenstam’s home

club, Bro-Bålsta, won

the ladies competition.

The “Dr. Jürgen

Kienle Preis,” which

honors long-time golf collector and keen

hickory golfer Dr. Kienle from Bad

Wildungen, was kindly sponsored by Mrs.

Kienle and won by Ralph Weyda from

Aalen nr. Stuttgart and Ivonne van Mulken

from the Netherlands.

That evening, the Mississippi squad

hosted its Arkansas neighbors to dinner at

Prime Steakhouse in Oxford. The Arkansas

team returned the favor by presenting

engraved hickory shafted putters made by

Tad Moore to the Mississippi squad. Captain

Cleveland thanked all players for

participating and spoke about why he

embraces hickory golf over the modern

game. Captain Speed regaled the group

with several poems on the joys and pitfalls

of the ancient game.

On the 12th, Mississippi again prevailed

over the familiar course in the foursomes,

3-1. In singles, the final outcome failed to

reflect the closeness of the competition, as

most matches were tight till the end, but

Mississippi prevailed to win the inaugural

Cup, 11½-3½.

In spite of record heat in Oxford, the

event was enjoyed by all, and all partici-

2010 German Hickory Championship

r e a dy for p l ay . Hans Lichtenberg, left, Dave Norman and Klaus Sasse pose

for a photo. Perry Somers, at right, won the overall championship.

Everyone felt the event was a great success

and we look forward to welcoming

all hickory players to the 2011 German

Hickory Championship.

photos a n d s t o ry/courtesy christoph meister

n o t t h i s year. Despite Arkansas Captain Breck

Speed’s attempt to keep the Cup from rival

Captain, Keith Cleveland of Mississippi, the

inaugural Ark-Miss Hickory Challenge Cup was

claimed by the team from Ole Miss.

pants agreed to compete again next year,

as long as the event is moved to the fall. It

was HOT – over 100 and high humidity.

society of hickory golfers 6

7 www.hickorygolfers.com

Foxburg

Hickory

Championship

Aug. 13-14,

Foxburg Country Club

hickorygolfers.com

First round competition included 28 golfers,

with the ranks swelling to 34 for the

second round. Additional golfers included

several Foxburg members (Ted Marron,

Don Smith, Mike Gardner) and two youngsters

sponsored by the Pittsburgh First Tee

Program. The championship presented an

excellent opportunity to expose the younger

generation to hickory golf, as well as the

history and museum that is the Foxburg

experience. The youngsters (Mike Kinney,

and Mercedes Epondulan) acquitted themselves

admirably, their respectful demeanor

fit nicely with the formality of a legitimate

hickory golf championship.

The competition in day one was spirited

in both the Fox Division (pre-1900) and the

Fownes Division (post-1900).

The second day opened with the splendid

sounds of a ceremonial bagpiper. The challenge

of the gutty ball and the Foxburg course

layout proved too much for most of the contestants,

and sent scores soaring, with only a

handful of contestants able to better their first

day scores.

When the dust settled, the competitive Dr.

Jay Harris (North Carolina) completed a strong

comeback to capture a one shot victory for

the Open medal in the Fox Division, and Dr.

“Dog” Ellis (Ohio) held on for victory in the

Open Senior competition of the same division.

(For reference, Harris shot 175; Willie

Park shot 174 for the 36 holes of the first Open

Championship at Prestwick 150 years ago).

Barry Markowitz continued his solid play

and became the championship’s first two-time

champion, winning the Fownes Division in

both 2009 and this year.

Activities other than golf included shopping

at a nearby outlet mall, local shops in Clarion

and Foxburg, and daily excursions to the winery

a half-mile down the hill. Dining (always

important) included a catered post event meal

Saturday, and a first-rate dinner at the Captain

Loomis Inn Friday evening.

Perhaps the nicest part of the weekend was

being able to have as many wives, significant

others, and friends join the group. They added

charm and energy to the event, and their contribution

to the championship’s overall success

and enjoyment is greatly appreciated.

The 2011 Foxburg Hickory Championship is

scheduled for Aug. 12-13.

d r. j ay h a r r i s

was the Fox

Division (pre-

1900) champion

for the 2011

Foxburg Hickory.

b a r ry markowitz, left, became the first player to win consecutive titles at Foxburg, winning the

Fownes Division (post-1900) title both in 2009 and 2010. Dr. “Dog” Ellis, above right, won the

Open Senior competition in the Fox Division.

The Kummel Cup

Aug. 27-29, Lawsonia Links

Nineteen hickory contestants from eight different states gath-

ered Aug. 27-29 in Green Lake, Wis. to test their playing skills on

the famous William Langford design, Lawsonia Links, set up at

just under 6,100 yards.

On the first day, with a stiff breeze out of the West, it looked

like Roger Andrews (Jenks, Okla.) was going to run away with it

after shooting an even par round of 72 on day-one of the competition.

And run away he did, following with a 78 on day-two, delivering

a two-day total of 150, with our next best finisher at 155.

David Guerard (Wauwatosa, Wis.) using authentic pre-1935

clubs, recorded an 81 on day-one, and roared back with a 74 on

day-two. Congrats to these two fine players and the rest of our

medal winners. (Please see SoHG website for a list of scores and

winners)

Plenty of celebration was also consumed by our group, including

a sunset cocktail cruise on beautiful Green Lake, participation

at the Princeton “Burn Down The Fox” BBQ competition,

a Kummel liquor tasting, flea market search, shopping, antiques

and plenty to eat and drink. A good old time was had by all.

Dates for the 2011 Cup are Aug. 26-28.

(Editor’s note: Kümmel,

is a sweet, colorless liqueur

flavored with caraway seed,

cumin, and fennel. According to the Dutch, kümmel liqueur was

first distilled in Holland during the late 16th century. Russia is

now the principal producer and consumer of kümmel. In the UK,

it is a popular drink at many of the more traditional golf clubs.)

society of hickory golfers 8

9 www.hickorygolfers.com

Hickory

‘Kummel Cup’

Championship – Division

Winners Trophy

The Czech Hickory

Championship

hickorygolfers.com

Late August, Hostivar Golf Club

hickorygolf.cz/

End of August hickory players from Australia, Bulgaria,

Croatia, England, Germany, The Netherlands, Scotland, Slovakia,

Sweden and, of course, the Czech Republic gathered to play

the second Czech Hickory Champions at Prague’s Hostivar GC

over 18-holes. This event was preceded by the traditional 9-hole

Hostivar Golf Match.

The Hostivar Golf match gross trophy was won by Perry Somers

(Australia). Czech golf historian Prokop Sedlak from Lisnice GK

finished second and Czech Golf Federations rule official Dalibor

Prochaska from Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) finished third. The net

competition was won by Jiri Skaba from Prague. Britta Nord from

Stockholm took home the women’s prize

Almost 30 hickory players, families and friends enjoyed a

lovely evening with barbecue, Czech beer and live music. Hostivar

GC president Jiri Martinka made us all feel very welcome and

quite at home.

Thirty-two hickory golfers – four professionals and 28 amateurs

– all enjoyed a lovely day. Perry Somers won the championship

with 74 strokes. He was followed by Robert Schovanek with

80 and Michael Edin (best amateur) with 87.

Britta Nord from Sweden was the best lady with a winning

score of 89 followed by Annie Altmann from the Netherlands and

last year’s winner Jean Hamilton from Scotland.

Theresia Rolfs from Germany had the best net score of 67

followed by Jan Zoulik (Prague) with net 70 and Jiri Skaba (also

Prague) with net 71.

Thank you to Jiri Martinka for the perfect organization and

k u m m e l competitors, above, enjoyed

this first-time event, which included

a boat tour on neighboring Green

Lake. At right, event host Ken Holtz

presents the champion’s trophy,

and a bottle of Kummel, to winner

Roger Andrews.

czech hickory championship w i n n e r s,

above, pose with their trophies. From

left, Jiri Skaba, Theresia Rolfs and Jan

Zoulik. At right, Jan and Monika Zoulik

from Prague made a very handsome

couple.

photos/thomas hradecky

hospitality at Hostivar. Next year the Czech Hickory Championship

moves to the Prague Golf Club at Motol, which is celebrating

its 85th anniversary.

The Charles Blair

Macdonald Challenge

and Eastern Canadian

Hickory Open

Sept. 10-12, Niagara Golf Course

Despite the threat of a rainy

weekend, the 8th annual Charles

Blair Macdonald Challenge and the

Eastern Canadian Hickory Championship

were contested and enjoyed

by 40 players at the Niagara Golf

Course – the oldest golf course in

North America still located on its l o v e ly v i e w s from the clubhouse

original site.

patio of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

On Saturday, using pre-1900

equipment, and the McIntyre gutty ball, the contestants played

nine holes of foursomes and nine holes of better ball golf. The

course was set up at 4,600 yards, a good length for the limited

flight gutty ball. There were several good scores, including a 37

by Bill Truppe (London, Ontario) and a 38 by David Ellis (Zanesville,

Ohio). The day ended with Canada leading by a narrow

margin, 10.5 to 9.5 points.

On Sunday, 20 singles matches played with 1920’s equipment

and the McIntyre bramble ball as a medal match play event.

The Iowa Hickory Classic

Sept. 10-11, Hyperion Field Club

hickorygolfassociation.org

The course at Hyperion is a 100-year-old Tom Bendelow

design celebrating its centennial this season. The hickory competition

played at 5,770 yards from tees that were historically

accurate to the regular tees of original play in the year 1910.

Fifty players teed it up in this year’s competition featuring

members of the Golf Collectors Society and the Society of

Hickory Golfers as well as the host, Hickory Golf Association.

The Friday evening reception also enabled some spirited table

trading, a historical display of clubs from the 1860’s and later

periods, plus several golf balls featuring featheries, gutties, and

mesh varieties.

Scottish delicacies at the reception included smoked plank

of salmon, shrimp in whiskey sauce, partan bree soup, steamed

mussels, braised tenderloins of beef, as well as Scottish eggs and

scones and sweetbreads for the sweet tooth. Awesome !!

After 18 holes, Roger Andrews of Oklahoma and Jordan Angell

of Iowa each posted 76. A sudden-victory playoff lasted four

holes until Andrews carded a fine birdie for the title.

Hyperion member Jim Carothers defended his 2009 Senior

division title with an 82 to edge John Hutton of Loveland, Colo.

who posted an 83 to claim second place.

The two-man team competition was won by the Oklahoma

duo of Bob Gardenhire and Bill Crowell with 70. Russ Fisher

and Bob Baldus, both of Des Moines, placed second in the team

event.

The Open division net Champion’s title was won by SoHG

Canada scored 11 points to the United States’ nine points. There

were several very good scores, including a 78 by Senior Vern

Petry (Bradford, Ontario), and 79’s by Jason Miller (Clarksburg,

Ontario), Rusty Wells (Pinehurst, N.C.), Jim Wilhelm (Paris, Ontario),

and Terry Howarth (Washington, Pa.). The course played

at 5,300 yards.

The final score was Team Canada 21.5 points – Team USA 18.5

points, giving Canada six wins in eight playings of this event.

Contestants came from nine states and many parts of Ontario.

In the Eastern Canadian Hickory Championship, after 27 holes

of golf, Jim Wilhelm and Paul Dietz (Sarnia, Ontario) tied at 119

strokes. Wilhelm was crowned Open Division Champion and

Dietz took the Senior Division title.

A new division was introduced to the tournament this year.

Bill Turville (Toronto, Ontario) won the Super Senior Division

(age 70 and over).

Runners-up were Rusty Wells (Open Division), Vern Petry

(Senior Division) and Doug Marshall (London, Ontario, Super

Senior Division).

Many thanks to those participating in the C.B. Macdonald

Challenge, and making it such a success.

Please join us next year, Sept. 9-11.

Paul Dietz

hickorygolfers.com/macdonald/

President Ken Holtz

who shot 78/net 70. The

2008 Open medal winner,

Dr. David Brown

of Omaha, shot 78/net

71 for runner-up.

The Senior net division

title was claimed

by Fred Smeltzer of

Camdenton, Mo. with

a net 69. Second place,

with a net 70, went

to Duane Baylor of

Ralston, Neb. over Don

Kavalec of Omaha,

Neb. who also carded

a net 70. Baylor was

awarded second in a

card playoff.

finishing h o l e at Hyperion Fields.

The Ladies division

had a field of four but claimed a large gallery of followers. Jeanne

Swenson, of Kelley, Iowa, fashioned a medal score of 98 to win

that title, with second place going to Cindy Austin of Omaha,

Neb. Chris Shanahan of Shelby, Neb. finished third. Darcie

Breeden of Upland, Calif., playing with borrowed hickories for

the first time ever, said she had the time of her life.

The field of this year’s Iowa Hickory Classic included players

from: Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Arkansas,

Oklahoma, Missouri, Arizona, and California. Thanks to all of

you for your participation. Bill Reed

The World

Hickory

Open

Sept. 20-2,

Gullane 2 and 3, Scotland

The championship was played over

two days at Gullane No 2. in wet and

windy conditions. Competitors played

off the back tees after the first day,

Perry Somers (Australia) was leading

Alastair Good (Gullane Professional)

by one shot – 78 to 79.

The second day’s play was over

Gullane 3 in slightly better conditions

– drier but still windy. Gullane 3 is 100

years old this year. Willie Park was

paid the sum of 10 guineas for designing

it, a sum that the committee of the

time thought excessive!

Perry Somers’ 76 for a two-round

total of 154 was enough to top Alastair

Mountain Valley

Hickory Open

Oct. 2-3, War Memorial

Golf Course

hickorygolfers.com

Thirty-six players contested Open, Senior and

4-Ball divisions at this year’s Mountain Valley

Hickory Open in Little Rock, Ark.

Open winner for the third time was Jeremy

Moe of Fort Smith, Ark. Second place and Low

Amateur Medal was awarded to Bob Baker of

Little Rock, Ark. with Roger Andrews of Jenks,

Okla. in third.

The Senior Division was won by John Berggren

of Kingwood, Texas. Ray Riggs of Little

Rock came in second place followed by Ralph

Williams of Little Rock in third.

Bob Baker and Jeff Francis won the 4-Ball

competition with a 129 total on the par 65 lay-

Good by two shots.

The results are as follows:

Open Division

1st – Perry Somers, 154

2nd – Alistair Good, 156

3rd – Rick Valentine (Master of Golf

at Loretto Golf Academy), 166

Handicap Division

1st – Ewan Glen (New Club St.

Andrews), 156

2nd – Timor Stille (Loretto Golf

Academy), 157

3rd – Colin Sinclair (Gullane), 162

The team competition was won by

Rick Valentine, Timor Stille and Andrew

Minto of Loretto Golf Academy

with a net score of 67.

worldhickoryopen.com

w o r l d hickory champion Perry Somers,

far right, is shown with runner-up

Alastair Good.

out, making Francis the only two-time winner

of the 4-Ball division. Second place was secured

by Jeremy Moe and Breck Speed. Arkansas Golf

Hall of Famers Jay Fox and Ralph Williams f i r s t tee hickory p l ay e r s , learned about

golf history, equipment and hickory

came in third.

play from kilted Bill Reed and Russ

For complete results, pictures and video go Fisher, above left. The kids also got

to Facebook and “Like” the Society of Hickory to hit hickory clubs. Above, Peter

Golfers!

Herrington poses with the event’s

refreshment of choice – a premier

Please make plans to join us next year!

drink since 1871.

society of hickory golfers 10

11 www.hickorygolfers.com

Practicing with hickories

[This article was compiled by John

Fischer III from a talk given by his father,

Johnny Fischer, to the Greater Cincinnati

Golf Association and from correspondence

by his father to Joseph C. Dey for Golf

Journal and to Herbert Warren Wind as

background for an article. Johnny Fischer

was the last person to win a major tournament

using hickory shafted clubs, the 1936

National Amateur played at Garden City

GC on Long Island.]

by j o h n n y fischer

nat i o na l a m at e u r champion 1936

intercollegiate (nca a) champion 1932

western (big 10) conference champion

1932, 1933 a n d 1935

walker c u p team, 1934, 1936, 1938

a n d 1965 (n o n-p l ay i n g captain)

was introduced

I to golf in1921

when I started to

caddy at Western

Hills C.C. in

Cincinnati. Caddies

were forbidden to

swing clubs or hit

balls, but it wasn’t

soon before we

j o h n n y fischer

started to do both

outside the view of the clubhouse or the

caddie master.

I began to watch the better players and

imitate their swings. On Monday afternoons

when the course was closed, caddies

were allowed to play. There was no

practice tee at the club, just a small area

that paralleled the 18th fairway where the

pro gave lessons, and, even if there had

been, we wouldn’t have given up the few

golfing moments we had to hit balls. We

wanted to play.

Most clubs in Cincinnati had no practice

tees at that time. Hickory shafts were

prone to cracking or wearing out with

extensive ball striking. I won both the

Cincinnati Metropolitan Junior Championship

and the City Caddie Championship

in 1927 with borrowed clubs and the pro

at Western Hills, Ed Brophy, rounded up

some clubs I could call my own, and let

me play more than just Monday afternoons.

To practice, I would play several balls

on each hole or play cross country, that is,

hitting to a green from a different fairway

or hitting to a target such as a tree to learn

to judge distance.

If you stop to think about the practice

tee, it is usually level and well maintained.

It is good for practicing with a driver, but

otherwise doesn’t reflect the golf course. I

believe I became a good iron player, especially

on the long to mid irons, by practicing

on the course. The course presents all

sorts of lies – uphill, downhill, sidehill,

tight, bare and rough. Hitting from the

great number of lies a player is likely to

encounter is not learned on the practice

tee; it is learned from playing.

In Cincinnati, the prevailing breeze

is from the southwest, and if you limit

yourself to the practice tee, all your shots

will be hit with the same wind pattern. By

practicing on the course, I learned to play

under any wind condition.

I was long off the tee and a good iron

player, but my strongest suit was putting.

Par is based on two putts on every green.

You will hit more shots with the putter

than any other club in the bag, so it should

be the one you practice the most. I’ve

always said that the hardest shot in golf is

the short putt of between five and 10 feet

in length. If you can make those, you’ll

win a lot of matches and reduce your

medal score. Most golfers would rather go

to the practice tee and hit drives. It might

satisfy you to “crack” a few drives on the

“sweet spot,” but, if you can’t putt, you

can’t score.

I also like to practice putting on the

course. When I was playing in tournaments

on a strange course, I would always

take as many putts on each green as time

would allow during practice rounds, and

from as many positions on the green as

possible.

I seldom practiced on the putting green

at a new course. I find that the practice

green is usually near the clubhouse which

is almost always the highest point on the

course. That means the practice green is

usually more dried out than the greens on

the course because it is open to the most

breeze and often is not indicative of how

the greens will putt.

I found my hickories to be better for me

photos/j o h n n y fischer iii

top amateur Johnny Fischer never gave up putting

with hickories, preferring the “feel” of the

wooden shaft over steel. Photo is circa 1932.

than steel shafted clubs. I have a rather

fast swing, and the hickories made me

slow down a little bit. Plus, in those days,

hickory shafts were more stiff than steel

shafted clubs. The early steel shafted clubs

had a lot of “whip” because they had a

long, single tube for a shaft. To make them

stiffer required a heavier shaft which was

difficult to swing. I am basically a “feel”

player, and I knew how the hickory shaft

would respond. Unless you’ve played with

hickories, you probably won’t understand

the concept of “feel” I am referring to.

As the true temper steel shaft developed,

the shafts could be made lighter and more

stiff, but even when I had to switch to

steel in 1955, I had difficulty finding a stiff

enough shaft or one with the proper “feel”

for that matter.

I never gave up my hickory shafted putter.

I have a closet full of hickory shafted

putters, and even tried a Bulls-Eye and a

Cash-In, but they had no feel for me. I am

a wrist putter and hickory helps me get the

right “touch.” After the war, some teachers

espoused a shoulder stroke which took

the hands out of the putt. My old friend

still graceful after many years. Photos of Johnny Fischer taken in 1926, left, and in 1982, show

a fluid swing and upright follow-through. The latter photo was taken on the 10th tee at Augusta

National, where Fischer was a member. The earlier photo is from 1934 in Florida where Fischer was

practicing for upcoming Walker Cup matches.

from the Navy, Paul Runyon, taught this

method, and he was one of the best short

game players and putters who ever lived,

but I just don’t understand it. You don’t

have any feel in your shoulders. Feel is

in your hands. A hickory shafted putter

allows me to “tap” or “stroke” the ball.

I continue to use a Tom Stewart hickory

blade, and have filed the back of the toe

Welcome, new

SoHG members

Michael Judd - Portland, Mich.

Dave Seibert - Atlanta, Ga.

Stephen Sutherland - Davidson, N.C.

Phillip Bunch - Dullis, Ga.

Ralph Williams - Little Rock, Ark.

Rick Woeckener - Fredricksburgh, Va.

down to get proper feel.

My putter has a little loft which is helpful

in getting the ball rolling. On slow

greens, the loft actually gets the ball up on

the top of the grass and allows it to roll.

A putter with little or no loft requires the

ball to “pushed” through the lower part of

the grass blade until it can get on the top

and roll.

John Slaby - Wyoming, Mich.

Robert Hewson Jr. - Orland Park, Ill.

Christopher Emmett Eaton -

Madison, Wisc.

John Goode - Rancho Palos Verdes,

Calif.

John Green Sr. - Morganton, N.C.

Fred Fruisen - Savannah, Ga.

Markus Kummerle - Germany

Mark Proffitt - Tampa, Fla.

David Jordon - Scarsdale, N.Y.

Neal Cowne - Ft. Smith, Ark.

Ron Samuelson - Omaha, Neb.

Dr. Barry Death - London, ONT,

Canada

Timothy Robinson -

Bowling Green, Ky.

David Guerard - Wauwatosa, Wisc.

Jeff Guerard - Wauwatosa, Wisc.

Frank Rosenzweig - Pittsburgh, Pa.

Mike Lastowski - Aberdeen, Md.

Steve Tom - Acworth, Ga.

The sweet spot on my putter is a little

closer to the hosel than in the center of

the blade. Occasionally I practice steep

downhill putts a little more off the toe

which imparts a little less speed on the

ball, and on long putts or uphill putts I

play it a little closer to the hosel which

gives a firmer result because it reduces any

torque caused by a harder strike at the ball.

Time practicing putting had let me know,

through “feel,” how the ball will respond.

In putting, I try to keep the blade square at

the point of impact except in the case of a

“cut” putt.

On all putts, especially short putts, I try

to impart enough speed on the ball to get

it no more than six or eight inches past the

cup. In this way, the ball will frequently

“die” into the hole. I frequently see players

hit short putts firmly toward the hole to

reduce the effect of grain or break, which

is fine if you hit the hole dead-center, but

can lead to a lot of frustrating lip-outs.

When I line up a putt, I stand behind the

ball and bend over slightly at the waist to

get a “feel” for the proper line, much as

I have a “feel” for the putter. Too many

players over analyze putts trying to figure

out grain, speed, wind, borrow and any

number of things which lead to over-thinking

the putt. Practice putting will result in

being able to see in your mind where the

ball is going to go and you will find that

will result in a lot of holed putts. The more

you stand over a putt and think, the more

likely you are to lose confidence and have

a miss-stroke.

Good players learn to feel their way

around the golf course, which is a result

of practice on the course and building

confidence in how the ball will behave. I

believe feel begins with hickory shafts, if

only in the putter.

Applications newly received:

Bern Bernacki - Pittsburg, Pa.

David English - Evansville, Ind.

Bill Geisler - Winter Springs, Fla.

Ralph Weyda - Germany

Heike Weyda - Germany

Stephan Mossburg - Sweden

society of hickory golfers 12

13 www.hickorygolfers.com

featured

club

by d r. j ay harris

p i n e h u r s t, n.c. u s a

acquired it about seven or eight years

I ago from Bobby Hansen, a friend and

noted collector. It is very heavy, thick and

tall – a simple blade putter. He loaned it to

me to try. I liked it for several reasons.

First, at 26 ounces, it was very heavy.

(Who says that the “heavy putter” is a

new idea?) I have a tendency for what I

call “happy fingers.” The putter’s heavy

weight calms my hands and reduces the

feint beginnings of any yips.

Secondly, the putter qualifies for pre-

1900 tournament play as well as regular

hickory play. Ultimately, it became my

putter for “dark-side” play with modern

clubs.

Third, the putter is unique, one-of-akind.

It is very old. Hansen said it dates

to the early blacksmith era of the 1850s.

Thus, the putter suits and matches my

personality.

Last, and most important, I could putt

with it. It seemed to fit my eye. It was in

my hands when I won the inaugural U.S.

Hickory Open at Morganton, N.C. I have

used it to win the Mid Pines Open and the

tournament at Belvedere, Mich. The putter

gets attention wherever I play.

I was using it during a Carolina Hickory

Golf Association outing at Pine Crest in

Lumberton, N.C. when I was paired with

a local player who was a local newspaper

writer. On my game that day, I hit a lot of

good iron shots to the small greens and

made a few nice putts. I shot 75ish. The

writer said he could not imagine such play

with old clubs. (I would have more titles

if I could play like that every

time out.)

When the man’s article was

published, I learned a new

word. He wrote that I putted

like mad with a crude putter

he described as a “froe.” First

thing I did was reach for a

dictionary.

Turns out a “froe” is a heavy

instrument used to cleave

wood logs. The putter at that

moment could have attained

a great nickname – Froe. But

Slab, the putter

with further use and exposure, the putter

came to be known affectionately as “The

Slab.” My hickory golf friend, Steve

Gaddy, so christened it.

He and I have had many putting contests

at the Pinehurst No. 7 putting green

playing a local game called 21 – closest

to the hole is 1 point, a lip-out is 2 points,

a hole-out is 3 points. As well as I can

sometimes putt with Slab, I have never

gone home with any of Steve’s quarters.

He mumbles something that his wife

expects him to come home with change

to fill a glass jar. If I could putt like him, I

would fear no golfer.

All great successes in life always have

an element of tragedy. Slab was no exception.

I thought I might like to make the

putter a little more upright. As most, I say

most, forged metal bends easily, I foresaw

no problem. So, with my Mitchell lie-loft

machine, and using the deft touch of a

long-experienced dentist, I carefully put

pressure on the hosel. Wham! I

immediately opened up a crease

in the hosel. Slab was mortally

wounded. Two weeks later, as I

was putting with her, Slab expired

in two pieces. It was a heavy

blow.

Fortunately, in Pinehurst, there

is a great blacksmith shop, and

I came to know a master problem

solver with metal – Eric

Hall. (Here is a man who, in his

previous life,

was that of an

organ harvester,

working very closely

with doctors.)

I took Slab to him just recently and

we came to a careful diagnosis of how to

mend and heal her. We wanted her to be

straight and strong and still be pretty. A

weld joint was out of the question as a

necklace of bright metal around part of the

hosel would not favor Slab’s intrinsic dark

nature. Internal medicine was called for. A

dowel was shaped to fit into both the head

end and the shaft end of the hosel. Then

J-B Weld (a powerful epoxy) would tie the

two ends together. Slab is stronger than

before, and just as beautiful.

Hallelujah.

(Just you wait, Steve.)

slab’s secret. The metal dowel that

keeps her together and her owner

unburdened of putting debility.

SoHG member Rich Grula writes about

his favorite hole, No. 12, on the Mid Pines

Course, a popular stop on the autumn

hickory tour.

by rich g r u l a

courses we love –

Mid Pines Golf Club,

Southern Pines, N.C.

For some, “favorite golf hole” means

an easy birdie – a par 3 with a

punch bowl green that feeds to the pin.

Being a masochist (hey, I play hickories!),

my tastes run opposite – a hole that seems

simple but in fact mars my card with a

bogey or higher almost every time I walk

off the green.

From the Ross tee, the 12th hole at

Mid Pines looks straightforward – a 360

yard dogleg left with a fairway that slopes

downhill and feeds right to left. A bunker

guards the left edge of the dogleg as

it turns. At the green, there’s a massive

bunker to the right and a smaller one to

the left.

Simple, right? Not so quick.

From the tee, if you push a drive right,

there’s a decent chance it will fly through

the dogleg, ending up in scrub grass or

even OB (the right edge of this fairway is

one of the few at Mid Pines with an easyto-reach

OB). Pull it left and you’re in the

pines or trapped in the fairway bunker 200

yards from the green. Hit a good drive

with a bit of a draw and you’re sitting

pretty with a smile on your face, until you

walk up to the ball and survey your next

shot.

AS WITH MANy Donald Ross

designs, the real defense is the green complex.

Number 12’s is particularly devilish

and brings us to the second challenge. The

green runs 37 yards front to back and elevates

upward the entire way. It’s also thin.

Scary thin. At its narrowest point – where

the pin is often located – it’s a mere eight

steps wide. On either side of those eight

steps are sloped fringe and then bunkers

or steep drops to collection areas. Not

much to shoot for.

Best of all, the entire green is positioned

somewhat diagonally to the fairway, opening

more to the left side and moving right

as it goes back and upward. The result

is ridiculously good protection from the

center and right of the fairway, to which

it shows its narrowest width. Approaches

must be deadly accurate and hold a slick,

sloped putting surface. If a player opts to

play low, he must factor the fairway just

in front of the green, which has subtle

banking that deflects rollers, feeding them

left or to the right bunker.

A good drive likely leaves 120-180

yards to the hole, making a missed second

shot the one that starts the downward spiral

– missed approach, sand shot over the

green, chip back, three putts on a trademark

Ross surface. That’s a seven…and it

looked so simple from the tee, right?

I WATCHED My SON birdie this hole

when he was nine. It can be done, but

each shot has to be just right. Teeing off

far beyond the forward tees, he dropped

a drive on the left edge of the fairway,

60-70 yards from the pin. From the left,

the green transforms and opens, looking

long and receptive rather than thin

and miserly. On this route, it was drive,

pitch and putt, followed by high-fives all

around. Youth has it easy, me thinks.

Chris Deinlein, my playing partner at a

recent Mid Pines Hickory Open, suggested

the left rough as an excellent place

to land a drive for a useable approach

angle. He’s right, if one’s comfortable

flying the fairway bunker and hugging

the pines. For those a bit short off the

tee, another option is to drop a second

shot in front of the green. Sure, nobody

likes to lay up on a par four, but an up

and down from there is more likely than

a recovery chip from the rear collection

area, where you often see less than half

the pin and the green slopes away at a

frightening angle.

Regardless of such options, I inevitably

find myself laying four off the green, hoping

my chip somehow rolls close enough

for a bogie. And that’s what makes No.

12 my favorite. Though nearly a century

old, it can still seduce players into doing

something stupid.

society of hickory golfers 14

15 www.hickorygolfers.com

t h e road h o l e bunker, left, presents the same daunting face as its original inspiration in St. Andrews. Right, the Biarritz hole from a side view. The flag on the

15th green is seen in the distance at the horizon. Holes 15 and 16 come back to the ocean as do holes 7 and 8.

MACDONALD

continued from page 1

through the upland meadows and coastal

forest. They are all wonderfully well

suited to hickory play (almost constant

multidirectional wind and rain), but it is

the newest course, The Old Macdonald,

that is in a league of its own.

TOM SITS ALONG the northern edge of

the property, abutting much of the inland

side of Pacific Dunes. A natural fire a few

years back cleared out much of the gorse

in that area and revealed in more detail,

many of the landforms. The Redan green

was the first feature to pop out. However,

given the profusion of yellow blooms

when I visited in late April, gorse is clearly

among the most resilient flora.

When the idea to develop a tribute

course to Charles Blair Macdonald crystallized

a few years ago, Mike Keiser,

Bandon Dunes’ owner and chief visionary,

knew this would not be the effort of

a singular golf architect. He brought in

not only such talented golf architects as

Pacific Dunes’ architect Tom Doak along

with Jim Urbina, but for added depth of

knowledge and perspective regarding

Macdonald, consulted extensively with

Macdonald’s biographer, George Bhato

and GolfWeek’s Brad Klein.

One can just picture them all spending

many days at NGLA, looking out on that

great course and Ballyshear, Macdonald’s

residence which overlooks it, thinking

about how they could bring forth new versions

of holes with such familiar names

as Redan,

Leven,

Sahara and

Biarritz.

The final

product

features

16 holes

having

precedents

at other

Macdonald

courses

(NGLA,

Yale,

Chicago,

c h a r l e s b l a i r macdonald. From the

painting by Gari Melchers.

The Creek, Piping Rock and Mid Ocean)

or such wonderful British venues as

St. Andrews Old Course, Royal West

Norfolk, Sunningdale (Old), North

Berwick, Royal St. George, Lundin Links,

Prestwick and Littlestone. One is an

entirely new hole called Ocean, which is

followed by a striking Biarritz.

A DOMINATING FEATUrE is the sand

ridge that runs north-south along the east

edge and sets up, in my humble opinion,

one of the finest reveals in American golf.

After playing the first two holes that run

north on the inland side of the ridge, the

third hole, Sahara, requires a drive over

the top. As with most holes on the course,

the tee shot presents options: play a 150yard

shot to the right across the ridge or

play the shot more to the left and challenge

the imposing, standing deadwood

atop the ridge. That tree may well become

as iconic as the windmill as National,

provided it doesn’t soon succumb to the

winds. Brad Klein suggested that a model

be made. Regardless of where your drive

ends up, as you gain the ridge top, an

extraordinary golf vista is revealed with

the red flags marking the distant greens of

the next 14 holes. Also visible are several

holes of Pacific Dunes and even Bandon

Dunes with the Pacific in the background.

The approach to Ocean, a short dogleg

par 4, plays much longer than it looks.

The shot (usually into the wind) plays to

a green perched on top of a high coastal

dune. The reward, once you’ve gained

the western most green on the course, is

a stunning view out over the Pacific. The

following hole, Biarritz, plays downhill

off the top of the dune. It can play as short

as a niblick or require a full driving iron,

depending upon the wind, which usually

plays diagonally from 8 to 4 o’clock, adding

to the challenge. After 16, the eastern

sand ridge is again crossed with the last

two holes playing south back to the clubhouse.

THErE ArE SO MANy naturally

occurring golf holes that it is often difficult

to determine which way one should

hit off many of the tees. The only clues

are embedded markers with the hole

names; there are no yardage markers, no

ball washers or benches, and no soft green

grass for padded fairway lies. Fairways,

greens and tees simply blend into each

other. The holes play in all directions as

does the wind, which can make the same

tee or approach shot play two or three

clubs different from round to round, or

even just a few groups apart. During our

late afternoon round, we experienced

sun, clouds, wind, no wind, rain, no rain

and mist. The light was striking, and the

only other soul on the course was the

resort’s photographer.

There are options off every tee, including

the par 3s. There was a successful

effort to make the course fully playable

for those whose longest carries are not so

long. Although TOM plays 6,944 from the

tips, the forward Royal Blue tees are at

4,258, still offering all the challenges and

opportunities of each hole.

The greens are expansive; there can be

several avenues of approach to the hole

both into and even on them. One could

spend a rather pleasant day just playing

around with putting and approach

cleeks. Jim Urbina told me he thinks the

golf course “is more fun than any of us

expected it to be.” Brad Klein, despite

being immersed in the course’s development,

referred to TOM as having “intriguing

detail.”

On many of Charles Blair Macdonald’s

greens, the putts can easily top 100 feet.

No exception at TOM where the aggregate

green size comes in at over or roughly

6.1 acres. To give some perspective, the

Old Course at St. Andrews offers 242,000

square feet of greens or a total of 5.6

acres. The course at Yale comes in at just

over 5 acres, with NGLA’s a bit under 5.

Merion East has 3.1 acres, Winged Foot

West roughly 2.5 and my home course of

Pine Brook in Massachusetts has 2.3.

BANDON DUNES has been called

t h e old macdonald. View on the short No. 5 hole.

“Dream Golf” with good reason. There is

something special about a golf-only resort

with no carts and no structures visible

until almost 2 miles from the entrance off

route 101. The resort was also done with

environmental sensitivity in mind from its

inception. The main clubhouse was moved

well back from the ocean; all greywater is

reused for irrigation and the satellite lodging

complexes blend into the low shrub

scrub forest. A full spa is in the works

and, according to Keiser, the omnipresent

winds will soon be tapped for power, thus

reducing the resort’s carbon footprint.

Several moments will always stay

pleasantly in my mind: Coming over the

ridge on Sahara and seeing the course laid

out before me; my tee shot on Redan that

imposing marker, a lone, dead tree punctuates the skyline on the tee at

Sahara, the third hole. Over that ridge, a grand view awaits the golfer.

came to rest 15 feet from the pin (prelude

to a tap in par); the rainbow over the sand

ridge as we played up Maiden; ringing

the bell after exiting the 16th green even

when I knew there was no one to hear it;

and TOM Head Professional Jeff Brinegar

showing up with persimmon woods.

It was he who coined the term “The

Catcher’s Mitt” in reference to the green

at Maiden, which includes several feet of

elevation changes. Being the first hickory

player on the course was special, although

my mark has since been shattered.

It is a place where one can bring just a

driving iron or brassie, a strong jigger, a

putting cleek and, of course, a sand iron.

However, one would be wise to employ

the no-club-limit, provided they all predate

1936. Caddies and push carts are

always available, and the carts can not

only be wheeled across the greens, they

can be set down on them.

The collective hope of those who

brought us this marvelous golf experience

is that upon finishing the round, players

will have a better understanding of who

Charles Blair Macdonald was and seek to

learn more about his contributions to the

game.

When the course opened officially on

June 1 (with gale force wind and rain) it

looked as if it had been there 100 years.

The date was intended to mark the first

plays 100 years earlier at NGLA.

Kevin Mendik was quite pleased not

to have come in last in the 2010 U.S.

Hickory Open and his youngest son has

the initials CBM. He hasn’t used modern

clubs in many years.

society of hickory golfers 16

17 www.hickorygolfers.com

CLUB

continued from 1

club does not have the square-toe look of the known examples

of golf irons produced in the 1600s and 1700s.

Of course, few clubs of this vintage have survived the

ravages of time. Knowledgeable collectors often estimate

the number of pre-1800 clubs in the world

at fewer than 25. Most of these clubs are in

museums or private collections and they

very rarely become available for purchase.

Nearly all of these clubs

a r e of Scottish manufacture with a

v e r y distinctive, squared-off toe.

Yet this club is quite different, with a

rounded toe and an extra-long, thick

h o s e l sporting a very heavy, sturdy

shaft.

The club itself is 35½-inches long

and weighs 24 ounces. The heel to

toe length of the clubhead is 4½-inches

and the width of the blade is 3/16-inch. The hosel

is 9-inches long with a circumference of 3¼”

and is pinned in two positions, one high and one

low. The clubhead is a separate piece of metal from

the hosel. The club has a lie angle of 62 degrees

with 16 degrees of left- handed loft. The shaft tapers

from round at the hosel to square at the grip. There

is a “V” cut into the grip indicating the correct

placement of the right hand above the left on the

wood shaft. See the pictures of how this works with

the left-handed “baseball-style” grip that was used at

the time.

Some thought has been given

to the possibility that the club is

really quite a bit newer, but the world’s

best radiocarbon-dating lab, the Rafter

Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory in New

Zealand, analyzed a wood fragment from the shaft and

concluded that the wood dated to 1760 + or – 40 years.

This dating of the wood in the shaft is very significant. Wood

contains a 50 percent moisture content when a tree is first cut

down and must be dried to a 10 percent moisture content for

maximum wood strength. This process takes one to two years. If

the wood is dried too much longer than this, the moisture content

can dip well below 10 percent and the wood

loses strength, becomes brittle, and can snap

like an old tree branch dried in the sun.

Once wood reaches the ideal 10 percent, it is

sealed with shellac to

maintain its moisture

content and, hence,

its maximum strength

(this is usually done just

after it has been fashioned

into its final form). So wood

has always been used relatively

quickly once a tree has been cut

down. Radiocarbon dating measures

organic lifespans from the moment

that the organic material starts to decay

(when the tree is first cut down), so the Rafter

Radiocarbon dating should reveal an accurate estimation

date for the club’s original manufacture.

A 1720-1800 time frame of production really only

makes sense outside of a Scottish origin as the 18th century

examples of club making that are seen in the R & A, the British

Golf Museum and Gary Wiren’s collection, etc. all seem much

more sophisticated.

We know golf was played in the Americas in the 1700s in

both South Carolina and New York. Shipping records from the

Scottish port of Leith show that a shipment of balls and clubs

reached Charleston, S.C. in the 1740s and there is a British military

journal article and an ad from a New York newspaper that

documents play on Long Island, N.Y. later in the 1700s.

In fact, William Burnett, Governor of New England, who died

in 1729, had an inventory from his estate sale that showed that

there were 10 golf clubs and seven dozen golf balls that were sold.

So we know golf was played to some extent, perhaps more

than we realize, in Colonial America. And this particular

club with its more crude design than the surviving examples of

early Scottish golf clubs was most likely an early attempt to provide

an uncommon left-handed club to an early colonial player.

As such, this club could be a very historically significant golf

club; perhaps the earliest known example of an American-made

golf club in existence!

Early irons are highly sought after. Two pre-1800 irons sold at

a September 2007 Sotheby’s auction in New York for $151,000

and $181,000 respectively, and both were of the more commonly

known Scottish manufacture.

c a r b o n d at i n g puts the wood to about 1760, give or take 40 years. Left, the wood and hosel joint just reveals the pin placement. Right, the “V” cut that is

said to act as a guide to correct grip placement for the left-handed player.

Member Profile

Mitch Laurance Myrtle Beach, S.C.

A five-year member of the SoHG, Mitch

is a commentator for ESPN Championship

Billiards and is an actor, television producer,

host and writer of On The Green Golf Video

Showcase from Myrtle Beach, S.C. He is codirector

of Whole-In-One, a unique national

golf workshop program. He and his wife,

Ewa, live in Myrtle Beach.

How often do you play hickories?

All the time, and I play only hickories.

What’s in your play set?

• From Louisville Golf: E. Just & Bros. driver

and cleek; 23-degree mid-iron; Calamity

Jane putter; A. Whiting mashie niblick

• A brassie from Heritage Golf, St. Andrews

• S tar OA Irons from Tad Moore Golf:

52-degree niblick; spade mashie; mashie;

deep face mashie; and mid-iron

Favorite club?

The sweetest club made: my E. Just & Bros.

driver.

Favorite course for hickories?

Eden Course, St. Andrews, Scotland.

Favorite hickory tournament?

My first one, this November at Mid-Pines.

Any particular player or aspect of golf

history you especially enjoy?

Bobby Jones. I love to read about the early players and courses, both in Scotland/Ireland and

America.

Best thing about hickory golf?

The feel of the wood, the sound of the shaft moving through the swing. Hickory golf gives me the

opportunity to get back to the true creativity of the game, to experience the game in a pure way. The

enjoyment I’ve gotten by playing with hickories has lead me to deeper growth both on and off the

course. I had been frustrated with golf and its technological aspect, so much so that I was close to

giving it up. Playing with hickories brought me back to the game. That’s why when I have a chance to

play, I only play my hickories.

One thing you’d like to see the SoHG do or do better?

The SoHG is doing a great job.

Ideas to promote SoHG, hickory golf?

For the SoHG: Use social media – I’m currently putting together a hickory Facebook site with Darin

Bunch. (Editor’s note: The SoHG can be found on Facebook.)

For hickory golf: Organize demo day outings at local clubs that would allow people to try hickories.

society of hickory golfers 18

19 www.hickorygolfers.com

news, notes,

correspondence

All American Hickory Open

Connor Lewis, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa,

is putting the finishing touches on a newly

announced event. His All American Hickory

Open (AAHO) is a pre-1900 event

planned for July 22-23, 2011 at Downers

Grove, the site of the original Chicago

Golf Club.

He will have a information booth at

the upcoming GCS meeting, Nov. 7-9, at

Southern Pines.

Lewis says he selected this date so that

golfers who enjoy pre-1900 play might

have a shot at the “Gutty Slam,” starting

with the National Hickory Championship

in June, the All American in July, Foxburg

in August and the CB MacDonald in

September.

Tournament fee is expected to cost

$200, but Lewis notes this may be reduced

for participants who are willing to share a

room. Illinois residents who do not need

accommodations may also benefit from

reduced fees. Lewis asks that you e-mail

him (connort2@aol.com) for details, or

see him in Southern Pines.

Four tournament divisions are planned,

each with its own equipment guidelines:

OPEN – Similar to the NHC as in no

golf bags, pre-1900 clubs, no Stewarts

with registration marks, etc.

RESERvE – Smooth face clubs

required and splice-neck woods.

Players will be able

to use golf bags

and golf carts if

they require.

SENiOR –

Identical to the

Reserve Division regarding equipment

guidelines and amenities, but with an age

cutoff.

FOUR MAN BEST-BALL – This

division was added for the benefit of those

who have never played pre-1900 golf or

just want to enjoy the experience with

their friends. Lewis also hopes this division

will encourage local players to have a

go at pre-1900’s play.

Downers Grove members have shared

photos of early golf on the course as well

as an original scorecard. Course setup will

be as close as possible to 1892 as can be

arranged, according to Lewis.

Lewis has gone to some lengths to create

an unusual trophy for the championship.

He had a Colorado silversmith create

a full-sized replica of an 1870 Willie Park

Sr. long nose putter. The trophy will be

on display at the AAHO booth during the

GCS meeting in Souther Pines. A half-size

version was made to serve as the traveling

trophy.

h o l e n o. 2 at Downers Grove.

all ame r i c a n hickory open

trophy is a full-size silver replica

of an 1870 Willie Park Sr.

long nose putter. Silver copies of

golf balls used to win the championship

will be attached to the trophy.

The winner of the championship will

also be asked to donate his winning golf

ball. From that ball the tournament will

make a cast and a silver copy will be made

and attached to the championship trophy...

either physically or attached to the mount

from which it will hang.

Lewis also plans to follow the tradition

of early golfing societies by having

the previous year’s champion serve as the

Honorary Captain for the succeeding year.

Lewis is taking steps to promote the

event through local newspaper and

magazine coverage, state golf associations

and, as of this writing, NBC television, according

to Lewis, has committed to some

coverage.

Downers Grove was built for the Chicago

Golf Club by Charles Blair MacDonald

in 1892. In 1893 it became the first 18 hole

golf course in the United States. In 1894

the Chicago Golf Club became charter

members of the USGA. By 1895 the Chicago

Golf Club decided that they needed

more room and relocated to its current site

in Wheaton, Ill. There is some speculation

as to why, but apparently some land to the

east of Downers Grove (their original site)

was leased and the landowner refused to

renew it for 1895. In 1896, the Belmont

Club claimed the course and reverted it

back to the present-day nine holes.

“Seven of the nine greens are original,”

Lewis says. “The course is fantastic for

pre-1900 golf as nearly all of the original

bunkers are intact and completely within

play of a pre-1900 golf shot. On top of

that, I would say seven to eight of the nine

holes are absolutely beautiful.

“I promise it will be a blast from the

past,” he says.

news, notes,

correspondence

Knickers at Kohler

I just spent a week as a volunteer at the

PGA Championship at Whistling Straits

in Kohler, Wis. I was the only person on

the grounds wearing knickers. I had many

comments on them and that gave me the

opportunity to talk to a lot of people about

playing hickory clubs including a couple

from Michigan’s U.P. The lady said she

wants me to send some hickory clubs she

can play with. I also told her about Louisville

Golf and their reproductions.

Greg Smith

De Forest, Wisc.

SoHG and research on golf pros

During my research on the history of the

golf professional I have been very pleased

to find several SoHG articles that have

been very beneficial. I am a PGA Master

Professional who wrote my thesis on the

history of the golf professional position

over 20 years ago. Recently retired, I am

working on expanding that thesis into a

book that will trace the history of golf and

how the golf professional position evolved

over the past two centuries. I am very

interested in learning about golf professionals

who have made major or unique

contributions to the development of the

game and the profession. The interest of

the Society of Hickory Golfers in the early

game both oversees and here in the U.S.

is very commendable. If any members

would like to offer thoughts or articles that

can assist my research I would be very

appreciative.

Sincerely,

Billy Dettlaff, PGA Master Professional

billydettlaff@comcast.net

904-543-0050

One more reason to love

hickory golf

Recently I played in a modern club

member/guest in Maryland with a friend

of mine. Two rounds at two different

courses, better ball format. The second

day course is fully five shots harder than

the first. We shot 73-75 and trailed by only

one shot after the first day of competition.

Then the results of the second day came

in. The team in our flight that shot the

worst score (76) on the first day shot 67 on

the harder course. In the second flight the

team that shot the worst score in the flight

(78)returned a score of 70. Both teams

won their respective flights. Now the

funny coincidence. Those two teams were

paired together. That would never happen

in a hickory event!!!

PS. After leaving for the trip home my

partner called to say the pro at the courses

was livid as to the events.

Bill Sewell

Huntsville, Ala.

Friendly round of hickories

I have been afflicted with a fondness for

hickory golf since my mother bought me

a set of hickory clubs at a church rummage

sale in the 1960’s. Unfortunately, I

have never been blessed with an ability

to actually play golf, so although I go out

and flail away with my hickory clubs on

a regular basis I have never progressed

to the point where I could even consider

competitive golf, no matter what clubs I

was permitted to use. I do, however, enjoy

my clubs very much, and I also enjoy your

website. I particularly enjoy the historic

golf writings you present, such as the

articles by Bernard Darwin. Lately I have

not been able to find the index to your

online articles. Sometimes you link to a

specific article on your home page, but I

don’t see a link to the index. Do you still

index the articles?

Steve Tom

Acworth, Ga.

(The website is evolving and changing,

Steve. We’ll pass your thoughts along to

the webmaster.)

Steve also offered a link to a story about

hickory golf that he published a few years

ago. The entire story can be found at:

http://www.random-writings.com/

web_documents/a_friendly_little_round_

of_golf.pdf

For now, though, here’s an excerpt from

A Friendly Little Round of Golf:

... “Walter Hagen?!!” The words escaped

Bob’s lips before he realized how foolish they

sounded.

“I’m impressed” the man replied. “You’d be

surprised at how many people don’t recognize

me any more.”

“But what are you doing here?” Bob asked

incredulously.

“You called upon the gods of golf” Walter

replied. “Who’d you expect?”

“I, I don’t know” Bob replied, still in shock.

“Tiger Woods? Arnold Palmer? I really didn’t

expect anybody.”

“Those guys are still alive” Walter said as

he stood up. “You can’t be a god while you’re

alive.”

“Harry Vardon?” asked Bob.

“Harry’s got a weak stomach.” Walter said

casually. “One look at your swing and he’d be

off puking in the weeds. Besides. He’s busy with

Tiger.” He dropped his cigarette on the ground

and crushed it with his shoe. His face turned

serious as he looked at Bob. “Look. Those

guys are great at playing the fairways, but you

don’t play the fairways. You need someone who

knows how to recover from a shot that wanders

off where God lost his overshoes. You need me.

Now are you going to let me teach you how

to play golf or are you going to stand around

arguing that you want someone else?”

“I, I’m not arguing.” Bob stammered. “I’ve

just never met anyone who was . . .” his voice

trailed off.

“Dead?” asked Walter. “You need to get

over that or we’ll never get anywhere. Look

here, kiddo. You got yourself in a jam. You’ve

got less than a week to learn how to play this

game without looking like an idiot in front of

your boss. I can’t work miracles, but maybe I

can help. Let’s forget this hole and go on to the

next. I want to see you drive.”

Dazed, Bob followed Walter to the next tee.

When they got there, he patted his pocket and

then turned back toward the previous green.

“Now just where are you going?” Walter

asked.

“I left my ball in the bunker” Bob replied.

“Forget it” Walter told him. He reached in

his pocket and tossed a ball to Bob. It was an

autographed, Walter Hagen special. “I get

them for free. Endorsements.”

“Still?” Bob asked.

“What can I say. I had a good agent. Now let

me see you swing.” ...

Websites to check out:

worldhickorygolfer.com

This is a new, online magazine edited

by Lionel Freedman. Well-written articles

about hickory play, history, and modern

events and news.

thehickorygolfer.com

This blog by avid hickory golfer Roger

Brinkley offers stories, commentary,

course information and some restoration

tips among other categories.

society of hickory golfers 20

21 www.hickorygolfers.com

communities

94 SEPT 2010 HANDSHAKE

news, notes,

correspondence

Fore Score

A hickory golf revival takes players back to the 1930s.

by Nick Feely

M

atthew Dodds adjusts his

cap and pants, tees up, takes

a few practice swings, and

sends the ball down the

fairway with his driver.

Instead of common golf attire, Dodds

dons a brown and yellow plaid cap and

matching knickers that fit snuggly over

his knee-high socks. Dodds tees up

his Gutty-era ball, which consists of

hardened tree sap and feels

more like the outside of a

tire than a golf ball. And in

place of the behemoth drivers featured

on the PGA Tour, Dodds uses his

pre-1930s “brassie” made of polished

brown hickory and brass plating.

Fed up with the technological

takeover of society’s purest game,

Dodds and a group of golfers decided

to take themselves back to the early

1900s and exchange their modern steel

clubs for hickories.

“We were bemoaning the whole big

club deal and the demise of courses,

and that led to a boozy conversation

where we said instead of going newer,

newer, newer, we’ll just go older and

Hickory golfers seek a challenge by using clubs with smaller faces than today’s clubs.

older,” Dodds says. “It’s all about

finding a passion for the game again,

without falling in love with the newer

technology.”

The Society of Hickory Golfers

formed in the mid-1990s to support

their efforts and has seen a 30 percent

increase in yearly membership in the

past few years as more people discover

the flaws in the modern game.

It’s a lot more fun

and challenging

than simply buying

a good golf game.”

“Skill is just being driven out of the

game with all of the new technology,”

says Ralph Livingston, one of the first

players to go full-time hickory in 1994.

“It’s a lot more fun and challenging

than simply buying a good golf game.”

Hickory players say that selfcorrecting

modern clubs, with wider

sweet spots and more grooves, now

make a smooth, consistent golf game

easier to master. Hickory clubs, used

widely on the PGA Tour before 1930,

have faces nearly half the size of today’s

clubs and require the smooth finesse of

an Ernie Els-inspired swing to strike

the ball correctly.

The irony is hickory golfers aren’t

simply a group of curmudgeonly old

men, cut off from the technological

world. Keeping the purity and

challenge of the historical game is

important to hickory players, but

most make substantial use of new

technologies to expand the game’s

popularity. Livingston (hickorygolf.

com) and SoHG President Ken Holtz

(hickorygolfers.com) both operate

websites dedicated to hickory golf.

Dodds, who is on the board for the

SoHG, says that hickory golf is the only

thing that brings out his formal side.

“Normally I’m a T-shirt, ripped

jeans, and funky shoes kind of guy,”

Dodds says. “I think it’s funny that the

only time I wear a tie anymore is on the

golf course.”

M

GOLF: SOCIETY OF HICKORY GOLFERS

Hickory golf has been in the news here and there around the country.

Coverage is evolving and will continue to do so as the media

recognizes the honest approach, the lengthy research and knowledgeable

background most hickory players bring to their sport. Above, three headlines/articles

from the St. Petersburg Times on an event this past spring

at River Hills Country Club that featured top hickory player and Tampabased

pro, Mike Stevens. Far left, Handshake, a new magazine that takes

up trendy topics,

spoke with Matt

Dodds and Ralph

Livingston III

about the lure of

hickory golf. At

left a Burlington

Times-Argus photo

of Matt Dodds

at the Vermont

Hickory Open;

and near left, an

article from the

Burlington Free

Press on the same

event.

Wee Nip Classifieds

for sale

Hickory rental sets available

as well hickory play sets. Will

travel. Jay Harris, cjharrisdds@

aol.com, 910 295-5083

Playable and collectible

hickory clubs available. Go to

http://shop.vendio.com/stixnstuff/category/100001/.

Bob

Georgiade, stixnstuff@

earthlink.net, 919 368-0685

Grandfather’s collection of

hickory and 1930’s clubs.

Spalding, Stewart, MacGregor,

Forgan, H&B and more. Would

like to sell entire collection.

Please call Pete

at 937-238-2202

List available for review.

The Hickory Golfer

Course reviews and stories

around the world

by r o g e r brinkley

had just made the switch to

I playing Stewarts and was

starting to build a set, but I was

having a problem finding a suitable

mashie niblick. One night, going

through an assortment of clubs,

I found the perfect club hidden

among a group of undesirables. I

popped the pin, buffed, reglued,

re-pinned and re-gripped the shaft

before adding it to my bag.

On its first outing in early

spring, the club had been used

only once by the time I approached

No. 7, a par 3 with a

little pond skirting the fairway and

green. Preparing to hit, I realized

the yardage was just outside the

mashie niblick’s range. Oh well,

just lean on it a little and it will

still get there.

Dumb idea. I leaned too much, took

a huge divot, snapped the shaft and

watched helplessly as my prized possession

tumbled wildly into the lake. The club

even righted itself, shaft up, before sinking

to the bottom. Bye-Bye!

On the way home I started thinking how

I could retrieve the club. Our pro thought

Replacement hickory shafts

and grips. MOI matching of

Clubs

http://thehickorygolfer.com

wanted

In search of unusual Tom

Stewart clubs and early clubs

by Park, Gray and Carrick. Phil

Gibbs, philc.gibbs@comcast.

net, 480 661-4064

Wee Nip ads

Ad price is $7, payable to

SoHG for 1 column, 2-inch ad.

Ads may be sent, along with

a check payable to the SoHG,

to:

Wee Nip Classifieds

338 Gladstone Ave. SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49506

or e-mail the ad to:

jdavis2364@gmail.com

Strong attraction to Stewart mashie-niblick leads to watery rescue

casting upon t h e still w at e r s . Roger Brinkley demonstrates his technique

for trolling for prized club heads

that the water was only waist deep and

gave me permission to “go swimming.”

Suitably attired one day, I gave this try.

Another dumb idea.

It’s late March and the water is still 45

degrees; and it’s chest deep, not waist

deep. After three minutes I’m thinking hypothermia

is only a couples minutes away.

Next idea, Sherlock! How about a really

strong magnet attached to a rope. An

Paperback Tom Stewart

books are still available

As many SoHG members and hickory fans already know,

Ralph S. Livingston III has completed and published his Tom

Stewart Jr. – Golf Cleek and Iron Maker. Hardback editions are

sold out, but Livingston says there are still a number of paperback

editions available.

Well worth the investment, the paperback is 345 pages of detailed

photography and club notes by Livingston who has made

Stewart the subject of serious study for many years. The photos

offer a comprehensive catalogue of Stewart’s craft. Many of the

pictured clubs are quite rare, including some of Bobby Jones’

clubs from Augusta National, shown with permission.

Livingston’s research is based on 20 years of collecting, experience,

years of correspondence and patient fact-finding.

The book is organized into sections from marks and early

clubs to personalized irons and clubs produced for Francis

Ouimet and Robert T. Jones Jr.

Tom Stewart Jr. – Golf Cleek and Iron Maker has become an

instant classic thanks to Livingston’s eye for detail and extraordinary

knowledge of this premier club maker.

The 6-by-9 paperback in black and white is offered at $50

U.S. plus shipping. (Information at www.hickorygolf.com)

online search hooked a magnet

3½ inches in diameter with a

¼-inch hole in the middle and

110 pounds of pull.

After it arrived, I put the

magnet in my coat pocket and

went to buy some rope. As I got

out of the car the magnet stuck

to the side of the car, nearly ripping

my coat off. Strong stuff.

This might work!

After a few practice throws

around the house (nothing broken),

I headed to the pond on

No. 7. I threw the magnet out

four times, dragging it slowly

along the bottom with no luck.

Only then did it dawn on me

that I was tossing in the wrong

place. I changed direction and

cast again. Slowly pulling in

the line I felt a sudden stiffness

and a definite clicking. I’m excited,

but also worried that the clubhead, if it is

the clubhead, won’t stay connected to the

magnet so I pull slowly. Finally, the magnet,

clubhead attached, emerges from the

watery grave. The head is still perfect.

Both the club, newly shafted, and the

magnet are now permanent fixtures in my

golf bag.

society of hickory golfers 22

23 www.hickorygolfers.com

www.hickorygolfers.com

“futures” hickory tour.

Ville Nyman, 1½, practiced

his short game

before going out on

the course to watch

his father, Per, win the

2010 Swedish Hickory

Championship.

338 Gladstone Ave. SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Final Shot

photo/pehr thermaenius

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