"Golf Pig" and "Billy Bogey" Recruit Again!

I did promise pictures in my last post...Here's a photo of yours truly,getting ready for my first full round with a highly-motivated AND motivational Hickory Golfer, who goes by the alias of "Billy Bogey" (He's the young fellow on the left). B.B. is a sparkplug who gets rookies like me charged up to play golf in a 1920s fashion.

Having received my initial invitation to the "Hickory Golf Family"from a first class gentleman by the nom de plume of "Golf Pig",I've enjoyed seeing first-hand how he and "Billy Bogey" pull in legions of recruits to the sport of Hickory Golf. (Photo credit: Tom Kennedy) This photo was taken on the 17th tee at The Home Course today...This is Winter Golf in the Pacific Northwest, with a nice vista of the snow-capped Olympic Mountain Range behind us!

"New" Clubs and 18 Holes of Fun!

Thanks to a very nice fellow in North Bend, Oregon, I took a major step forward with my career as a Hickory Golfer. I might have mentioned here that I wasn't planning to buy a set of hickory-shaft clubs, due to their great expense. I had been haunting local thrift stores, just in case someone donated what they thought were "cast-offs", but no joy. But earlier this week, I was perusing the listings on EBay, and a refurbished matched set of clubs caught my eye. While these clubs aren't the rarities sought after by collectors, what stood out about these irons was that they were ready for play. As you can see from the photos, the seller had restored these clubs to "almost new" condition, and he was asking a very reasonable price. Considering that I'm on a very tight budget, I didn't expect to have such an opportunity to own a ready-to-play set anytime soon, especially one as nice.

Thanks to my supportive Spousal Unit, I was able to acquire these beauties, and joined a bunch of veteran Hickory Golfers at The Home Course in DuPont, WA, for my inaugural round with my VERY OWN CLUBS! The fellowship was genuine and convivial, weather conditions were ideal (mid-40s and partly sunny), and best of all, my new clubs played better than I expected. I did chunk and shank a number of shots at first, but by the last holes, my ball was flying pretty much where I wanted it to go. By the way, if any hickory club collectors or historians are out there, I'm curious to find out the background of these clubs. They are marked "Hinsdale ***"and while I can't find a reference regarding which company manufactured them, I suspect that there might be some connection to the venerable Hinsdale Golf Club, near Chicago. Action photos to follow soon...perhaps even a short video, if I don't look incredibly awkward. (So, don't expect the video...)

Any re-enactor worth their salt knows that the attire worn during the re-enactment must appear authentic. This is much easier to do as a Hickory Golfer, especially when the Hickorookie is a senior citizen, like I am! The outfit I'm wearing in preparation for my second group outing tomorrow consists mostly of stuff I already had on hand...yep, geezer attire...The "Plus Fours" are merely a pair of wool dress slacks I purchased at the Goodwill Industries store for three bucks. I just cut off about three inches, and used some old Army "blousing bands" to secure the legs at the proper length. A Brooks Brothers dress shirt, sweater, and a Filson wool hunting vest completed the outerwear; Army cold weather socks, and my well-worn tweed cap from Scotland finished off the reasonably authentic attire. My shoes, alas, aren't replica 1930s golf footwear, but they are leather, so that should suffice! Though I possess quite a few wool plaid tartan ties, I'm going casual tomorrow...because I hate wearing ties.

The club I'm holding in the photo is my only purchase: It's a 1932 Spaulding "Kro-Flite" driving iron, which I found on Ebay for $20. It's in pretty good shape, and I've already learned to hit it pretty well. (It is the best chipping club a player could want...I've been sinking 30-40 foot shots on a regular basis!) Of course my wife's first words to me this evening when I appeared before her, dressed up like the ghost of Bobby Jones, were simply, "You're actually planning to go out in public wearing that get-up?" Why yes, my dear...Yes I am. I will post photos from tomorrow's event, which will be at the golf course I work at part time during the summer. I'm expecting sarcastic comments from most of my co-workers, but I know that they'll secretly be full of envy.