"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...)