Last Post: A Hickory Golf Round-Up

When I began my voyage of discovery on the S.S. Hickory Golfer two years ago to the day, I started this blog to enlighten others about the journey. Now, terms like "Mashie", "Niblick", and "Jigger" pepper my everyday conversations. I've played in quite a few hickory tournaments, been part of a demonstration booth at the Seattle Golf Show, helped out at a couple "Intro To Hickory Golf" sessions, and gone out for casual rounds with my bag of hickory sticks, much to the amusement of my modern club centric buddies.

As a result of joining the world of hickory golf, I've become even more engrossed with golf history. Owning clubs which were made in St Andrews whetted my desire to play golf there. I got to realize that dream last August, playing the fabled Old Course for the first time. I sadly must confess that I didn't take on this course with hickory clubs, as I rented the set I used, but the modern Callaways didn't detract one bit from my feeling of walking backward in time. When I birdied Hole 15, then parred 16, 17, and 18, it was an out of body experience! Posing on the Swillken Bridge with my caddie, Davie, then walking to my ball, hitting my second shot on to the green, and two putting for a final par, and getting a round of applause from the impromptu gallery surrounding the 18th green, brought tears to my eyes. (For which my wife laughed at me, but in an affectionate way...I think.) Following in the footsteps of Old Tom and Young Tom Morris, Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods...well, there's nothing like it.

So I'm going back to Scotland next summer, joining noted golf writer Tom Coyne ("A Course Called Ireland", "A Course Called Scotland") on a golf trip of a lifetime...and I've decided to bring both my modern clubs AND my hickories! I may only play one or two rounds with them, but it'll be great to bring them back to where they were made, and take on the links in proper and respectful fashion.

The British Military's version of "Taps" is called "Last Post"; I chose this as the title on purpose, since I don't plan to add any more writing to this blog. But while I'm saying "Farewell" to The Hickorookie Golfer, my love for Hickory Golf will live on as long as I do. My thanks to all who have aided and abetted this Auld Golf passion: Tom Kennedy, Durel Billy, Barry Field, Glenn Thatcher, Rob Alschwede, Jerry Olson, Kit Ledbetter, and Tom Coyne...Plus of course Tom Stewart, George Nicoll, and whoever made my first set of "common" clubs, purchased originally by the Hinsdale Golf and Country Club near Chicago! (100 years old, and they still play like new!)

Sl'ainte! Fighting Leprechaun, Over and Out!

Heading For My Hickory Rehab Assignment!

The reason I haven't posted anything in three weeks is two-fold: I was up in the Toronto area, undergoing a candidate assessment for an international disaster response team, followed by a family reunion in Sacramento, Californinia...AND I returned home to undergo surgery to remove a badly-infected gall bladder.

Both events combined to keep me from taking part in this summer's premier Pacific Northwest hickory golf tourneys; The AP National Chambers Bay Invitational, Gamble Sands Invitational, and the Gearhart Links gathering. All were held in excellent weather and course conditions, and I'm quite envious of the participants!

On the other hand, I was able to vicariously stay involved with the world of hickory golf, thanks to Inside Golf publishing an article I wrote about the attractions of our sport.
My article appears on page 11.

So now that I'm recovering slowly but surely from last week's surgery (shout out to Dr. Gatta and the amazing staff at Allenmore Hospital, by the way!), my hickory clubs are sitting forlornly in the corner, silently begging me to get them outside for some work. While I took a couple of my wedges and a modern putter down to the course for some gentle efforts this morning, I'm thinking that doing the same thing tomorrow with my old clubs might be in order. "Slow and Smooth" pays off when swinging the hickory sticks, and it's definitely how I should be taking my rehab work.

Okay, then, I've convinced myself...some easy hickory work is in order, either tomorrow or Monday! (It's another advantage to working at Chambers Bay; free range time!) By the way, while working myself back into playing condition, I've volunteered to guide a Canadian golfer around the course for his first time playing Chambers, next Tuesday. I won't be carrying his bag or raking bunkers for him, but I will give him course advice, and read greens...I hope to make his first round at Chambers Bay a memorable one!

Far and Sure!

No Longer Lost in the Woods!

I'm not a good enough golfer to successfully use a 2-degree loft brassie. After several frustrating experiences with an otherwise beautifully-restored wood, I came to the realization that I needed to find some clubs with more loft.

As usual, my awesome go to guy for hickory acquisition, Glenn Thatcher came to my rescue. He alerted me to a nice selection of hickory woods up for auction on Ebay, for which I promptly submitted bids. The seller, Jerry Pederson, had listed these various beauties at a very reasonable starting bid. I was able to come away with three very nice clubs for just over $100. Better still, I've played two of the three, and they performed exactly in the manner I hoped.

I ended up with a Spalding brassie, a Kroydon cleek (which looks like a cross between a 5-wood and hybrid), and another brassie with "Wicklow Sports City" engraved on its head. The last club was as much a sentimental purchase as anything else, as my father's family emigrated from Wicklow (Republic of Ireland). Both the Spalding and Kroydon have a minimum of 18 degrees loft (probably more), and produce a ball flight that's high and long...and straight, if I swing correctly!

The point of this post is two-fold: First, to reassure my fellow rookies that you can procure very useable hickory clubs from Ebay, especially with guidance from whoever your mentor might be. (Corollary: Reach out to someone like Glenn Thatcher...hickory golf has quite a few gracious and knowledgeable folks like him...for assistance!)
Second, you don't have to spend a fortune to build a decent playing set; just remember to seek clubs that fit your game! If you are a single-digit handicapper, you'll be able to get lower-lofted clubs to perform very well. For hackers like me (I confess to a 19 GHIN index), I respectfully suggest looking for clubs that replicate game improvement characteristics, such as my higher-lofted, low center of gravity cleek. You'll play better, sooner, and have even more fun!

When Does A "Hickorookie" Cease Being One?

I participated (because using the word "played" would be somewhat misleading) in my third formal hickory golf event last Sunday. As you will see from the photos (above), I was decked out in full period-appropriate clothing, swinging my very own hickory clubs. After the round, the scoreboard listed how we had done, along with noting who belonged to special groups, such as "New to Hickory Golf". I wasn't included in this group. While my stroke total was the most of ALL competitors...though thankfully, not all scores combined...I asked myself, "Am I no longer considered to be a Hickorookie?"

Since this was a designation I coined, I suppose it's up to me to come up with the parameters governing when a Hickorookie becomes a Hickory Apprentice Player. I will give it some thought and update this post shortly!

Hickorookies (and a veteran) Hit Chambers Bay Today!

Taking advantage of an unusual dry day in this Monsoon April, I joined my hickory golf mentor, Tom Kennedy (Twitter handle: @Golf_Pig_1) and a friend of Tom's, Augusta resident and former Augusta National Golf Club caddie/current co-founder of the awesome Tour Junkies website/fantasy golf handicappers David Barnett. (@Tour_Junkies), for a round of hickory golf at Chambers Bay.

Sorry for that last mother of all run-on sentences...

Anyway, it was a double first for David Barnett: First time playing Chambers Bay, and first time playing with hickory-shaft golf clubs. David's a very social media adept individual, and also a very skilled golfer. For a hickorookie, he picked up the nuances of our century old clubs faster than most. (I'm not even going to compare his first performance to mine, which was definitely less than impressive!) While we made our way around my "office", David broadcast live video (called "periscoping", for any of you readers belonging to my demographic), via his Twitter account. Those videos will be up on Twitter for a few days, so check 'em out!

I'll post photos later, but thanks again to Tom and David for a thoroughly enjoyable day on the links!

(FULL DISCLOSURE: I shot a 99. Those guys scored considerably better.)

Caddie Dreams

I'm on track to begin working as a professional caddie this summer, at Chambers Bay...just part-time, mind you, when it gets really busy.The regular veteran caddies at Chambers are a really talented bunch of folks, and several have offered to take me under their wing and train me how to do it right. (I'm really grateful for this, fellas!)

Anyway, since I've been reading a lot of golf-related books this rain-sodden springtime, a suggested title popped up in my Amazon feed; "An American Caddie in St. Andrews", by Oliver Horovitz. I'm about two-thirds of the way through it, and thoroughly enjoying the read! So, what does this have to do with Hickory Golf? Well, many of my mentors have mentioned their intention to play The Old Course at St. Andrews with their hickory sticks as well as with modern clubs, so I thought I'd add this to the pre-trip reading list. Oliver Horovitz's insights into how Old Course caddies view their golfers are hilarious, and dead on. His efforts to gain acceptance into the exclusive "inner circle" are also worthwhile lessons for anyone considering becoming a paid caddie.

Since I plan to fulfill my dream next year and play a couple of rounds at St. Andrews, including (God willing) the Old Course, I'm glad Oliver Horovitz pulled back the curtain just a bit, so that I can hopefully avoid being "That Golfer" who fails to take full advantage of thais "Round of a Lifetime" opportunity.

Hickory Golf "Fashion", or "How To Look Like A Bond Villain Without Even Trying"

My wife and I were watching the 1964 classic James Bond film, "Goldfinger" last night. One of my favorite scenes takes place on a golf course, where Sean Connery (Bond) and Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) play a match for a substantial wager. While I was engrossed by the action, my Spousal Unit looked over at me and started to chuckle. "What's so funny?", I asked. "Did you ever think that you would intentionally play golf dressed like Goldfinger, rather than James Bond?" she snorted.

Well, crap.