Reaching Out to Another Hickory Rookie

My regular golf buddy and I were playing a standard round of golf, using modern clubs, at Meadow Park Golf Club in Tacoma. As we were getting ready to tee off on #17, I noticed a fellow on the adjacent 9-hole executive course, carrying what looked like hickory clubs. Being the friendly sort that I am, I ambled over to him, said "Howdy, those look like hickorys you're playing." (Yep, we old cops are what's known as "trained observers"!)

The gentleman returned my greeting, although he seemed much too sad for someone out enjoying a traditional golf outing. This fellow, who introduced himself as "Ernie", soon explained the reason for his lack of cheer: "I got these clubs years ago, and this is the first time I've used 'em," Ernie said. "I think they're good clubs, but I already broke one." Ernie pulled the remains of a shaft, and the broken off head of the mashie, and held them out like a dead squirrel. He added, "These are Tom Stewart clubs, which are supposed to be pretty good." Well, that's an understatement...I've learned that clubs made by the great Scottish craftsman Tom Stewart are very rare, and even the ones manufactured with his trademark (a pipe) go for a whole lot of money.

This is where some of the values taught by my hickory golf mentors kicked in: I asked Ernie if he knew anyone who could repair and refurbish those fine clubs. He shook his head, so I handed him my business card, and offered to put him in touch with folks who could fix him right up. Ernie brightened up, and asked if he should keep the broken off mashie head, or toss it. "Good lord, man, don't toss it...one of those club repair geniuses can replace the shaft, and it'll be good as new!"

Now whether or not Ernie ever follows through is up to him. The point of my story, however, is that the creedo of hickory players is different from the majority of recreational golfers. Heck, how many times have we encountered someone with a busted Callaway or Taylormade club, and not given it a second thought? I know I have, probably more times than I can remember. Yet from everything I've experienced from the hickory golf community, it would be an exception if somebody DIDN'T reach out to a fellow hickory hacker and offer assistance and support. And THAT is why I'm drawn to this subset of the golf universe!

Mr Jones Tell Me Something How Can I Get Rid of My Slice?

Here's a SITREP ("Situation Report") from my second formal Hickory Golf event, which took place on a rainy Saturday in beautiful Puyallup, Washington.
First observation: Not only was rain predicted for most of the day, it was coming down pretty hard when I was getting ready to go forth and hack away. This fact determined my outfit; as an old soldier, I long ago embraced the philosophy of "You don't want to practice being miserable". In my case, this translated to wearing gore-tex golf pants, waterproof rain boots (Nike's "Lunar Bandon" wet weather golf footwear are the absolute best!), and a gore-tex jacket from The Home Course. My only concessions to period garb was my beat up old Scottish tweed newsboy cap, and an argyle sweater vest. When I arrived at the private golf course, I immediately noticed that all but one of the assembled group was sporting the plus fours, dress shirts, ties, and wool jackets. Most carried umbrellas (which by the way, is a real pain in the neck when carrying your clubs and stand sticks), but by the end of the round, pretty much everyone but me smelled much like a wet dog. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
The course was pretty soggy, but we were undeterred, and sallied forth in two, five-person teams to compete in a scramble match. Each team was pretty evenly matched, with one or two really skilled golfers, and the rest of us mid to high handicappers.

As we played, I was once again impressed with the exceptionally positive approach the veterans took toward us newbies. One of our teammates inadvertantly cost us a birdie on a hole, and was mortified when it was mentioned. Now if this had been committed among my usual gang of golf buddies, there would have been merciless ribbing for the rest of the round. Not so with the hickory players; there was instant forgiveness, shared stories of us all doing the same thing at other matches, and genuine efforts to boost our teammate's inclusion. (This same teammate ended up draining a 40-foot putt for birdie a couple of holes later, keeping us in the game!)

As for my own game, I'm finally starting to get comfortable with my clubs. Took me about 11 holes before I could hit my brassie (wood) with any consistency, but my irons and putter worked pretty well, and I have a better feel for distance. This was also my first time playing the McIntyre replica golf ball, which is pretty soft compression (maybe a 30); perfect for a slower swing speed. (Also lost my first one of those suckers into a water hazard, which hurt because they're kind of expensive!) Teaching point: Avoid going out of bounds or into the lake. Hashtag DUH.

Final learning experience of the day: I had to lay out clubs, bag, headcover, and support sticks in the dog room so everything could dry out, after first wiping down the clubs with a dry soft rag. Definitely don't want to ruin those babies, now that I'm getting the hang of them!

By the way, for any of my Seattle-area readers who might be interested in checking out Hickory Golf, the AP National Golf Club will have a display at the Seattle Golf Show, March 4-5 at the Century Link Field Convention Center. There will be a practice net set up to allow you to hit some hickorys, beginner sets of clubs for sale at a reasonable cost, and members there to answer any questions you might have. Stop by and say "Hi!"

Old Skills For Old-Style Golf

Just sharing another photo of Hickory Golf's excellent representatives..."Billy Bogey" and "Tommy Tuttle" aka "Golf Pig"...to lead off a brief commentary about another discovery. What I've learned after a short time pursuing this sport is that I don't have to spend lots of money to do this. (My Spousal Unit endorses this approach, by the way, which is essential to my continued participation!)

I've previously pointed to examples of cost-saving, like converting thrift store trousers into Plus Fours (Total cost: $3). Well, my latest experiment was to construct a bipod stand to hold up my golf bag. These are listed in the spendy golf bag catalogs for $45, and they are very nice...but I can't afford that. So I stopped by the local Home Depot yesterday, and for a total cost of $6.27 I purchased a couple of 3/4 inch square dowels, some brass machine screws, washers and nuts, and made my own set. Since this was a trial run, I didn't varnish the dowels, but I will make another set later this season with all of the steps. As for the golf bag, although the kind gentleman who sold me my clubs included a very lightweight vintage canvas bag, I needed something sturdier. While eventually I may end up ordering one of those top-end leather and canvas reproduction bags ($200 at a minimum), I got a nylon-canvas "pencil bag" for $20 on Amazon.com...and then my regular golf buddy happened upon a vintage but good condition leather pencil bag at a thrift store, which he acquired for me...$5! So now I'm fully outfitted to stroll alongside the Hickory OGs without looking like a complete "Hickorookie"...even though that's who I am!

"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.