Learning to play with hickory clubs
Join me on my journey as I discover the joys and the frustrations as I pickup 100 year old hickory golf clubs for the first time.
I will share my experiences, good and bad, as I take to the fairways playing competitions, matches and friendlies on the fairways of courses old and new.
Familiar ground
Known courses, different shots
I will walk familiar fairways and contrast how the challenge of course and club compares to what the modern player faces.
Each round is a quiet study. I write down what felt different and which of the holes required a new strategy.
A more considered game
Using traditional clubs opens a fresh conversation with the course.
Carrying hickories asks me to think and consider what’s in front of me. The game becomes a dialogue rather than a contest – well sometimes it does.
What the journal covers
Three recurring threads
Each post will discuss some common questions: what is in the bag, how a course plays, and who I meet along the way.
In the bag
Club names and types
Mashie, niblick, spoon, cleek and brassie. I will discuss each club’s name, its shaft, its character and maker as I learn them.
On the course
Adjusting on familiar ground
How my approach changes from hole to hole on courses I have previously played with modern clubs.
I will also discuss how well suited a new course is to play with hickory’s
Meeting people
Matches and conversations
Hickory players I meet for social games, in competitions and friendly matches, and the talk that often matters more than the scores.