The first international Austrian Hickory Championship 2011 was played on Austria’s historic Golf-Club Salzkammergut. The club commemorated it’s 75th anniversary three years ago with a visiting delegation from the British Golf Collectors Society resp. the European Association of Golf Historians & Collectors playing the course with hickory shafted golf clubs and bringing the idea of hickory golf back to the local members, who in the meantime, have set-up an Austrian Hickory Golf-Club (organizer of the event of course) officially registered as an extra-ordinary member of the Austrian Golf Union.
On June 11, amateur players from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands and, of course, Austria came together at Golf-Club Salzkammergut, Bad Ischl, all equipped with their own original hickory golf clubs or those provided by Iain Forrester, who kindly agreed to be the official partner of the Austrian Hickory Championship for rental clubs.
International player Markus Kümmerle (GER) won the first Austrian Hickory Championship with 86 strokes gross beating the local players Gottlieb Peer and Andreas Wieder by one stroke each.
The net prize, the Heimo Hrovat Trophy, remembering our fellow Austrian hickory golfer who died much too early, was won by local player Günter Gaderbauer (AUT) with 66 strokes (net) beating Christoph Meister (GER) with 69 strokes (net) and Robert Kaubek (AUT) with 71 strokes (net).
The gallery photos show our inaugural Austrian Hickory Championship participants, a photo of Hannes Hettegger, president of Salzkammergut GC and his stylish shoes, the Heimo Hrovat Trophy and three charming Austrian ladies who were catering for us at the halfway house. Ms. Andreas Wieder, Ms. Gunter Ganterbauer and Ms. Gottlieb Peer dressed as ladies would have done 100 years ago.