On June 2, 52 players came together at Germany’s oldest still existing golf club, the Golf- und Landclub Berlin-Wannsee (founded 1895 as Berlin Golf Club) to play an 18-hole greensome using only original pre-1935 hickory shafted golf clubs. At stake was the the Miller trophy, donated by the German Society of Periodontology commemorating Willoughby Dayton Miller, the first president of Berlin Golf Club in 1895.
Playing off their regular steel-shaft handicaps, Boris Lietzow (Golf-Club an der Göhrde) and Christoph Meister (Wentorf-Reinbeker GC) finished as the best net-amateur score, winning the Miller-trophy with 33 stableford points. Scottish-born professional Iain Forrester (Hoenshuis/NL) won the gross prize playing together with German dentist Klaus Sasse (Berlin-Kallin) with 27 Stablelford points. They defeated German (steel-shaft) match play championship semi-finalist Christian Althaus (Düsseldorfer GC) playing together with Achim v. Stutterheim (GC Föhr) finishing also with 27 gross points playing from the yellow tees at 5.875m (6.425 yds).
On Friday, June 3, the hickory golfers played an 18-hole stroke play event for the Berlin Hickory Open Championship (gross) and the Percy Alliss Trophy (net). With 77 strokes Iain Forrester won in the professional division while the Amateur title remained in local hands with Jessica Jensen winning the Ladies gross with 91 and Warayu Melzer winning the gentlemen’s gross with 82.
The net competition for the Percy Alliss trophy, remembering the former Ryder-Cup player, club-professional at Berlin-Wannsee from 1926 to 1931 and father of Ryder-Cup player Peter Alliss, whose letter with his apologies of absence was read out by Iain Forrester the day before already, was won by local player Claudia Splieth 70 strokes net beating Boris Lietzow (net 72) und Klaus Sasse (net 77).
In the photo gallery, the group shot shows Miller-Trophy winners Boris Lietzow and Christoph Meister (center, left to right). At far right is club president Frank Muschiol. The photo of a threesome shows Bernd Klett, left, and Thomas and Gerda Goldschmidt. As for the guys on the course, the names are not known, but the fellow on the left reminds one of a noted kilted American hickory player.