Check out the link below to a Golfweek article about the inimitable Bubba Watson. A resident in the White Sulphur Springs area of W. Virginia, Watson has hinted to Pete Georgiady, organizer of the National Hickory Championship, that he might show up at the tournament one of these days. Could be 2016 is the year.
The NHC is one of the earliest of hickory tournaments and is played to 1891 rules and equipment standards. One thing is certain, Watson will have to dig deep for the patience to conquer that stern test of golf that is the NHC. Of course he has the game and the swing, but gutty golf is something else and the Oakhurst Course, now owned by the Greenbrier Resort, is so non-forgiving that rookies at the NHC are often measured, not by their triumphs, but by the degree and drama of their all-but-guaranteed disasters.
This writer, who visited the NHC some years ago, made five pars-in-a-row on the practice round, and was feeling pretty good about his chances until the first round, when the first three holes saw him some 20 shots over par.
We will keep an eye on the NHC and hope that Mr. Watson can summon up his best inner-1890s personna and championship style for the test.
Click here to see the Golfweek article.