April 17, 2019
Phoenix, Ariz.
Arizona’s dry air must be great for hickories. There’s the Arizona Desert Hickory Classic for one thing. And the players near the Tatum Ranch Golf Club have come up with a way to share their enthusiasm for the sport with neighboring clubs. Steve Simer tells the story:
We here at Tatum Ranch Golf Club in Phoenix have found another way to grow the game of hickory golf. What we did this year seems to be catching on and we hope to do a lot more next year.
We found an interested party at another club who was able to get a few participants for an “introduction to hickory golf” event at their club. We took 10 players from our club, (it could be two four, eight, whatever) and paired up with 10 players from their club and played a two-person scramble event at their club with hickories. The newbies to hickories played out of our bag. Because it was a two-person scramble, we hit from the same spot each time so this worked out great. So far, of those 10 new players, four have played in another hickory event at our club, two have purchased their own and others are looking to buy.
I just think this is a great way to introduce the hickory game to another club, which then can grow on its own. We’ll also have “home and home” matches against these players as the game grows.
Below is a picture of our most recent home-and home-with guys from Sun City West and Chaparral Pines all playing at Tatum. We had 32 players this past Wednesday. We’ve even come up with a traveling trophy – The Belt – that we pass back and forth. Yours truly got “belted” at the current event!
Play hickory –
Steve Simer
Players at a hickory golf outing in Arizona include new-to-hickory participants who are helping to grow the game.
Steve Simer, left, with “The Belt,” which is used as a trophy at hickory matches between clubs in the Phoenix, Ariz. area. The other gentleman in the photo is Ken Holtz, host of the annual Arizona Desert Hickory Classic.