May 4, 2020
By Jim Davis
Most social distance guidelines today recommend 6 feet as a “safe” distance from which to engage fellow human beings, also known as possible carriers of Covid-19. This has put a damper on nearly all group activities. We refer, of course, to protests in various states in which the assembled feel the guidelines do not apply to them.
Be that as it may, the benevolent Czar of the National Hickory Championship, Pete Georgiady, has developed a wrinkle for the NHC, scheduled this year for June 11-12 which he believes may allow the venerable competition to go forth in 2020, albeit at a most extreme example of social distancing.
“Covid-19 has changed just about everything we do,” says the NHC Czar. “When the Miami Valley Golf Association reopened courses last month they added the stipulation that anyone arriving from out of state would have to be quarantined for 14 days before setting foot on the links. Combine that with the uncertainty of what may lie around the corner made it virtually impossible to plan to have our golf championship at the Mound (Golf Course).”
The NHC has a loyal band of pre-1900 golf aficionados and rather than disappoint this crew of rugged individualists, Georgiady has developed a wrinkle that may allow the competition to continue. Quoth he, “After a little creative thinking we are not abandoning the 23rd NHC, but are going forward with a bit of an alteration: play your own course or course of your choice to a template that resembles the Oakhurst course that saw 18 previous NHCs.”
As golf courses have re-opened in many parts of the U.S., this allows for the entry of virtually anyone across the land, indeed, abroad, too, should international gutty players heed the entry bugle. Georgiady is titling the 23rd iteration of the event the “NHC Quo Na Vadis,” the latin translating to “where are you marching?,” or, for the poetically minded, “Whither goest thou?”
Again, the Czar: “Whither goest the player, the NHC will follow.” Thus, comes to reality what all NHC-ers have always known, that the competition lies in the hearts and minds of the players rather than on the course over which it is conducted.
The player will choose the course available to him or her and conduct his/her play to approximate as closely as possible the conditions and yardages commensurate with the Oakhurst Links. A feat, of course, impossible, as the Oakhurst Links is darn near unique in the finest sense of that word. But, NHC-ers will find a way, play their rounds and return their cards to the Czar for close scrutiny.
PDF sheets of information and news were emailed to all competitors and friends of the NHC with directions for choosing courses, yardages of the Oakhurst holes, and the other customary NHC rules for equipment and costume, if possible. Click here to see these documents.
Georgiady has scheduled three Zoom meetings for contestants to cover a welcome, a Day 1 for news and events, and Day 2 for awards and accolades. These are to occur at 7 p.m. EST June 10-12.
“The entry fee of $80 covers prizes, a few operating costs and a packet of stuff you’ll receive in the mail afterward,” Georgiady says. Unfortunately, what he cannot do is host a communal banquet or offer refreshments. No doubt the erstwhile Czar tried to figure a way, but the logistics were insurmountable.
Questions? Please see the documents on the Tournament Page of this website, which also has information on how to contact the NHC Czar.
“Let’s see if this remote golfing arrangement will bring a new participation level to the NHC in 2020,” Georgiady says. “I will personally be playing at the Mound and invite any Ohioans to join me.”
Are you game for the NHC Quo Na Vadis? If so, choose your course and remember the motto of the Oakhurst Links – “Far and Sure.”