HICKORY GOLF NEWS

Robert Birman reports: The inaugural Oddball West took place on Aug. 24 at the Lake Cushman Golf Course in Hoodsport, Wash. It was not without some challenges. The Northwest Hickory Players NWHP’s opportunity to bring the popular Oddball feather ball tournament to the West Coast occurred in the midst of nearby forest fires and a severe heat advisory for the […]

German Open Hickory Championship 2025 Christoph Meister, Captain of the German Hickory Society, reports: The 2025 German Open Hickory Championship, the 17th edition, was played over 36 holes across two days, from Aug. 15- 17, at Golf Club Föhr – a beautiful North Sea island venue that was celebrating its centenary. The event was held in impeccable weather and surroundings, […]

Event host David Webster reports: The 5th annual New Hampshire Hickory Open enjoyed great weather and a record field of 45 players from 14 different states, plus one very special visitor. Mary Ann Sarazen, 88, the daughter of ‘The Squire’, Gene Sarazen, came out to watch us tee off and join the group photo. She was joined by her daughter […]

Tom Johnson reports on the championships held at Foxburg Country Club, Aug. 7-9, 2025: Our events for this year included the 5th International Feathery Challenge (IFC) on Thursday, with the 27th National Hickory Championship and the various divisions of the 17th Foxburg Hickory Championship played Friday and Saturday.  Five years, 17 years, 27 years. The impressive uninterrupted annual successions of […]

Sporting rivalries between states are nothing new. In the Midwest, there is much posturing between Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and others. No love is lost when it comes to power competitions in football, basketball, and baseball. It should come as no suprise, then, that hickory golf has entered the mix. Ever since Peter Herrington attempted to interest states in a […]

Asher Fried, 77, a longtime member and co-founder of the Metropolitan Hickory Society and a member of the SoHG, passed away on Aug. 3, 2025, from a Glioblastoma brain tumor and other health issues.   “Asher was an original member of the Metropolitan Hickory Society and a fixture at all of our gatherings,” said MHS co-founder Mike Policano. “His passion […]

Under beautiful sunny skies, the 13th edition of the Michiana Hickory Open Borger Cup was contested by 41 hickory golfers at the Warren Golf Course on the campus of The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. The event is jointly sponsored by the Golf Heritage Society and the Society of Hickory Golfers. Winners were crowned in Open, Senior, […]

Dark clouds threatened golfers during one or two points during the 2025 Keeper of the Spirit Gutty Challenge this year (July 17-18) but only a few drops splashed harmlessly about the historic Eagle Spring golf course. The rest of the time was spent chasing gutties over a charming layout through the hills and valleys of this great Wisconsin location. Greg […]

Mike Stevens, director of the Florida Hickory Golfers, reports on the annual outing at Sara Bay Country Club: Although hot as usual this time of year it was a great outing on July 26 at Sara Bay Country Club in Sarasota. Originally named Whitfield Estates CC, it was the home of the first 36 holes for the match between Bobby […]

The 2025 Columbia Cup hosted 70 players from nine different states over July 11-13. This, our 11th annual event, was played on the Gearhart Golf Links along the Oregon Coast—recently named the 5th best “true links course in the USA” by Golf Digest.   Perfect weather—marine layer in the morning breaking to sunshine and breezes in the afternoon. The greens […]

The 48th playing of the Heart of America Hickory Championship, the longest-running hickory tournament in the country, took place July 12 – 13, 2025 at the beautiful and historic Bright Grandview Golf Course in Des Moines, Iowa. The tournament, founded by Warren “Ole” Oleson and previously highlighted in a Golf Digest article, has in recent years been hosted by hickory […]

Kevin Mendik reports: On June 21, 2025, the historic Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton, Mass., commemorated its 150th anniversary with a 9-hole hickory event. More than 80 members participated, many in traditional attire. Clubs were provided by Kevin Mendik and Bill Wardwell.  On July 9, 2025, the sounds of hickory could be heard and players in period dress could be […]

Wisconsin’s Ernie Ernst reports on a delightful event on the Baths and Irish courses at Kohler: The Kohler Par 3 Hickory Challenge was contested over July 1-2 at the Kohler Blackwolf Run location (The Baths, Kohler par 3 course) and the Straits on the Irish course.  It was two days of partner golf starting with 30 holes on the Baths […]

Under sunny skies and rising temperatures, the 10th annual Wisconsin Hickory Players’ annual charity event was held June 21-22 at Thornberry Creek at Oneida, Iroquois course. Iroquois is gutty- friendly and allows an unspoiled  walk or cart. The Pay It Forward Gutty Challenge offered a unique weekend of “Auld Gawf” spanning three centuries of golf equipment. Contestants sported Auld Gawf […]

Jacob Orcutt reports: Golfers from Alabama to Massachusetts came together at Shennecossett Golf Course in Groton, Conn. for the 5th annual Smith-Collett Classic – named for former Shennecossett pro and two-time U.S. Open champ Alex Smith, and his star pupil Glenna Collett-Vare, who won the U.S. Amateur Women’s Championship six times.  Shennecossett remains a difficult test of golf, and the […]