HICKORY GOLF NEWS

It is said by some that one test of a golfer’s character is how he plays when the wheels are coming off. As one with a handicap index so high that it has become a standard unit of measurement in astronomical physics, I have been intimate with the frustrations born of unintended ball-striking results. As the chef brings his dish […]

SoHG member Robert Birman discovered the following article and thought its insights worthy of sharing. Certainly the author’s conclusion that players take the time to find the right clubs is an important one and hasn’t changed over time. Click on the link below to view a PDF of the article. The Milwaukee Journal.pdf

Last week at the USGA museum in Far Hills, N.J. a theft of two items left museum directors shaking their heads at the brazen nature of the crime. It’s certainly a sad and desperate act, or one foolish beyond conception. Regardless, we hope SoHG members will keep their eyes and ears open should the two items turn up somewhere, for […]

Charlevoix, Mich. is blessed with many things – with the great blue waters of Lake Michigan and the equally blue, if not as “great” waters of sparkling Lake Charlevoix. The two are joined by the natural harbor of Round Lake. These form the life of Charlevoix, the center of its natural beauty that 3,000 year-round residents share with thousands more […]

In an article somewhere, somewhen, Harry Vardon, during the transition from gutta balls to rubber cores, lamented the changing sound of the game. He had become accustomed to the gutty’s distinctive “click” off the club face. Long trained to the capabilities of the gutta ball, he was now learning the game from the perspective a new ball and its behaviors. […]

Here’s something from New Orleans where the Zurich Classic at the TPC Louisania. This excerpt is from a larger piece on the event by Doug Tatum of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Could it be some of the younger tour players get a taste for hickory? TURNING BACK THE CLOCK: Seven players will be taking part in a three-hole exhibition today […]

www.kingarrock.com   Just 10 miles west of St. Andrews, along the B939 in Cupar, is a golf course whose name is likely lost on the majority of pilgrims hastening to the Old Course and its adjacent cousins. The Kingarrock Golf Course is only 9-holes, too, and on top of that only hickories are allowed for play. Kingarrock is built around […]

www.northberwick.org.uk/clubmakers_2.html#bsayers Here’s a nifty site for fans of Scottish golf. This North Berwick-related site (the home page is (http://www.northberwick.org.uk/index.html) lists dozens of club makers, professionals and course designers with biographies on most of them and a handful of old photos to boot. You’ll find the Sayers, Jack White, Arnaud Massy, the Ferguson’s, Fred McLeod, Alex Aitken, Willie Anderson and many […]

  On May 30, Christie’s will auction the world’s most important private collection of golf art and memorabilia. Passionately assembled over 25 years by Jaime Ortiz-Patiño, the founder of the world-famous Valderrama Golf Club, this historic collection includes some of the rarest and most valuable treasures representing the history of the sport, and its most notable personalities, from its earliest […]

A Florida pro won the 2012 U.S. Professional Hickory Golf Championship at the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club in February. Beautiful weather and great competition.  Eddie Peckels, 2012 U.S. Professional Hickory champ, left, and Mike Stevens, event founder, pose with an early Ford automobile in front of the Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club.  Eddie Peckels, playing out of […]

Our Correspondent notes that it was the weather that put the heavy woolies on early British golfers; but here in the Colonies with our warmer weather, could we, perhaps, lighten up a bit? The Dress Code Your humble Correspondent has now given enough years of service on the Links to expound on a topic near and dear to every part […]

Dr. Frank Boumphrey passed away March 4, 2012. He was a beloved member of the Society of Hickory Golfers, former board member and web guru who set up the Society’s earliest web pages. He edited a early monthly newsletter for the Society called “Hickory Happenings” that set a high standard for knowledge and information about modern and early hickory golf. […]

  If you have been to the SoHG website recently and visited the Equipment Guidelines pages, you might have noticed some housecleaning. Your Equipment Committee has been busy updating these pages. Go ahead and check in for a look now. We’ll wait…. https://www.hickorygolfers.com/hickory-golf-equipment-guidelines_5127_ct.aspx Now that you’re back, here’s an explanation of what we were trying to do…   First, we […]

  There was much excitement and anticipation among BGCS Hickory Grail players this past November as the Pinehurst N.C. area hosted the bi-annual match at the newly established Dormie Club.   Dormie, a private club a few miles north off Beulah Hill Church Road, is a Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore design that employs their customary classic tradition to good effect along […]

  www.hickorygolf.com This is the granddaddy of hickory golf sites. It was begun many years ago by modern hickory golf pioneer Ralph Livingston III, whose research into the hickory game as it was played then has brought new understanding to the clubs we hold in our hands today. Although the “Events” and “News” tabs are a bit weaker than in […]