HICKORY GOLF NEWS

Hickory Courses we Love to Play: Machrihanish
January 9, 2013

Back to Scotland for this month’s featured course. A classic links layout, Machrihanish is away down the Mull of Kintyre, three hours by car from Glasgow and just a few miles from Campbeltown. It’s beautiful country, mostly farmland. Getting there by car takes you north toward Inverary, then south along the A83 past lofty crags on one side and the […]

25th-Year Celebration for Golf Historical Society of Canada

This year as part of our 25th anniversary celebration, we have planned a weekend trip to Montreal and Quebec City to play two of Willie Park Jr.’s best North American courses. Willie Jr. either created or modified some 50-plus golf courses in Canada and the U.S. Also this year Willie Jr. is being honored with induction into the World Golf […]

Will these irons comply with SoHG Equipment Guidelines?

That question comes up often, and the answer is never as clear as we would like. Still, we need to try to ensure that everyone has an understanding of which clubs are allowed and which are not. During that transition time when the golf world was moving from wood shafted clubs to steel shafted clubs, club makers and club companies […]

A Chance Encounter

It was a quiet night in the club room. Rather a welcoming change from the usual ebullience that characterizes our younger and more enthusiastic bucks. They were off raining down ebulliency somewhere else, I suppose. Two tables held foursomes plying spades and hearts for points rather than approaching clubs and putters. Their occasional guffaws and lighthearted banter did nothing to […]

California prepares for 2013 hickory golf season
January 5, 2013

2012 Year in Review, Hickory Golf on the Pacific Coast Happy New Year Hickory Friends, I hope 2013 is a great one, especially for hickory golf out here on the West. Keep your 2013 calendars open for Pacific Coast Hickory events. In mid-Feb we have the Arizona Desert Hickory; the California Hickory “North-South” is back and kicks off Friday night […]

To friends and golf in the kingdom
December 14, 2012

The six U.S. lads who visited the World Hickory Open in October 2012.   Editor’s note: Mike Stevens is a golf teacher and holder of several national hickory titles. A thoughtful writer and familiar competitor at hickory touraments here and abroad, Mike shares his thoughts about travel to the World Hickory Open this past October. One of his playing/traveling companions, […]

Darwin and Behr on the golf ball
December 13, 2012

The Autumn Wee Nip offered a discussion of modern balls available for play in modern events that employ pre-1900 equipment. There was much discussion even back in the day about the ball, the new rubber core, the smaller hard ball and the “floater.” For additional reading, we heartily recommend you log-in to your member’s dashboard and check out the two […]

Hickory Courses we Love to Play: The Babe Zaharias Golf Course – Tampa Fl.
December 11, 2012

Located just 20 minutes from downtown in the tree-lined residential neighborhood of Forest Hills, The Babe measures a modest 6,244 yards, but should not be taken lightly. Mike Stevens, SoHG board member and national hickory champion, recommends the course as a great challenge for visiting hickory golfers. Although both nines are par-35, the backside sports four par-4s in excess of […]

A Ruling and a Secret
December 10, 2012

A Ruling and a Secret By MacDuff There was a great deal of talk in the club about the recent USGA ruling regarding the so-called “belly putter.” The newest dictum mandates that no part of a putter may be “anchored” against the body. Curiously, to my mind, it was deemed acceptable to secure a putter against one’s forearm, presumably because […]

Dr. Gary Wiren Exhibit

The accompanying gallery shares photos of the exhibit in Delray Beach, courtesy of Melissa Carter, director of marketing and public relations for the Delray Beach Center for the Arts in Delray Beach. Fla.

USGA bans anchored strokes
November 28, 2012

The rule will take effect on Jan. 1, 2016, the beginning of the next four-period of rule amendments or changes. You can get the story from the USGA by clicking on the following link: Anchoredstroke

The Guttie Discussion
November 26, 2012

Opinion It seems for as long as golf has been played, its tools, ie. sticks and balls, have come under scrutiny. Improvement is always paramount in the golfer’s mind. So it is with the providers of the tools. How to make them better? The long evolution in the club has brought it from rude clubs to highly wrought miracles of […]

Trip to Quebec takes in Willie Park Jr. courses
November 14, 2012

   As part of its 25-year celebration next year, the Golf Historical Society of Canada plans a four-day celebration in Quebec. It includes golf at two superb Willie Park Jr. designs – Mount Bruno in Montreal and Royal Quebec in Quebec City.     Royal Quebec (pictured at right), founded in 1873, is the second oldest golf club in North America. […]

Rogers Andrews tops year with 2012 CS title
November 8, 2012

Roger Andrews is the 2012 Championship Series title holder.   Max Hollon is the 2012 Championship Series Senior title holder.   The season ending Mid Pines event at Southern Pines, N.C. experienced one of the largest hickory golf fields to date, perhaps a record for this type of event outside earlier GCS nationals which may have come close, if not […]

Lang Willie Engelson is 2012 Mike Brown honoree

Bill “Lang Willie” Engelson is one of the familiar faces in hickory golf, especially around the Pinehurst area and in North Carolina generally where he helped found the Carolina Hickory Golf Association. He also finds time to manage the group’s website. For more than three years, Bill served on the board of the SoHG as an equipment, tournament and handicap […]

SoHG Housekeeping

The Spring/Summer 2026 edition of A Wee Nip has been mailed. Thanks to all who contributed! Click on the cover image to view the latest edition.
The PlusFour Podcast hosted by Rob Birman regularly publishes interviews with hickory golfers, leaders in the hickory golf world and golf historians. Rob is a gifted interviewer and his guests are both knowledgeable and interesting. It's a good mix. The latest is an interview with Stephen Proctor, whose recent book, Matchless, brings to life the storied careers of golf's legendary women greats, including Joyce Wethered and Glenna Collett. Click here for the latest episode (airing Monday, Nov. 17).
ADVERTISE IN THE WEE NIP – Send your message to all SoHG members in the bi-annual magazine. Your ad also helps the SoHG. Contact Dale Hallock for information on how to advertise.
The USHO at Hot Springs is now history. Check the Homepage for an article with results and photos. Next year's event is to be on the Gearhart Golf Links in Gearhart, Ore.
Support the USHO with a donation to the USHO Patrons Fund. Donations of any amount to the Fund are welcome, but a $1,000 donation earns a Lifetime Membership in the Society. Click here to learn more and donate.
Let us know about your hickory hole-in-one. Click here to check out reports from others who have managed this rare shot with a hickory club. Timothy Chenevert, of Baton Rouge, La., got his on the City Park Golf Course in late September.
Send your letters, comments, photos, and articles for A Wee Nip and website contributions to Jim Davis. Do it! Let's hear about your hickory golf travels and adventures.

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