I find myself fascinated when sport overlaps with other interests in my life, and hickory golf occupies the space on that Venn diagram where athletics, history, manufacturing methods, craftsmanship, reclamation and restoration, and nostalgia for simpler times intersect. I have casually played golf since I was in my early teens. Recently, I became very interested by the current debate within the world of modern golf regarding whether clubmaking technology and/or enhanced training methods have made the game "too easy" for the pros. In May of last year, I read an article online regarding that debate, and it made mention of a counter-movement to modern golf called "hickory golf." A few clicks later, I had landed upon my official COVID-19 pastime/distraction, and a few clicks after that, my first 100 year-old club was en route via eBay. While I began building my hickory set one restoration project at a time, I pared my modern bag down to five clubs, and was immediately captivated by the challenge of shot-making on the course. The creativity, nuance, and concentration involved in the execution of every hickory swing became my Zen. By August I was playing hickories full-time. The game I've played for almost 40 years is brand-new again.
I find myself fascinated when sport overlaps with other interests in my life, and hickory golf occupies the space on that Venn diagram where athletics, history, manufacturing methods, craftsmanship, reclamation and restoration, and nostalgia for simpler times intersect. I have casually played golf since I was in my early teens. Recently, I became very interested by the current debate within the world of modern golf regarding whether clubmaking technology and/or enhanced training methods have made the game "too easy" for the pros. In May of last year, I read an article online regarding that debate, and it made mention of a counter-movement to modern golf called "hickory golf." A few clicks later, I had landed upon my official COVID-19 pastime/distraction, and a few clicks after that, my first 100 year-old club was en route via eBay. While I began building my hickory set one restoration project at a time, I pared my modern bag down to five clubs, and was immediately captivated by the challenge of shot-making on the course. The creativity, nuance, and concentration involved in the execution of every hickory swing became my Zen. By August I was playing hickories full-time. The game I've played for almost 40 years is brand-new again.