Playing Hickory Golf

[deetsal]

It's very odd, I do everything better with my modern clubs, but even from the same tees my scoring is maybe 2-3 shots higher with hickory. I use modern Louisville and the woods and irons are easy to hit. If I could hit the driver as far as modern I think I could outscore modern.

[majic]

It was great to meet you and your wife. She did seem to get along well with the hickories. Don't forget I do make ladies hickories. I hope to join you as well back at Gamble Sands. Tad

[Blade Junkie]

Latest "hickory" purchase .... a Gibson Geo Duncan Spoon with a "Gibsons Sidera Wood" shaft that Tad tells me dates to the late hickory era, and was one of the last woods Gibson experimented with in trying to keep players from using steel. Looks a bit like Danga, but isn't, and apparently plays softer, and was not intended for 'strong' players. This club is 41.5" long and swing weight is around B3. Hopefully the shaft is strong enough to cope with a small shaft extension, and the addition of enough lead in the head to make the swingweight decent enough for playability. Current club weight is 342g (12.1 oz). Loft is around 20°.

 

Not a disaster if it becomes a display club only - only cost £26 !

 

 

[ebeer]

^^Nice find^^ !!!

[jbucher]

Thanks Tad, it was a fun weekend! Sandy is seeing what is out there club wise, and keep you in mind. I am really happy she enjoyed playing with them.

Scomac find a set it's a whole new golf experiance.

JB

[scomac2002]

Thanks Tad, it was a fun weekend! Sandy is seeing what is out there club wise, and keep you in mind. I am really happy she enjoyed playing with them.

Scomac find a set it's a whole new golf experiance.

JB

 

I've been thinking about it since I took my first swing with a mashie niblick back in June. The Golf Historical Society of Canada is my local hickory association. They hold a number of events through out the season within easy driving distance from where I live, so there really isn't any stumbling block to giving it a go, just summon the courage, so-to-speak.

 

Perhaps the first step is to get a few rounds in with forged blades and wooden woods to develop a comfort level with this type of play even in mixed company as I don't see switching back and forth between hickory and modern light weight game improvement clubs as being particularly rewarding for me from either extreme.

[ebeer]

Working on a mashie in the garage tonight. Pulled the old grip and listing off....found 8 tacks holding them down!! I don't usually fill tack holes, but with this one maybe I'll have to.

 

 

[AndOh]

Hi guys,

hope you all had a great season. In advance sorry about the long text, but since I hardly ever post I might as well do it properly :) If you don´t feel like reading you can skip to the question in the end of the post.

Season has been mostly ruined due to a persistent wrist injury but the last month or so has felt ok. During the final team practice (modern clubs) with our coach he had us hitting half swings with focus on really de-lofting the club and just letting the club fall and turn the body thru the hit. This felt really good and I was hitting really great shots. The next day I decided I wanted to try the same swing with my hickories and holy macaroni - I hit the ball more flush than ever!

So I´ve been working on this for about 6 weeks and it has been amazing. I´ve never hit the ball this well, or at least not as consistently, before - both with hickory and with moderns. The half swing also works with the woods although with them I focus on an upward attack angle.

Anyway. Next to my garden runs the fairway of the 6th hole on our Par 30 nine hole course and even though it is getting darker in the afternoons I can still easily cover 9 holes after work and

I´ve been doing that with my hickories almost everyday for a couple of weeks. I usually hop on at the 7th tee and did so again today. If the course is empty I play match with myself - orange ball against white ball - and today orange got to tee of first (not an advantage considering no warm up) at the 126 meter par 3 with water on the right and almost all around the green + 4 bunkers strategically placed at 6, 9, 12 and 3 o´clock around the upside down saucer green. It´s a good distance for my Gibson Star Maxwell mashie so after a few practice swings of we go. Wind is off the left and I push my tee shot a bit. The orange ball sails towards the 3 o´clock bunker but luckily lands in the moist semi rough. White ball is next and I aim a bit more left to let the wind push it in. It´s a good shot and it lands a couple of meters short of the flag and rolls out to pin high about 2 meters to the right. Orange gets chipped by my Gibson baxpin mashie and rolls to within 30 centimeters - easy par :) However - white counters with a great put for birdie. 1 up white.

The 8th hole is a 110 meters par 3, today playing into the wind. Not a very difficult hole with only a bunker covering half the green right and an out to the left and behind the green. This is a perfect distance for my favorite club - the baxpin mashie (46*). White to tee off first. Playing into the wind I aim over the bunker to draw it in. It works beautifully and I land the ball about pin high right of the pin and it actually stops quite quickly. Thinking I can probably get the ball closer I take almost dead aim at the pin. Orange leaves the club with a thud, flies straight at the pin, lands and ends up about 50 centimeters from the hole for an easy birdie. White two putts. Even.

9th hole: a 272 meter par 4 with out on the right side, water on the far left and water in front of the green to the right beginning at 200 meters. Orange tees of - Kro-Flite fancy face spoon (15*). Pulls it a bit and ends up in the semi rough about 100 meters from the hole. White takes a deep breath and aims just along the out towards the water. A nice shot with a slight draw that works it´s way in and finds the fairway next to the water - a bold shot by white - with about 60 meters left. However, orange sticks it to 2 meter from the semi leaving white with a delicate pitch. White lands it pin high but rolls out to about 5 meters. Both two putt for par. Still even.

Hole 1 is the easiest hole at 85 meters with a bunker to the left and water behind that. Orange pitches onto the green and stops about 3 meters from the hole. White seizes the opportunity and pitches on to the green - rolls towards the pin and I´m actually shouting at it ”Get in the hole!” (sorry about that). It doesn´t but ends up just a few centimeters short - tap in birdie. Orange makes a great putt but it doesn´t drop. Easy par. 1 up white.

Hole 2: Par 3 at 120 meters with water left and right. Tail wind so today we try the baxpin mashie. White pushes it a bit but misses water and ends up in semi rough. Orange aims more left - hits the ball well and lands on the front of the green and rolls a bit. White pitches on but rolls away from the hole and two putts for bogey. Orange two putts for par. Even.

Hole 3: The longest par 4 at 331 meters. Out to the right, water far left and a long bunker to the left at landing distance. Today it plays into the wind. Orange hits a good ball, bounces on the fairway and stays there. White hits an almost identical shot and they are basically side by side at about 150 meters out. White hits a Gibson Star Maxwell mid iron (26*) to the fringe. Orange hits the same club but pulls it slightly into the green side bunker. Ouch. Just behind the green is out. White toe chips with the mashie to about 120 centimeters. Orange pulls the 56* Gibson niblick and opens it wide - does not want to be long here. Takes a bit to much sand and just makes it onto the green and two putts for bogey. Advantage white. But white misses the putt and makes bogey. Still even.

Hole 4: 125 meters with water and a bunker to the right + a bunker to the left. Green is quite deep and today the flag is long so it is more like 135 meters. Wind comes off 7 or 8 o´clock so I figure a mashie will be fine. Orange finds the green left and short of the flag. White nails it - a nice solid shot that covers the pin, lands and rolls to about one and a half meter. Orange is faced with a long putt and fails to make it. White however does :) 1 up white.

Hole 5: 85 meters into the wind, out just behind the green and a deep ditch to the left. White is really pumped now and hits a nice soft baxpin mashie to pin high right of the flag. Orange hits it a bit fat and is on the front fringe. Orange chooses to putt and hits the flag! Unfortunately the ball does not drop but stays within tap in distance. White 2 putts. 1 up white.

Hole 6: Last hole, a dogleg right par 4 at 246 meters with out left and right and also behind the green. Water covering the dogleg towards the green and the green is elevated with rocks just behind the water below the green. Hitting the green from tee requires a 190 meter shot into a very shallow green with the out just behind it so that is not even in the picture.

White plays it safe and hits the mid iron to the middle of the fairway leaving about 100 meters. Orange feels the need to go for it a bit and aims over the dogleg with the spoon. Hits a very good shot that clears the water and the dogleg and kicks up the slope towards the green a bit. White hits a good approach to about 3 meters leaving orange needing to put it close. Orange chips with the mashie up the slope and onto the green. Impossible to see where the ball ends up before having gone up the slope, but the chip feels good and bounces once on the fore green before before it starts rolling. Coming up to the green I see orange is just about one - one and a half meters from the hole - good chance to tie :) White putts first and drains it! Orange takes aim - makes a nice stroke and also sinks the put for a birdie! White wins 1 up at 2 under par with orange at 1 under par.

Best hickory round I´ve played so far - and yes, it was a short course, but the focus here was on ball striking and this round felt amazing (with decent putting). To bad season is ending - winter golf league starts on Saturday. I hope I will be able to remember this next season :)

If you have made it this far without falling asleep I have a question:

I just got a Standard Mills MSD1 i good shape. However, the shaft is a little bit loose. Is there anything special I should think about when trying to re-shaft and re-pin the club? Is it very difficult compared to irons?

Thanks,

Andy

[majic]

These are nice clubs. Mark the shaft and hosel with marker to orient the two. You have to be very careful when knocking out the pin if you want to save and use the shaft. Support the back of hosel with a small hole in support for the pin to fall out. Use a 3/32 punch ( slightly smaller then pin) and take care. Once the pin is out the shaft will come out it sounds like but you may have to add small heat. Reglue the cleaned shaft and cleaned inside of head using plenty of glue. Line up your orientation marks After it dries i use an aluminum welding rod 1/8 inch and cut to length, file to size and glue only in. Not coining the ends. If you are careful the neck won't crack and you should have a great player.

If you don't want to save the shaft cut it off at the top of hosel. Using a Dremel tool cut away the wood down to the pin. Cut the pin and then you can knock the pin into the hosel hole. Once you have done this get the rest of the wood out. Fit new shaft and after aligning an glueing in the new shaft drill the pin hole and put in the aluminum pin. I do not coin the ends just cut to length, file to length and glue in hole.

Good luck Any questions you can email [email protected]

[stixman]

Spot on, Majic, excellent and detailed 'how to do it on a Mills'.

 

Two things, minor tweaks, if you like. I use a layer of plasticene as a shock absorber between the hosel and the support body.

 

If you do knock a piece of the hosel wall off, (and this quite often happens where the hosel has corroded), fit the shaft as described by Majic. Then make a stiff mix of aluminium filings and epoxy and trowel it in to replace the missing piece and, when set, file to fit.

 

In the case of a putter you can use it as is.

 

On the MSD 1 use a whipping support an inch above the hosel down to the repaired fracture as reinforcement. If you want a belt and braces approach apply the whipping with an underlay of epoxy and smooth when part cured.

 

Very often cheap clubs are available with relatively minor hosel damage and they can be made serviceable players with this approach.

[AndOh]

Tad and Stix - thanks for good advice. It´s a very nice club with a good shaft that I intend to re-use. Hopefully the shaft will come out with little effort then I´ll secure it with a good epoxy and a pin. Should make for a nice play club :)

// Andy

[Boney]

So my new (to me) Louisville Tom Stewart irons have sharp grooves. I've just been ignoring the ball's shredded cover, it probably doesn't hurt the performance that much, right? But after 9 holes, that thing's pretty hairy! Is there any (legal) way to soften the grooves a bit? I've tried playing Srixon Q-Star and Wilson Zip balls, they both get cut up pretty much every full shot.

[stixman]

I am probably the only player alive who has played the ORIGINAL Tom Stewart blade from 1931 brand new, never been hit set from 1931.

They also shredded golf balls for fun, so in that respect you can say yours are 'true to life' replicas

 

The difference was these were made from drop forged mild steel, not cast, so the effect wore off after a few rounds.

[majic]

Hit a bunch of hard crummy range balls. Anything else you could do I would think would alter the look of the face.

I would also ask LG for advice. Maybe your heads were not finished properly by the head maker and LG may have a suggestion.

[teevons]

Found this interesting looking putter today

Spalding Angus, Hickory shafted leather grip, sits great

Anyone know its age history??

[Boney]

Looks very similar to the putter I posted about earlier:

 

http://www.golfwrx.c.../page__st__1920

[majic]

Found this interesting looking putter today

Spalding Angus, Hickory shafted leather grip, sits great

Anyone know its age history??

This Spalding logo is from 60's

[Woodridge]

I went into Club Champion this past Monday for a full bag fitting. Kyle, the pro fitting me noticed my Whistling Straits head cover and I mentioned that I had played in a Hickory event there earlier this year. It turned out that he and the guys there hadn't played hickory, but had just been talking about it the other day. I had to go back the following day and brought my hickory set in for the guys to hit and hopefully play with on the golf course. Kyle emailed me back to say that he and the guys had a blast and he would be contacting Tad about getting a set of clubs for himself. One of the best things about playing hickory is when new people are exposed to the game. I go back next Monday for the 2nd half of my fitting and am looking forward to hearing all about their experiences. It's a great game.

[ebeer]

Love to see folks getting interested. We held the CA Hickory Open in San Clemente last weekend. One day of 3-man team scramble followed by a second day of singles stroke play. The Sunday singles winner was a first time hickory player who grossed 74. Needless to say he is hooked on hickory. Many (myself included) were first attracted by the antiquity of the clubs and the history they represent. However there's so much more to the game like making shorter courses interesting and fun to play, the reduced emphasis on technology, and faster pace of play (hopefully).

[oldschoolrocker]

Writing this from the range st my local Muni. Took Tad's hickorys out for a spin at the range and meet a fellow from California in the golf business that was working with a gentleman on the range. Perhaps an equipment rep, or teaching pro, not sure, but he saw the clubs and had to come over and admire them. When he saw they were Tads his eyes lite up and asked me if I knew of any of the new putters, or line of clothing he thought Tad was involved in now. I said," No, I wasn't aware."

The guys name was Jeremy Smith, and he said to mention the name Auggie to Tad.

Just wanted to post this before I got home and had a senior moment space out and forgot the names.

 

[southplains]

I just read an article in a 1922 edition of Golfer's Magazine (Google Books)

about the short lifespan of hickory shafts. It advises golfers to "tune up" their

clubs at the beginning of the spring season by replacing shafts that have become warped

by the previous year's frequent play. Says that the pro's do it every year. Of course,

it is a blatant advertising gimmick to sell clubs, shafts, and labor, but I am wondering

if to today's hickory players face this issue each year? Do the shafts warp with

frequent play? I can imagine it might be the case, after just re-discovering the wonders

of high clubhead speed and steel shaft torque with a body rotation style swing,

using vintage blade and persimmon clubs.

 

While I continue to shop around for a hickory set, I'm trying to figure out how they

used mashie's for most 150yd-in approaches by learning to "feather" five and six irons.

I figure on acquiring just a niblick, mashie, cleek and brassie someday.

[Bella Woods]

I have many original 85 to 90 year old hickory shafts in both woods and irons and they

are just fine- A good quality hickory shaft (new or old) will last forever.

 

Main causes of warping - poor quality shaft and not taking care of it (storing, weather

related, neglect).

[southplains]

I have many original 85 to 90 year old hickory shafts in both woods and irons and they

are just fine- A good quality hickory shaft (new or old) will last forever.

 

Main causes of warping - poor quality shaft and not taking care of it (storing, weather

related, neglect).

 

Thanks. good to know. I'll keep digging to learn enough to find the quality and take care of it.

Probably best to start out with the modern hickory versions instead of wasting money on

more affordable, but questionable ebay sticks. Otherwise, I'll just end up with a second

closet full of old hickory to go with my vintage steel closet. Too bad pro shops don't

stock them for rental - at least, not in my area.

[jbucher]

So the wife went out with some friends this AM so i took the hickorys out for a round. Started out knocking my drive OB:-(. next shot was the long drive for the round downhill 237. Very wet a soagy course. played through 4 and caught up to a 3 some and joined them for the rest of the round. I like how folks don't have a clue about the old clubs. A couple of bad holes led to an round of 88, considering the conditions not feeling to bad with the score.

Tomorrows round will be with the badly neglected classic clubs that haven't been out since February

Happy rounds, Jimmy B.

[oldschoolrocker]

Took the hickories out for a Christmas Eve blitz this morning and I must say for the first time I felt like I was playing a round of hickory golf rather than playing a round of golf with hickory clubs.

 

[Bella Woods]

That's great old school, what clubs do you have in your hickory play set?

[oldschoolrocker]

A partial set of Tads Tom Morris line, along with his newest driver creation and Tads Dominie Sander.

Have some other odds and ends, mostly Macgregor Go Sums that play surprising well.

[Bella Woods]

A partial set of Tads Tom Morris line, along with his newest driver creation and Tads Dominie Sander.

Have some other odds and ends, mostly Macgregor Go Sums that play surprising well.

 

Tad's new deep face Jack White driver is a very nice club, I like his Dominie Sander the best of his

hickory niblicks too.

 

Have you customized any of the clubs for you? Re: shafts/swingweights etc.

[oldschoolrocker]

Bella,

No, I haven't customized any of the hickorys. To be honest I don't feel like I am qualified to do so. The only issues I am having with respect to the irons, is that I tend to have a dreadful hook with the two longest irons. I think it is because I am not fully trusting in them to provide the distance I am looking for, and my attempt at "helping" results in a hook. The mashie down through the niblick are spot on. Same with the tee club.

[Bella Woods]

Bella,

No, I haven't customized any of the hickorys. To be honest I don't feel like I am qualified to do so. The only issues I am having with respect to the irons, is that I tend to have a dreadful hook with the two longest irons. I think it is because I am not fully trusting in them to provide the distance I am looking for, and my attempt at "helping" results in a hook. The mashie down through the niblick are spot on. Same with the tee club.

 

I assume you are talking about the Mid Iron and Driving Iron. It could just be the lie angle, don't know how you usually play your irons lie angle wise (standard, upright or

flat) but I would check it on those irons. The other thing about hickory long irons, they are the lightest heads and you have to slow down/be deliberate when hitting them,

you can get away with it to some extent on the higher lofted/heavier short irons. If you can hit the woods, you can hit the long irons too.......

 

The MacGregor Go Sums - which irons?