The Equipment
HICKORY GOLF CLUBS
HICKORY GOLF CLUBS
A HICKORY Collection To Remember
All our vintage golf equipment, although on average 100 years of age, has been inspected and carefully refurbished, the clubs are true works of art. The woods are warm, earthy and personal. Just think of the many hands that have held these clubs over the past century. When you make contact on the sweet spot with a slow and methodical tempo you will feel nothing at all and the ball will sail toward your target. With some practice you will quickly appreciate the beauty and feel of these works of art and get a sense of how talented were those players in the day – Old Tom Morris, Willie Park, Harry Vardon, James Braid and others.
OLD vs. NEW – CLUB TERMINOLOGY
Club Names Over Time
Let’s take a look at the progression of the clubs and naming conventions
Vintage |
Current |
| Play Club / Long Nose Club | Driver |
| Brassie | 2 Wood |
| Spoon | 3 Wood |
| Cleek |
4 Wood |
| Baffy | 5 Wood |
| Driving Iron | 1 Iron |
| Mid Iron | 2 Iron |
| Mid-Mashie | 3 Iron |
| Mashie-Iron | 4 Iron |
| Mashie | 5 Iron |
| Spade Mashie | 6 Iron |
| Mashie-Niblick | 7 Iron |
| Pitching Niblick | 8 Iron |
| Niblick | 9 Iron |
| Putting Cleek | Putter |
- The “Jigger” was a club intended for long low shots to avoid the effects of wind,
TYPES OF BALLS
It Hasn’t Always Been The Same!
Below shows the progression of the balls how they were referred to.
- Wood
- Featherie
- Gutty
- Bramble
- Mesh
- Modern
Early 19th century John Gourlay featherie ball.
Est. value ~$10,000.
How can we help your next Hickory Golf Event?
HOW TO PLAY WITH HICKORY
Not all hickory clubs are made equal!
Hickory shafts being made from natural timber will flex and twist much more than a modern club and display a much greater range of performance variation. It’s hard to believe but two identical “looking” clubs could actually have vastly different playing characteristics!
Swinging hickory.
To increase the natural “whip” of your hickory shaft and minimize the twist of the club head at impact a smooth swing will more frequently deliver results. Be sure not to swing aggressively – this is the key to playing well with hickory clubs.
Tips for swinging hickory wood.
Hickory woods have a very shallow face compared to drivers today. Expect to take a much lower tee than you would your modern driver.
Tips for swinging hickory irons.
Hickory irons are not designed to take large divots and will dig sharply into the ground rather than slide through the turf. Aim to take a shallow divot or pick the ball cleanly from the turf.
Golf couple in hickory golf attire.
RARITY DEFINED
How Does Such a Rare Game Become A GLobal PASSION?!
Well, we can’t quite answer that question other than giving credit back to the great game. The number of clubs/societies worldwide increased from 17 to 4135 between 1850 – 1910. To say that this game got popular would be one heck of an understatement, it made it’s way south down under as well!
Women’s hickory golf tournament in Australia. Photo credit State Libary of New South Whales.