Hickory golf is a variation of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

played with

hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

-shafted golf clubs. In the United States the main organizing body is th
Society of Hickory Golfers
(SoHG); in Canada, th
Golf Historical Society of Canada
in the U.K., th
British Golf Collectors Society
and leading on the continent, th
European Association of Golf Historians and Collectors
There are also quite active groups in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Sweden, Poland, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan that conduct national tournaments. Part of the attraction of playing with hickory clubs is that they reintroduce 'feel' to the golf shot. Adherents enjoy the challenge of finding and restoring clubs suitable for play. Proponents also claim that hickory golf allows golfers to play classic golf courses as they are meant to be played.

Divisions

There are two main divisions of play, pre-1935 and pre-1900. A small niche of golfers in the U.S. have begun experimenting with feather-ball golf and reproduction clubs. This style attempts to replicate golf as it was played prior to about 1850. The pre-1900 group play a replicated

gutta-percha Gutta-percha is a tree of the genus ''Palaquium'' in the family Sapotaceae, which is primarily used to create a high-quality latex of the same name. The material is rigid, naturally biologically Chemically inert, inert, resilient, electrically n ...

style ball, and clubs are limited to those produced before 1900 or approved reproductions. Iron clubs are smooth-faced and woods are splice-necked. Several "gutty" tournaments exist in the U.S. Three of the most prominent are the long-running National Hickory Championship organized by Peter Georgiady; the Foxburg Hickory Championship, organized by Tom Johnson; and the Keeper of the Spirit Hickory Championship, organized by Greg Smith. Many of the early "NHC" tournaments were conducted in

White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia White Sulphur Springs is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2020 census. The city emblem consists of five dandelion flowers and the citizens celebrate spring with an annual Dandelion Festiva ...

at Oakhurst Links, as restored by Lewis Keller, and identified by the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest golf course in the United States. The NHC has also been held at Pinehurst No. 8 & No. 1 (one Championship) and The St. Martin's course of The Philadelphia Cricket Club (two Championships). Other gutty golf venues include the Foxburg Country Club in Foxburg, Pa., and the Eagle Springs Golf Course in Eagle Springs, Wisc. Other gutty tournaments are gaining traction throughout the U.S. as well. The pre-1935 group (vintage division) play with modern balls, but play is limited to clubs manufactured before 1935 or to authorized reproductions. There are numerous tournaments and championships throughout the world.

Championships

There are a number of Championships conducted in countries around the world. The majority of the events are currently held in the United States and the United Kingdom. The chief tournament in the U.S. is the U.S. Hickory Open, which rotates around the country at various golf and country clubs. It has been held annually since 2008. In Europe, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, France, the Czech Republic, and Finland have held national championships. In the Asia/South Pacific region, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan are leading hickory golf countries. The main international schedule of tournaments is on the SoHG websit
tournament page
and at Hickorygolf.com. A list of regional and national playing societies and associations may be found at th
Resources
page of the SoHG. Important European hickory championships include the French hickory golf Championship (francehickory.com) of La Société Française de Golf Hickory; the Swiss Hickory Championship (swisshickory.ch), held on the oldest golf course in Switzerland, the Engadine Golf Club in St. Moritz/Samedan. Amateurs and professionals are welcomed to participate in this hickory event. The Polish Hickory Open is sponsored by "Hickory World" – an organisation promoting hickory golf. The World Hickory Open Championship (www.worldhickoryopen.com), which was inaugurated in 2004 by the late Lionel Freedman, is held today on variety of courses in Scotland and annually attracts around 100 players from across the world.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Hickory golf
The Society of Hickory Golfers

The Golf Collectors Society

The official website of Swiss Hickory Golfers

Swiss Hickory Championship Days

Official site of the National Hickory Championship

Carolina Hickory Golf Association

Northwest Hickory Players (USA)

Plus Four Podcast on Hickory Golf

Hickory Golf in UK
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