Hickory golf
Hickory golf is the traditional variant of classic golf that is played with clubs made from the wood of the hickory tree . This type of walnut from eastern North America and China provides the hard and at the same time elastic wood for the shafts of golf clubs. Until the legalization of steel shafts in 1929, these clubs were the standard in golf, in 1936 John W. Fischer Jr. was the last winner of a major championship (US amateur championship) with hickory clubs.
history
Hickory golf has become synonymous with golf in the style of earlier times (vintage golf, history golf) and has many fans around the world. This tradition is particularly upheld in the United Kingdom, which many consider to be the motherland of golf. Nowadays, national open championships and regional tournaments are held in many European countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia), where classic clubs are played according to old rules. Since historical balls would no longer be suitable for the game, new, particularly soft balls are used to protect the shafts of the rackets. In addition, a stylish outfit is usually required. In Germany, the German Hickory Championship has been held annually by the German Hickory Golf Society since 2009. The venues so far have been Bad Wildungen (2009, 2010 and 2011), Wentorf - Reinbek near Hamburg (2012 and 2013), Kiel-Kitzeberg (2014), Baden-Baden (2015), Bad Ems (2016), Feldafing (2017) and Oldenburg (2018). In August 2019, the tradition was continued with the staging of the 11th German Open Hickory Championship over 36 holes at the Gera Golf Club. For many years now, the traditional Herzogliche Golf-Club Oberhof has been trying to reopen its golf course, which was closed in 1952, to play hickory golf. In Szczawno-Zdrój (formerly: Bad Salzbrunn) you are already one step further. At the beginning of 2019, the city administration allowed a driving range and a putting green to be set up on the former golf course.
Equipment
The game is played with clubs made of hickory wood with leather handles. These don't have numbers, but rather sonorous names like Spoon, Brassie, Mashie or Niblick. The golf balls used are either classic "gutties" made of rubber-like gutta - percha , or modern golf balls made in old shapes. While in Europe only original hickory clubs from the period up to 1935 are used throughout, in the USA handcrafted club sets from perhaps the last intact club manufacturers in St Andrews , Scotland or Louisville , Kentucky , as well as faithful reproductions of Guttys are permitted. There is also a special dress code for hickory golfers: in the United Kingdom, for example, they dress like in colonial times or in Germany like in imperial times or at least as you would imagine: the men with flat caps , knickers , knee socks in a diamond pattern and a hip flask in the vest pocket, the ladies with long skirts and Victorian hats or in the style of the Roaring Twenties .
The special attraction
Hickory golf is considered a challenge by good golfers because it is more difficult to play than modern golf. The old racket models are not forgiving of mistakes. The so-called sweet spot, the center of gravity of the club at which the maximum power is transmitted from the club face to the golf ball , must be hit exactly in order to avoid length losses and scattering of the golf ball. The elasticity of the wood requires a gentler swing. If you play a lot with hickory clubs, you will become a better golfer, that's why some pros say.
literature
- Chronicle of the Bavarian Golf Association "Golf sport and golf culture in Bavaria. A chronicle for the 50th anniversary of the Bavarian Golf Association in 2018" is available from the Bavarian Golf Association
- German Golf Association V. (Ed.): 100 years of golf in Germany. Albrecht Golf Verlag, Oberhaching 2007, ISBN 978-3-87014-274-2
- Tillmann Prüfer: The thugs. In: The time. No. 33, August 9, 2007, p. M18, ISSN 0044-2070
Web links
- The official homepage of the German Hickory Golf Society eV based in Potsdam
- German-language homepage of the European Association of Golf Historian & Collectors EAGHC
- The official homepage of the Swiss hickory golfers
- World Hickory Open Championship
- THE TIME about hickory golf
Individual evidence
- ↑ Old Hickory In Young Hands ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. by John Fisher on usga.org
