I started playing hickories only six years ago. Tournaments had been put on pause due to Covid, and I had a buddy who came by the shop who I call, of course, Hickory Lou. He only plays hickories. He’s deep in the architecture world, a golf historian in a way, and a junkie like I had never met.
My first round with them was on our old shop’s par 3 course, the one behind the range at Mulligans. Hitting only irons, there was a different pace to the swing. Rhythm mattered more, just to make solid contact. After that round, I was hooked.
Hickory Lou put together a small play set of Tom Stewart originals: a long iron, a mashie, a spade mashie, a niblick, and a wedge with grooves that looked like Ruffles potato chips. Out we went to Wanumetonomy, a Raynor gem in Rhode Island. The driver was wild, but the irons and approach play felt very natural.
The shafts make a whooshing sound, then there’s a solid hit. No forgiveness, not even the “pure” feel we’re used to. It’s different. It’s hopping in a time machine for a round and seeing what the greats of the original game played.
It’s such a different style from the modern game, and I find myself with them over my shoulder often. Some hickory and hardwood is good for the golfing soul. It’s an appreciation for where the game is now, and a reminder of how simple it really is: a wooden stick and a ball. Hit it in the hole in fewer shots than your opponent, wherever that hole may be.
