next few years , I would travel to tournaments throughout the Midwest , primarily to Omaha and Des Moines , where a ‘ hotbed ’ of hickory golf had been established and draws enthusiasts and nationally known personalities of the hickory world .”
Nattily clad in knickers ( from left ), Tad Standbury , Dale Hallock and Mike Needleman await their tee time for the 4th Annual Kansas Sunflower Hickory Open at Falcon Lakes . Needleman heads the Kansas City hickory organization ; Hallock heads up the one in Omaha .
An Overland Park resident , Needleman hosted the first Kansas Sunflower Hickory Open in 2020 . “ It ’ s held each April and designed to be an early season event based on having fun while playing nostalgic golf ,” said Needleman . “ It encourages interested players new to the hickory club game to come out and feel what it is like to hit original clubs like they did in the era of Bobby Jones , Walter Hagan , Francis Ouimet , and many others .” Rental clubs are available for newcomers wanting to join the fun and challenge .
In the two-person scramble , teams square off in a match-play format . Handicapped to ensure parody within the matches , match winners receive gold medals , and the others receive silver medals .
What ’ s a Mashie or Niblick ?
If you ’ re wondering what antique hickory shaft clubs would have been used the way a current golfer plays , here ’ s how the British Golf Museum compares them .
These hickory shaft clubs all had wood clubheads .
Play club – The historical equivalent of the driver .
Brassie – Closest equivalent of a modern 2- or 3-wood . So named because of a brass plate on the soles .
Wooden Cleek – Modern 4-wood .
Baffie – Equivalent of higher-lofted wood such as 7-wood or hybrid .
The following antique hickory shaft clubs all had iron clubheads .
Cleek – A driving iron most closely associated with 1- and 2 irons .
Mid-iron – Equivalent to 2-iron .
Mashie – A mashie resembles a modern 5-iron , but there ’ s also a mid-mashie ( 3-iron ), mashie iron ( 4-iron ), and spade mashie ( 6-iron ).
Niblick – Along with the mashie , the niblick is the best-known among the old clubs because of its distinctive name . It ’ s a higherlofted club , such as a modern 9-iron .
Jigger – A short shaft with not a lot of loft , it is used for chip shots .
Mike Needleman ’ s hickory clubs used at the Sunflower Hickory Open at Falcon Lakes .
The KC Area Hickory Golfers Association , a not-for-profit organization , has a chosen charitable organization , “ Carl ’ s Cause ,” which promotes mental health awareness , combats the stigma surrounding mental health , and proclaims “ A game changer for mental health .” Visit www . carlscause . org for more information . Golfers seeking more information about hickory golf and The KC Area Hickory Golfers should contact Mike Needleman at Muzica13 @ aol . com .
Find The Society of Hickory Golfers ’ upcoming nationwide hickory golf tournaments at www . hickorygolfers . com / tournaments .
Putting Cleek – Yep , a narrow , flat , or very low-lofted clubface used for putting . In the early days , greens were quite slow ( they didn ’ t have modern-day mowers for greens ), so the putting club had some loft . It was like a chip-and-roll putting technique . Greens were only slightly shorter than the fairways and rolled about 5-7 on the stimpmeter . Comparatively , modern day greens roll between 8 to 10 and a very fast 12 .
What ’ s the History of Golf Knickers and Formal Attire ? In the early 19th and 20th centuries golfers would wear knickers ( Knickerbockers ) or short pants that ended below the knee and heavy tweed jackets . Their ensembles would also include starch shirts , neckties , and matching tweed caps . Golf wear was meant to show authority and wealth , and the more formal the outfit the more money you had . An aristocrat ’ s sport . Plus , they played year-round in rough , windy , and damp weather conditions .
Alan Hoskins , Golf Writer Lead Feature Writer since 2007 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE ™ Magazine
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