Turn Back the Clock at the 6th Annual Hickory Open

Rummage through your garage long enough and you're likely to find an old outdated golf club that looks like a relic when it's held next to one of today's big, bright and shiny pieces of equipment.

Advances in modern technology, whether it be the golf ball itself or the clubs used to launch the little white, dimpled orb farther than ever, have rendered classic courses defenseless against today's top professionals. The negative effects of such cutting-edge craftsmanship have been widely debated, but this post isn't about to recount those arguments and counters or debate the merit of the new groove regulation set to debut in Jan., 2010. 

It's about celebrating the Golden Age of golf and enjoying the game as it was meant to be played.

Last week in the small town of Gullane in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland, a group of amateurs and professionals gathered to honor the history of golf and compete in the fifth annual PGA World Hickory Open Championship.

Golfers wore plus fours, old caps, dress shirts and ties, and used a maximum of six clubs that were either antiques dating prior to 1935, modern reproductions of such clubs or retro fitted clubs that conformed to tournament guidelines.

Mark King won the tournament with a two-round total of six-over 148 on the Gullane No. 2 Course, which measure 6,244 yards from the medal tees. The course proved to be quite a test for the best hickory players.

The world's best players were finishing up the PGA Tour schedule in Atlanta, but that doesn't mean the competition was watered down and without any players of substance. With his victory, King joined a list of champions that includes Lloyd Saltman, a veteran of two Walker Cup competitions and winner of the Silver Medal as low amateur in the Open Championship. Saltman also qualified for this year's Open Championship at Turnberry.

Each year there are thousands of golf tournaments played across the country that are devoted to worthy causes or to determining club champions, but this format is one of the more authentic and unique around.

If the idea of teeing it up with a set of hickory golf clubs while donning old school golf attire appeals to you, take a serious look at the upcoming 6^th annual Hickory Open at Mid Pines. The setting, historic Pinehurst, North Carolina, is one of the most hallowed places to play golf in the U.S. The tournament is played on the Donald Ross-designed Mid Pines, a most rare golf course. It has 18 holes that are in exactly the same positions with the same numbers as when the course opened in 1921.

Like the PGA World Hickory Open Championship, competitors will dress in period clothing and use hickory-shafted clubs. Mid Pines can supply hickory-shafted clubs and provide pointers for their use. All are welcome to compete, regardless of handicap.

Click here for more information on the event, which takes place Nov. 6-8.

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