Test Your Mettle
Nostalgia noun - nos·tal·gia: a wistful desire to return in thought, or in fact, to the happiness of a former place or time.
Generally speaking, old golf clubs are worth nothing more than something you keep next to your bed for protection against nighttime intruders.
However, like many things that improve with age, there are some vintage clubs that are worth a whole-heck-of-a-lot of money. Some have even sold for more money than the cost of a membership at Augusta!
So, collecting them can obviously have great appeal for some people. People looking to make it rich with that once-in-a-lifetime find - like a long-nose putter made by Andrew Dickson, one of the game’s first caddies and a club maker - that sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $181,000!
For some, though, it’s not about money. It’s about passion. A love of the game as it used to be played in its raw, yet elegant early days. It’s about golf at the turn of the 20th century, considered by many to be the glory days of golf – say from about 1890 to 1935. You know, when the game was played the way it was supposed to be played.
Back then, some clubs were being hand-forged from iron, but most were being made from ash, or more commonly hickory. But with the arrival, and eventual legalization of steel shafts in 1929, the demand for hickory started to diminish, and by 1935 the production of hickory clubs had all but stopped.
But for some, the love of that game, that pure and simple game played with hickory clubs, never died. In fact, there’s an entire subculture of collectors and proselytizers who are deeply nostalgic about the game, and its equipment, when it was more about skill and talent than technology and science.
Recently, this unique hobby has been gaining in popularity as more and more people are discovering a new way to celebrate their favorite sport. By stepping back in time and walking in the footsteps of some of the best golfers the game has ever known - like Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, and Gene Sarazen.
Meet Rome’s own Clark Willard.
Clark is one of those people that has taken to this hobby full swing, if you will. He collects, refurbishes, and builds replica “hickorys,” as he calls them, with such skill and precision, you'd swear he learned his craft from old Andrew Dickson himself 100 years ago.
A self-proclaimed old-soul, Clark has found the perfect opportunity to practice his hobby and stretch it into not only a nice little side business, but an actual lifestyle.
As the Head Golf Professional at Sand Valley’s brand new throw-back golf course, The Lido, Clark is able to live the life of hickory golf not just with the equipment, but on a course perfectly suited for the game.
You see, The Lido is an exact recreation of the original Lido Golf Club which opened in 1917 on Long Island, New York - down to bunker positioning, fairway contours, even directional orientation - and where the game was played exclusively with hickorys.
Clark, a pro golfer, obviously plays with today’s modern equipment, and fully appreciates where the game has evolved. But at least half the time, he proudly admits, he puts his hickorys in a proper bag, and walks this beautiful undulating course, and strategically makes his way around—just like they did way back then.
“When playing with hickorys, it’s a totally different game. The clubs have smaller heads and less loft than modern clubs. As a result, they require a different swing technique and are definitely less forgiving.
When you strike the ball, you feel it. It comes up the shaft and into your hands and forearms. You feel it, but it doesn’t hurt. It’s a sweet sensation. And the sound. It’s pure and simple, not the ‘ping’ you hear with the metals of today.”
For many purists of hickory golf, there is a unique set of rules and regulations that differ from modern golf. For example, traditionalists only use clubs that were made before 1935, and the ball must be a replica of a pre-1935 ball. And they only use leather or canvas golf bags and wear traditional golf attire.
That’s right, no polyester pink here. Just authentic wool knickers and heavy tweed jackets, starched shirts, neckties and matching tweed caps.
Check out this video of one of today’s most popular golfers, Jordan Spieth, as he stylishly plays a round with hickorys at Scotland’s St. Andrews golf course. Clark has a slightly different view, however.
“If you want to dress the part, you should. I think that’s great. The more authentic, the better. But don’t let attire get in the way of giving hickorys a try. Wear what you want and just have fun with it.”
He gets great satisfaction from people doing exactly that, giving it a try and just having fun with it. And you know what? You will.
So, if this little intro to hickory golf has piqued your interest, you owe it to yourself to dig a little deeper and do a little research. A good place to start is with this short video that better highlights how Clark got into it in the first place. It’s an interesting watch, but also heart- warming as he reveals, “hickorys actually saved my life.”
And check out his website, appropriately called hickoryrevival.com. Or a companion site run by Clark’s hickory business partner, Luke Davis, called lieandloft.com.
And who knows? Maybe someday, with practice and a little patience, you’ll be smitten like they are, and you’ll be ‘testing your mettle with wood’ and enjoying the game you already love in a whole new (er, old) way.
Written by: Lydell Capritta