With the Ontario Open Hickory Golf Championship at Whirlpool Golf Course on Saturday, September 20 and Sunday, September 21, 2025 it is time to hone my skills with my hickory sticks. In order to achieve this lofty goal, I am taking more time to practice. Specifically, I am writing my yardages down on my mismatched clubs in order to understand when to hit what club. Due to the manufacturers and age of the clubs, what might seem like a no-brainer 7 iron shot, is actually a challenge because of the different reactions to hitting a ball. Regardless, I have started my journey and I am excited to see what happens this year at the hickory event. Back to how I am approaching my practice times with my wooden shafted golf clubs.

The process is very similar to that of my modern day practicing. Unfortunately, I do not have a driving range close, so I am doing on the course practice without bothering or holding anyone up. The first step for me was to determine which driver and three wood bring on my journey. I will bring a spare driver, but likely I will leave it in my vehicle as I play. That was accomplished yesterday and I am confident that I will be able to hit them relatively well for the two day event.

Second, I stopped at 200 yards and pulled out my long irons. This is relatively easy as I do not have many of them. However, regardless of what is written on the clubs, I had to determine distances for myself. I was able to narrow down about half the clubs. Some are duplicates for distances, but it instills confidence when I understand the distances during my club selection process.

Next, I moved up to 150 and 100 yards to complete the same process. It was pretty straight forward and I am confident I am getting a handle on the distances. The real challenge happens when I move closer because I have several clubs that I like to use to knock the ball down on approach shots. And this is where my challenge starts.

I have two clubs (pictures to follow) that I like to use for 30 to 100 yards shots. They are both rated as 9 irons, but have completely different feels. I cannot put any spin on the ball from either club, so that is a wash. At this time, I am thinking about he lie. Next time I go out, I will try each out of the rough and from a tight lie on the fairway. Maybe this will determine how and where to use each club. Overall, this is a good problem to have and I look forward to solving it.

Lastly, I am going to add a few wraps around the handle of my putter. It is a bit thin as I am used to using a modern day grip. I hope that by filling out the grip I will be able to develop a bit more touch on 10 foot putts. Again, all this will take is some practice and time around the green.

As time ticks closer to my event, I feel that I am becoming better prepared for this years Hickory Open. I am not sure I will fair any better, but at least I will feel better prepared for this awesome competition.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!