The second day of the 2024 Open Ontario Hickory Golf Championship was as exciting as the first. Everyone played better, except for me, shooting lower scores. Regardless of how I played, it was a great event! Everyone enjoyed themselves, friends were made, and prizes were doled out. This event has turned into a must attend hickory event on my calendar; if you are a hickory player, then you should think about joining us next year!
Continue readingGolf Historical Society of Canada
Day One: 2024 Ontario Open Hickory Golf Championship
The first day of the 2024 Ontario Open Hickory Golf Championship is in the books. The first of two days was played at the Whirlpool Golf Course in Niagara Falls. The course was in great shape considering the amount of rain that fell the day before and during the first six holes of my round. I was paired with Ben and Hugh; two great gentlemen who have smooth swings and have a bucketload of knowledge about hickory sticks. Overall, it was a great round and I look forward to today’s action.
Continue readingFocusing On The 2024 Ontario Open Hickory Golf Championship
I have a week to prepare for a fun event and I think I have a game plan that will work. I am not expecting anything fantastic with respect to scoring, but I do hope that I can make a great showing at the hickory championship next week. Knowing this, I figured out what I must do this week and we shall see if my plan works.
Continue readingEnding Of My Golf Season With A Fun Event
With the first week of September in the books, I look ahead and see that my golf season is quickly approaching. I realize that I can still golf through October, however as the weather changes, the number of hours that are available during any given day are drastically reducing. The shortening golf season happens every year and it is something I am prepared to accept. This year, I will end my season with a two day trip to participate in the 2024 Ontario Open Hickory Golf Championship.
Continue readingNorthern Hickory Tour (2024)
GHSC News Item: August 30, 2024 – Northern Hickory Tour (2024) (This article is a copy and paste from the Golf Historical Society of Canada’s website.)
Reported by: George Supol, GHSC Hickory Ambassador
The 5th annual Northern Hickory Tour was conducted over three days, Thursday, August 22 to Saturday, August 24, 2024.
Day #1: Couchiching Golf Course
On Thursday, eight GHSC ambassadors from Southern Ontario returned to Orillia to once again play hickory golf at Couchiching Golf Club (“Cooch”) in Orillia. This Stanley Thompson-designed, 9-hole parkland-style course was formally opened on June 3, 1915. It is often referred to as Orillia’s “hidden jewel.” Here is a link to the Club’s website where Cooch’s history is discussed.
The first 9-hole cycle was played from the yellow tees while the second was from the red tees, about 300 yards shorter overall. This day is a warm-up for our ambassadors before they head to North Bay for day #2 with the local hickory players. The golf was preceded by a lunch at Bogey’s, Cooch’s restaurant, in a private dining area. Afterwards, we gathered for dinner on the right upper deck.
Before driving to North Bay, this writer visited the home of David Burgess, a past President of GHSC who also played with us at Cooch. David has an amazing historical golf collection – one of the best in Canada. I purchased a few hickory clubs for me and my friends. If you ever have the opportunity to visit David, you’ll enjoy seeing his collection.
Day #2: Osprey Links Golf Course
On Friday, our ambassadors played their hickories at Osprey Links Golf Course, located in Callander Ontario, just outside the City of North Bay. They were joined by a dozen local golfers, including both seasoned hickory players and some first-timers who it was easy to see enjoyed the new experience. The weather was great and the course was once again in fine shape. Some excellent hickory golf was played on Saturday, especially by Hugh Cameron (from Renfrew GC).
A pleasant surprise for us at Osprey Links was the return of our favourite food and beverage cart driver, Ally, who demonstrated for us her fine lefty golf swing with a hickory club, for the second straight year. See our pics below. Ally will be moving to Australia with her boyfriend, and we send her our best wishes!
A couple of hours after the round was completed, we gathered together for dinner at the well-known Greco’s Pizzeria in North Bay. A feast of pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, shrimp and wonderful tomato bisque soup and salads was well enjoyed by our players.
Day #3: Laurentide Golf Course
On Saturday, our players journeyed to Laurentide Golf Course in Sturgeon Falls about 30 minutes west of North Bay. This was a new course for the Northern Hickory Tour, which had upward-sloping bowl-shaped greens which ran off on all sides. Approach shots, chipping and putting were especially challenging. The front nine was tight but the back nine was open. Laurentide is owned by the Mantha family.
Moe Mantha Sr. was a Canadian ice hockey player and a politician. Moe Mantha Jr., is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota North Stars, and Philadelphia Flyers. Moe Jr. also has represented the United States in international hockey; he was a member of the U.S. team in the 1981, 1985, and 1991 Ice Hockey World Championships as well as the 1992 Winter Olympics. (courtesy of Wikipedia).
During our round, we met Moe Jr. and his wife, Kathy, who were moving around the course in a golf cart, talking to the golfers and personally adjusting cart posts near the greens. Moe and Kathy were accompanied by their beautiful and friendly dog, Annie, whom you can see in our pics below.
Some excellent hickory golf was played on Saturday by Hugh Cameron, Chris Cade and Ron Wiens. This writer also enjoyed making 7 pars, 1 bogey and 1 double-bogey on the back nine, after a dismal front nine (except for a 9th hole birdie!). My improvement was mainly due to a light lunch snack accompanied by minor tweaks to my hickory swing and chipping technique.
After Saturday’s round, four of us went to nearby Jocko Point, a well-known local gas bar, with “the best fish and chips in Sturgeon Falls.” We had tasty pickerel and chips and also enjoyed the ice cream and souvenir shops. The souvenir shop had gorgeous cowhide leather products such as purses, moccasins and tobacco pouches, handmade by members of the Nipissing First Nation.
To quote Bill Vossen, GHSC Event Coordinator for the North Bay and Sturgeon Falls events,
“Both clubs appreciated our business but they really found the fact that we continue to play with hickory-shafted clubs to be cool and interesting.”
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 