Hickory Golf

How Is Your Golf Game This Season?

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Well, we are in mid season up north and it is time to take stock of our golf games. If you are playing better this year than last, then congrats and keep going. If you are struggling a bit…..well, keeping working at your game. With such a short golf season, it is a challenge for most players to balance the life, work, golf thing in order to satisfy all aspects of their lives. Personally, I am luck as I have struck a great balance and with the support of my loving wife, I get to play lots of golf. To accomplish the itch to play more, I generally head to the course for early birds (before 7 am) in order to play 18 holes and still have accomplish other life events. Overall, all is going fairly well.

This year I decided to focus as much on my modern clubs as with my hickory sticks. With the Northern Hickory Golf Tour (more on that in a later post) and the Ontario Open Hickory Championship (Ontario Open Hickory Golf Championship, 2-day hickory golf event, Whirpool GC (Saturday, Oct 3 – Sunday, Oct 4); 9-hole hickory event at Niagara-on-the-Lake GC (Friday, Oct 2 or Monday, Oct 5)– contact George Supol (supolconsultancy@gmail.com), I felt I needed to dedicate more time to playing with my hickories in order to be able to compete with the other golf enthusiasts. This does not mean to say I am not playing with my modern clubs, but that I am sharing the time between the two.

My mid season game is improving. I am hitting the ball better and I am putting well. I still need work on my approach shots, but how does not….right? My current challenges are the same for both sets and I am working through everything. Regardless of the results, I am truly grateful to be able to play as much as I do and with some amazing friends.

A couple of days ago, I hit the links early with my hickories. It was quite foggy and cool. I enjoyed my round and hit some wonderful shots. I also hit some stinkers, but that is the way with my hickories. The leading edge of all my irons is very sharp and I have a tendency to dig in to the ground if I mishit the ball. Yet, another thing to work on.

In the picture below, you can see how foggy the conditions were early in my round. I am standing on the third green about 50 feet from the pin. You can also see the amount of due on the green and that posed a bit of putting challenge as I had to hit the ball quite hard to reach the hole.

Having suggested that the due was a challenge, the image below shows how to track the ball into the hole from 40 feet away. It was a great putt and it saved my par! I guess there is some learning value to plenty of dew on the green.

My golf season is going as expected. As I play and practice more, my game is getting sharper. To test my progress, I am playing in a few more tournaments in August and September. This is quite normal and I am looking forward to the competition. As for now, it is steady as it goes.

Additionally, I am planning to write more articles as I have slacked off due to life things. So stay tuned for some more musing and tips in the future.

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

World Hickory Golf Day As My First Round

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Today, I played my first round of golf of the 2026 golf season. It happens to coincide with World Hickory Golf Day. It usually happens that this momentous day happens around the start of my golf season every year. Sometimes, it is sooner and others later. I thought I would bring my hickory sticks to my old haunt of Osprey Links Golf Course. As the course open this weekend, the course was in good shape and our loop around the front nine was extremely enjoyable. Celebrating World Hickory Golf Day in Callander / North Bay was the first for me and next year I think I will try to expand the number of players.

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The 2025 Ontario Hickory Open Is Coming Soon

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

It is that time of year again when the Golf Historical Society of Canada host the Ontario Hickory Open. This annual event is a must attend for hickory stick enthusiasts. I will be attending and look forward to a better showing than last year (as all golfers intend regardless of last year’s results). If you are interested, keep reading for all the details.

2025-OHO-Tourney-Flyer ChampionshipDownload

Last years event was fantastic and I am working on my game in order to participate in the Open. If you are interested, than register early for this must attend event. I hope to see you there.

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

Northern Hickory Golf Tour 2025

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The 6th annual Northern Hickory Tour was conducted over three days, Thursday, August 21 to Saturday, August  23, 2025. This tour is designed to expose golfers to the wonderful world of hickory sticks. The Hickory Stick Ambassadors are great guys to play golf with and provide all the clubs you need to enjoy a round using 100 year old clubs.

Day #1: Location to be determined on the way to North Bay, Ontario.

Day #2: Osprey Links Golf Course

On Friday, our ambassadors will play their hickories at Osprey Links Golf Course, located in Callander Ontario, just outside the City of North Bay. This annual event offers and opportunity to play with hickory stick clubs. All are welcome to come out and give it a try. Tee time is 11 am. The more the merrier!

Day #3: Laurentide Golf Course

On Saturday, our players will journey to Laurentide Golf Course in Sturgeon Falls about 30 minutes west of North Bay. This is the second year in a row the Northern Tour has ventured to this wonderful track. With its upward-sloping bowl-shaped greens which ran off on all sides, approach shots, chipping and putting are challenging. The front nine was tight but the back nine was open. Laurentide is owned by the Mantha family.

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.”

If you are interested in playing on either day you can contact me through this website or text Bill Vossen at 705 472 1512.

By letting us know you are interested in playing, Bill will know how many tee times to make as well as have enough clubs for everyone. Hope to see you there!

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

My Hickory Stick Round Went As Expected

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Yesterday I played a round of hickory stick golf with my friend Charlie. We scooted around the 18 holes in around 3 hours. Playing from the shorter distances and using a cart sure helps to play a quick round. During my round, I had 3 birdies, six pars, seven bogeys and two doubles for a score of 82 on the par 74 course at Mattawa Golf and Ski Resort. There were a few highlights and a few not so pretty shots. So, my round went as expected. I did, however, find out something that I need to focus upon moving forward. This small tidbit is prevalent when using my modern clubs as well. Go figure!

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