Last night my friend Charlie and I hit the links to play some twilight golf at the Mattawa Golf and Ski Resort. There were very few people on the course and we were able to get in 11 holes. We were using our hickory sticks to add to the fun. As darkness slowly descended upon us we notice a couple of things that made our experience more enjoyable. These are things that might make your round better as the end of our golf season is just around the corner.
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Northern Hickory Tour At Osprey Links Golf Course
The first official round of the 2026 Northern Hickory Tour took place last Friday at the Osprey Links Golf Course. This yearly trek up north by the Golf Historical Society of Canada (GHSC) is a must attend event that is open to any golfer looking to try something new. Osprey Links is a must stop location for the Northern Tour and again this year the course did not disappoint. Osprey Links is a must play course if you are in the area of North Bay, Ontario, as it offers a unique opportunity to play a links style course on the front and typical northern design cut through the Great Canadian Shield.
Continue readingThe Start Of The Northern Hickory Tour By The GHSC
Members of the Golf Historical Society of Canada (GHSC) played the first ‘unofficial’ round of the Northern Hickory Tour at the Couchiching Golf Club last Thursday. for the first time I was able to make the 3 hour trek to join them at this fun nine hole golf course. The nine hole course was laid out by Mr. George Cummings and opened on June 3, 1915. Couchiching is one of the older courses in Canada and was wonderful to play there for my first time. The round was fun and the course provided some unique challenges while playing my hickory sticks.
Continue readingNorthern Hickory Tour Starts Today
The Northern Hickory Golf Tour unofficially starts today. I am driving three hours to meet up with my friends for the Golf Historical Society of Canada to play a course called Couchiching Golf Club in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. I have never played this course and it should be great fun. There is a trick to playing a new course that applies regardless of what clubs one plays. It is something that most golfers overlook and is a game changer regarding our golf experience.
Continue readingHow Is Your Golf Game This Season?
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!
The Grateful Golfer 