Stepping back in time with hickory-shafted

clubs can be good for your golf ....

FROM THE SCOTSMAN NEWSPAPER WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
The men were very dapper, the women extremely elegant. The golf bags they carried were neither multi-coloured nor big enough to accommodate half the stock from the local club professional's shop.
The scene was the opening round of the PGA World Hickory Open at Gullane and, according to those competing, both young and old, the chance to take a step back in time had certainly proved enjoyable.
"This is the first time I have ever played with hickory clubs and it was good fun," said Maximilian Walz, a 17-year-old from Germany, playing in one of two teams entered in the pro-am by the Loretto Golf Academy.
Like many taking part, Walz, an amateur who plays off +2, found it difficult at first to get used to sets that, basically, consisted of a brassie, long iron, mashie, mashie niblick, niblick and putter. However, once he'd discovered that he shouldn't be trying to hit the ball as hard as he normally would, the new recruit to the Musselburgh school's blossoming golf programme savoured the experience.
"I'm aware that players like Bobby Jones played with these type of clubs and know how well they were capable of scoring with them," added Walz. "When I go back to Germany, I'll be telling my national coach how much I enjoyed this experience."
According to Alasdair Good, the head professional at Gullane, his first round with a set of hickory clubs – he shot a two-over 73 over the No 2 course to share the lead with Steven Taylor and Andrew Oldcorn at the halfway stage – had definitely proved an enlightening experience.
"The first trick you have to learn is to feel how the club performs and adapt your swing accordingly," he said. "You have to be 100 per cent committed with every shot and the one thing it would certainly teach every golfer is that they would have to improve their timing.
"I also think it opens your eyes to playing the game more imaginatively because you can't play that shot through the air over bunkers that we see in the game today with the modern equipment."
Former British women's open amateur stroke-play champion and trainee pro Heather MacRae, who works for Good in the shop at Gullane, enjoyed both the challenge and also the opportunity to dress up for the day.
"I love the whole idea of taking a step back in time," she said.This week's event is the fifth World Hickory Open. It started as a nine-hole tournament at Musselburgh Old Links before moving to Craigielaw.
Now it's part of a Festival of Hickory Golf and Lionel Freedman, the driving force behind the event, is hoping it can continue going from strength to strength.
"It is growing in terms of enjoyment, in terms of numbers and also in terms of venues," said the 75-year-old current club captain at Craigielaw. "I'd like to see it continue being played on historic golf courses, perhaps even some of the really important venues, the likes of a St Andrews.
"We also get tremendous support, in particular, from Sweden and I would also like to take it there one year."
SCROLL DOWN FOR ALL THE PROFESSIONAL SCORES AND THE AMATEUR TEAM FIRST-DAY WINNERS