Hickory Golf: Turn Back Time Challenge

Elite pros showcase the pleasures of hickory golf at Omega European Masters.

Lee Westwood, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Danny Willett, and our own Paolo Quirici showed us just how fun everyone has during a hickory golf showcase at the 2016 Omega European Masters. The caibre of this foursome is a great endorsement for this increasingly popular version of the game.

At first glance, many assume that hickory golf, which requires players to use original or approved recreations of clubs in common use prior to 1935 (many players use just six clubs), is little more than a novel walk in the park organized by stodgy elderly men clinging to the past. That couldn’t be further from the reality.

Hickory golfers comprise all ages, men and women, experienced and beginning players. Hickory golf events are held all over the world. Some of them cater to pros, many of whom enjoy playing “the game as it was originally meant to be played.” Others are open to anyone curious about golf and its history–players and non-players alike.

LinkedGolfers has encouraged members to give hickory golf a try for years. In 2016, we backed our recommendation with cold, hard cash by becoming the very first title sponsor of the World Hickory Open Championship–the accepted international major for hickory golfers worldwide.

Two-time golf Major Champion Sandy Lyle, who won the “LinkedGolfers World Hickory Open Championship” held at historic Panmure Golf Club in Scotland, has become something of a celebrated hero among hickory players, many of whom consider his two World Hickory Open victories (2014, 2016) as a true test of skill and worthy of legitimacy as “major” classification in its own right.

For us here at LinkedGolfers, Sandy Lyle is indeed a true champion and an innovator among pros. We hope players such as Westwood, Jimenez, and Willett will follow in Lyle’s footsteps and test their skills using clubs that require a player to focus more on feel and creativity than the technology and power that currently dominate the sport.

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Sean T. Kelly

Owner/Director at LinkedGolfers

Sean T. Kelly is a writer, editor, and content director who has nearly 25 years' experience developing material in print, online, and over the air. His work has appeared on the New York Times "Best Seller List," international magazine covers, and the Today Show, among others. Sean is currently focusing on the intersection of travel, lifestyle, and mobile technologies. He is the owner/director LinkedGolfers.

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