June 30, 2026
Hickory Demo Day at Jackson Park: Golf History, Diversity on Display
By Mark Ohrenschall
President, Jackson Park Men’s Golf Club
Golf’s history, and a small but rising share of its present, came to life Saturday, June 6, during “Hickory Demo Day” at Jackson Park.
It featured a two-hour session at the range, with hickory-shafted clubs available for practice use and hickory devotees sharing their knowledge and expertise, along with a putting-green station, and a follow-on outing at the par-3 course.
I found this event revealing about hickories, and also illustrative of golf’s beautiful kaleidoscope.
We (the JP men’s club) played a minor role in this demo day, buying a few buckets for the range session, coordinating logistics with JP staff (thanks, Matt and Luc) and marketing it to members.
Most of the work came from Martin Pool, Jimmy Bucher and other hickory enthusiasts, many of whom belong to Northwest Hickory Players, described on its website as “a voluntary association of golfers formed to enjoy and encourage playing golf exclusively with hickory era, pre-1935 equipment.” The website includes events, podcasts, history, photos, resources, lore and more.
Prior to June 6, my hickory experience consisted of a few informal shots, rarely successful. But with some guidance from Martin, Jimmy and others–notably, swing smoothly but with conviction–I managed to decently strike balls with clubs such as a niblick (high-lofted iron), mashie (mid- to short-iron) and brassie (wood/driver). One solid shot with a wooden-headed hickory club conjured sweet memories of one of my all-time favorite clubs, a persimmon-headed, steel-shafted 4-wood from the late 20th Century.
Another participant said of his initial hickory swings: “Feels like a golf club.”
Shots with hickory clubs don’t travel as far as with “moderns,” as the hickory folks call current golf technology. It’s roughly a two-club difference, I learned. But it’s still recognizably golf, similar to how a 1980s-era Apple Macintosh would today recognizably be a personal computer.
I also tried a wooden-headed mallet-style hickory putter on the putting green. Initially it felt strange, but with a few practice attempts it became recognizably putting–in other words I mostly missed, lol.
I also enjoyed learning a few tidbits about hickory technology (some early-day clubfaces had no grooves, for example) and aspects of its modern-day revival, including a national open coming to Gearhart Golf Links in coastal Oregon in September.
As a history/golf buff, I respect and admire the hickory crowd, people like Martin, Jimmy, Carl Leboa, Luke Suplizio and others, some affiliated with Jackson Park. They come across as passionate, friendly and supportive, eager to share their love of and tangible connection to golf’s venerable history dating to the mid-1800s.
Later I asked Martin why he played hickories. “My primary reason … is that I enjoy learning about the history of the game: How golf got started, how it has evolved over the years, and how the equipment and the courses have changed,” he said via email. “I feel like a time traveler going back a hundred or more years, and experiencing golf as it was played then.
“I also enjoy the challenge of playing these old clubs,” he continued. “It’s amazing to me that golf clubs made out of wood still perform well enough for me to play a decent game. Unlike modern equipment, each hickory club has its own personality and quirkiness, and discovering the one that fits you is a joy. And when one of your favorites breaks, it’s like losing a friend.
“Many of our players enjoy tinkering with the clubs to make them more playable by experimenting with swing weights, flexes, as well as repairing and refinishing them,” he said. “I’m no craftsman, but I do enjoy that aspect of hickory golf as well.”
On another level, Hickory Demo Day showed how golf is enjoyed in many different ways.
Playing century-old clubs and wearing Victorian-era garb is one.
So, too, are little tots cavorting on the putting green with their parents; First Tee classes serving a multiplicity of kids 6-18; young adults drinking beer and playing Top Tracer on the range, and/or riding on the course, music flowing; our women counterparts with the Jackson Jills; my fellow seniors practicing, playing, socializing and savoring our twilight years with this game of a lifetime; those of us competing in local, state, regional and national tournaments; JPMGC members with their wide range of ages, demographics and golf skills; and many other varying forms.
Golf carries an increasingly outdated image as an elitist sport. Elements of that still exist, but spend time at Jackson Park and other public-golf facilities–including at Hickory Demo Day–and you’ll realize it’s very much a game of the people, in all of our glorious diversity.
Happy summer to all.