Have you ever wondered what it would be like to belt a mashie or whiff your featherie with a niblick?
Well, here’s your chance to play golf the old school way.
Organisers of the 2012 World Hickory Open Championship have announced the tournament will be played over the Monifieth Medal and Carnoustie Burnside courses in Scotland, the “Home of Golf,” from October 8-9, 2012.
More Tweed Jacket than TaylorMade
Lionel Freedman, co-founder of the World Hickory Open, was in Scotland this week to launch the tournament which is more tweed jackets than Taylormade Rocketballz.
“The World Hickory Open was previously held in East Lothian and it appears the opportunity to play golf in a country widely-known as ‘the cradle of golf’ appeals to hickory club golfers.”
The early indicators are very good and entry numbers are already higher than at this time last year,” said Lionel.
More than 120 golfers are expected to play in the tournament which was founded in 2005.
The World Hickory Open is a two-day golf tournament where amateur and professional golfers compete in teams of three using traditional hickory-shafted golf clubs, like Old Tom Morris or Willie Auchterlonie.
More than 25 teams are expected to sign up for the historic competition with golfers having travelled from Sweden, the USA, Denmark, Switzerland and the UK for previous World Hickory Opens.
No experience is necessary
You don’t have to be an expert to enter the World Hickory Open but as its co-founder told Global Golfer, it’s not an easy game to master:
“Experience of hickory golf is not vital, nor is it compulsory to wear traditional golfing gear such as plus fours, although many of our competitors do.”
“And, although hickory clubs can be very unforgiving, playing a round of hickory golf is an experience never to be forgotten,” says Freedman.
The tournament is being played over two courses which are members of Carnoustie Country, a marketing collective promoting golf in the Angus, Fife and East Perthshire areas of Scotland.
Bill Miller, chairman of Monifieth Golf Links, said: “Visiting golfers can benefit from the high quality of the accommodation available in the area and 30 golf courses within a 40 minute drive.
There are many activities on offer for non-golfing partners in Carnoustie Country, which centres around the beautiful county of Angus, on Scotland’s east coast.”
To get a better idea of where to stay and play in Carnoustie Country, read Global Golfer’s feature Unsung Hero about golf in Angus, Dundee and Carnoustie.
Entry to the 2012 World Hickory Open costs £150 per golfer, which includes a round of golf on the Monifieth Medal and Carnoustie Burnside courses, hire of hickory clubs and a gala prizegiving dinner.
To find out more about Carnoustie Country and its golf courses, including ‘stay and play’ packages, visit www.carnoustiecountry.com
For more about the World Hickory Open Championship, visit www.worldhickoryopen.com