Pinehurst golfers turn back clock with hickory clubs

PINEHURST -- About the only time that 2015 intrudes on Jim Rohr's round of golf is when his phone rings.

After talking for a few moments, turning off his smartphone and then stashing it in his golf bag, the 68-year-old retired financial planner explains that he couldn't afford to miss this one call. But now, the phone is gone for good.

With that, the raw Thursday morning on the first fairway of Pinehurst No. 2 returns to a scene that seems more at home somewhere deep in the course's past.

The sun has burned away the mist as Rohr and the rest of his foursome walk toward their tee shots. Two of them are wearing knickers. Rohr has a black tie tucked beneath his gray cardigan.

Once he gets to his ball, he grabs a club, puts down his bag and takes some practice swings.

When he sends his second shot rocketing down the fairway, the sound isn't the shrill metallic ping of a wood or the familiar thwack of an iron. Instead, there's a meaty knock. It sounds like a batter turning a fastball into a stand-up double.

But when you're using clubs that are nearly as old as the vintage Donald Ross course you're walking on, that's the sound you're looking for.

"It is special," Rohr said.

Rohr's group is part of a small but passionate circle of players who take part in "hickory golf." Using antique (or replica) wooden-shafted clubs, they take on the classic courses of the Sandhills with the kind of equipment their grandfathers might have used.

Instead of 7-irons, they've got "mashies." Their pitching wedges are "niblicks."

Their woods are made of actual wood.

For them, the thrill of hitting a perfectly placed drive using an octogenarian driver trumps a 300-yard blast with a state-of-the-art titanium one.

"I fell in love with it because when you hit a shot with these clubs and you hit it solid." 65-year old retired teacher Tony Smarrelli pauses. "I mean, this is a 1920, 1930 club and it feels like a regular club."

Keeping scene alive

Hickory players are a small subset of the thousands of golfers who live in, or pass through, the Sandhills. But with their antique equipment and vintage style, they're some of the most memorable.

On this day, a group of hickory golfers have scheduled an outing for Pinehurst No. 2.

"We call ourselves the Hickory Nuts," Rohr said.

There are larger organizations that keep the hickory golf scene going. The Carolina Hickory Golf Association holds monthly events at area courses.

Contested each fall at Mid-Pines Inn and Golf Club, another Donald Ross gem, the Mid-Pines Hickory Open Championship has become one of the largest events of its kind.

Today, the scene is much more informal. Before teeing off, Smarrelli takes a moment to show off some of his antique clubs.

His driver is a replica of the one Bobby Jones used to win the 1930 grand slam. His aluminum putter is worn smooth. He explains that you can tell who made the club by finding the small symbol of the maker.

"You have to swing a little easier with them," Smarrelli said. "With my irons, believe it or not, there's only five yards difference between these and my regular irons. The woods go quite a bit a distance shorter."

While the hickory clubs usually have a variety of origins, the hickory golfers tend to have the same backstory.

For the most part, these are people who the golf bug has bitten hard. So hard, in fact, that golf with modern clubs could at times feel stale. At some point they cross paths with someone using hickory clubs. Curiosity is aroused. Clubs are borrowed. Later, clubs are bought.

Soon they're out here in plaid caps and argyle socks, knocking around brand new Titleists with 80-year old clubs.

Of course, these two have taken it farther than most.

After getting introduced to hickory golf by Pinehurst resident Jay Harris, a club maker and hickory golf guru of sorts, Smarrelli won the 2012 U.S. Hickory Open.

In October, Rohr won the senior division at the World Hickory Open in Scotland.

A few holes later, one of Rohr's tee shots finds its way into a bunker. Unlike modern clubs, the sweet spots on these are tiny. One imperfection in your swing can get you in trouble.

Rohr is fine with this. He's not the first one to walk into one of Pinehurst No. 2's bunkers with his mashie in hand. And with players like him keeping the hickory golf tradition alive, he won't be the last.

"It's very challenging, it's much harder," Rohr said. "It's fun. It's still golf, but it's just different."

This article was written by Stephen Schramm from The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.