How to put a hickory bag together?

Feedback · July 4, 2016

Posted on this in brief in another thread, but think it deserves it's own thread (as I can imagine I am not the only one with this 'problem').

I would like to be able to play golf using hickory clubs from time to time. I like the idea and the challenge. However, I also get the feeling that the clubs you play are really personal. I've played 2 rental sets now, and the first one worked quite well, where the second one not so much.

I understand that the clubs were not manufactured like today where you just buy a set of on brand/type and all clubs perform likewise, but rather buy individual clubs. Have also decided that initially I could probably make do with just a small set (brassie, mid iron, mashie, mashie-niblick, niblick and putter). But then: where to start? chances of me finding hickory clubs at the pro shop 0%, local second hand stores/antique fairs/garage sales 0%, which pretty much leaves 'ye olde interwebs' as the only source (ebay and a handfull of sport antiques websites).

Not only is it difficult to determine if a club you find online is suitable to be played, but also if I can play it. So how does everyone else do this? Do you just end up buying - testing - judging and then either keeping it or selling it again?

Blade Junkie · July 4, 2016

Essential links on assembling a play set :

https://www.hickorygolfers.com/how-to-build-a-hickory-golf-play-set_5123_ct.aspx

http://www.hickorygolf.com/assembling-a-play-set.html

Iain Forrester is probably your best expert club source in your part of the world :)

A 'playable' original, good swingweight, re-gripped, re-pinned, shaft treated etc etc would probably set you back about 80-100 Euros per club if you were buying them from the hickory specialists.

The other route is buying them on eBay, at auction, antique shops etc etc, and then either doing the refurbishment work yourself or outsourcing it (in the UK, I budget £25-30 for irons, and £45-60 for woods for an expert refurb).

Look for swingweights in the range C3 to D7, as these tend to work best.

For your 6 club set, you might want the Brassie at about 13-15°, Mid Iron 25°, Mashie 35°, Mashie Niblick 45° and Niblick 55°. Typical club lengths Mid Iron 38-38.5", Mashie 37-37.5", Mashie Niblick 36.5", Niblick 36" is a good start.

Regarding putters, try a few different styles and see what fits your eye and feel. Standard Mills mallet putters, Gibson Eskitt, Gibson Brown Vardon, James Braid Orion, Ben Sayers Benny, Nicol Gem all have their following as 'popular' models.

Assembling a play set is alot of fun and highly addictive. Good luck!

deetsal · July 4, 2016

When using only a few clubs I don't think they have to be matched. Each club can be learned a separate entity, with its own personality. That is really fun. A full set is a bit trickier, 11 irons is a lot to get to know on a personal level. Clubs like a jigger are also useful as they have more then one use. Rut irons are also cool but you may go several rounds before needing it, however it can be used on different ways then just a "hole digging out of club". I like it for some chipping and pitching shots. My dad use to say "start small and think big".