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Sunday, February 15: Foster Links
NWHP gather again this Sunday for an outing at Tukwila’s Foster Links! Join us. Email Captain Jim von Lossow if you can play starting at around 10:40 a.m.
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Harold Hilton: Modern Golf (1913)
BOOK REVIEW MODERN GOLF by Harold H. Hilton Outing Publishing Company, 1913 by Robert A. Birman I recently read Harold H. Hilton’s 1913 book, Modern Golf, and was enlightened and entertained with every passing chapter. Hilton was winner of the British Amateur three times at the turn of the 20th century (1900, 1901 and 1911), once winner of the American Amateur Championship and a two-time British Open champion in 1892 and 1897. I found myself midstream with three period pieces over the holidays this year; Harry Vardon’s The Complete Golfer, Horace Hutchinson’s Fifty Years of Golf, and Hilton’s so-called Modern Golf. I found myself putting down Vardon to finish both…
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Arizona Desert Hickory – End of February in Phoenix
Get Away From Winter – Fun In the Sun in Phoenix, Arizona! Six NWHP members are already registered for this winter tournament; please join us! Mountain Views, Rolling Fairways and Challenging Greens Practice rounds available: Friday Feb 27th Tournament: Sat. & Sun. Feb 28th & Mar. 1st PEBBLEBROOK GOLF COURSE – Sun City West, AZ Come Join Us for the 2015 – 3rd Annual AZ Desert Hickory! There will be multiple hickory play divisions for gross and net winners. Lots of awards, fun and food! See entry for details. And if you are “new to hickory golf,” the organizers will have a separate division just for you! Players will be…
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April 27, 2015 – Inglewood Golf Club
Combining a storied history with a premier golfing facility, Inglewood Golf Club sets itself apart as one of the Northwest’s finest private clubs. Its members have the pleasure of being part of a club rich in in tradition, alive with an active membership and the continual challenge of a demanding layout. It’s a unique recipe that feeds the love of golf we all share. Click here for a history of this prestigious private club. THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. Inglewood has played host to numerous prestigious events including: PGA Seattle Open PGA Senior Tour GTE Northwest Classic USGA Open Qualifying (Local & Regional) WSGA Men’s & Women’s Amateur Championships…
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May 9, 2016 – Tacoma Country and Golf Club
Tacoma is honored to be considered the home course of several PGA professional golfers. Founded in 1894, the Tacoma Country & Golf Club is among the premier private country clubs in the Northwest. Perched on the banks of American Lake, the clubhouse offers an unequaled setting for weddings, banquets and other private special occasions. Amenities of the club include a world-class 18-hole championship golf course complete with a large all-grass driving range, sand traps, chipping and putting greens and a practice hole where golfers can hone their short game. In addition to golf, the club has an Olympic-size swimming pool, a lakeside boat dock with swimming area, tennis courts and…
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June 15, 2015 – Rainier Country Club
When Rainier Golf & Country Club opened it’s first nine hole “golfing grounds” on September 15, 1920, it was considered one of the finest private “out-in-the-country golf links” in the Seattle Area. Originally the course consisted of what is now the back nine and there was no clubhouse. Bob Collins, the designer, builder, and first Golf Professional at Rainier, was quoted in the August 29, 1920 Post Intelligencer as having lined up 198 prepaid members and a long list of golfers awaiting his “golf instructional work.” Rainier, the second oldest private golf club in Seattle, has matured and evolved into one of the most imaginative and demanding tests of golf in…
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June 29, 2015 – Fairwood Country Club
A fair but challenging course, Fairwood offers excellent private club conditions with smooth fast greens, great pace of play and well drained year-round playable turf conditions. The full size and length practice range, large practice green and short game areas are available for players who seek to fine-tune every element of their game. From the beginner just learning to play, to the low-handicapper, and everyone in between the course will provide both challenge and fun. Fairwood has earned the reputation for having some of the purest putting surfaces in western Washington. Undulated greens coupled with varying hole designs require a range of shots and players will often use every club…
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July 9, 2015 – Kitsap Golf & Country Club
Kitsap Golf & Country Club is an 18-hole member owned private golf course set in peacefully wooded beauty just outside of Bremerton, Washington. The golf club was founded in 1924 by ten men who set out to find a suitable site, eventually buying 57 acres that was once farmland and an apple orchard. The club has an active men’s club, women’s club, a beginning women’s group and a junior summer program. The clubhouse features a full service kitchen serving breakfast, lunch and dinner ranging from casual to formal. An Executive Chef can provide a wide selection of dishes to accommodate any occasion. Additionally, their wine selection features some of the…
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July 9, 2016 – Olympia Country Club
Famed golfer, Byron Nelson, once scored a 59 playing these links. He later returned for a nostalgic visit where he played such a fantastic game. When asked why he was back, he replied, “It was the only course I’ve shot 59 on!” Bud Ward, many time state and national amateur champion, started his golf career on our course. Established in 1914, and moved to its current location in 1926, it started as a nine-hole course. Additional property was purchased in 1957 and the course was expanded to 18-holes. A pro shop, swimming pool and deep water dock were built at that time. The grounds are continuously upgraded with new drainage and…
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September 10, 2015 – The Home Course
The Home Course is about as good as modern public golf gets. Everything is super-sized–the fairways, greens, and bunkers are all at massive scale–which makes some sense for this course, to allow for the frequent winds off Puget Sound. The Home Course is very playable for golfers of all skill levels, but still poses a significant test for low-handicap or scratch players. As a championship test, it’s as interesting as its sister, Chambers Bay, thanks to challenging green surrounds, and its scenery is almost as good. The par 3′s in particular will definitely get your attention here. The course features gentle elevation changes throughout the course, for the most part,…
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October 5, 2015 – Glendale Country Club
Set in the heart of the eastside and just moments from downtown Seattle, Bellevue is one of the state’s finest private golf properties. Glendale’s 18 hole championship layout has played host to 11 State Opens and is recognized as one of Washington’s best maintained properties. Glendale was created as a golf club first and foremost and continues that tradition today. The course itself stretches over 6,663 yards with a slope rating of 138 and offers four sets of tees making the course both exciting and challenging for players of every skill level. The club offers great instruction from its staff of PGA professionals and includes an active women’s program and junior…
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Tacoma’s Jim Barnes was a thinking man’s golfer
Born in Cornwall, England, Jim Barnes came to the United States in 1906 and became one of the world’s finest players. He won the first PGA Championship in 1916, defeating Jock Hutchinson in the final match, and successfully defended the title in 1919 after a two year lapse due to World War I. Jim won $500 and a diamond medal for each victory. He won the 1921 U.S. Open, defeating Walter Hagen by eight strokes at Chevy Chase Club, near Washington D.C., and the 1925 British Open at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. He was a four time champion of the Northwest Open. Jim was the golf professional at Tacoma…
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The Rake’s Progress:
Rare Clubs Fetch Record PricesA New York Times article on sports auctions in 1989 cited what was then a growing trends and a wide shift in pricing for rare, period golf clubs. In specific, they suggested, a “lack of buyer education and the field’s relative newness mean prices occasionally fluctuate wildly at auction. It also means canny buyers can pick up a bargain.” At a then-still-recent Sotheby’s sale, according to the same article, “Jeffrey Ellis paid $12,672 for a large ash-headed putter whose value had been estimated at merely $400. The putter’s size, shape and markings suggested to him an 18th-century club, possibly by the Scottish maker Andrew Dickson. Among its markings was “G.I.E.,”…
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Pacific Northwest Hickory Championship
September 19-20, 2015Save the Date! Pacific Northwest Hickory Championship – September 19-20, 2015 Enjoy two days of competition on two historic Seattle courses! First day at Foster Golf Links in Tukwila, WA and the second day at West Seattle Golf Course in Seattle, WA. Tee times are 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday. ENTRY FEE: $125 includes green fees for both days, pizza and drinks on Saturday and prizes. You may sign up for one day ($65 entry) only, but will not be eligible for overall competition prizes. Carts are extra. EQUIPMENT: SoHG approved hickory-shafted clubs. Period attire suggested. PRACTICE ROUND: practice round is not included in…
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16th Annual Canadian Open Hickory Championship
AUGUST 12-14, 2015 The Legends Golf and Country Club, Sherwood Park, in Alberta plays host to a USA vs Canada match (Ryder Cup format), including a 27 hole tournament, practice rounds, BBQ and banquet. Many come up a few days early for the annual two day pre-tournament road trip or stay a few days afterward to golf at a variety of golf courses. All are welcome! For more information, contact Ron Lyons. Or you can contact the golf course at 780-449-4911 or check the Legends website. Canadian Open Hickory Golf Championship 2010 from Legends GCC on Vimeo.
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What’s in a Name … the Club Professional’s Mark
Do you wonder who that person is whose name is on the back of your hickory clubs? No, I don’t mean T. Stewart or George Nicoll whose names are well known and well documented. I mean the other names: names like Joe Sylvester, R. Johnstone, Jos. Jefferson, R. W. Ball, J. Dagleish, and myriad others. You already know that, in most cases, these are the names of club professionals, some famous but mostly obscure. These club professionals would import clubs from clubmakers like Stewart and Nicoll and then stamp their own names onto the club heads before matching them to hickory shafts which they then offered for sale to their…
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Northwest Golf Collectors Trade Show
March 27 & 28 in OregonThe 33rd Northwest Golf Collectors Trade Show hosted by longtime Golf Collectors Society member and golf professional Pat Sutton will be held March 27 and 28 at the Riverside Golf and Country Club in Portland, Oregon. This is always a popular show with many fine golf antiques and collectibles. Trade Show hours are generally from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28. Free admission for the public and free parking. Exhibitor display tables are $40 each and set-ups can occur at 5 p.m. on Thursday. The public is encouraged to bring golf collectibles for free appraisals. Riverside G&CC is at 8105 Northeast 33rd Drive.…
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Joyce Wethered: The Great Lady of Golf
Joyce Wethered: The Great Lady of Golf (Tempus Publishing, 2004) Review by Robert A. Birman Rereading Basil Ashton Tinker’s scrupulous expose on the legendary lady of the links, Joyce Wethered, I was reminded of the J. Paul Getty quip, “The meek shall inherit the earth, but not the mineral rights.” Joyce Wethered: The Great Lady of Golf (Tempus Publishing, 2004) chronicles a remarkable life of relative privilege (Wethered’s progenitors gained wealth via ownership of several coal mines), yet filled with the usual grit and hard work that characterizes a champion. This “great lady” lived 96 years and one day. She was known as Lady Heathcoat-Amory for the majority of her…
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New Players Welcome: Rental Sets Available
No matter what your experience level, novice to expert, all golfers are welcome at NWHP events. Our members have 50 sets of authentic, hickory-shafted clubs from 1935 and earlier. Newcomers to the sport find that the game is hardly different once they also get to learn how to smooth out their tempo and let the clubs do the work. It’s a memorable experience and any attire is fine! Join us. Visit our events page for upcoming outings and tournaments. Click Here for inquiries and rental rates!
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New Year’s Day Outing at 11 AM
Kitsap Golf & Country ClubJoin us on New Year’s Day for the first anniversary outing of Northwest Hickory Players! We’ll meet at 10:50 a.m. at the Kitsap Golf & Country Club in Bremerton. The course is closed to the public that day. The course pro is hosting NWHP for the day as a favor to Jim von Lossow. About 20 members are expected to be there as well. Our group will tee off around 11 a.m. Bring your knickers and your game face. It’s gonna be a hoot! Brunch near the course after the round. Happy New Year! Kitsap Golf & Country Club is an 18-hole member owned private golf course set in peacefully wooded…
