Just to clairify a few points, there are a few misconceptions about gutty clubs that should be corrected. The clubs most of the better players use at Oakhurst are authentic Irons and Putters with replica Woods. I personally have a collection of Robert White Irons (1870's-1893) that I use, and over the 6 years of the Oakhurst Tournament, have documented examples from Forgan, Park and Anderson. The Irons are fairly consistant in their specs, from the various manufacturers, in their lofts ranges.
Niblicks typically are 48-53 degrees, probably comparable to a Gap wedge to Pitching Wedge.
Rut and Track Irons fall in at 40-45 degrees, around a modern 9 Iron. Lofters are 35-40 degrees, approximately 8-9 Iron in strength.
Mashies are usually 35-38 degrees.
An Iron runs 25-30 degrees, in the 5-6 Iron range.
Driving Cleeks are in the 17-21 degree range.
Most players carry 5 clubs. A Wood for the tee shots on most of the par 4 and 5's, three Irons with lofts around 30, 40, & 50 degrees. Some carry cleeks for the tee shots but the thick grass doesn't allow much more than a 25-30 degree club from the fairway. A Long Nose Wood from the fairway is rarely a consideration. Putters are recommended to be the Long Nose Wood type but Iron Putters with a squared hosel joint are allowed. That joint is a sign it is typically pre 1890, 1895 at the latest.
The more skilled players in the Gutty era typically used fairly stout shafts because they had the skills to get the ball in the air. Many of the less proficient amatuers used a flexable shaft because it helped get the ball in the air. The Gutty game was an airborne game and, relatively speaking, they didn't run very well. I have played a number of rounds with real gutty replicas and can verify they play best when attempting an all airborne game. The replica ball that Oakhurst uses does very well on it's distance, when compared to a real gutty, but is solid rubber and bounces around considerably. A real gutty lands soft and dies. It is something to be seen and experienced. The ones I play were $25 each and lasted most of 18 holes, not a cheap experience.
With the introduction of the Haskell, players figured out they could do what Vardon refered to as a flat pull swing and make the ball run. Vardon strongly suggested (in 1912) the re-introduction of cross bunkers to get players to start hitting the ball in the air again, complaining strongly about the loss of skills amongst the new generation of players. He was also one of the proponents of bringing the Gutty back as a tournament ball. The first chapter of "How to Play Golf" by Vardon is very enlightening.
Most of my play is with 1920's era clubs and the gutty clubs come out for a month of practice in July to play the NHC at Oakhurst at the end of the month.
My personal opinion of the question, Who Here Wants Hickory To Be The Future?, is it should not be. My personal preference would be to see the ball pulled back to about 80-85% of it's current performance. If you want to know what that would be like, the mesh ball replicas that are available are very close to that performance level.
By the way, 1971 Staffs were my last set of moderns. I still use a couple of them for driving range clubs because they feel so close to my Stewarts.
Ralph / Hickorygolf.com