Golf Club Atlas

GolfClubAtlas.com => Golf Course Architecture Discussion Group => Topic started by: Thomas Dai on January 16, 2025, 04:45:41 AM

Title: Elite players playing hickories (TFE piece) at Victoria GC, Melbourne
Post by: Thomas Dai on January 16, 2025, 04:45:41 AM

Elite players playing hickories!
Yippee!
Worth a read - [size=78%]https://thefriedegg.com/ryan-ruffels-victoria-australia-hickory-golf-clubs/ (https://thefriedegg.com/ryan-ruffels-victoria-australia-hickory-golf-clubs/)[/size]
Many aspects covered with insights. Be interested in Mike C and Matt M thoughts.
Video piece referenced isn’t yet released. Looking forward to viewing it when it is.
Atb

Title: Re: Elite players playing hickories (TFE piece)
Post by: Mike_Clayton on January 16, 2025, 06:46:21 AM

Thomas,


The previous day I played Royal Melbourne East with Ryan (Ruffels) and Richie Ramsay - 4x Euro Tour winner and a self-described "on the short side" driver.
They hit wedges into every par 4 on the course.


The next day Ryan played the back nine at Victoria with hickory. It took him a bit to get used to the clubs but he hit drives and 3 irons into the 10th,11th and 12th holes - 10 and 11 would have been wedges and 12 perhaps a driver/8 iron.
The high, drawn 3 iron up the hill to 11 was super impressive and the golf was so much more interesting to watch than the driver/wedge fest the previous day. (Not that playing Royal Melbourne is ever bad!)
By the end he was well-used to the clubs and his two drivers onto 18 were super impressive.


The game is so obviously more interesting at their level when the clubs are more difficult to hit and the courses play in a way their original architects would recognise.

Title: Re: Elite players playing hickories (TFE piece)
Post by: Thomas Dai on January 16, 2025, 11:41:47 AM

Every par-4 at RME with a wedge when played by the 2xRR’s. Thats rather sad even given modern wedge lofts.

Ryan R’s hickory usage comments about trajectory, the ground game and the need/enjoyment in creating less than full shots especially with only a few clubs and low lofted narrow bladed ones at that and how it made him appreciate the architectural strategy and playing requirements of Victoria’s back-9 brings joy to my heart.
 
Playing courses designed in the hickory era with clubs (and balls if available) of the sort in use at the time of the design is imo a great way of gathering knowledge into why things were designed the way they were. Same with course construction methods and maintenance practices.

Looking forward to viewing the video when it’s released.

Atb

Title: Re: Elite players playing hickories (TFE piece)
Post by: Thomas Dai on January 20, 2025, 04:44:57 PM

Here the video that accompanies the TFE piece referenced above -
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FSu3C8gDO2U&pp=ygUUSGlja29yeSBnb2xmIHJ1ZmZlbHM%3D (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FSu3C8gDO2U&pp=ygUUSGlja29yeSBnb2xmIHJ1ZmZlbHM%3D)
Well worth watching.
Plenty of insights into amongst many things hickory/balata equipment and its playability relative to today, the level of elite player skills, architecture particularly strategic aspects in relation to the ground game and trajectory, the importance of grass and sand type in relation to club specification and playing technique plus many splendid low level views of the wonderful Sandbelt course at Victoria.
 :)
Atb

Title: Re: Elite players playing hickories (TFE piece)
Post by: Mike_Clayton on January 20, 2025, 05:54:28 PM

Hickory = angles matter.

Title: Re: Elite players playing hickories (TFE piece) at Victoria GC, Melbourne
Post by: Thomas Dai on January 29, 2025, 04:17:30 AM

Something similar worth a view -


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VG3i-CgbFkM (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VG3i-CgbFkM)


Atb