Ralph:
I was hoping you'd see this. In fact, if you didn't, I was going to seek your counsel by email.
That all makes great sense to me.
I assume my question in this thread what you are getting at with:
"Learning about architecture started to raise it's ugly head. With them moderns, I didn't really think about strategy, just hit the fairway, hit the green, try not to 3 putt. The hickories changed that big time. Ball placement became of paramount importance."
Right?
I do want to have that placement challenge again.
I guess what I can't get over - to make this jump more permanent, to invest the time and money to get good playable hickories - is that I have a hard time believing I'd ever get to playing within 1 shot of my handicap now, as you said you did your first time out. And as much as I'd love to say I am above such things, well... like I say the game is tough enough for me with modern clubs. My use of hickories would come with an expectation I'd never be all that good with them, which of course can be a good thing too as I said before.
In any case, the more that I think about this, the more intrigued I become. So here's the $64K question:
I am lazy. I don't want to wade through websites. I am impatient - I don't want to wait for Ebay auctions. I don't have the wherewhithal to travel to collectors' society meetings.
Is there a place I can just buy a decent set of 6-7 clubs to get me going? I want one-stop shopping, and I don't want to spend an arm and a leg.
I know I am being totally unreasonable, and I also know I am missing out on part of the fun of this - the research, acquisition, collecting.
I just want to be able to give this a decent try.
Is there a place I can make this happen?
TH