The Machrie Hickory Challenge Part 2
Immediately it was noticeable. My opponent whacked a driver off the first, only to find the cross bunker in front of the green. Ironically he had found the exact same place with his hickories in the morning. But, instead of being there for one, he had smote a driver and a mashie niblick into the sand. We had our proof that technology was a huge help. Yes there was a huge difference between the lengths of shot, but much to my cost, I also found out that it didn't matter what space age technology you had in your hands and on the tee, if you swung it like wonky donkey, you could still carve it away into the hay. Nick found the going easier than I and was well up on his score after five holes. I, however, was one worse than my score of the morning - a legacy of the difficulty in shaking off the technique of the hickories. In the end I was beaten by two in the strokeplay and, somewhat embarrassingly, we both had only improved our score by two each from the morning. But no question, had we played the less fiddly and longer holes of the course, the difference between the two scores would have risen, in our estinate, to almost a shot a hole.
What also struck us was how few clubs we had hit first time round. Admittedly we had few to choose from - just a driver, 2 iron, 3 iron, a mashie niblick and a putter - but we were never found wanting for a club. Instead we relished the challenge of conjuring shots to order. This was raw, thinking man's golf. In a way, I don't thank club technology. I almost seemed crafted to the thin leather grip of my mashie niblick, but both of us agreed we would miss the performance of the modern ball. This was certainly one of the most fun games of golf we had ever had. It was a joy to experience a throwback to the days of bushy beards, bare footed caddies and plasticene balls. I would urge anyone to recreate their own little piece of tradition, to go for it. You, like these two humble golfers, might realise just how pampered we are these days.
The Weapons
The Balls. Compared to the feathery ball, the mesh and bramble gutties we used were positively advanced, though they date from around the turn of the century. They were moulded from solid gutta percha framed from trees in Malaysia. The bramble (so called because it looked like a blackberry) was the forerunner to dimples.
The Clubs. We played with an assortment of hickory-shafted clubs, but my set contained two drivers (a spare in case one broke!) a 2 iron, 3 iron, mashie niblick and a putter. The mashie was traditionally a 5 iron but resembled a 7 iron of today. The driver contrasted with the Liquid Metal 10.5 degree driver I used. It was three inches shorter for a start - no wonder it was short but sweet.
How they compare: the figures are longest drive and average drive)
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The equipment revolution: (How the par 5 2nd proves that technology wins) illustration by Robert Griggs
It is a short par-5, however you play it but the difference is marked if you tackle it like we did. I needed a drive of 220 yards to clear the first part of the burn and to find the fairway. Then another bunt up the fairway and a mashie niblick to get home. There was no question of cutting the corner and smacking a driver further left as I did with the latest technology, a Liquid Metal driver and a Nike ball. That only left a decent wedge to find the green. In hindsight, it was a remarkable and telling comparison.
Verdict of the Victor: Nick Copestick, Age 48, Handicap 3, Clubs Trentham and Trevose. "God was very clever in producing wood that seems to have just the right amount of flex and torque for a shaft! On a difficulty scale of 1-10, I expected that playing with hickories and gutties would have been about 9. It turned out to be about 6 or 7, but with the new balls it moved to about 4. They must have developed a handsy technique to get the ball up, but we certainly struggled. Our modern 'big muscle' swings aren't trained to do that. The long irons were the most difficult, but driving wasn't that tough, although you had less margin for error on the clubface compared to the big heads of today. But the main difference though is in the ball technology - they are far more dynamic now. The Vardons of this world were obviously very good, but I think the best of today would still beat them whatever clubs they used because they are coming from a bigger pool. I think if old Harry saw Tiger Woods today, he'd probably kill himself."