This year’s Hickory Championship is over! The 2022 Championship was played at the Park Golf Club Ostrava, Šilheřovice, a unique course laid out in a Rothschild castle park among hundred-year-old trees.
Despite unexpectedly small participation, it was successful in all aspects. Ideal weather, pitch in perfect condition (quite possibly the best I ever remember), amazing scenery of the castle park, great atmosphere of reciprocity and beautiful performances and uncompromising duels. Just everything about hickory golf.
(Click here to see Dalibor’s post on the Czech Hickory Championship Facebook page. There is a delightful gallery of some 80 photographs that show one of the happiest hickory golf gatherings of the year.)
In addition to established champs, there were several hickory newcomers participating this year; we hope they become a permanent part of our community. Lecko was prevented from participating for family or health reasons, that’s what happens, but she was surprised by the fleeting foreign participation. Luckily, at least Christoph Meister, historian and great promoter of hickory, arrived.
The championship atmosphere began to take shape as soon as Friday afternoon and evening, with individual training rounds concluded, similar to last year, with a friendly sit-down in the club’s restaurant coupled with wine tasting.
The championship itself brought many beautiful performances. In the women’s category, thanks to two birdies(!) title defender Blanka Beková won the first place. But the second Kateřina Taturova completely dominated the common net category before Libor Jirásk and Jan Zoulík.
In the main Open category it was extra tight this time, when each of the players had both bright moments and several eclipses – after all, hickories are never far from a mistake. Just to mention the short 9th, a hole where everyone from the first flight, each in their own way, played double-bogey… However, after a moving course, when the difference between later medalists was up to 5 runs (after 14. hole) everything still got tangled and leveled in an unprecedented way, when all players from the first flight had a completely similar result after 17 holes.
Everything was decided by the final on the last hole. The third Mark Kunc was betrayed by an aggressive pass at the back position of the hole, when he ended up behind the green, from where there was no rescue. The second Jiří Vozko was betrayed by his biggest gun at the last moment – until then a flawless short game. And so Dalibor Procházka defended the title with a final sprint (par-birdie-par-par). But in reality, this was not the end of the drama, because in the wind of the second flight Libor Jirásek played great, who was in the lead even in the middle of the round and on the ungrateful 4. instead he was pushed away by mistakes on the long holes of the second nine.
After tough fights under the hot sun, everyone welcomed refreshments on the club terrace in front of the renovated club hall, where the results were announced. And those who did not go home immediately had the opportunity to enjoy romantic time later in the evening in the basement by the fountain.
See you again in a year!
Dalibor
The Open, or gross, results.
The net results.