SoHG Mission Statement, Bylaws, brief history, and notable dates in modern hickory golf

The mission of the Society of Hickory Golfers is to promote and encourage the playing of Hickory Golf.

i. To carry out the Mission Statement of The Society of Hickory Golfers;

ii. To establish a worldwide society of like-minded hickory players;

iii. To assist members and others in discovering the playing characteristics of wood shaft golf clubs;

iv. To promote the experience of golf in a manner consistent with how the ‘royal and ancient game’ was played in the hickory era;

v. To establish guidelines for organizing hickory golf tournaments;

vi. To provide a centralized scheduling system for world wide hickory competitions;

vii. To provide a hosting service for the establishment and maintenance of hickory handicaps ; and

viii. To develop and maintain equipment standards for hickory play.

Bylaws of the Society of Hickory Golfers

Approved by the Board and majority of voting members on Nov. 30, 2023.

A brief history of the SoHG and notable dates in modern hickory golf

Modern hickory golf in the United States grew out of so-called “hickory hacker” events held in conjunction with annual meetings of the Golf Collectors Society (GCS). The GCS was founded in 1970 by Joe Murdoch and Bob Kuntz to share their passion for golf history and the game’s collectibles and memorabilia. Only a few dozen people were initially involved, but the idea caught on and more people joined the GCS.

As it grew, the GCS began to hold annual meetings at various venues throughout the U.S. Eventually at these meeting, a few collectors who were trading old wood-shafted clubs wanted to get out and try hitting them – at least clubs not considered rare or highly collectible. In the early 1990s and later, such “hickory hacker” events evolved into annual GCS golf championships. On their own, the more curious and passionate of these hickory players would occasionally meet at their own home clubs for informal hickory golf outings. Tad Moore, one of the earliest U.S. hickory pioneers along with Randy Jensen, Ralph Livingston III, and Roger Hill, estimates there might have been perhaps 15 hickory golfers in the U.S at that time.

In 1999, following a GCS annual meeting in Lexington, Ky., a group of players met to discuss a rules controversy that had arisen following the hickory golf event. They developed a set of rules and standards of play for hickory golf events.

In 2000, realizing the growth in hickory golf and understanding the need for standards for tournament play and guidelines for equipment and rules, a group of players met following the GCS annual meeting in Virginia Beach, Va. At this meeting were Tad Moore, John Sherwood, Ralph Livingston III, Chuck McMullin, Roger Hill, Randy Jensen, Winfield Padgett, and John Crow Miller. They are recognized as the founders of the Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG) and Ralph Livingston III is recognized by founding members as the inspiration for the SoHG and modern hickory golf.

The Founders of the Society of Hickory Golfers

In January 2007, the SoHG’s executive committee met at the GCS trade show in Dayton, Ohio, to discuss the growth in hickory golf and to re-examine the structure of the SoHG. Originally, the SoHG was to be a guiding force in hickory golf, not a supervisory body. At that meeting, executive committee members decided to incorporate as a non-profit organization, elect a board of directors, and recruit new members. In addition, as a result of that meeting, the SoHG took a more active role in determining rules for tournaments and creating equipment standards.

The SoHG now has hundreds of members throughout the U.S. and abroad. They are golfers who love the distinctive feel of golf with hickory-shafted clubs. Moreover, they all share an enthusiasm for the rich history and traditions of golf and bring those values to the golf course. Conservative estimates of the total number of hickory players in the world now total about 3,000. And the number is growing.

The SoHG sponsors several national and international tournaments on historic courses, most of which date their origins to the 1920s or earlier. Its Order of Merit program, currently under review, offers high-level competition for hickory golfers in all skill and age categories.

Through its website, the Society connects its members to a wealth of resources on equipment, history, a handicapping service, regional groups, a tournament calendar, a buy/sell/trade page for clubs, as well as tournament and equipment guidelines and standards. Members receive a monthly e-newsletter and a bi-annual printed publication, A Wee Nip.

Notable dates in modern hickory golf

1970 – Golf Collectors Society founded (September)
1970s-1990s – Growth of annual GCS hickory golf championships
1978 – Heart of America hickory tournament established by Warren Olson, then GCS president, remains an 18-hole event for first 30 or so years of existence
1984 – American 1898-1930 Golf Club Trademarks, by Pat Kennedy, published
1990 – Ralph Livingston III and Randy Jensen meet at GCS meeting in Chicago
1995 – Collecting Antique Golf Clubs, by Pete Georgiady, published
1998 – June, National Hickory Championship (NHC), a pre-1900 Gutty event, established at Oakhurst Links in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., by Pete Georgiady, the first two-day hickory tournament
1998 – Louisville Golf makes replica long nose clubs for NHC use
1999 – GCS hickory tournament rules controversy leads to discussion of rules and standards for hickory tournaments
2000 – Group of hickory players create SoHG; founders include Tad Moore, John Sherwood, Ralph Livingston III, Chuck McMullin, Roger Hill, Randy Jensen, Winfield Padgett, and John Crow Miller
2000 – First set of tournament guidelines created by Chuck McMullin
2000 – SoHG board votes to allow replica hickory clubs for tournament play
2001 – Hickory Grail, a biennial British Golf Collectors Society fixture, is established by Ralph Livingston III and David Hamilton
2002 – Wood Shafted Golf Club Value Guide, by Pete Georgiady, published
2002 – Hickory Open established by Ralph Livingston III and Fred Muller at the Kingsley Club in Kingsley, Mich., the first SoHG-supported tournament
2003 – Southern Hickory 4-Ball established by Tad Moore in LaGrange, Ga.
2003 – Doug Marshall begins the CB Macdonald Challenge at Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada. It was then the first international multi-day event
2003 – George Nicoll of Leven, by Roger Hill and Pete Georgiady, published
2004 – First issue of A Wee Nip is published, September with Jim Davis as editor
2004 – Tad Moore creates line of replica hickory shafted clubs based on MacGregor and Gibson irons
2004 – Mid Pines Hickory Open established in Southern Pines, N.C. by Rob Pilewski and Tad Moore
2005 – World Hickory Open established by Lionel Freedman at Musselburgh Old Links
2005 – Carolina Hickory Golf Association established by Rob Pilewski, Jay Harris, Doug Marshall, Bob Hansen, and Bill Engelson
2005 – Travel & Leisure Magazine publishes article on hickory golf and calls Randy Jensen “The Hickory Tiger”
2005 – Louisville Golf begins making replica woods; by 2007, has full sets of woods and irons
2005-06 – Frank Boumphrey creates first SoHG website, e-newsletter
2006 – Mountain Valley Hickory Open established in Arkansas by Breck Speed
2007 – Hickory Golf Association established in Iowa by Bill Reed
2007 – SoHG constitution written
2008 – First U.S. Hickory Open, Mimosa Hills at Morganton, N.C.
2008 – Mountain Valley Spring Water first SoHG sponsor at the USHO
2008 – Hickory Open in Michigan moves to Charlevoix, becomes the Belvedere Hickory Open
2008 – Playing Hickory Golf, by Randy Jensen, published
2009 – Mike Brown passes away (February)
2010 – Mike Brown Award established, Frank Boumphrey and Tad Moore are inaugural honorees
2010 – Thomas Stewart Jr, Golf Cleek and Iron Maker, by Ralph Livingston III, published
2011 – Mountain Valley Spring Water becomes major sponsor of the SoHG
2011 – Jim Davis accepts role as Society’s first executive secretary/director
2011 – Mike Stevens establishes the U.S. Professional Hickory Championship in Temple Terrace, Fla.
2011 – New SoHG website created
2011 – Championship Series created, first event was the Southern 4-Ball, others include the Mountain Valley Hickory Open, the U.S. Hickory Open, the Belvedere Hickory Open, and the Mid Pines Hickory Open
2011 – Lionel Freedman becomes first international executive committee member of the SoHG
2012 – Frank Boumphrey passes away (March)
2012 – Ralph Livingston III passes away (August)
2013 – International Competition planned, first event scheduled for 2014
2013 – Dr. David Brown purchases McIntyre Golf Co. from Chris McIntyre
2014 – SoHG co-founder John Sherwood passes away (March)
2014 – Brian Schuman creates World Hickory Match Play Championship at Philadelphia’s legendary Cricket Club
2014 – First International Hickory Cup played in Carnoustie, Scotland; U.S. win by 22 1/2 to 21 1/2
2014 – Sandy Lyle, 1988 Masters Champion and noted tour professional, wins World Hickory Open in Carnoustie, Scotland. Lyle also plays practice round at Augusta National using replica hickory golf clubs made by Tad Moore
2015 – AP National Golf Club hosts hickory tournament at Chambers Bay Golf Club, just weeks before 115th U.S. Open
2016 – New SoHG website makes debut
2016 – Mike Just, owner of Louisville Golf, passes away ( October)
2016 – Inaugural World Hickory Golf Day, to be celebrated annually first Sunday in May
2017 – Lionel Freedman, founder of World Hickory Open, passes away (January)
2017 – The 10th annual U.S. Hickory Open at the Del Monte Golf Course in Monterey, Calif., marks the USHO’s first West Coast staging.
2018 – Hurricane Florence forces postponement of USHO until late October
2018 – Noted television broadcast veteran Mike Tirico appears in video promotion for 2019 USHO at Belvedere Golf Club where he is a member.
2018 – The SoHG moves A Wee Nip to bi-annual appearances in The Golf, a quarterly journal, in collaboration with The Golf Heritage Society.
2020 – The Championship Series is renamed the Order of Merit series.
2020 – The SoHG publishes a 20-year celebration booklet.
2021 – The SoHG places the Order of Merit on hiatus toward improving the program and to encourage international participation.
2022 – A Wee Nip returns as a printed bi-annual publication for SoHG membership.
2022 – Ed Ronco, past SoHG president and co-founder of the Wyandotte Hickory Organization, passes away (February).
2022 – Interest in gutta percha golf grows to new heights in the U.S.
2023 – Efforts were made toward creation of SoHG-affiliated bodies for hickory golf in Europe and Asia/Pacific.
2024 – An Asia/Pacific Championship was inaugurated, held in Christchurch, NZ, in March.
2024 – SoHG Co-Founder Win Padgett passes away (March).

SoHG Presidents

Tad Moore (2000-2008)
Ken Holtz (2008-2011)
Chris Deinlein (2011-2013)
Robert Caston (2013)
Hampton Munsey (2014)
Dr. David Brown (2015-2016)
Bill Geisler (2017-2018)
Ed Ronco (2019)
Greg Smith (2020)
Scott Staudacher (2021-2022)
Joe Hollerbach (2023-2024)

U.S. Hickory Open
Champion and Location

2008 – Jay Harris, Mimosa Hills CC, Morganton, N.C.
2009 – Roger Andrews, Mimosa Hills CC, Morganton, N.C.
2010 – Rick Woeckener, Mimosa Hills CC, Morganton, N.C.
2011 – Alan Grieve, Donald Ross Course, French Lick, Ind.
Ladies Champion – Claudia Aaron
2012 – Tony Smarrelli, Donald Ross Course, French Lick, Ind.
2013 – Jeremy Moe, Bay Course, Seaview Resort, Galloway, N.J.
2014 – Jeremy Moe, Country Club of Asheville, Asheville, N.C.
Ladies Champion – Barbara Kopec
2015 – Jeremy Moe, Miami Valley Golf Club, Dayton, Ohio
Ladies Champion – Francine Smarrelli
2016 – Jeremy Moe, Links of Lawsonia, Green Lake, Wisc.
Ladies Champion – Sally Shiff
2017 – Nico Bollini, Del Monte Golf Course, Monterey, Calif.
Ladies Champion – Roberta Robbins
2018 – Taylor Jones, Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, N.C.
Ladies Champion – Andrea Hodel
2019 – Rick Woeckener, Belvedere Golf Club, Charlevoix, Mich.
Ladies Champion – Kate Tomlinson
2020 – Taylor Jones, Happy Hollow Club, Omaha, Neb.
Ladies Champion – Susan Marchese
2021 – Andrew Von Lossow, Gearhart Golf Links, Gearhart, Ore.
Ladies Champion – Chelsea Guenette
2022 – James Ciganek, La Campeon Course, Mission Inn Resort, Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Ladies Champion – Rylee Stovall
2023 – Matthew Hoffman, Inwood Country Club, Inwood, N.Y.
Ladies Champion – Jane Pohlman

Lifetime Members of the SoHG

Dave Brown, Omaha, Neb.
William Carpenter, Louisville, Ky.
Kevin Cawley, Omaha, Neb.
Nelson Ford, McLean, Va.
Bill Geisler, Winter Park, Fla.
Bob Georgiade, Durham, N.C.
Ross Hays, Tampa, Fla.
Roger Hill, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Will Jacoby, Louisville, Ky.
Randy Jensen, Omaha, Neb.
Jack McDonnell, Omaha, Neb.
Chuck McMullin, White Post, Va.
Charles Mitchell, Lexington, Ky.
Tad Moore, Selma, Ala.
Jeffery Olsen, Shoreline, Wash.
Win Padgett, Dallas, Texas (In Memoriam)
Skip Platt
Rick Rechter II, Hopkinsville, Ky.
Doug Ruge, Omaha, Neb.
Edward Ronco, Wyandotte, Mich. (In Memoriam)
Breck Speed, Little Rock, Ark
Scott Staudacher, Grand Rapids, Mich.
John Willbanks, Colleyville, Texas
Jeremy Wright, Louisville, Ky.