Hickory golf comes to Southland

Hickory golf comes to Southland

                                                                                  By Neville Idour

The revival of hickory golf in New Zealand is alive and flourishing. 

Sir Bob Charles, a great advocate, won the 2023 New Zealand Hickory Open in Christchurch and the good news is hickory golf is going to be promoted in Southland

Wakatipu Junior Golf Club co-ordinator Simon Boland is the Golf New Zealand representative for the Hickory Golf Society. Boland is also the Southland Golf development manager so will be supporting the growth of hickory golf in the wider Southland area.

Boland said: “ I still have a lot to learn about the hickory golf story and it's growth in New Zealand. 

``There are many ways to play golf these days. Lots of people new to golf are looking for a different challenge to what we would perceive as our traditional golf. 

``In reality traditional golf was hickory golf and many today are embracing it. I think it is exciting and that is why I want to play and grow it in the region.

“It is easy to lose touch with the people and the game they played hundreds of years ago. Stalwarts of the game playing with hickory clubs today are still able to score well against those using all the modern technology. There is definitely a skill to it.”

Boland said there were already several playing hickory golf in the area. 

“There are some golfers in Te Anau plus a few in Queenstown. The many nine-hole courses in Southland with flat terrain are perfect to give it a go and have fun with the hickory clubs. Ryan Cardno in Arrowtown has played hickory golf for a long time and I think the Arrowtown course is set up nicely for it.

“It is a form of the game that has appeal especially for those who love the history of golf and maybe pictured themselves playing back then. So my role will be to get the processes under way to bring back some of that history.”