Field notes from the fairways

Learning hickory golf at 69

I am a 69-year-old golfer starting from scratch with hickory clubs, writing down what I notice on each course I travel to.

Why hickory

Putting the graphite away

For years I played modern graphite clubs without really thinking about them. Taking up hickory woods and irons means relearning the swing, the feel, and the way a course reveals itself.

I am not an expert and I do not pretend to be. I am learning as I go, and I would rather share honest observations than polished advice.

What I write about

Course visits and club reports

Each dispatch records a round, a course, or a club, written from the fairway rather than from a list of facts.

Course visits

Rounds at classic courses

Notes from travelling to play different courses, including how the ground, the wind, and the routing shaped each day.

Club reports

Balance and feel

Honest checks on how each hickory club felt in play, what it did well, and where it let me down during real matches.

Playing notes

Learning in real matches