FOXBURG, Pa. — The Foxburg Country Club on June 2-4 will be the site of the 2022 National Hickory Championship. Founded in the mid-1880s the course in scenic Foxburg, Pennsylvania maintains the 19th century charm and trappings that make it an ideal hickory course.
The National Hickory Championship was established in 1998 to bring together golfers who enjoy playing golf in historic conditions, the way it was played before the turn of the last century. Playing according to 19th century rules and using authentic 19th century equipment makes the NHC the sternest test of hickory golf contested anywhere. Open to all, the NHC draws the most ardent and accomplished wood shaft golfers from across America and Canada.
The hickory competition will be in four divisions. The International Feathery Challenge begins at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday June 2. Groups of three will play, par 4 holes will have teeing ground at the 150 yard mark. Par 3 holes will have tees at about the 90 yard mark. On hole 5 the tee will be at about the 200 yard mark. There is a three-club limit for this competition and one club must be a wood and one club must be a putter. No bags. There is no lifting or touching the ball tee to green. No marking, lifting on the green.
After feathery players have all teed off, the “Mike and Elmore Foursomes Competition” will begin. The foursomes format is the way most golf was played before 1860. Teams of two, partners, played alternate strokes with one ball. The NHC uses foursomes as a way of getting in practice on the course and with partners being drawn immediately before play participants often play alongside someone they have never played with in the past.
On Friday, June 3 at 7:30 a.m. rounds 1 and 2 of the National Hickory Championship will be played. The rules in use are from the 1891 Royal & Ancient club in Scotland, the first uniform golf rules code. Prior to that every club had their own rules. Equipment must be from the 19th century and is vetted before the competition. Balls are gutta percha replicas of the type used from about 1850-1900. From the teeing ground balls are teed up on sand. On Saturday, June 4 at 7:30 a.m. rounds 3 and 4 of the National Hickory Championship will be played.
Dress during the four 9-hole rounds follow a strict dress code — long sleeve shirt and tie required. During the Feathery Challenge the same dress code will be followed with the exception of no knickers or kilts, long trousers only for mid-18th century historical accuracy.
Competitive, yet fun, the hickory championship is the ultimate test of hickory golf. The NHC is like no other hickory golf tournament here, in Britain, or anywhere else in the world; it is authentic, competitive, historic, unique, and above all, fun!
Gutty ball era golf has a legion of keen followers. The principal attraction of this style of golf is that it is far less forgiving than modern day equipment allows and there is greater satisfaction when a good shot is played. It also gives realistic appreciation in what players in the earliest days of American golf experienced.
Foxburg Country Club traces its rich history all the way back to Scotland’s St. Andrews and the world’s official Home of Golf. The Foxburg golf course was granted status by the Department of the Interior’s National Registry of Historic Places in 2007 and houses artifacts from the American Golf Museum.
In 2021, a group of dedicated members and community leaders embarked on a $2 million preservation project for the course, called The1887 Project, and retained Ron Forse of Forse Golf Design, a leading national golf course historian and architect to provide a master plan.
More information on the National Hickory Championship, can be found at HickoryChampionshionship.org
Foxburg Country Club is located on Harvey Road, Foxburg, PA 16036. For additional information about the 1887 Project, visit 1887project.org/.
