Hickory wood is synonymous with golf’s heritage, but its story begins far earlier than the sport itself. With its remarkable strength, flexibility, and durability, hickory has been used for centuries in toolmaking, furniture, and sporting equipment. For golfers, it became the defining material for club shafts, shaping the game’s early development.
During the 19th century, Scotland’s clubmakers sought a strong yet pliable wood to craft golf club shafts. Native hardwoods such as ash and hazel had been used, but they lacked the combination of resilience and flexibility needed for a perfect golf swing. Hickory, native to North America, quickly gained attention as an ideal alternative.
By the mid-1800s, hickory was regularly imported from the United States to Scotland, primarily from states such as Tennessee and North Carolina, where dense, slow-growing hickory trees produced the finest shafts. Scottish clubmakers soon embraced the material, and by the late 19th century, nearly all premium golf clubs featured hickory shafts. This transition marked the beginning of golf’s golden age, where handcrafted clubs became works of art and performance tools.
Hickory’s incredible toughness and shock resistance made it a prized material beyond golf. It was widely used for:
Even today, hickory remains in use for tool handles, drumsticks, and traditional sporting gear, proving its time-tested reliability.
Hickory stands apart from other woods due to its:
High Strength-to-Weight Ratio: Making it both durable and light enough for precision use.
These characteristics made hickory the ultimate choice for golf shafts, allowing players to generate smooth, controlled swings while maintaining exceptional feedback and control.
With the rise of steel shafts in the 1930s, hickory golf clubs gradually faded from mainstream use. The consistency and mass production of steel made it the new standard. However, hickory golf never truly disappeared. Today, a growing number of golfers are rediscovering the joys of playing with handcrafted hickory clubs, appreciating the artistry, skill, and tradition they bring to the game.
At the Hickory Golf Workshop, we celebrate this legacy by restoring and crafting hickory clubs, allowing golfers to experience the game as it was meant to be played.