Highland Links (Cape Cod) with 1840s Featherie Golf Clubs - Hickory Golf Course Vlog #26

A shot-by-shot hickory golf course vlog featuring hickory golfer Christian Williams playing pre-1850 featherie golf at Highland Links Golf Course in Truro, MA on Cape Cod. This is the first in a new series of featherie golf course vlogs called American Featherie.

Highland Links dates to 1892 and is one of the oldest golf courses on Cape Cod. It's also one of the few true links courses in the United States due to to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean coastline, sandy soil, and natural topography. The course was originally designed and operated by the Small family of Truro as a golf resort starting sometime between 1892-1898. Eventually, the property was acquired by the federal government in the 1960s and is now part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Learn more about Highland Links here: https://www.highlandlinkscapecod.com/

This round showcases the style of golf played prior to 1850 called featherie (or feathery) golf. Named after the ball used, featherie golf was played with a leather ball filled with a top-hat's worth of boiled goose feathers. When the feathers dried in the leather casing, the ball would become hard and playable for golf. An experienced ballmaker could only make several balls per day, hence golf was an expensive game in the featherie era played mostly by the wealthy. It's said that the cost of a ball often exceeded the cost of a club. The featherie era lasted for at least 150 years before the advent of the gutta percha ball in 1848. The low cost of the gutta percha ball made golf accessible to a much larger group of players and quickly made the featherie obsolete.

The clubs used for featherie were primarily wooden-head clubs ranging in lofts from 13 degrees to 30 degrees. Williams plays featherie golf with a four-club replica set made for him by recreational woodworker and clubmaker Brad Korando. The templates for each of the four clubs are featured in Elmer Nahum's essential book on 19th century clubmaking called Practical Clubmaking. All of Brad's clubs were handmade to the specifications and traditions used to make circa 1840s featherie golf clubs. Learn more about these clubs and the process with which Brad used to make them here:    • 1840s Replica Long-Nose Golf Clubs fo...  

The featherie ball used for this round was provided by Hickory Lane Featherie, which sponsors the featherie golf content on this channel. Denny and Cathy Lane have done extensive research into the process of making authentic, playable, and durable featherie golf balls and their featheries are about as close as you can get to the real deal. Learn more about the Lane featherie and buy one to try here: https://www.hickorylanefeatherie.com/

"What's in the Clutch?" sponsored by Hickory Lane Featherie:
- Circa 1840s Douglas McEwan Playclub Replica, 13 degrees, G+, 43-3/4 inches
- Circa 1840s Hugh Philp Short Spoon Replica, 22 degrees, D6, 39 inches
- Circa 1860s Robert Forgan Baffing Spoon, 30 degrees, C6, 38 inches
- Circa 1870s Tom Morris Putter, 9 degrees, G+, 38 inches
- Wooden Sand Tee Mold handcrafted by Bruce Markwardt, MI
- Leather Sand Tee Pouch made by Steurer & Jacoby
- Hickory Lane Featherie Ball

Williams is a brand ambassador for Steurer & Jacoby and proudly uses their fine line of handcrafted golf bags, head covers, and valuables pouches. Use promo code HICKORYHACKER24 to save 10% on any purchase at https://steurerjacoby.com/
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