Golfing Like It’s 1901 @ Shelter Island C.C. - Hickory Golf Course Vlog #48

A shot-by-shot hickory golf course vlog featuring Long Island, NY-based hickory golfer Christian Williams playing turn-of-the-century gutty golf at Shelter Island Country Club on Shelter Island, NY. Williams is a golf historian with a high handicap, sharing his passion for the game through this channel where he shows how to collect, repair, and play with antique, wood-shafted golf clubs. In this round, Williams, is using his transitional gutty era set and ball featuring authentic wood-shafted golf clubs from the late 1890s and early 1900s (details below). Welcome to the channel!

Shelter Island Country Club dates to 1901 and is one of the oldest continuously operated nine-hole golf courses in the United States. Located on an island between the North and South forks of eastern Long Island, Shelter Island is considered a pasture course with hilly terrain and unirrigated fairways. It's difficult to pin a specific name to the design of the course, but club records suggest it was Wesley Smith - the club's first superintendent - who did most of the sculpting using picks and shovels, horses, and donkey carts. Though some trees and bunkers have been removed over the years, the course is much the same as it was when it opened 122 years ago.

The period of time between 1898 and 1902 was a pivotal time in golf history bridging the "gutty" era of the previous 50 years with the new "modern" era. The catalyst for this transition was the ball. Prior to 1898, golf was played with a solid ball made of gutta percha. In 1898, Coburn Haskell developed the first rubber-core ball, which increased distance significantly and revolutionized the game and its equipment over the next several years. To commemorate this transitional era of gutty golf, Williams played this round with the authentic clubs and period-accurate replica ball that would have been available when the course opened in 1901.

"What's Under the Arm?" sponsored by McIntyre Golf Co.:
- Circa 1902 Tom Stewart mashie iron, 25 degrees, D5, 38-3/4inches
- Circa 1898 Cann &Taylor "Taylor's Mashie", 35 degrees, D3, 37-3/4 inches
- Circa 1900 B.G.I. lofter, 46 degrees, G0, 37-3/4 inches
- Circa 1902 Tom Stewart Ord Putter, 8 degrees, C7, 35 inches
- McIntyre Brown line-cut ball with modern, low-compression core (mimics the appearance and performance of the 1898 rubber-core Haskell ball). Buy the Brown and other period-accurate balls for hickory golf at: https://www.mcintyregolf.com/

If you're interested in trying gutty golf or pre-1935 hickory golf, Williams builds authentic and affordable starter sets. Please reach out to him by email at [email protected] for more information.

Williams is also 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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