The Endorsement of “replica” hickory shafted golf clubs.

By Ross Haslam

There are many levels to the replica vs period club debate. The most talked about is club performance, this article addresses that issue. The often heard, but ill-informed, mantra from some within hickory playing circles is that replica clubs offer a playing advantage over period clubs. 

The fact is they do not.

They offer no playing advantage over a well-chosen and maintained period set and for some hickory golfers they are an inferior choice.

The Bobby Jones Story

In 1929, after his clubs were stolen (but later returned), Bobby Jones asked J. Victor East to make a duplicate of his famed Jeanie Deans driver. Victor East said that Jones “inspected 5,000 pieces of first grade hickory to find four shafts” that were suitable, and of these four, two met the final requirements for his driver

Bobby Jones didn’t inspect thousands of heads in trying to duplicate his famous driver. You have control when building the head, whether it is a wood or an iron. The overall design, the shape, the size, the weight, and weight distribution can all be controlled. But the shaft is a very different story, the best you can do is sort and select what nature has provided, to try and get the characteristics you desire.

Hickory, as a hardwood timber, has unique strength and elasticity characteristics that make it well suited for use as a shaft in golf clubs. However, being an organic material, the consistency in performance that is needed to play golf well is not easily found or determinable.

“The golf shaft is the dynamic part of the club. It reacts to how a player swings and that then leads to changes in how the head is delivered into the ball. Factors like shaft weight, bend profile, balance point, and overall stiffness are all perceived differently depending on the player, and that can cause them to make swings that are compensating for something they feel is off. The goal of a fitter is to find a golf shaft that works not only with the selected club head but also with a golfer’s natural swing pattern to create consistent results shot after shot.”

This goal has remained the same since golfers first began playing.

Playing “modern golf” in 2022 we use a variety of synthetic shaft materials manufactured to meet a range of exact specifications that can be precisely measured and adjusted to suit an individual’s requirements.

In 1922 hickory was the preferred shaft material for golf clubs. In 2022 we, as hickory golfers, use hickory as the shaft material.
With a hickory shaft, you get what you get. You can increase or decrease the diameter of the shaft slightly to increase or decrease the flex, but you can’t straighten the grain, remove a defect, change the weight, or change the force with which that shaft returns to its original position when it is flexed. You cannot undo what Mother Nature has put into the timber. What is a good hickory shaft?

The weight of hickory shafts can vary widely. As a general rule the more dense (close grained) heavy wood yields a stiffer shaft. The lighter less dense wood produces a more flexible shaft. But there are exceptions to every rule. The rare, premium shaft, is a shaft that is light in weight, yet is stiff in flex; when it is bent, it returns to the original position quickly and forcefully. About one percent of shafts fall into this category. It is the shaft Jones was looking for to put in his clubs. The light shaft lowers the weight of the entire club, allowing you to swing it faster, thus hitting the ball farther.  
In a nutshell, hickory golf is primarily about the shaft. A shaft well-matched to the golfer in a suitable original club or modern replica will produce good results, the wrong shaft in either club will not. In real terms it is as simple as that.

How do you know if a shaft is well matched to a player?

Take note of the clubs you hit well and those you don’t. Have the swingweights measured. It is far from an exact science and “feel” plays a big role in choosing clubs with shafts that will suit your individual swing. The more you play the more experienced you become and the more you will learn about choosing clubs that are right for you.

Those that like to suggest that replicas deliver an unfair advantage are often playing with period clubs that are ill-suited to their game and/or they have a heritage agenda to promote. It would seem there are those that think a random set of clubs purchased from eBay or a set of clubs with matching makers marks is all that is needed to play competitive hickory golf. If these people were to use period clubs that were suited to their game they would realise that period clubs offer a much better variety of clubs for hickory play compared to what is available in replica clubs.  
A quality period set can take years to assemble and require the trialling of dozens and dozens of clubs. For those unable to find suitable original clubs or do not have the time to invest in the “search” then replica clubs offer a time efficient alternative albeit at a much higher price point than many will spend on an equivalent period set.

However, it’s not all sunshine and roses. Whilst replica sets have shafts that are selected to be relatively consistent, in general they tend to have stiffer shafts and are swingweighted much heavier than most period clubs (mid D range and above), similar to what a lot of players use in their modern clubs. Many hickory players prefer hickory clubs in the mid to high C range and find replicas “too heavy” and/or too stiff.  Replica clubs are certainly not for everybody and many buyers discover that what appears perfect in theory is far from perfect in practice.

There is no difference!

Considering the fundamental role that a hickory shaft plays in determining the “playability” of a hickory club it is hypocritical to differentiate the performance of period clubs from replica clubs if the re-shafting of period clubs with “new” hickory shafts is allowed (which all heritage and hickory groups do).

 
If we are to differentiate between clubs then it should be a very simple criteria, “all-original” vs the rest. No modifications to period clubs using any materials, equipment or techniques that were not available during the hickory era (pre-1928). It is difficult to understand how an original clubhead with weight added (to increase the swingweight), re-shafted with a new hickory shaft, re-set with modern epoxy adhesive and re-gripped with a new leather grip remains classified as a period-only club for competition purposes. The club is now 90% new with playing characteristics completely different to the original.

Replica club manufacturers simply produce copies of the period clubheads that are the most sought after. The original period clubs that are used as “templates” are usually very hard to find and, when available, are very expensive to buy. As hickory golfers, we would be very happy if we had access to all of the best original clubs of the era, I doubt if any of us would choose to play the replica version over the original. As hickory golfers we know that those period clubs are especially difficult to find and that the reality is that most of us will never get to play with these original clubs.

The classic example is a heavy flanged niblick. A good quality period original flanged niblick will cost anywhere between US$250-$450 on US eBay. There is a finite number of these period clubs available and as they become harder to find the cost to purchase them will increase, a simple supply and demand situation. A Tad Moore replica flanged niblick (modelled on clubs from the hickory era) in comparison is US$170. 

What about grooves in replicas?

Some replicas have parallel grooves that are deeper than the grooves seen on most period clubs. The commonly heard misinformation is that because of the deeper grooves replicas clubs are able to generate more backspin than a period club.

Yet another misconception.

If you were to produce two identical niblicks, the first with grooves and the second without, the niblick without grooves will impart more backspin than the niblick with grooves. For the same ball at the same clubhead speed, the amount of backspin created is determined by the surface area in contact with the ball and loft of the clubface. The greater the surface area and loft the greater the friction created which produces more backspin. This is why so much backspin can be generated from bunkers without the clubface contacting the ball.  

­ Friction + ­ loft + ­ clubhead speed = ­ backspin.

Modern grooves reduce the surface area in contact with the ball and actually reduce spin.
Grooves are designed to work like the tread on a car tyre to remove water, and foreign material (grass, dirt etc) to maximise the surface area in contact with the ball from poor lies.
In wet conditions and/or when playing from the rough, where there is the potential for water or grass to reduce the surface area of the clubface, grooves can offer a spin advantage. In dry conditions from the fairway a smooth faced club may offer a greater advantage. Ideally, to cater for all course conditions a player would need to carry two sets of lofted clubs, one set with grooves and the other without.  

The ball also plays a crucial role in generating spin. The softer the cover the greater the amount of friction and, therefore, the more spin that can be generated. Players who choose a ball with a softer cover material (e.g., urethane) will generate more spin than players who choose a ball with a harder cover material (e.g., surlyn).

Summary

The primary tenet of HGQ is to promote the playing of hickory golf, we are not a heritage group per se but we acknowledge and appreciate the significant legacy that golf history contributes to this game.

HGQ believes that in any competitive hickory event every participant should have the opportunity to play at their best without any restrictions, differences or alterations to the championship title based upon what approved clubs are available to use or what approved clubs they choose to use. In short, the winner should be the person that returns the lowest score regardless of what approved clubs they use.
If the best club for you is a period club with original shaft then you are welcome to use it for all HGQ events. If that club is a modern replica or an original club with new hickory shaft you are equally welcomed.

Hopefully, the above article explains why Hickory Golfers Queensland Inc. equipment rules and playing conditions do not discriminate or differentiate between the clubs that are approved for hickory play.