1890s Gutty Golf @ Harbor Point Golf Club – Hickory Golf Course Vlog #42

A shot-by-shot hickory golf course vlog featuring hickory golfer Christian Williams playing 1890s gutty golf at Harbor Point Golf Club in Harbor Springs, MI, with fellow hickory golfer and golf historian Andy Grow. 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 authentic 1890s gutty golf irons, a replica 1880s long-nose spoon, and the period-accurate McIntyre Park synthetic gutta percha ball (details below).

Harbor Point Golf Club is one of the oldest golf courses in Michigan dating back to 1896. In 1899, the course was developed into an 18-hole course with a design by David Foulis. David was one of the three Foulis brothers along with James and Robert, who were extremely influential in the early days of American golf. In addition to golf course design, David also collaborated with James in revolutionizing the Haskell rubber-cored ball by adding dimples, modernizing golf holes with the development of the metal cup liner and upright pin flag, as well as inventing the mashie niblick.

Harbor Point has undergone many modifications over the years so it’s difficult to pinpoint what still remains from the original Foulis design, but that doesn’t take away from its subtle beauty and enjoyable playability. A members-only course during the summer months, the course is open to the public before June and after September each season; contact the club house to schedule a tee time: https://www.harborpointgolfclub.com/

Harbor Point is also a sister course to nearby Wequetonsing Golf Club, which is another one of the oldest golf courses in Michigan. Watch the Weque course vlog here: https://youtu.be/TPWlcZk-RV4

In this round, Williams is playing gutty golf, which is hickory golf played with pre-1900 golf clubs and a line-cut, period-accurate ball made of synthetic gutta percha that’s about as close to the real thing as you can find to mimic the playability and distance of the gutta percha ball that was used for golf from 1848 to about 1898 when the rubber-cored Haskell ball first made its appearance. This round is sponsored by McIntyre Golf Co., which produces period-accurate replica golf balls for the hickory era, including several different balls used for pre-1900 gutty golf. Williams is using their premium Park ball for this round; learn more about the Park and other McIntyre golf balls at: https://www.mcintyregolf.com/

Williams plays authentic 1890s irons and a replica long-nose playclub handmade by Kelly Leonard. He also carries the sand for his sand tees in a leather sand tee pouch made by Steurer & Jacoby (use the promo code HICKORYHACKER23 to save 10% on any purchase at http://www.steurerjacoby.com including their Leather Sand Tee Pouch). In rounds where he doesn’t have sand or in frozen tee box conditions, he uses a durable 3-in-1 rubber tee that you can find on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KVF1wA

Here’s “What’s Under the Arm?” for this round sponsored by McIntyre Golf (https://www.mcintyregolf.com/):
– Replica 1880s McEwan long spoon – 15 degrees, E6 swing weight, 43 inches
– Circa 1894 Peter Paxton general iron – 31*, E3, 40-1/2″
– Circa 1898 Cann & Taylor “Taylor’s Mashie” – 36*, D3, 37-3/4″
– Circa 1900 B.G.I. lofter – 46*, G0, 37-3/4″
– Circa 1902 Tom Stewart Ord Putter – 8*, C7, 35″
– McIntyre Park synthetic gutta percha line-cut ball

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