Bay Harbour: February 02, 2022

Wednesday February 2 2022 Bay Harbour News
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
263 x 180
on the stiff, dense and shock
SPORT 13
in bygone era tournament
Paying homage to history
– the hand-forged hickory
era spanned the 1890s to the
1930s – means you sacrifice the
benefits of new technology.
“A good drive, if you’re really
lucky, might be 200m (compared
to 250-285m with state
of the art equipment) and you
don’t have the volume of clubs,
you’ve only got five (or six) in
your bag,” Upton said.
“You have to be a little bit
inventive. That skill or art of
the game has gone, with modern
golf it’s all about drivers
and wedges.”
Charles and Upton will also
look the part after a selection
of plus fours, and tweed vests
arrived from the United Kingdom
last week.
Upton is also producing
hickory tee markers and period
piece flags for the greens. Clubs
will be carried in canvas and
leather bags reminiscent of the
sport’s formative years.
“We’re going the whole nine
yards,” said Upton, aware there
is considerable ground to make
up on a golfing world where
Scotland has hosted the World
Hickory Open since 2005.
Upton built his catalogue
from purchases throughout
the country, and noticed there
was no shortage of clubs based
resistant wood originally imported
from the United States.
“There’s loads out there. They
mass produced them in the
millions. It was like: ‘Where
can we get rid of these? We’ll
dump them in New Zealand’,”
he said.
The 59-year-old has spent
more than 2000 hours restoring
clubs often found languishing,
unloved, in garages or
sheds.
He separates the shaft from
the head, sands the hickory
and then soaks it in water for
several days to reverse any
bend in the club.
“I let it dry for four to five
days and nine times out of 10
the bend comes out to a point
where it’s acceptable.”
While proud of his collection
– Upton urges golfers not to
snap one over a thigh if they
land in the stream dissecting
the 9th – it is not exactly
priceless.
“About one in 25 has some
sort of significant value, the
rest are just common muck,”
he said.
Upton has a putter which
might be valuable – apparently
it was used by John Henry
Taylor to win the Open Championship
at Royal St George’s
in 1894.
“I have no proof, all it has got
is a plaque on it,” said Upton,
TAYLOR-
MADE: Fivetime
Open
Championship
winner John
Henry Taylor
putting with
a hickoryshafted
club in
1908. PHOTO:
GETTY ​
who paid $1000 for the club
from a seller in Auckland six
years ago.
“I’ve seen a couple of drawings
of him and his caddie on
the green. You can see him
holding on to a putter but
there’s no way you can say it’s
that putter.”
Upton has no doubt about
the recent history of the putter
he’ll rely on next month, his
original purchase in Akaroa.
“It had a hellishly bent shaft,
now it almost looks brand
new.”
• Further details on the
tournament and entry
can be found at www.
golf.co.nz
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