held at Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club (Donald Ross design) in Morganton, NC

Championship Division Top Ten

1. Rick Woeckener (VA) 70/73 = 143 Champion
2. Scott McAllister (VT) 78/76 = 154 Playoff
3. Matt Boumphrey (OH) 77/77 = 154
4. Roger Andrews (OK) 77/81 = 158
4. Fred Fruisen (GA) 79/79 = 158
6. Jay Harris (NC) 81/78 = 159
7. Rusty Wells (NC) 81/80 = 161 Reserve Champion
8. David Brown (NE) 78/84 = 162
9. Doug Floyd (AL) 82/82 = 164
9. Bert Coghill (IL) 81/83 = 164
10. Tanner Stewart (OH) 87/80 = 167

Senior Division Top Ten

1. Glen E. Davis (NC) 81/80 = 161 Senior Champion
2. John Hopper (NY) 84/81 = 165
3. Hamp Munsey (NC) 90/84 = 174
4. Ed Woeckener (NC) 91/84 = 175
5. Barry Markowitz (NC) 88/88 = 176
6. Mike Strasser (NC) 87/92 = 179
7. Thomas Ochs (IL) 95/87 = 182
7. Mike Just (KY) 93/89 = 182 Senior Reserve Champion
8. Paul Dietz (Canada) 95/88 = 183
9. Joseph Whisnant (NC) 90/96 = 186
10. Wayne Aaron (GA) 91/97 = 188

This year’s event had 58 players from 20 states and Canada. 

A special thanks goes to Mountain Valley Spring Water and the other sponsors for their continuing support of the tournament.

The 2011 U.S. Hickory Open will be contested at another great old Donald Ross golf course located at The French Lick Resort in French Lick, IN. Save the dates on your calendar, July 11, 12 and 13 and plan to include your wives as there will be activities planned for them while you are playing golf.

Questions on Hickory Golf, e-mail mjust@louisvillegolf.com

Below is an article which appeared in the July 12, 2010 issue of Sports Illustrated.

E-mail josh@louisvillegolf.com if you cannot find the article online and would like to read it. I can send you a PDF.

I’ve read that Tiger Woods wears red on Sunday because his mother suggested it gave him strength as red is a power color in her culture, and who is to argue his record wearing red on Sundays? But in a recent re-watch of Caddyshack, the movie all golfers must memorize to call themselves golfers, I noticed that a certain caddy had on the same color scheme Tiger incorporates.

Tony D’Anunnzio, the arch-nemesis to the movie’s caddy/hero Danny Noonan, wears the Sunday colors of Tiger Woods in the caddy tournament run by Judge Smales. Or is it that Tiger wears the colors of D’Anunnzio?

Click here to see what type of fan Tiger Woods is of Caddyshack.

Incidentally, we made Tiger Woods a driver in 2004 that we have for sale on our website. We also made him this THUMPER prototype:

You will be pleased to know that I got a bit of advertising in for your company this last weekend. I won the Senior division (that still just kills me to say) of the Tulsa City Golf Championships using ALL Louisville Golf products (with the exception of my yet-to-be finished SMART ProB.E. driver). 

I did use the HB putter that I won the Mimosa tournament last year, along with the irons, and fairway woods. BOTH days the temperature was 98 degrees with a constant 15-20 mph wind blowing, for me, REALLY tough conditions to score in. On the 36th hole, when I had about 12 feet left for a birdie to shoot a final round of 69, I had one of those horse shoe type of putts that went into the hole, then came back out right at me! DANG! 

Both days, I got a bit of grief for playing what I called a 100-year old putter, and then for playing what everyone else thought were just the “best-looking 35-year  old fairway woods” they had ever seen. Imagine when I told them that they were special made for me this year! Of course, right after that came the thoughts of “so nice of you to bring those clubs Rog; that just allows me to play better than you and take whatever gift certificate you might have won this time, etc.”  After the first nine of 39, I thought that they might be right, but I kept grinding (a la Corey Pavin this last weekend), and then I had nines of 35, 36, 34. 

BTW, I do want to say, that I got dozens of compliments about how great the woods looked; funny, but I didn’t hear anything else about how I ‘couldn’t score too well’ with them after the first nine. I wonder why that was? 

- Roger Andrews

SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT RESULTS
Andrews, Roger 74 70 = 144
Koenig, Richard 73 73 = 146
Kee, Ken 72 75 = 147
Lusnak, Mike 76 72 = 148
Crews, Randy 74 74 = 148
Sidorakis, Nick 74 74 = 148
Wilson, Tom 73 75 = 148
Trowbridge, Pat 73 76 = 149
Donley, Mike 76 75 = 151

Pictured above from left to right: Louisville Golf president Mike Just, Roger Andrews, Louisville Golf marketing director Josh Fischer.

Golf World recently featured the results of this year’s event in their June 21, 2010 issue on page 9.

Mitch Laurance, Hickory Golf aficionado and Louisville Golf fan, embarked on a tour of golf’s roots in Scotland. Playing nothing but Hickory-shafted golf clubs, Mitch and his Louisville Golf Fancy Face Driver found themselves at a cave as featured in the book Golf in the Kingdom.

Mitch, incidentally, played a round of golf with the Dalai Lama, but the “Lamma” tried to stiff him, so on Mitch’s death bed he will receive total consciousness.

So he’s got that going for him, which is nice.

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 30, 2010

CONTACT: Josh Fischer, Marketing Director josh@louisvillegolf.com 

Louisville Golf Putter Stars in Avatar
Action Figure Package Includes Putter Used in Award-Winning Movie

LOUISVILLE – If you have seen Avatar, James Cameron’s epic record-breaking motion picture, less than 20 minutes into the movie you will notice a Louisville Golf wood mallet putter prominently used by actor Giovanni Ribisi. In addition, Ribisi’s character, Parker Selfridge, has his own action figure, and the packaging includes the Louisville Golf putter.

“We first found out about the action figure including our putter when Ribisi was interviewed on the Jimmy Kimmel TV Show,” said Josh Fischer, marketing director for Louisville Golf. “When we first spoke with the Avatar production buyer we had no idea it would have such a prominent role in the movie, and an inclusion in the action figure. All this is a major thrill for us, just to be associated with a movie on the scale of Avatar is a real honor, and pretty hard to believe.”

Over four years ago the Avatar production team called Louisville Golf and placed an order for a group of clubs. Louisville Golf is the world’s largest manufacturer of wooden golf clubs. Made in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville Golf mallet putters are handmade with over 100 hand operations. The 36-year old family-owned business is best known for its Persimmon woods. Louisville Golf once manufactured Persimmon woods for golf companies such as Hogan, Wilson, Spalding and Tommy Armour.

Executives at Louisville Golf nearly forgot about the association with the groundbreaking movie. “It must have been four or five years ago that we sent the putter to James Cameron’s team. I had no idea what they needed the clubs for, but they said they were working on Avatar, so it sounded cool and I made a mental note. We still charged them for the clubs, but looking back I might have sent them the putter for free if I had to do it again,” added Fischer.

 “We have worked on, and been involved with, some exciting projects over the three and a half decades we have been in business,” said Mike Just, Louisville Golf president. “The driver we made for Tiger Woods in 2004, the Discovery Channel segments on How It’s Made and the Ryder Cup Cherry mallet putter come to mind from the recent past. Being in Avatar ranks right up there with those projects.” Louisville Golf has been making putters since the early 1980s, and is best known for their line of Persimmon woods and Hickory-shafted playable golf clubs. Visit www.louisvillegolf.com for more information. Call toll free 1-800-456-1631 M-F 9 to 5 EST.

One of the best company slogans of all time comes from Harley Davidson: “If I had to explain, you wouldn’t understand.” I think it applies to Hickory Golf. This aphorism provides one charged to promote Hickory Golf with a decidedly difficult challenge. Inherent in promotion is an explanation of the benefits of the thing promoted, and so the golfer asks: why should I let loose of my time and money to play golf with clubs that were used nearly a century ago? At the risk of explanation, I can think of many reasons to play Hickory Golf, but here are the three that seem the most potent.

First, golf is unique because it pits one against oneself and the golf course. Sure, a tournament allows the golfer to see where he or she stacks up against others, but essentially golf is you, your equipment, and the course. The challenge the game gives me is reward in and of itself, self-contained, so the appreciation I have for those shots I hit well stimulate the part of my brain that appreciates beauty and harmony. This is amplified with Hickory Golf, and simplified. When I put my Hickory-shafted set in play golf becomes more about just getting the ball in the hole, hitting whatever knock-down or run-up shot I have to hit, rather than an unfulfilling performance trap obsessed with distance.

Secondly, Hickory Golf grants me access to the original spirit of the game. With Hickory-shafted golf clubs I commune with the roots of the sport as it was gaining momentum in the early 20th century. This “spiritual” trip into the history of golf is the most difficult to explain. Sometimes language fails us, and the Harley Davidson quote applies, but if I had to choose one word to encapsulate the feeling I get when I am in this state, the best word would be joy. I enjoy Hickory Golf because I like thinking about the golfers of the 20s and 30s, and since I have always been an equipment junkie, I like testing myself with the sticks they used. This is why I like playing with our clubs. Golfers from the Hickory era used new clubs, built relatively close to the tee times they used them for. When one of our clubs, built by hand by our craftsmen, comes from the shop and onto the course, it is as close as I can get to what those golfers of yore used. This is arguable I know, but in the context of time, I like what we do. This communion with the past honors golf’s heritage. I am surprised how many “modern” golfers shun and insult golf’s honored past.

Finally, I like to be a little bit different. Let’s face it, Hickory Golf will grow, but it will never be main stream again. As a manufacturer of Persimmon woods, we at Louisville Golf know what it is like to be different. We are asked the same questions every golf season: “You guys still make wood golf clubs?” Yes we do, and as a niche product, we do alright. We feel, as the last company still manufacturing wood golf clubs, that we are keepers of the game’s tradition. This includes Hickory Golf, which gives me the quickest access to the game’s competitive roots, rich heritage and uniqueness. But then, if you have read this far, you probably understand.

NEW! HL3 PERSIMMON HYBRIDS

The ease of a hybrid combined with the feel and accuracy of Persimmon!

The HL3 Persimmon hybrid is the 3rd generation of our popular Hy-Lofter series, and 3rd time’s a charm for this design! The HL3 has a lower center of gravity (COG) than previous models due to the new Copper Rudder. The Copper Rudder positions weight low in the head to drop the COG, and back opposite of the insert, to increase accuracy via gear effect. The lower COG promotes quick easy launches while not making the face too shallow. Offered in four lofts, the HL3 Persimmon hybrids are much easier to hit than long irons; our 18- degree model replaces the 2-iron, the 21-degree model replaces a 3-iron, the 24-degree model replaces the 4-iron, while the 34-degree model has the added versatility of hitting shots from 150 yards and closer, while giving you enhanced feel chipping around the greens.

Numbers available:
18 degree (replaces 2-iron)
21 degree (replaces 3-iron)
24 degree (replaces 4-iron)
34 degree (150 yards and in/chipping)

Material: Persimmon
Soleplate: Brass with Copper Rudder
Insert: Burgundy with gold grooves
Hosel: Aluminum sleeve
Finish: Spirit Mahogany Brown
Shaft: Steel or graphite
Shaft flex: R,S,X,A,L

Questions: e-mail josh@louisvillegolf.com