On the 15th May 2026, and only for Eddie Johnson and John Henry Williams, the 5007 metres of Mahon Golf Course became a Championship Course for 4 hours.
That’s because they, along with Eddie’s wife Joanne, were embarking on an epic 42 day golfing journey around the country – visiting a number of courses as a warm up to the Irish Hickory event being held at Oughterard Golf Club in Galway in June.
Eddie, hailing from Shoreline, Seattle, USA and John, Sun River, Oregon, USA had popped in to us the day before to enquire about the chance of getting a round in. After letting them down with the bad news we were fully booked we had a chat about why they were in Ireland – upon hearing they wanted the chance to play Mahon with hickory clubs we quickly offered them an invite to return the following day, which they graciously accepted.
Upon arrival we managed to get a couple of quick photos for posterity before heading to the putting green for a warmup and quick chat about the pull of hickory.
Like most “Modern” players (as those of us not versed in the old ways are called) my first question to them both was simply “Why?”
John looked at me with a wry smile – “Why not?”
He continued – “Every course becomes a Championship Layout. We have to deal with less distance, less carry, less spin. The sweet spots are the size of my little finger nail – there’s less margin for error”.
With that we moved on to the 1st tee box where John and then Eddie showed us the type of tempo swing required to not make an absolute fool of yourself. Which, sadly, I managed to do – a clean top was not the dream shot I had in mind. A breakfast ball was called – and the second wasn’t much improved. Cillian however managed a stripe down the middle. Youth and talent got the shop bragging rights on this occasion.
With Cillian heading back into the shop with his head held high I went out on the course, merely as a spectator for now, to watch what is a totally different sport to the one I’ve grown up playing. The only crossover ‘moderns’ would recognise is the ball – a Callaway Supersoft being the projectile of choice given its low compression. Taking an iron in the hand (although butter knife is a more appropriate analogy) it becomes clear that any other ball would feel like thinning a glass marble on a cold winter’s morning.
Another attempt was much improved (but not to the standards of John or Eddie) and a question posed of how long it would take to get the grasp of these whippy beasts.
John (who has been playing hickory golf since 1986) gave a wonderful demonstration of just why it is so tough. Getting me to firmly take a normal grip he took the clubhead and rotated it 90° – whilst my hands remained centred. Unlike the modern graphite or steel most of us are used to, hickory shafts don’t just bend vertically – they actively rotate along their axis.
So, they are dealing with smaller heads (no cavity backed, foam filled pockets here), smaller sweet spots, slicker grips, softer shafts, torquing shafts – along with the normal difficulties us golfers face – and still Eddie and John were putting in scores that many golfers would struggle to keep up with in match play.
Cillian returned to make another annoying cameo, this time a pure iron shot, before we moved to one of Mahon’s most scenic holes – the short downhill Par 3, 4th hole. It’s only 122 metres on the card but plays tougher – there’s the elevation drop, a stiff breeze off the Mahon Estuary, bunkers short and water long – all of which focus the mind early in the round.
Here, the lack of backspin from the old irons really showed – a beautifully struck shot from John hit the front of the green, but without modern stopping power it ran long and into the water hazard. Eddie hit a shot we’d all be proud of – sticking his approach to 10ft. Sadly a par chip from John wasn’t to be, and Eddie’s birdie putt stayed high and above ground.
I stepped aside here – the last thing they needed was me asking constant questions for the next 4 hours – and managed to meet up with them later in their round to shake hands and thank all 3 of them for a wonderful experience and being so generous with their time and knowledge.
Before starting his round, John had uttered a small sentence: “When you hit that dead pure shot the feeling runs up your arms and straight to your heart”.
While I personally never managed to find that feeling (though Cillian certainly did and hasn’t stopped reminding me) it did ignite a curiosity and an itch that one day I hope to scratch.
If I’m ever lucky enough to get my hands on one of these small pieces of history again, I’ll be quick to get onto the first tee and try to get the heart warmed up. And I’d highly recommend every other “modern” golfer to do the same.
Eddie and John are both members of nwhickoryplayers.org – if you’re from their part of the world then head there to find out more information.