Northern Hickory Tour (2024)
GHSC News Item: August 30, 2024 – Northern Hickory Tour (2024)
Reported by: George Supol, GHSC Hickory Ambassador
The 5th annual Northern Hickory Tour was conducted over three days, Thursday, August 22 to Saturday, August 24, 2024.
Day #1: Couchiching Golf Course
On Thursday, eight GHSC ambassadors from Southern Ontario returned to Orillia to once again play hickory golf at Couchiching Golf Club (“Cooch”) in Orillia. This Stanley Thompson-designed, 9-hole parkland-style course was formally opened on June 3, 1915. It is often referred to as Orillia’s “hidden jewel.” Here is a link to the Club’s website where Cooch’s history is discussed.
The first 9-hole cycle was played from the yellow tees while the second was from the red tees, about 300 yards shorter overall. This day is a warm-up for our ambassadors before they head to North Bay for day #2 with the local hickory players. The golf was preceded by a lunch at Bogey’s, Cooch’s restaurant, in a private dining area. Afterwards, we gathered for dinner on the right upper deck.
Before driving to North Bay, this writer visited the home of David Burgess, a past President of GHSC who also played with us at Cooch. David has an amazing historical golf collection – one of the best in Canada. I purchased a few hickory clubs for me and my friends. If you ever have the opportunity to visit David, you’ll enjoy seeing his collection.
Day #2: Osprey Links Golf Course
On Friday, our ambassadors played their hickories at Osprey Links Golf Course, located in Callander Ontario, just outside the City of North Bay. They were joined by a dozen local golfers, including both seasoned hickory players and some first-timers who it was easy to see enjoyed the new experience. The weather was great and the course was once again in fine shape. Some excellent hickory golf was played on Saturday, especially by Hugh Cameron (from Renfrew GC).
A pleasant surprise for us at Osprey Links was the return of our favourite food and beverage cart driver, Ally, who demonstrated for us her fine lefty golf swing with a hickory club, for the second straight year. See our pics below. Ally will be moving to Australia with her boyfriend, and we send her our best wishes!
A couple of hours after the round was completed, we gathered together for dinner at the well-known Greco’s Pizzeria in North Bay. A feast of pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, shrimp and wonderful tomato bisque soup and salads was well enjoyed by our players.
Day #3: Laurentide Golf Course
On Saturday, our players journeyed to Laurentide Golf Course in Sturgeon Falls about 30 minutes west of North Bay. This was a new course for the Northern Hickory Tour, which had upward-sloping bowl-shaped greens which ran off on all sides. Approach shots, chipping and putting were especially challenging. The front nine was tight but the back nine was open. Laurentide is owned by the Mantha family.
Moe Mantha Sr. was a Canadian ice hockey player and a politician. Moe Mantha Jr., is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota North Stars, and Philadelphia Flyers. Moe Jr. also has represented the United States in international hockey; he was a member of the U.S. team in the 1981, 1985, and 1991 Ice Hockey World Championships as well as the 1992 Winter Olympics. (courtesy of Wikipedia).
During our round, we met Moe Jr. and his wife, Kathy, who were moving around the course in a golf cart, talking to the golfers and personally adjusting cart posts near the greens. Moe and Kathy were accompanied by their beautiful and friendly dog, Annie, whom you can see in our pics below.
Some excellent hickory golf was played on Saturday by Hugh Cameron, Chris Cade and Ron Wiens. This writer also enjoyed making 7 pars, 1 bogey and 1 double-bogey on the back nine, after a dismal front nine (except for a 9th hole birdie!). My improvement was mainly due to a light lunch snack accompanied by minor tweaks to my hickory swing and chipping technique.
After Saturday’s round, four of us went to nearby Jocko Point, a well-known local gas bar, with “the best fish and chips in Sturgeon Falls.” We had tasty pickerel and chips and also enjoyed the ice cream and souvenir shops. The souvenir shop had gorgeous cowhide leather products such as purses, moccasins and tobacco pouches, handmade by members of the Nipissing First Nation.
To quote Bill Vossen, GHSC Event Coordinator for the North Bay and Sturgeon Falls events,
“Both clubs appreciated our business but they really found the fact that we continue to play with hickory-shafted clubs to be cool and interesting.”
Click on an image below to view its larger version. The pics are generally grouped by day (1, 2 and 3); and also prefix: C= Cooch, O = Osprey Links, L = Laurentide. The Osprey pics start with the Osprey Links sign. The Laurentide pics start with the old green fees sign.
This was another great Northern Hickory Tour!
