GHSC News Item: February 5, 2023 – Toronto Golf & Travel Show (2023)

Reported by: Lorne Emery, GHSC Hickory Ambassador and Board Member

The 2023 Toronto Golf and Travel Show was held on February 3-5, 2023 at the Toronto International Centre after a two-year pandemic break. The GHSC booth was surrounded by four of our collectors (Stan Lapidus, David Blocksidge, David Burgess and Craig Blair) with their great assortment of golf collectibles. We added an army of enthusiastic GHSC Ambassadors eager to welcome existing GHSC members (who stopped by our booth to say “hi”) and engage uninitiated non-members in a discussion about the joys of historical golf.

Over the three days, we caught the eyes of a wide variety of curious onlookers including other exhibitors. Most wanted to know more about playing the old sticks and our Ambassadors were happy to explain. There was genuine interest in trying historical golf and while we offered everyone the opportunity to participate, most found World Hickory Golf Day (May 7) an intriguing invitation. Several individuals expressed an interest in attending our upcoming annual trade show at Glen Abbey (more info below). Two of our contacts have already emailed me for more information and they won’t be the last. 

Certainly, there was much discussion with visitors to the GHSC booth about pre- and post- 1900 hickory golf, as well as the classic steel era. A common theme heard from many visitors was that they often had some historical golf clubs in their garages and basements. Like the Spirit of Historical Golf says in GHSC’s video, Hickory Freedom, “Golf with me and set us free!” The owners of historical golf clubs are encouraged to bring them to our Glen Abbey trade show and have them evaluated.

I want to thank all of our Ambassadors who gave their time and energy to making this event a real success, especially: Lorne Emery, Vaughn Perusse, Ron Wiens, Gerald Achtymichuk, Jeff Rogers, Allan Lew, Ron Archer, John Medeiros, Mike Stephenson and George Supol.

Next in our GHSC calendar is our annual trade show at the Golf Hall of Fame, Glen Abbey (Oakville) on Sunday, April 2 starting at 10:00 AM. It promises to be a great event so remember to mark it in your calendars. Please contact David Burgess if you wish to reserve a trade show table.

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