What Ball Should You Use for Hickory Golf?
When someone sees me playing hickory golf, the most common question by far is “what ball do you use?” There’s an understandable assumption that because the shafts are wood, they must be brittle and the balls must be special. They’re usually pretty surprised when I pick up the ball to show I’m using the same one they are.
Through a deeper understanding of golf swing physics and reems of data to analyze these days, golf ball manufacturers have done a great job of designing balls that better suit most golfer’s swings. I’m speaking specifically of mid- to high-handicappers, which make up the bulk of the golfing public. That means if you’re a bogey golfer like me and have been paying attention to what ball you should be using with your modern clubs, you’re probably already using a ball that will work with your hickory golf clubs, too.
Generally speaking, the higher the swing speed, the higher the compression necessary in your golf ball. If you have a slower swing speed, you’ll benefit from a ball with lower compression that won’t require as much energy at impact in order to compress and unlock its maximum distance potential.
In hickory golf, slow and steady wins the race; the ideal swing is one that ensures consistent impact with the ball on the sweet spot. For most hickory golfers, that means slowing down their swing speed and focusing on clubface accuracy instead of swinging out of their shoes as many are accustomed to doing with modern clubs. A repeatable, even-tempo swing that finds the sweet spot every time will work wonders for your hickory golf game.
Swing Slow and Go Low
Understanding that your swing with hickory golf clubs will likely be slower than your modern swing – at least to start – I recommend using golf balls with a rated compression of 80 or less. Popular options at that number or below include the Wilson Staff Zip and DuoSoft, Callaway Chrome Soft and Supersoft, Srixon Q-Star and Soft Feel, Bridgestone B330 and e6, and the Titleist TruFeel – my current ball of choice.
The Titleist TruFeel is my ball of choice for pre-1935 hickory golf, but any low to mid-compression modern ball will do.
Along with providing you optimum performance, the upside to almost all of the above is they’re usually among the cheapest balls you can buy. When you’re just starting out, expect to lose a lot of balls to errant shots until you get used to the nuance of the hickory swing. I recommend using the cheapest, low-compression balls you can find and then upgrading when you’re consistently keeping the ball in play.
If you’ve only ever used the Titleist ProV1 and can’t imagine ever using anything different, that’s fine – many hickory players use it effectively despite its 100 compression. But I wouldn’t recommend using the ProV1x or any other firm ball with a compression rating higher than 100. Unless you possess exceptional swing speed and accuracy, you’re just not going to get the performance out of these balls designed for maximum distance.
I also recommend staying away from most range balls, which are designed with durability in mind and are usually hard as rocks. While a club properly restored for play will hold up to the stresses of a golf swing on the course, repeatedly hitting hard range balls on a thin mat off concrete is a recipe for shaft fractures. For that reason, I skip outdoor ranges altogether and hit my low-compression balls into a net at home off a high-quality mat that mimics the give you get from soft, divot-yielding turf. I’ve found that the mats at most indoor golf simulators seem to be fine for hickory clubs, too.
Period-Accurate Replica Balls
When you’re ready to start entering formal hickory golf events sanctioned by the Society of Hickory Golfers, you’ll likely encounter the period-accurate replica balls produced by McIntyre Golf. These balls are mostly low-compression balls that have been heated and the surface remolded in antique ball molds in order to look like hickory-era mesh, dimpled, bramble, and line-cut balls. McIntyre also makes limited-flight and synthetic gutta percha balls specifically suited for pre-1900 gutty golf events. I’ve partnered with McIntyre and they are the official sponsor of the pre-1900 gutty golf course vlogs on the Hickory Hacker YouTube channel, providing me with the variety of replica gutty golf balls they produce to use in those rounds.
The McIntyre Braid limited-flight line cut “gutty” replica ball.
If you’re interested in trying pre-1850 featherie golf, you’ll find the Hickory Lane featherie to be an outstanding period-accurate replica ball. Traditionally just a leather casing filled with boiled goose feathers, the featherie or “feathery” ball was used for hundreds of years up until the introduction of the gutta percha ball in 1848. Denny and Cathy Lane have done meticulous research into how authentic featherie balls were made and employ those age-old methods in the production of their hand-made balls. They’re also constantly innovating and improving the performance and durability of their featheries while maintaining authenticity. I’m proud to be a partner with Hickory Lane and they sponsor the pre-1850 featherie golf course vlogs on my YouTube channel, providing me with the featherie balls I use in those rounds.
The Lane replica featherie made by Hickory Lane Featherie.
Or You Can Make Your Own!
While I think the McIntyre balls are great, I hate losing them so I save them for formal events. I love the look and period-authentic performance of a mesh ball and wanted to figure out a way to make my own for practice rounds. After buying an antique mesh golf ball mold at auction, I was able to do just that. It took about a dozen test runs before I found the process, but I’m pretty happy with how they’re turning out. I’ve also begun producing my own hand-hammered “gutty” balls, which was the method used prior to the advent of line-cut, cast-iron molds in the 1880s. I covered my early experimentation with both methods of DIY ball-making in this video:
