Recently, while out at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans we lucked into a pretty cool event. We were getting set to wrap up our day, when the rumblings started about a cool event that was going to take place towards the end of the day. We saw Keegan Bradley swinging with a hickory shaft, warming up with a club that appeared to be almost one hundred years old and thought something cool was about to happen. A few minutes later Bradley was joined on the range by Rickie Fowler, Luke Donald, Camilo Villegas, Graeme McDowell, Ben Crane and Justin Rose as they took us back 100 years as the presenting sponsor, Zurich celebrated their centennial in the United States by having a throwback day on the golf course.

Seven of the top players in the world, not only dressed as they may have one-hundred years ago but they even used hickory shaft clubs and equipment that was in play back in the early 20th century. They played three holes, surprisingly even able to hit balls relatively straight and with good distance. I have clubs made very recently, with the newest technology, and these guys were hitting wood much further than I could dream of ever hitting a ball.

Luke Donald chipped a shot in from about a hundred yards and even had an “old-school” type celebration. Bow ties, jackets, fedoras, rolled up pants and the fashion was perfect. There was a small crowd following this group of golfers that played hole #1, hole #17 and hole #18. The winners and losers weren’t important, the cool part was the fashion, the experience and the event. It was a cool thing to get to be a part of. We were lucky to have been there at the right time.