Plus Four Podcast

Between 1832 and 1892, Musselburgh stood at the heart of the golfing world. Five major golf clubs operated there, supported by skilled club and ball makers and caddies. While the game's early elements were rooted in Musselburgh, the codified version emerged in Leith in 1744, later refined when The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers relocated to Musselburgh. The town's fresh-air charm mixed wi...

Stephen Proctor has served as a senior editor at The Baltimore Sun, The San Francisco Chronicle and The Houston Chronicle. He is an avid golfer and has spent the past decade studying the history of the royal and ancient game. He is the author of Monarch of the Green (Shortlisted for The Telegraph Sports Book Awards 2020 Biography of the Year) and The Long Golden Afternoon (shortlisted for the Sund...

Elmer Nahum , the author of Practical Clubmaking: A Guide to Long Nose Era Clubmaking , is a retired interventional radiologist who has a passion for traditional woodworking and golf history. Playing Bobby Jones’ home course of East Lake in the 1980s, which served as his college team’s home course, spawned Elm’s interest in golf history. Over the years, he has read a collection of golf books on th...

Roger McStravick is a golf historian, writer, editor and speaker, specializing in St Andrews, Old Tom Morris, and golfing legends from 1800 to 1920. His book, St Andrews-In The Footsteps of Old Tom Morris won the USGA's Herbert Warren Wind Book Award in 2015. The author's book, St Andrews - The Road War Papers won the same award in 2020. At The Open Championship in 2016, he was presented with the...

Wisonsinites are known for their kindness, right? Think Bon Iver, Steve Stricker, Gene Wilder—you get the idea. Well, Clark Willard , now the head golf professional at The Lido Golf Club , part of Sand Valley Resort in Wisconsin, has that positive vibe. Though not native, it makes him a great fit for the State. Willard found religion (so to speak) in hickory golf. Like so many, the connection to h...

Gillian Kirkwood possesses a wealth of golf knowledge and business experience and is a past Ladies Golf Union (LGU) Councilor and past Chairman of the Scottish Ladies’ Golfing Association. She is also a highly experienced rules official and, reflecting her keen interest in the history of ladies’ golf, chaired the Board of Trustees of the Women Golfers’ Museum . She had the distinction of serving a...

Researcher, author, and historian, Michael B. Morrison , published an exhaustive account in 2022 of the rise of golf in England which is a must-read for those who wish to better understand the origins of the modern game. In this episode, we speak about the process Morrison subjected himself to— over many years— in order to assemble the most complete record of the growth of the game in En...

Since 2013, the Happy Hickory Golfers in Japan have been a force in hickory golf. We've seen them represented with great joy at the World Hickory Open, for instance, and marvel at their event photos from countless outings in their home country. Alex Bruce — a native Scotsman— is one of the founders of the group, and a deeply dedicated advocate for hickory golf, worldwide. "How dedicated?...

One of the great things about national and international hickory golf events, is that one never knows whom one might meet along the way. In 2021, I flew out to Wisconsin to play in the Wisconsin Hickory Golfers Whistling Straights Hickory Challenge, as I had always wanted to see the course. Well, one of the nights, I ended up sitting at dinner with a table full of new friends I had never met befor...

When I contacted Jim McCormick to see if he would allow me to view his heralded private collection in Chicago, he was explicit. "Budget three hours for the tour," he warned, "four to five, tops." I'm embarrassed to say that I stayed seven-and-one-half hours— taking him away from his charming wife, Laura, for far too much time—yet, we probably only explored less than half of his priceless items. If...

The Ladies' Golf Union (LGU) was the original governing body for women's and girls' amateur golf in Great Britain and Ireland. It was founded in 1893 and was based in St. Andrews, Scotland until merging with The R&A in 2017. In this episode, Lauren Beatty, a Collaborative Doctorate Partnership student enrolled at Glasgow Caledonian University and working with the R&A World Golf Museum in S...

Kevin McGimpsey is the British Golf Collectors Society’s Murdock Medal winner of 2004 for his seminal book, The Story of the Golf Ball . A former Captain in the Parachute Regiment, Kevin traded his red beret for a career in antique and collectible golfing memorabilia. In May 2003, Kevin was appointed the lead golf expert at Bonhams1793 auction house. Responsible for their prestigious golf sales in...

Alastair J. Johnston has traveled a long way from Glasgow since his days as a lad. One might say that he has had a knack of being in the right place and the right time, but he might caution—to some degree—that one makes his own luck. In this episode, we learn about Johnston's magnanimous and unprecedented recent donation to the R&A of the entire contents of his 34,000-volume golf book collecti...

Sometimes in life, you meet a kindred spirit. Peter Grunwell, co-owner of Fine Golf Books of St. Andrews, is just this person. He, along with his wife, Anke Bruxmeier, have been in the golf world for more than 55 years, combined. Peter was a British PGA professional and a member of the United States Golf Collector's Society. Anke, a native of Germany, was a PGA professional as well for over 25 yea...

The R&A World Golf Museum is a 'must-see' destination for every first-time visitor to St. Andrews. The modern-day successor of the former British Golf Museum, it raises its ambition to play a pivotal role in delivering on one of the R&A of St. Andrews' core objectives— to be a leading body within the world of golf that engages and supports activities to ensure golf is a thriving sport for...

In 1887, Robert Finlay became a benefactor and founder member of the Nairn Golf Club . He was President from 1911-1929. Horace Hutchinson, who won back-to-back Amateur Championships at St. Andrews and Hoylake in 1886-87, is associated with Nairn. The Nairn Golf Club archive has helped to trace back the details of Hutchinson’s link, which involved affiliations with Scottish national politicians. FA...

The first podcast from our 21-day journey in Scotland features week one in Glasgow, Ayr, and Campbeltown, getting to know golf on the west coast of Scotland. This episode features conversations with the archivist at Prestwick Golf Club , Mr. Andrew Lochhead, just prior to the official 150th anniversary of the first Open on October 17, 1860. It also includes information from the archivist at Wester...

The World Hickory Open returns in October 2022, after a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19. A group of ten intrepid hickory golf enthusiasts from the Pacific Northwest are making their way to this year's event at Royal Dornoch, Nairn, and Castle Stuart , following a 21-day itinerary that begins on the Glasgow coast at Western Gailes and ends with six nights in St Andrews, with rounds every single day...

Precision is a word that aptly applies to Dr. David Brown, owner of McIntyre Golf Company , the leading manufacturer of replica golf balls in the world. (He even plays Nicoll Precision irons from the mid-1910s.) An orthopedic surgeon by training, specializing in knees and overall sports medicine, he meticulously crafts gutta percha balls, brambles, mesh pattern and small dimple balls appropriate f...

Their 2021 Trip to East Lothian and Fife While enduring the pandemic, hickory golfers everywhere dreamed of a return to the links and the prospect of getting back to international competition, camaraderie, and travel. Many of us suffered months of travel bans and course closures. Lingering for many was the potential that the 2021 World Hickory Open in St. Andrews would be our moment—our triumphant...

Jeffery Ellis began collecting golf clubs at an early age and found that the literature that was available for up-and-coming collectors of antique golf instruments was sorely lacking. What is an ambitious and enterprising person to do, but set one's mind to creating the most definitive and authoritative publication of antique golf clubs and their history. Nothing stops Jeff Ellis—whether on an auc...

The Carolina Hickory Golf Association is dedicated to preserving the traditions of the ancient game of golf. Conceived in 2004, and formalized in 2005, it is one of the first—if not THE first—regional hickory golf association in the United States. The fortunate few who call the Carolinas their home know what it's like to play on sandy soil with whispering pines and a layer or two to keep the morni...

The Florida Hickory Golfers are a regional group of golfers dedicated to preserving the pureness and authenticity of golf by playing with hickory shafted clubs on traditional golf courses. At over 65,000 square miles, the state covers a vast territory, yet this group manages to build success upon success, now boasting a groundbreaking partnership with the Florida State Golf Association , which is...

There aren't many people devoted to the craft of hand-making longnose clubs as they were made in the 19th century. Kelly Leonard is one of those rare exceptions. Based in Canada, Kelly is a one-man show. By day, he makes his living in construction, but in his free time, he's passionate about hand-shaping wood, horn, brass, and linen to create magical and modern instruments from start to finish tha...

Author, inventor, craftsman, and bon vivant —Tim Alpaugh has an unassuming manner about him, but don't let that fool you. He possesses a keen eye for detail, and a passion for history. In this episode, we'll hear about Tim's journey from the fast-paced corporate world to a life-changing decision in the 1980s to give it all up and become a carpenter. Some of the same skills that propelled him in bu...