Adam Gresek’s Groundhog Hickory Golf Restores And Customizes Hickory Golf Clubs

by Melissa Jacobs

Love golf – and antiques? Then you’ll love Groundhog Hickory Golf, the new antique golf club restoration business launched in Phoenixville by Adam Gresek. Groundhog Hickory Golf focuses on clubs made of hickory wood, the material used to make clubs that were popular from the 1800s to 1935, when – for the first time – the US Open was won by a golfer using steel shafts, Gresek explained.

“American hickory made great golf club material,” Gresek explained. “It’s really high durability, you can put a flex on it and it doesn’t snap, and when you come through (a swing), and it maintains its shape. Hickory replaced a lot of ash wood that they were using in Britian.”

Both British and American manufacturers used hickory to make clubs, so there are millions of “hickories” out in the world, Gresek said. Playing with hickories is an entirely different game, Gresek said. “It is stripping all of the technology away from the modern golf game,” he explained.

“In the modern game, you’ve got all of these things that are either adding performance – making the ball fly further, spin harder – or they are helping a bad golfer improve their game,” Gresek said. Hickory wood shafts feel different than their steel counterparts. “The vibration when they hit the ball is different. The flex on it, as you’re coming through, is different,” he said.

But a lot of hickories have decades – if not centuries – of wear on them. That’s where Gresek comes in. His Phoenixville workshop is filled with tools he uses to restore the hickory wood, replace pins, remove rust, add new whipping thread and leather grips.

In addition to restoring the antique golf clubs, Gresek customizes them for clients. He’s made hickories with Penn State colors and Eagles green. He encourages people to peruse the offerings on his website, or contact him with special requests.

Where did Gresek’s love of hickories come from? On a trip to Scotland, he played hickory golf with his family and it reignited his love of the game. Then, he started scouting the internet for unused, unloved hickories and taught himself how to do the restoration work.

Once he built up an inventory of the antique golf clubs, Gresek launched his business. Groundhog Hickory Golf does not have a storefront; it is online only. A veteran of the U.S. military who still serves his country in various capacties, Gresek is excited to be an entrepreneur. “Groundhog Hickory Golf is an official LLC,” he said. “It’s a pretty great feeling to join this community of small business owners.”

Visit Groundhog Hickory Golf’s website for more information.

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