In setting up my 1880s hickory play set for the National Hickory Championship, I tried to select the minimal number of clubs since we carry the clubs by hand with no bag and I also wanted to use original clubs with no replicas and to choose a variety of original Scottish clubmakers who represented the best craftsmen of their era.

The Playclub or Driver was the hardest club to find, partly because a good original is so expensive (around $2000), partly because the club would still have to be playable---and fit to my swing, and partly because there are so few for sale. I finally found a wonderful "R. Forgan" long nose spoon with 14 degrees of loft at 43" length. The club has a little deeper clubface than usual which I like and has a great "Auchterlonie" stamped shaft that is perfectly straight after more than 100 years! The Forgan and Auchterlonie shops were less than a mashie shot's distance from each other next to the 18th green of the Old Course at St. Andrews! I had to re-pour the lead backweight because the club's weight was originally off the swingweight chart (probably why the club was in such good shape---nobody could hit it like this) and I also regripped the club.

I selected 4 irons for my set with incremental lofts of 20, 30, 40 and 50 degrees. The 20 degree Driving Cleek is by Robert White of St. Andrews with whom famous Scottish clubmaker Tom Stewart apprenticed. My Cleek has the personal inspection dot later used by Tom Stewart to denote his personal handiwork when he had his own company and I like to think he probably personally made this Robert White Cleek, in any case the club hits great and I use it off the tee frequently. My 30 degree club, an Iron, is a Forgan and I use it both off the tee and for long shots out of the fairway. My 40 degree club is an F. & A. Carrick of Musselburgh Lofter; and my 50 degree club is a great Willie Park Niblick from Musselburgh with an awesome W. Park stamped shaft. I use this club on all my short shots around the greens. I got this club from Don Gibboney and every year he lets me know that he wants it back! All lie angles have been set to my specs and the clubs have fresh leather grips, otherwise they are all original. My Robert White Cleek snapped in two a few years back the day before the start of the NHC and Eric Wolke glued the two shaft pieces together and I have used it this way ever since! Those original shafts are better than any fresh hickory replacement shafts, so it is best to try to find excellent original shafts.

My Putter is a Ben Sayers splice neck wood mallet that I putt really well with. I have tried to find a nice Tom Morris splice neck Putter or Driver, but I have yet to come up with one (plus Morris was a notoriously poor putter). All in all, I think there is a bigger difference between 1880s hickory and 1920s hickory than there is between 1920s hickory and modern golf! Plus, it is tremendous fun to play these old clubs with a replica gutty ball at an original 1880s course like Oakhurst Links!

5-time NHC winner: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004
Randy Jensen club specs:

Robert Forgan Spooned Brassie, 14 degrees

Robert White; Driving Cleek, 20 degrees

Robet Forgan; Iron, 30 degrees

F&A Carrick; Lofter, 40 degrees

Willie Park; Niblick, 50 degrees

Ben Sayers; Putter