About The Hickory

The Hickory is More Than Just a Golf Outing
We wanted our tournament to support a program that helps people that are part of the wonderful game of golf. We chose the Evans Scholars Foundation because it helps young men and women who are caddies fulfill their dreams by providing them full college tuition and housing awards. In this state, the Scholars will attend The University of Michigan and Michigan State University. All the net proceeds from the Hickory Stick Invitational go to the Evans Scholars Foundation.

Your Participation Makes A Difference! 
Presently over 1,190 deserving young men and women are part of the national program and over 12,285 have graduated since the program began in 1930. Since our tournament began, we have donated over $1,050,000.

How can you help support Evans Scholars?

• Play in the Hickory Stick Invitational
• Become an Event Sponsor
• Donate items for the Silent Auction
• Become a Member of the PAR CLUB

The Hickory Stick Invitational was formed by a group of antique club collectors who played together in a Hickory Tournament. The location of that particular tournament no longer allowed non-member groups to play so the five players decided to start their own tournament to play with Hickory Sticks. The five players were Chuck Plein, Jim Gotts and Bob Redisch of Edgewood, Bill Ward of Oakland Hills, and Marty Gillespie of Forest Lake.

As a golf tournament is not an easy event to run they decided that the net proceeds of the event would go to golf’s largest, and arguably most important charity, The Evans Scholars Foundation of the Western Golf Association.

The first tournament was played at Forest Lake Country Club in 1998, had just 16 players, and raised $800 for Evans Scholars. The tournament now has 60 – 120 players each year and has raised over $900,000 for the Evans Scholars Foundation. The two directors of the tournament, Chuck Plein and Marty Gillespie, own over 80 sets of playable hickory clubs so “you” can play even if you do not own hickories. The home courses of the tournament are Forest Lake and Edgewood Country Club with an occasional visit to another top course in the Detroit area.

The clubs can also be used for other hickory events, the stipulation being that a donation needs to be made to Evans Scholars.

From the tournament’s inception, two legends of golf were very active in the event. Chuck Kocsis, Michigan’s Play of the Century, played in every tournament until his death and won it several times. Warren Orlick, a long-time professional at Tam-O-Shanter, and “Mr. Rules” of the PGA, was our rules official at every event until his passing. These two giants of golf did all they could to support “The Game” they loved and The Evans Scholars Foundation.

The 2007 tournament featured an unusual event when Bill Ward made a Hole-In-One on #3 at Forest Lake and Tom Biehl proceeded to make one shortly after at #8. They are the only hole-in-ones the tournament has had and both on the same day.

In 2016 the tournament was held at the Forest Lake Country Club and 100 players participated, raising $60,000.

The real winners of the Hickory Stick Invitational are the young men and women that will receive a college education due to your support of this event and others to benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation. We proudly change young men's and womens' lives... "One Caddie at a time."

Looking forward to seeing you at the next Hickory Stick Invitational.

We look forward to your participation in a one day salute to the traditions of “The Game”.

Board of Directors: Marty Gillespie, Co-Chairman  |  Chuck Plein, Co-Chairman  |  Greg Duff, Development Director