Our History
The Original Hickory Sticks Company was founded in St Andrews by Jamie Carver in 2021 but its connection with golf and in particular the beautiful American hickory wood goes back far further and is steeped in the history of traditional golf club making in St Andrews.
Jamie’s father, Lachlan MacPherson Carver, was a master club maker with Morris Anderson of St Andrews and spent his career working with this truly remarkable material learning skills in craftsmanship and woodwork.
Lachlan Carver attended Madras College in St Andrews. He was Junior Match Play Champion in the school for two successive years – 1955 and 1956 – and his name appears on the Aikman Cross award.
He won the Scottish Boys’ Golf Championship at North Berwick in 1960, which no other St Andrews boy has achieved since. Lachlan finds his name on the honours board in the R&A clubhouse right next to that of Jack Niklaus. His golfing success continued some 55 years later when he won the Brookdale Cup in 2015 at the age of 72.
Lachlan left school to work as an apprentice with Morris Anderson’s golf shop adjacent to the 18th hole of the Old Course. During a recent refurbishment, St. Andrews Links Trust found the locker of ‘Old’ Tom Morris in the same building. There, Lachlan learned the skilled trade of club making and repairing the famous hickory putters right through the wooden heads era, developing lifelong skills and friendships along the way.
As a kid, Jamie was fascinated with the stories his dad told and showed a keen interest in the art of club making and club finishing. Although a late starter to playing the top-level game, Jamie achieved his first handicap of 15 when he was just 15 years old. Within two seasons, he had won the St. Andrews Junior Championship and the keenly fought Rangoon Men’s Trophy at Crail, before turning professional. After moving to Murrayshall as head PGA coach, he followed his passion to help people learn and improve their playing skills, while still competing in Scottish PGA events himself.
The knowledge gained from his early training, coaching experience, and the handing down of his family golf DNA led to the creation of the Original Hickory Sticks Company.
Hickory has always been a great partner to golf. With its strength, flexibility, and lovely grain, it is a wonderfully tactile wood. In homage to the traditional material – with a new use for the modern game – let us create your perfect practice partner and lucky charm for your golf bag.