« Sweet Wood Golf: A Luxurious Golf Experience »

There are a handful of golf experiences that are truly luxurious. Attending the Masters and playing the Old Course on a cool and misty evening with not another soul in sight rank among them for Chapeau Noir.

But what about from an equipment angle? Most all true golfers are equipment hounds, even on a modest level. Forever pulling the six iron from new sets on the rack in the pro shop, feeling the weight of it in your hands, eyeing the offset and resting the sole on the carpet to intuit the amount of dig or bounce it might provide.

How many of us have asked ourselves what lies beyond Titleist, Ping, and Taylor Made? There must be something of higher style, of higher feel, of greater luxury that exists to tempt us with its experience.

Sweet Wood Golf Hickory Irons in the Premium Deluxe leather golf bag.There is such a company, and it is Sweet Wood Golf, according to founder Kerim Kfuri.

While Chapeau Noir simply doesn't do equipment reviews - and doesn't plan on starting - every once in a while a company comes along that possesses style quotient at a level that makes it impossible to ignore.

Such is the case with Sweet Wood Golf, an appropriately named company whose products evoke a lost feel for the game of golf. Sweet Wood Golf combines the craftsmanship of yesterday with the technical precision of today to create a high end, luxurious golf experience.

For Kfuri, it all started with a few simple questions...

What if the club makers of the early 20th century had the resources of today? What would a completely uniform set of 100 percent hickory shafted irons feel like? What if the finest soft carbon forged steel were used rather than the somewhat crude iron heads of yesterday?

Founded in 2006, the Rockville, Maryland based Sweet Wood Golf company evolved from Kfuri's love for old clubs, and has since been built on a desire to revive the craftsmanship that disappeared with the technological evolution that has overtaken the golf industry.

Kfuri feels that the never ending desire born of modern marketing practices that convince us all of the need to hit the ball further, higher, lower, straighter, with more spin, or with less spin has separated the golfer from the game, unwittingly forcing us to play swing rather than golf, to play to planes rather than with feel.

While Kfuri admits that he would never want to put his Performance Hickories head to head with the latest offering from Ping or Titleist in a performance test, he did stress that the experience one gains from playing his Performance Hickories is richer and more rewarding on a myriad of levels.

With modern production technologies offering Sweet Wood Golf the ability to hone completely uniform, 100 percent hickory shafts, coated in three week water tested lacquer and fused to 8620 soft carbon steel, chrome plated forged iron heads, topped with a leather wrapped grip, a golfer can wash away decades of conformity and revive his inner Old Tom Morris.

Kfuri recommends that one not wear a glove to fully experience the unique sensory feedback his Performance Hickories. "Believe it or not, one of the biggest benefits of our irons is the game improvement aspect," said Kfuri.

Sweet Wood Golf shows us a way to return to golf as it was meant to be."Because hickory conducts vibration, when combined with a soft, forged muscle back iron head, you immediately know when you've found the sweet spot, and certainly when you have not," said Kfuri. "Modern clubs dampen vibration, removing the sense of feel and feedback that is essential for any player who desires to improve."

With an equipment offering providing a rarely experienced high end golf swing experience, Sweet Wood Golf is in the early stages of reinvigorating its current range of retro-look apparel to match the level it has reached on the equipment side of the business.

Kfuri hinted at a focus on rich cashmeres and traditional tweeds adorned with wood and leather buttons. If this comes to fruition as beautifully as the Traditional Hickories, Sweet Wood Golf could become the first stop for golfers, amateur and professional alike, who look to pay homage to golf history as they play the great game.

Bags of worthy style have been featured prominently on CNG in the past, and Sweet Wood Golf's bag offerings should not be overlooked. Bags, especially those that are carried, are a direct extension of one's wardrobe. Adding a Sweet Wood Golf bag to your repertoire is a statement that ranks on par with the most luxurious of golf and fashion accessories available.

The rich deep black Columbian leather on Sweet Wood Golf's Premium Deluxe Golf Bag has the look of a club chair you look forward to sinking yourself into to read the Sunday Times. The bag's stitching and hardware then take the bag to the next level, which one wouldn't think possible, but true to the Sweet Wood Golf ethos and experience, it most certainly is.