London , England ( CNN ) -- It may run contrary to the conventional image of a sport obsessed with the latest technological improvement but , from Stockholm to Shanghai , players are turning back the clock to take part in the latest craze -- hickory golf . The game , which involves using 19th century wooden-shafted clubs , has proved a hit as national championships in the United States , Australia , Canada , England , France , Germany , Sweden and Finland have blossomed . Companies too have been attracted to the format as a way of motivating staff . `` Golfers love a challenge , '' says Gavin Bottrell , who runs hickory golf days in Britain . `` There 's a saying about modern golf clubs that you can buy any shot out of the shop . Playing with hickory makes people think more about their swing and be clever about their shots . '' Hickory clubs were used widely until the 1930s , when manufacturers turned to more modern materials for construction . However , despite their lesser performance , the attraction of dressing up in old-fashioned golfing garb and hacking around 18 holes with mashies , niblicks and cleeks -- the evocative names given to the clubs used by Bobby Jones , Walter Hagen and Henry Cotton -- has endured . The format has a huge following in the U.S. where devotees gather at historic courses to play an `` authentic '' round of golf . Hampton Munsey , who organizes the U.S. Hickory Open in Morganton , North Carolina , says the size of the field has almost doubled since the event was first held in 2008 . This year 's tournament already has entrants from Sweden and Germany , with players ' ages ranging from 20 to 70 . `` The camaraderie is almost as important as the game itself , '' says Munsey , a member of the Society of Hickory Golfers . `` People feel a certain level of pride at being able to play with the old clubs and do well with them . '' Bottrell , a university researcher , has been buying and selling hickory clubs since 1995 . He now has 60 full sets , which he rents out to companies as a package for $ 934 . Recently , he has noticed an increase in interest from abroad , with amateur golfers from Germany , South Korea and Australia all wanting their own slice of hickory history . But Bottrell 's profit margins are nothing compared to one Scottish collector . In April last year , Edinburgh antiques dealer John Dixon sold 7,000 clubs to a Chinese entrepreneur for $ 193,500 . The load has since been shipped to China in bundles of 20 . `` I think he is tapping into a growing market over there . New golf courses are opening in China all the time , '' says Dixon . `` If they are building so many courses they need the merchandise and the memorabilia to go with it . '' At Bottrell 's hickory golf days , participants try to enter the spirit of the era by dressing up in knickerbockers , neckties , flat caps and braces . `` They usually raid local charity shops and come up with some kind of outfit , '' he said . `` They sometimes look like they 've stepped out of a pantomime . There 's quite a lot of confusion as to what golfers were wearing in the early 1900s . ''
Hickory golf is enjoying a revival in all corners of the world . Companies in the UK are paying up to $ 934 to hire hickory clubs for corporate team-building days . The U.S. Hickory Open draws entrants from Europe and Asia with ages ranging from 20 to 70 . In addition, there's an increasing number of companies that have started offering their employees free access to courses at no cost or even as part of employee training programs.