EXCELSIOR SPRINGS – The Hickory Stick Golf Tournament is back. On May 1, the Excelsior Springs Cultural Guild staged the competition at Excelsior Springs Golf Course as part of Gatsby Days, the Cultural Guild’s annual spring scholarship fundraising event. The competition was held regularly until “a few years ago,” Bill Reed said. Reed is co-founder and executive director of the Hickory Golf Association, a Des Moines, Iowa-based nonprofit organization that helps stage hickory golf events as fundraisers. The HGA assisted with staging this year’s event. “I’m trying to remember how many years ago it was when this event first started here at Excelsior Springs,” he said. “They contacted me for that, and from the first-ever tournament here at Excelsior Springs – and Excelsior Springs Golf Course – myself and other members of the Hickory Golf Association would promote and bring equipment and help out.” One reason the ori...