In Search Of The Antique Golf Club

If you can read the history of a great old tree thru the rings on its trunk ; then you can learn the history of golfing thru the development phases of the antique golfing club.

In the start

Not surprisingly, the earliest golf clubs were made by golfers themselves and both clubs and balls were carved from wood. The competitive nature of golf soon stretched into the area of equipment creation and the carver/players strove to improve the quality of their play by improving the quality of their equipment.

The first mention of a craftsman-made set of clubs was that commissioned by King James IV of Scotland. It is great to be the king, because when he became the king of Britain , a royal maker of clubs was chosen. William Mayne became first to hold that position in 1603.

Since clubs were made completely of wood, it is terribly not likely that you may find an antique golfing club from that period in time. If you were to find such a valuable club on view in a collection or museum, you may find a longnose used for driving. Medium range shots were manufactured by golf green clubs, short range shots by spoons, niblicks were the forerunners to the modern wedge, and putts were tried with putting cleeks. A step away from the wooden ball and toward the modern sphere was taken in 1618 when the Featherie golfing ball was introduced. It stayed the standard for two hundred years.

Chapter 2

Robert Forgan, a club-maker in Scotland, began using American hickory for shafts instead of ash or hazel. Hickory became the standard for top-of–the-line clubs. An antique golf club of this period would be a real treasure.

The Featherie golf ball was replaced in 1848 when the Reverend Adam Peterson introduced the Guttie ball. This ball increased the stress on the club resulting in the need for a club with a more bulbous head. Longnoses became obsolete and clubs began to resemble modern woods. Lines of clubs and balls associated with professional players were established in Scotland and the equipment was exported world-wide.

An antique golf club made after 1900 would likely have a head of persimmon wood which replaced the hard woods of earlier club heads. Hand-forged club heads of aluminum was also found at that time and in 1902, E. Burr began selling groove-faced irons.

Although the late 1890′s brought experimentation with steel shafts, their use was not legalized till 1929 after the Prince of Wales used them on the Old Course, St. Andrews. The very first important tournament won with steel shafted clubs was the 1931 U.S. Open by Billy Burke. An antique golfing club of this time reflects a genuine step forward in golfing history.

If you’ve enjoyed all the exciting information you read here about Buy Golf Equipment, you’ll love everything else you find at Buy Left Handed Golf Club.

Joe M. Randolph

Share and Enjoy: