Why is hickory used for shafts in golf clubs?
Robert Forgan the Scottish club maker introduced hickory imported from America to make shafts. These early Shipments of hickory were originally intended to be axe handles. Hickory soon earned the reputation as being the best wood for shafts given its strength and durability. It wasn't too flexible or too heavy either.
Where to buy real hickory shafts?
(Omaha, Nebraska, USA) Based in St. Andrews, Scotland, St Andrews Golf Co. specializes in exact replicas of hickory shafted clubs. Vintage and modern golf equipment. High-quality matched sets of hickory clubs. Based on original clubs. Clubs, balls, memorabilia, art and books.
What do Hickory Golfers look for in a play set?
Members of the Society of Hickory Golfers in particular look for specific playable clubs to fill out their play sets, often specializing by club maker or club type. Before you purchase anything online, know exactly what you are looking for.
When did golf balls become made of wood?
According to the Oracle ThinkQuest Education Foundation website, golf balls were also made of wood until the 17th or early 18th century. In Scotland, the type of wood used to make clubs changed with two American imports: hickory for club shafts in 1826 and persimmon for club heads in 1900.
What kind of wood were old golf clubs made of?
Beech and ash were commonly used to make golf clubs in the game's early days. Starting as early as the 15th century, golfers carved their own clubs.
When did they stop using hickory shaft golf clubs?
1935With the arrival and eventual legalization (1929) of steel shafts, the demand for hickory's started to diminish, by 1935 the production of hickory clubs had stopped.
When did steel shafts replace hickory?
Hickory became the standard material for golf club shafts until steel shafts were introduced in about 1925 in the US, and became standard everywhere from the mid 1930s.
When did they stop making wood golf clubs?
Wooden heads predominated until the late 1980s. They had evolved to include a metal sole and a metal or plastic faceplate. These wooden headed clubs were dense and heavy, and were generally much smaller than today's clubheads.
How do you hit a Hickory Golf club?
2:4613:20PLAYING GOLF WITH 100 YEAR OLD GOLF CLUBS!! HICKORY GOLFYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThe old hickory get up normal stand but certainly does the job. First little chip we use in thisMoreThe old hickory get up normal stand but certainly does the job. First little chip we use in this little. Niblick. It's amazing how well we come off the face. Really.
What is a Hickory Golf club?
Once you become more familiar with the names and characteristics of each club design you will begin to branch out, but almost all hickory golfers carry these basic clubs. A brassie, mid-iron, mashie, mashie niblick, niblick, and a putter.
What are old golf club shafts made of?
Shafts. Historically shafts were made of different types of wood including orangewood, ash and hickory; but, hickory became the wood of choice in the mid-1800s. The 20th century brought innovations in shaft construction including the development by Ping of laminated woods for increased strength.
What were original golf clubs made of?
These golf clubs were made up of wood with the shafts being made from ash or hazel and the club heads being made from tougher wood like apple, holly, beech or pear. The club head would be connected to the shaft with a splint and then bound with a leather strap.
When did golf woods become metal?
19791979: Taylormade Launch First Ever Metal Wood Gary Adams took out a $24 000 loan to found Taylormade and focused his time only on producing the first ever metalwood in the history of the game. It was cast of stainless steel and termed the Taylormade Metalwood.
Are 30 year old golf clubs still good?
There is no evidence that golf clubs deteriorate over time. Well maintained clubs will last a lifetime. 10+ year old clubs should be checked for better options but clubs less than 5 years old do not need replacing except for wear and tear issues to which wedges and forged irons are most vulnerable.
What is the oldest golf club manufacturer?
St. Andrews Golf Co.(STAG)'s production of hickory clubs. St. Andrews Golf Co. is the oldest golf manufacturer in the world and the only remaining manufacturer in Scotland. While they don't have the big name of other brands such as Titleist or Callaway, they have found a way to stay in business since 1881.
How can you tell if a golf club is vintage?
Common Vintage Golf ClubsAluminum caps on the end of the handles.Nickel, chromed or stainless steel heads.Dots, lines, hyphens or other face scorings.Stamps on the back for yard ranges.Phrases on the back such as accurate, superior, aim-rite, and other common sounding names.
What are old golf club shafts made of?
Shafts. Historically shafts were made of different types of wood including orangewood, ash and hickory; but, hickory became the wood of choice in the mid-1800s. The 20th century brought innovations in shaft construction including the development by Ping of laminated woods for increased strength.
When did golf clubs have wooden shafts?
In 1826 Robert Forgan, a club-maker in Scotland, started to use imported hickory from America to make club shafts. Hickory quickly became the standard wood of choice for club-makers due to its availability and better durability. In 1848 the “guttie” ball was introduced by Rev.
Are wood shaft golf clubs valuable?
When it comes to collectible antique golf clubs, it is estimated that fewer than 5% of all antique clubs with wooden shafts have collectible value beyond decorative or playable worth. The majority of the vintage or antique clubs that you will find at yard sales or on eBay are common golf clubs with very little value.
What are the most valuable vintage golf clubs?
What Are The Most Valuable Vintage Golf Clubs?Long Nosed Scraped Golf Club: this vintage club was sold at a Sotheby's auction in 2007 for $91,000.Square Toe Light Iron Golf Club: this club was auctioned at the Sotheby's 2007 auction for $151,000.More items...
What clubs do hickory golfers use?
"Hickory golf," where golfers use hickory-shafted clubs, is popular with many golfers. Ralph Livingston III recommends on his website, HickoryGolf.com, that hickory golfers assemble the following clubs: brassie, mid-iron, mashie, mashie niblick, niblick and putter. Some companies make modern clubs that have persimmon wood heads, and some companies sell and make clubs with wood shafts, wood heads, or both.
What wood was used to make golf clubs?
Beech and ash were commonly used to make golf clubs in the game's early days. Starting as early as the 15th century, golfers carved their own clubs. Several considerations -- including imported woods and the evolution of the golf ball -- influenced what types of wood were used to make club heads and shafts. Wooden antique golf clubs are popular ...
What wood was used in Scotland?
American Influence. In Scotland, the type of wood used to make clubs changed with two American imports: hickory for club shafts in 1826 and persimmon for club heads in 1900. According to the Antique Golf Club website, woodworkers in Scotland started using American-imported hickory instead of ash to make hand tools, ...
How many woods are in a long nose golf club?
A set of these early "Troon Clubs" -- also known as "long noses" -- consisted of six woods and two irons. According to the Oracle ThinkQuest Education Foundation website, golf balls were also made of wood until the 17th or early 18th century.
What irons do golfers use?
Most of the players would only have one iron, initially a spur nose heavy iron and in later times a track iron. (see photo above right) these irons very only used in situations where playing with a wood was impossible. In the late 18th and 19th centuries makers of golf clubs started to mark their name onto clubs.
When did golf clubs have smooth faces?
The faces of clubs remained smooth until 1905 and these clubs are today the most prized by collectors. After 1905 manufacturers start punching dots on iron faces to create more backspin, and after 1910 dots were often replaced by lines/ grooves (see Photo).
What was the first hand forged iron made of?
Hand forged irons were made of steel and were vulnerable to rusting, round 1920 manufactures started using stainless steel. With the arrival and eventual legalization (1929) of steel shafts, the demand for hickory’s started to diminish, by 1935 the production of hickory clubs had stopped. In the past clubs had names instead of numbers.
When did the shape of woods change?
In round about 1890 the shape of woods started to change tot hat of what we now think of as modern woods, this club was called the bulger and the head was usually attached to shaft with a modern socket joint instead of the old scare joint.
When was golf banned in Scotland?
Golf was so popular in Scotland in 1457 that the king found it necessary to ban it. No clubs exist today from this period, but they probably were to similar to the oldest known clubs that date from 1600.
Who owned the Troon clubs?
6 long nose woods and 2 spur nose irons and were very probably owned by King James the 6th of Scotland. The clubs from the 17th and 18th century were not signed by the makers, but the names of several makers can be found in royal archives. The earliest club makers were probably bow and ...
When was hickory first used?
It wasn't until the mid-1800's that hickory made its first appearance. Robert Forgan the Scottish club maker introduced hickory imported from America to make shafts. These early Shipments of hickory were originally intended to be axe handles. Hickory Shaft.
What wood was used for the club heads?
The US used other woods from what was being used in Great Britain, including ash and lancewood. Club heads were made from tough woods such as beech, holly, apple and pear. These were connected to the shaft using a splint and then bound using leather straps.
What wood was used for golf shafts in the 17th century?
The golf shafts in the 17th and 18th centuries were not yet made of hickory, but rather from ash and hazel or whatever hardwood was available locally including wood from trees such as danga wood, ironheart, purpleheart, greenheart, bloomahoo and bulletwood. The US used other woods from what was being used in Great Britain, ...
Why are Spalding clubs painted tan?
The clubs had steel shafts which were painted tan to give the impression of hickory. This practice was also done by other. manufacturers to help influence golfers to make the transition from hickory to steel. Spalding's steel shaft, painted to look like hickory.
What is a whistler shaft?
Nicknamed the "Whistler", Lard's shaft was made from a solid steel bar that was bored out and milled to form 6 sides. To reduce its weight, it was drilled with hundreds of small holes.
Why is the Allan Lard golf shaft called a whistling shaft?
To reduce its weight, it was drilled with hundreds of small holes. The perforations helped enhance club head speed and reduced torque significantly. When swung, these holes caused a whistling sound, hence the "Whistler" nickname. But like the other steel shafts, they never caught on. Allan Lard's perforated steel shaft.
What is Spalding's shaft?
Spalding's steel shaft, painted to look like hickory. It was not until some advances were made in the raw steel material and new manufacturing processes were developed, enabling the production of a stepped-down shaft, that steel started showing signs of becoming a clear favorite.
What woods were used for golf clubs?
The shafts of the early clubs were made out of local European woods like ash or hazel. Club heads were made from tough wood such as beech, holly, pear and apple. The heads of the wooden clubs were long and thin, resulting in them being known as "long-nose woods".
What were golf clubs made of?
Early Clubs. For hundreds of years, golf clubs were made out of wood, and it was not until late last century that the wooden shaft was replaced by other materials. Players initially carved their own clubs and balls from wood, though they soon turned to skilled craftsmen to produce competitive equipment.
What wood was used in the early 1800s?
The shafts of the early clubs were made out of local European woods like Ash. The introduction of golf into America in the early 1800s lead to hickory wood being used in the shafts, which was found to be far more durable than other woods. Hickory became the standard material for golf club shafts until steel shafts were introduced in about 1925 in ...
What are wood and iron made of?
They are also made using advanced materials such as titanium, graphite and zirconia.
When did golf clubs change to grooves?
One of the most important changes was the move in around 1908 from smooth faces on the irons to the grooves that are used today. The grooves enabled more backspin on a ball, resulting in more distance.
When were iron clubs invented?
The early iron clubs, made by blacksmiths until about the 1870s, were quite crudely made, making them heavy to wield and difficult to control. The advent of drop forging technique in the late 1800s resulted in lighter and better made clubs that could be mass produced in factories. The early 1900 was a period of experimental golf club designs, ...
What are the different names for golf clubs?
For a long time different clubs were known by a variety of names, such as: Longnoses - for driving. Bulgers - like today's woods as they have a bulbous head. Fairway clubs (or grassed drivers) - for medium range shots. Spoons - for short range shots . Niblicks - like a wedge. Cleek - for putting.
What wood is used in golf clubs?
American Materials. Americans began contributing to club design in the early 1800s, but Scotland was still regarded as the center of high-quality club making. Hickory wood grown in the U.S. proved to be more durable than the European woods. Hickory shafts became the most popular material and were even used by the most skilled club makers in ...
What was the first golf club made of?
Earliest Clubs. Early golf clubs were little more than a stick with a crudely fashioned wooden head on the end, often made by the golfers themselves out of whatever wood was available. Golf balls in the 16th century were made of wood as well. The equivalent of a driver was known as a “longnose” because of the elongated shape of the club head, ...
What was the effect of the gutta percha ball?
Effect of the Ball, Part II. In the middle of the 19th century, golf ball technology was greatly improved with the introduction of the gutta-percha ball, made from solid molded rubber. The ball was significantly more durable than the featherie. Irons now became a key part of a golfer’s set of clubs, allowing him to achieve much better control ...
What is the history of golf clubs?
With the remarkable technology that goes into golf clubs today, it’s easy to forget the humble origin of the golf club nearly 600 years ago in Scotland.
When did steel shafts become legal?
Hickory shafts continued to dominate until steel shafts were legalized by golf’s governing body, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, in 1929. Two years later, Billy Burke won the U.S. Open while playing with steel shafts. Steel shafts allowed for faster club-head speeds than hickory shafts.
When did graphite shafts come out?
Science and technology have provided golfers with many innovations in the last 40 years, such as the advent of graphite shafts in the 1970s. Their lightweight design also allowed for greater club-head speed. Metal “woods” came along in the 1980s and soon replaced wooden-headed clubs altogether.
What is a wood in golf?
Wood (golf) An Adams Insight BUL 5000 460 cm 3 9.5° (left), an early 1980s Pinnacle Persimmon driver (right). A wood is a type of club used in the sport of golf. Woods have longer shafts and larger, rounder heads than other club types, and are used to hit the ball longer distances than other types. Woods are so called because, traditionally, they ...
What is fairway wood?
Fairway woods are typically made with a slightly shorter and stiffer shaft, a smaller clubhead and more loft than a driver or 2-wood. While the most common modern clubset includes only one fairway wood, the 3-wood, woods are typically available from major brands in lofts up to a 9-wood.
What is a wood clubhead?
The head of a wood is roughly spherical in shape with a slightly bulging clubface and a generally flattened sole that slides over the ground without digging in during the swing. Traditional "wood" clubheads were made of wood, hence the name; beech wood or ash were common prior to the twentieth century, and later persimmon or maple became preferable. Modern club heads are usually hollow steel, titanium or composite materials, and are sometimes called "metalwoods" or more recently "fairway metals". Pinseeker Golf Corp. innovated the first stainless steel metalwood called the Bombshell in 1976. The design was somewhat untraditional and did not have the promotional success needed for profitable long term marketing - it was discontinued 3 years later. In 1979 Taylor Made produced a traditionally shaped stainless steel wood head called "Pittsburgh Persimmon" which achieved market acceptance by the mid-1980s. Oversized heads made from aluminum appeared in the mid-1980s but were slow to catch on since their introduction was via independent component manufacturers and not the larger endorsement based club manufacturers. Very large size drivers (300-500cc) arrived with titanium metallurgy which meant reasonable 'headweights' could be achieved with very large thin shelled but strong structures. By the mid-2000s, titanium heads could be made to 1000 cc (Golfsmith Inc made 1,000 cc (61.0 cu in) in the mid-2000s). Around this time the USGA decided to limit the size of driver heads to 460 cc (28.1 cu in) since the rule requiring heads to be of a traditional shape was being unduly stretched. However, during this period the club-making business needed some financial help, so the USGA relaxed the "traditional shape" rule while enforcing the new 460cc limit, and new head shapes appeared, such as "torpedo" and square/rectangular shapes, to attract the buying public to potentially game improving designs particularly regarding better mishit outcomes.
What is a strong 2 wood?
A Strong 2 Wood. Higher-number woods are generally known as fairway woods and , as their name suggests, are designed for shots from off the turf of the fairway that still require long distance, such as the second shot of a par-5 or a long par-4 hole.
What is the best material for a golf club?
Today, many metal wood clubfaces (and most driver clubfaces) are constructed out of titanium. Titanium has a higher strength to weight ratio than steel and has better corrosion resistance, so it is an ideal metal for golf club construction.
What is a 25 wood club?
Some custom clubmakers offer woods in lofts up to 55° (a "25-wood" equivalent to a sand wedge); these can be used to replace the entire standard set of irons with woods, for players who prefer the swing mechanics and behavior of woods to that of irons and wedges.
What is the lowest lofted golf club?
Drivers. The 1-wood, or driver, is the lowest-lofted, longest, and often lightest club in a player's bag, and is meant to launch the ball the longest distance of any club.
