History of Golf Clubs

The history of golf dates back to the fifteenth century, when it emerged as a favorite pastime of the Scottish people. With the passage of time, golf and the equipments used for the sport has undergone lots of changes. At present, golf is one of the most popular games in the world.

History of Golf Clubs: Golf club is the device used for hitting the ball during a golf match. A golfer carries a set of golf clubs with him, from which he can choose any one for making a perfect shot. In a club set used by a golfer, four types of clubs can be found—woods, irons, putters and wedges. In the early days of golf, clubs were carved from wood. The clubs prepared in this way were so costly that the common people were not able to buy one. There is evidence that King James IV of Scotland got a club set made from a bow-maker in Perth in 1502, which was the first custom-made golf set. In 1603, William Mayne was appointed as the royal club-maker by him. In those days, a club set included various types of clubs for driving, for making medium range shots and short range shots. Club heads were made from hard woods like holly, apple, pear and beech. Ash or hazel was used for making shafts of the clubs. The shaft was attached with the club head by means of a splint and leather straps. Some club makers experimented with the club face by using different materials like leather, metals and even bone fragments.

During the early 1800s, hickory wood was used as the material for clubs. Hickory wood was imported from the United States of America and was quickly adopted by the club-makers, as it was much cheap with respect to other woods. With the invention of the Guttie ball, the driving clubs known as the “longnoses” became obsolete. A new type of clubs, known as “bulgers”, was introduced for the purpose. Bulgers resemble the modern day woods. During this period, many professional golfers like Old Tom Morris, Senior Willie Park and Allan Robertson opened workshops for making golf clubs and balls. By the beginning of the twentieth century, persimmon wood replaced other tough woods in making the club heads. Aluminium was also used for making club heads and groove-faced irons were introduced in 1902. During the 1920s, steel shafts appeared in the domain of golf.

The 14 Club Rule was established by the R & A in 1939. During this period, golfers used clubs of both modern and ancient styles. Since then, clubs were given numbers instead of names. In 1963, casting method was introduced for making club heads. This made golf clubs more affordable. Graphite shaft was introduced in 1973, which was much more durable and light than the steel shafts. With the passage of time, materials like boran are being used for making club heads. One of the leading club manufacturer, Taylor-Made introduced metal woods, which have become more popular than the persimmon wood clubs. Callaway has made the most successful club in the history of golf, known as the “Big Bertha”. The latest invention in the field of the golf clubs is clubs with titanium heads and graphite shafts.