Antique Irons - The Forgotten Club

If you listen in to any conversation involving antique golf club collectors, there are a few things that you are almost certain to hear being discussed. Unfortunately, antique irons are not likely to be one of those things. Undoubtedly, you will hear about the hickory golf club fascination and how everyone involved in the conversation has a collection of golf memorabilia which is just a little bit better than everyone else's.

However, antique irons seem to garner very little attention even though they hold a much esteemed role in the history of golf.

Perhaps one explanation is that although the history of golf itself can be traced back as far as the mid 15th century, it is widely accepted that irons were not introduced on a large scale until the later part of the 18th century, in Scotland, the birthplace of golf as we know it.
Another possible explanation is the annoyance of many early on that these additional irons created too many club choices, and markedly slowed down the pace of play.

Initially, irons were introduced as, and used for, hitting from rough or otherwise unplayable lies. Nearly 100 years later, in the late 1870's, antique irons expanded their reach within a player's arsenal with the introduction of driving irons and mid-range irons. Until they started to really increase in popularity during this time, most were produced by blacksmiths.

The other interesting fact about antique irons which is common knowledge to the avid collector, but perhaps not by all was the naming conventions associated with these clubs. Unlike today's names for irons such as 2 iron, 3 iron, 7 iron etc., one would instead today find antique irons called Cleeks(equivalent of a 2 iron), Jiggers(Today's Wedge), Mashies(5 iron), and Niblicks(9 irons). They also lacked then, and do now, a common appearance, as they were not mass produced, but forged by individual blacksmiths.

When you look back at the history of golf, it is clear that antique irons have had a significant role to play in the evolution of the game. There are some many intriguing aspects to collecting antique golf clubs, and that might be the reason that they are sometimes over shadowed. I hope your appreciation of them grows just a bit with your newfound knowledge of their role in golf history.

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