Golf Lessons - Vintage Golf Irons – Usually the Neglected Clubs in the Realm of Vintage Golf

Vintage Golf Irons – Usually the Neglected Clubs in the Realm of Vintage Golf

Posted on December 31st, 2011 by Andrew Shea

If you ever listen in to a chat with antique golf club lovers, there are several things which you can be practically guaranteed to hear being mentioned. Sadly, antique irons will not often be one of the things. Without doubt, you are going to listen to the hickory golf club love affair and the way every person engaged in the dialogue posesses a collection of golf memorabilia that’s a bit finer quality than anyone else’s.

On the other hand, antique irons appear to get hardly any interest but they maintain an extremely prestigious place within 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 the 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.

Another fascinating fact regarding antique golf irons that is well known by the serious collector, yet perhaps not necessarily by many had been the naming conventions related to these kinds of golf clubs. In contrast to present day labels with regard to golf irons like Two iron, Three iron, Seven iron ; one could instead back then discover antique golf irons referred to as Cleeks(same as a Two iron), Jiggers(Present day Wedge), Mashies(Five iron), as well as Niblicks(Nine irons). Additionally they were lacking then, and even do today, a standard look, because they weren’t produced in higher quantities, but cast via specific blacksmiths.

Once you gaze back in time to the history connected with the sport of golf, it really is apparent that antique golf irons have possessed a major part to play with the history around the sport. Certainly there are lots of captivating facets to collecting antique golf clubs of the hickory variety, and this could be the actual explanation why golf irons are quite often over shadowed. I hope your individual appreciation regarding them expands just a little making use of increased familiarity with their unique place inside golf club history.

When almost all is said and done, whether or not its Hickory or Iron, vintage golf clubs really are an awesome hobby with positive aspects that simply cannot be measured strictly in dollars

Andrew Shea has been involved in Antique Golf, both on a personal level, and in a professional capacity for many years. If you have a question or are interested in vintage golf clubs generally, you are always welcome at his site.