I have been defeated many more times than I have experienced victory in this life. It’s a condition I own and will continue as long as I practice my golf game. However, it was always that occasional triumph that kept me going [way back before I ever thought about playing golf] and its the same thing that keeps me going today. I recognize something many of you won’t and that is, sports mimics life. Any sport worth pursuing always has mimicked the lives we live. So I keep coming back, to fight the good fight [and sometimes that’s on a golf course].

I traveled to Scotland last Summer never realizing that the oldest golf club maker, founded there in St. Andrews, is still in existence today. It wasn’t until I returned home that I discovered what I had missed, a visit to the St. Andrews Golf Company. This group was the sole remaining clubmaker that formed originally by a consortium of skilled craftsmen over centuries of time. It’s what’s left of a handful of artisans known for their expertise in crafting golf clubs back in the day. Not only that but many of the early clubs invented by these Scotsmen have storied backgrounds; you see, back in the early years of the sport Scotland became known as ground zero for innovative golf club designs. Eventually, over a span of centuries these club makers would merge together to form what stands today as The St. Andrews Golf Company. This is perhaps the best place in the world to obtain some of the most historical pieces ever used to fly a ball in the air or roll one over the ground and I’m proud to say I have made an effort to own some of their early specimens.

No one knows exactly the born on date for the sport of golf but it definitely dates back as early as the 1400’s. Ample evidence exists there were golf clubs and golf balls that far back. In fact, the first golf balls were hand-shaped into rounds using beechwood. I have a collection of the earliest golf balls, [thanks to the St. Andrews Golf Co.], it’s a set which includes one of these early balls formed from beechwood. Whereas Hickory was the most popular material for building club shafts, a practice that lasted into centuries later. Metal club shafts were experimented with in the late 1890’s but weren’t widely adopted until such a time that TaylorMade came along with an offering of the first steel shaft club sets, the year was 1979. Wow, that’s seems fairly recent!

I wanted to wait for something interesting to come along before I hung it over my [humble] fire place. I was not enamored with the ordinary, a television set or an oil painting. No, I wanted something unique and that certain something must include a bit of history to go with it. Behold – I found it, some things both interesting and unique now hang over my fireplace, [finally] after owning this place for almost seven years? 🙂 Thanks to the St. Andrews Golf Company and a fellow named Hamish, who was very helpful in assisting me in placing orders for most items pictured.

A Tour of my headline photo
The two clubs [pictured] are, believe it or not, both putters. The club that is pointing to the left under the framed photograph is a “QE2 Putter Royale Hickory Golf Putter”, only 300 were made. This club was fashioned by hand in the same vein as those available in the late 1800’s. The putter contains a solid bronze insert on the head taken from one of the propellers of the Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner. This vessel, [known as simply the QE2] was built in the late 1960’s and subsequently retired [from Monarchy use] by the 1990’s. Notice the photograph sitting above the bronze plated putter, it’s a black and white photo depicting three grown men standing under one of the two massive propellers on the QE2, a ship that measured 963 ft. long. A bronze piece from one of these propellers now hangs over my fireplace.

More interesting than that
Is the putter I have pointing to the right. This is an exact replica of the “long-nose putter” designed by famous Scottish clubmaker, Hugh Philp, [circa 1850], that was used by an Englishman, Allan McFie, to win the first Amateur Golf Championship ever held, in Scotland, in 1885. If you found this club in a golf bag you would never mistake it as a putter. I used it [just for grins] on my putting mat at home, and I’m here to say the answer is no, never, and did I say “No”? 🙂 Thus, let me raise my Scotch and water to Allan McFie because it must have have been tough to hole putts with that instrument. Still, we must remember the greens back then may not have been as fast as they are today so something heavier such as a long nosed putter would probably have been the call back then? Anyway, many kudos to Allan where ever you are, [and might I add, “God Save the Queen”?]

Lastly, my fireplace wall display includes a collection of six of the earliest known golf balls. Thanks once again to the St. Andrews Golf Company. They bundle these six into a nice wooden presentation box that speaks about the “Origin of the Golf Ball”. This set has quite a storied past and would make a great gift for any golf enthusiast. The first one [left] is the same wooden ball used back in the 1400’s, simply a round carved out of beechwood. Next is what is known as a the “Featherie” ball. This ball was first introduced in the 1500’s, it is made of cowhide tightly stuffed with goose feathers. It was a ball packed so tight with heated feathers that once the leather cover shrank around it the ball it was compact enough to fly over 200 yards! “The Featherie golf ball was played for nearly three centuries… even the most experienced ballmakers could only produce one or two Featheries per day”, which made this particular ball very expensive to own so they say. The ball on the top row [far right] was known as the Smooth Guttie Ball, circa 1845. It didn’t take long for golfers to understand that a scuffed up ball, a ball with many dimples and nicks would actually sail further than one completely smooth. Thus this ball morphed into a second generation known as the Hand-Hammered Guttie Ball, circa 1860 [second row left]. This ball, like it’s predecessor, was made using the sap from a Malaysian Sapodilla tree. Next in line, the Bramble Pattern Guttie Ball was first introduced around 1895, it became the first golf ball produced by a mold. By this time golf had gained in popularity and it proved impractical to continue to make golf balls by hand. Last but not least, we have the Mesh Pattern Lattice ball, which included the first ever use of a rubber core. This ball improved a golfer’s game by offering greater spin control. It was first introduced in the early 1900’s, after being patented by an Englishman named William Taylor in 1905.

That concludes a tour of the “Origins of the Golf Ball” and my other featured items. For those curious about what is available out there in golf makers, equipment, and memorabilia I encourage you to visit the St. Andrews Golf Company’s website, https://standrewsgolfco.com/. Be sure to poke around, including a click on “The Hickory Golf Shop” tab. Ciao!