Early Golf Clubs

In the earliest days of golf on the eastern coast of Scotland , players used primitive equipment to play the game in a rather haphazard and casual manner. While players initially carved their own clubs and balls from wood, they soon turned to skilled craftsmen to produce competitive equipment.

The earliest reference to a set of specially made clubs is when King James IV of Scotland commissioned a bow-maker in Perth to make him a set in 1502. Later when he ascended to the English throne, he appointed William Mayne in 1603 as royal club-maker. Mayne held an exclusive licence throughout the Kingdom.

A set of clubs at the time consisted of a set of play clubs (longnoses) for driving, fairway clubs (or grassed drivers) for medium range shots, spoons for short range shots, niblicks (similar to today's wedges) and a putting cleek. After 1618, the Featherie golf ball was introduced which endured for more than 200 years.

Back to Top